With Dover win, Ryan Truex proves he deserves a full-time NASCAR ride
For the second straight year at Dover Motor Speedway, Ryan Truex found a way to win.
Unlike 2023's Dover race, however, he wasn't allowed to ride into the sunset on Saturday. Truex made the winning pass with two laps to go in Saturday's Xfinity Series race, getting around Carson Kvapil in Turn 3.
A last-lap caution officially ended the race, handing the checkered flag to Truex for his second career win.
Truex's Dover triumph could mean more for his future than his present. For the second consecutive year, he's proven he can win at one of the highest levels of racing in the world, both in dominating fashion and on a late-race restart.
His part-time tenure with Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series bore fruit from Day 1, as in three part-time seasons from 2022 to the present year, Truex has nine top-10's in 17 starts, with five top-five finishes, including his two Dover wins.
With an overall average finish of 15.7 in 95 Xfinity Series starts, Truex has consistently been a contender, no matter what team he is driving for. In 2018, his only full time season to date, he made the Xfinity Series playoffs.
While Truex's 16% DNF rate in those 95 starts may be a tad high, modern-day NASCAR is a checkers-or-wreckers world, and with bad fast cars coming out of the JGR shop, a driver like Truex should be comfortable in taking risks.
Chandler Smith and Sheldon Creed seem locked into their rides with JGR for the near future, and Toyota pipeline drivers such as Corey Heim may get a full-time nod before the 32 year-old Truex.
But if JGR wants a driver who's a proven winner and is hungry for another full-time opportunity, he'd be advised to give Truex a call.
Truex has proven he deserves a shot. Now, it's up to JGR to decide whether or not he gets one.
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