NASCAR Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Martin Truex Jr. closes the book on his full-time NASCAR career

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Nov 10, 2024 9:47 PM ET

Martin Truex Jr.'s full-time NASCAR career is officially over.

With a 17th-place finish at Phoenix on Sunday, the 2017 champion and future Hall of Famer closed the book on a career that spanned 19 full-time seasons and 693 Cup Series starts.

Truex started on the pole thanks to a strong qualifying effort on Saturday, and led nine laps early in the going before being passed for the race lead by eventual race winner and champion Joey Logano.

"Lately, we qualified good but as the track gets more rubber laid down, the more we struggle," Truex Jr. said after the race. "I wish we could've put some tires on at the end and had a shot to go forward. It wasn't much fun at the end running on old tires."

Martin Truex Jr. on his final race as a full-time driver and his emotions. pic.twitter.com/YdcB08TVtd
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 11, 2024

Like most of the field, Truex Jr. was stuck a lap down after a green flag pit cycle when Zane Smith crashed on Lap 250. While he took the wave around to get back on the lead lap, he was unable to make any major moves on the race's final run.

"Everybody wants me to be sad, but I'm happy. Got a lot to be thankful for, a lot to be proud of. (I'll) go enjoy some time off here, do the banquet and all that fun stuff. It's gonna be fun to come back in a different role and come race for fun."

Truex Jr. is confirmed to be attempting the 2025 Daytona 500 — a race he is yet to win — with 23XI Racing, and is expected to run in several Xfinity Series races for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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