Editor’s note: this continue the series in which we review every driver in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs in reverse order of championship finish.
Summary of the season: Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota No. 19
Team leader: James Petit
Final ranking 2024: 10th
Key stats: Five top fives, 11 top 10s, two poles, 555 laps led
How 2024 ended: Truex finished the year strong, earning back-to-back pole positions at Martinsville Speedway and then for the season finale at Phoenix. Unfortunately for the famous incumbent champion, the results did not live up to the promising debut and he went winless in the second season of the last decade. On the plus side, his work was still good enough to earn a playoff spot based on points. An unusually difficult first round – with races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Watkins Glen International and Bristol Motor Speedway – meant an early exit from his final championship race. He ultimately finished the season in 10th place.
RELATED: Truex over the years | Truex wins pole ahead of final full-time race at Phoenix
Best race: The season-best 228 single-race laps at the Spring Richmond 400-miler were the most laps led by anyone that day, but Truex finished fourth – JGR teammate Denny Hamlin took the lead in overtime and led the final seven laps. His best finish in 2024 was second at the Bristol spring race, where he led 54 laps and finished behind – you guessed it – Hamlin.
Other highlights of the season: Truex’s qualifying efforts this season have been solid: four front-row starts, including those two season-ending pole positions. On several occasions, he contended for racing trophies and led double-digit laps, but failed to achieve this latest victory as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver. His 555 laps led marked the 10th consecutive season in which he led at least 500 laps. He has taken multiple pole positions for the sixth time in his career, including in the last two years. His 11 top-10 finishes capped a 10-year streak of double-digit top-10 finishes. He led the championship standings for three weeks and was ranked first or second for 11 consecutive weeks between early March and late May.
Stat to know: The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion – and two-time NASCAR time), 147. top five, 291 top 10 and 25 pole positions.
Quotable: “(In) my career, I think what I’m most proud of is not a high probability, I guess, of doing the things that I’ve been able to do. Being able to be in the Cup Series and in this garage as long as I can. How it started and how it ended are two completely different stories. Just perseverance, I think. The hard work and the fact that none of it has been easy. My success in the Cup Series was certainly very, very difficult to achieve and so I’m very proud of it. But I’m also very grateful for the opportunities and the people I’ve been able to work with. I just feel really grateful and lucky to be able to do what I did and have the success that we had.
MORE: Admiration and respect abound as Truex ends full-time career
Looking to the future: The ultimate stop in front of Truex is a distinguished place in the NASCAR Hall of Fame – his dominant Cup Series title run and two Xfinity Series championships make him a sure bet whenever he’s eligible. In the meantime, although Truex is retiring from full-time competition, he has been very open to running select races at any national level of NASCAR as well as late model events across the country. His JGR teammate Hamlin had suggested he field a Toyota for the 2025 Daytona 500 – a race Truex has never won – but that opportunity now appears uncertain. It should be noted that Truex’s former championship winner team leader Cole Pearn agreed to lead Truex’s Daytona 500 effort, whatever it may be.
