“He’s 110% a Bada*s Hall of Famer”: NASCAR legend praises Martin Truex Jr. as he draws the curtain on his career

Martin Truex Jr. has confirmed that he would call it a day on his NASCAR career after the 2024 season. Truex Jr. had an impressive career during which he racked up 34 Cup Series wins, 13 Xfinity Series race wins, and a Cup Series title in 2017.

The 43-year-old officially announced his retirement before the 18th race of the Cup Series this season at the Iowa Raceway during a run-of-the-mill media availability. Just a week and a half ago, when pressed about his future plans, Truex stated he was still weighing his options.

NASCAR icon Kenny Wallace gave his take on Truex Jr.'s retirement, opining that the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing driver was destined for induction into the Hall of Fame.

"He is definitely 110% a bad*ss Hall of Famer. Martin Truex Jr will automatically go on the Hall of Fame. He checked every box. He was a champion and everything. Except he didn't even hardly run the truck series, but when he did, he won, at Bristol on dirt." [1:20-1:57]

Currently, in his 19th full season in the Cup Series, Martin Truex Jr. boasts a career that's likely to land him a spot in the NASCAR Hall of Fame on his first try. Interestingly, even Kenny Wallace hung up his helmet after his final Cup Race at Iowa Raceway.

But while Wallace retired at 52, Truex is only 44. Discussing the same, Kenny Wallace shed some light on the potential reasons behind Truex's retirement decision.

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Kenny Wallace reasons why drivers like Martin Truex Jr. might be retiring earlier than the legends of old

NASCAR icons such as Richard Petty and Bobby Allison were still racing at 54 and 51 respectively. Dale Earnhardt Sr. was still competing at 49 when he tragically passed away. Even Kevin Harvick, who stepped away last year to join the Fox NASCAR broadcast team, didn't retire until he was 48. But nowadays, it seems drivers are starting to retire younger, typically around 42 to 45.

According to Kenny Wallace, one major factor could be sheer exhaustion. Drivers are hitting the tracks as early as seven or eight years old, like Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick’s kids. He noted:

"In this new era, there's this theory that everybody starts when they're eight years old. See back in the day, nobody started it eight years old, like Jeff Gordon did." [3:05-3:16]

Another reason for the trend towards earlier retirement, with regard to drivers including Martin Truex Jr., Wallace pointed out:

"I am sure Martin Truex is the only one left out of his group. With Harvick retired, Truex is up there. He is probably the last one of his group. He has done it all. [...] It just starts wearing thin on you." [4:03-4:41]

While his fans might have undoubtedly loved to see him race a few more years, especially after clinching the regular season championship last year, for Martin Truex Jr., 2024 is going to be the year he finally races in NASCAR for the last time as a regular season driver.