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Martin Truex Jr. still searching for Daytona 500 victory: ‘Obviously I want it’

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated 2/10/24

While Martin Truex Jr. will go down as one of the 75 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR and a Cup Series champion, he doesn’t have a Daytona 500 win. That is one of the big things left on his to-do list before retirement.

What if Truex Jr. doesn’t win a Daytona 500? Does that put a stain or asterisk on his career? Would it put his legacy in a different light for fans? I do not believe so. Truex Jr. has built a career for himself and earned every accolade and credit he was given.

For the driver himself, it wouldn’t change how he views his career. Although, he wants a Harley J. Earl trophy just as much as he ever has.

“I mean obviously I want it, it’d be great, it’d be amazing,” Martin Truex Jr. said to Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports. “I don’t know if I’d be completely disappointed with my career as a whole if someday when I retire and I look back and I’m like, ‘Ah, I didn’t win that race.’ I don’t know if that is a big deal to me or not, I think I still have opportunities to get it done, so I try not to think about it. But it’d be huge, be huge to win for sure.”

Martin Truex Jr. said he doesn’t know if not having a Daytona 500 win would feel like a void on his resume. He hopes to never find out. His outlook as he tries to earn his first Daytona 500 victory: pic.twitter.com/2jvIfyBaNZ
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 9, 2024

In his NASCAR career, Maritn Truex Jr. has been excellent. He has two championships in the Xfinity Series. Of course, he is a Cup Series champion as well, a two-time regular-season champion, and a 34-time race winner. He also has Crown Jewel wins at the Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500. And he’s not done yet.

Martin Truex Jr. odds to win Daytona 500

Folks, I won’t sugarcoat it, Martin Truex Jr. does not have great odds to win the Daytona 500. He’s not a great superspeedway racer and does most of his best work on road courses and short tracks.

To start, Ryan Blaney is the favorite at +800 odds. The defending Cup Series champion is excellent on superspeedways. He has wins at Daytona and Talladega. However, Daytona is never as simple as who is the fastest or the best driver on the day.

Going into the beginning of Speedweeks at Daytona, Martin Truex Jr. is +2000 to win the Daytona 500. Of course, there have been bigger longshots to win, but it doesn’t exude confidence. The good news, he basically has just about a good of a chance as any other driver, that’s Daytona.

Martin Truex Jr. isn’t the only veteran champion without a Daytona 500. Kyle Busch does not have a win in the sport’s biggest race, either. Both of these drivers are going to be giving it their all to finally check off The Great American Race from their bucket lists.

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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