Getty Martin Truex Jr. after Talladega race.
For a third year in a row, Martin Truex Jr. is in the middle of the NASCAR Cup Series season and unsure whether he wants to return for another year behind the wheel or hang up his helmet for a final time at the conclusion of the 2024 campaign. Kevin Harvick addressed the subject this week on his “Happy Hour” podcast and the rookie Fox announcer didn’t sugarcoat what he thought about it.
“The scenario that I see with Martin Truex is not fair to his team,” Harvick bluntly started. “It’s not fair to his team guys. It’s not fair to his team to just continuously go through these scenarios of whether you’re staying or whether you’re going, because you can’t build anything.
“You can’t build to get better. You can’t build to do things that it takes to win a championship. And I think those cars are good enough to win a championship, but this is a sport of just being committed at the highest level every day. And it’s not that Martin isn’t committed to doing the things that he’s doing, but the uncertainty just doesn’t allow you to go through the processes of building on a daily basis because you don’t know what’s next year.
“And eventually it’s bad for the team. And I think we’re at a point where it’s bad for the team. You’re hearing a lot of rumors about Chase Briscoe going in that 19 car with everything happening at Stewart-Haas Racing. And maybe they’re at a point where they feel like it’s time for them to move on and just start rebuilding the 19 team to be with the 20 team is to be with the 11, the 54. They have secure situations that are going to be there for years to come.”
Martin Truex Jr. Talked About Challenge of Making Decision
Martin Truex Jr. is fully aware others are paying close attention to his situation. He met with the media on June 5 to preview the upcoming race at New Hampshire, where the 43-year-old won in 2023, and unsurprisingly one reporter asked about his future and if he’d had the time necessary to make his decision.
“Yeah, I don’t know yet. We’ll see,” Truex said. “I think, you know, it’s never enough time in this sport because you need to start planning for next year — like now.
@MartinTruex_Jr was asked about retirement and where he is in the decision process and whether or not he would consider walking off into the sunset and retiring if he wins the @NASCAR Cup Series championship in Phoenix.
“So it’s a tough situation to be in, where I’m at right now, trying to figure it out six, eight months ahead of time, whatever. But it is what it is, you know. There’s a lot of people that have to make plans and you don’t want to mess them up. So you kind of got to be looking out for everybody else in these situations.”
Kevin Harvick Called Out Truex Early in 2024
While Harvick didn’t mince words on what he thinks about Truex’s indecision on retiring, it’s not the first time the 2014 champion questioned the JGR pilot this year on his podcast. The former SHR driver shared his thoughts about the 2017 champ and his behavior toward the team owner on pit road after the March 31 Richmond race.
“I’ve been in that position and been frustrated, too,” Harvick said. “I think as you see this footage with Martin and Joe Gibbs right here, and just the fact that I don’t know what was said to Joe right there but you can see by his girlfriend’s reaction right there and he must have obviously said something that was pretty much not what she would have said.
“Every time I was in this position — I don’t want to judge somebody else’s position on where they’re at and what they’re doing — I would judge it on how I was in those positions. But, to me, it seems like a lot of those things happen when there’s some internal frustrations or you’re dealing with something that’s frustrating you and finally it gets to a boiling point and man, did it boil.
“It went from getting beat on the restart, to getting used up by the 11 car, which I don’t think he used him up. I think he was racing at the end. He left him a lane coming off Turn 2. Yeah, he came up the race track but we’re racing for the win.
“To getting in a war with Kyle Larson, smashing into the side of him off of Turn 2. Smashing him into the fence on the front straightaway. And then slamming into the back of Denny Hamlin’s car several times, and when you go back and watch that footage, it is with a lot of throttle. And then we come on pit road and blow off your owner. So, it seems that there is more to it than just that last moment on the restart. And getting beat off of pit road with some of the members that used to be on your pit crew.”
Harvick is in his first year of retirement from racing. He’s clearly enjoying himself in the broadcast booth and on his podcast. And not afraid to share what’s on his mind.