One of the most controversial moments of the 2024 NASCAR Cup season so far has been the teammate drama at Richmond Raceway. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin scored a win on Sunday over his teammate Martin Truex Jr. in overtime. After the race a frustrated No:19 Toyota driver accused the No:11 Toyota of using him up and being overaggressive.
The duo settled their differences soon, after having a conversation in the mid-week, with Denny Hamlin taking the first step of sending him a text apologizing over being a little aggressive. Martin Truex Jr. recently appeared on the Happy Hour podcast of Kevin Harvick and revealed how he responded to Hamlin’s texts.
Martin Truex Jr. said that he responded with apologising back for his words post-race. He then highlighted how important is to have respect between driver during and post-race. The 2017 Cup champion loves having this respect for his teammate. The incident post-race at Richmond was uncharacteristic of the JGR star and his latest revelation shows his word was just the product of the adrenalin rush.
He texted me first. I don’t know exactly what I said, like, ‘I’m sorry, I’m an idiot’…I mean we’ve been around each other long enough, we’ve raced each other for so many wins, so many different things…It’s the respect that we love, right? No matter what happens on the race track, I get it, whether to race, whether to win, whether it’s the best for our team at that moment. And it comes down to respect after the race. Martin Truex Jr. said via Happy Hour podcast.
Martin Truex Jr. reveals a personality trait he is most proud of
In a recent interview with The Athletic, Truex Jr. was asked about a personality trait which he is most proud of. He pointed out that he always tries to be a good person, something he is known in the racing community for being and sees that as his best personality trait.
I try not to think about these things. I feel like I’m a nice person for the most part. We all have our days and things that set us off, but I feel like overall, I’m a good person, a good guy. And I try to do things right. Martin Truex Jr. said.
The Richmond outburst was an out of character move by the Toyota veteran and hence it wasn’t hard for him to get over it. He would be hoping to end his winless streak soon and secure a win, that would yield him a playoff spot. Dover race this weekend, where he won last year, would be the best opportunity to do it.
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