NASCAR drivers predict: How often will they see Martin Truex Jr. next year?
Martin Truex Jr. will retire from full-time racing after this season, and the introverted Truex is not expected to just hang around the track.
He hasn't lived in North Carolina for at least a few years (he has places in New Jersey and Florida) and most of his good friends already have retired.
The 2017 Cup champion plans to race in the 2025 Daytona 500 — it is expected to be with 23XI Racing but nothing has been officially announced. Beyond that, he hasn't determined his schedule.
So, just how often do drivers expect to see Truex behind the wheel next year? We asked all the playoff drivers a couple of weeks ago that question.
Here are their answers:
Chase Elliott: Probably none. I think he's running the 500 but I don't know that I'll see him there. Zero percent. Which is good. That's what it should be. He should enjoy his time.
Ty Gibbs: I don't know. We text a good bit. So maybe I'm just texting him.
Alex Bowman: As much as he wants us to see him. He's a champion of our sport and one of the good guys in the garage. He deserves to be here as much as he wants to be.
Kyle Larson: I don't know. We really don't see him much now. I guess it will be really hard to see him next year.
Christopher Bell: One Cup race, maybe a handful of Xfinity races.
Chase Briscoe: I know the Daytona 500 it sounds like. So let's say I'll only see him once.
William Byron: I don't know. I think Martin is probably going to run some one-off races. I'd love to see him out there. He's a great competitor and a really great driver. I'd love to see him race more but I don't know.
Brad Keselowski: We'll see Martin twice next year. I don't know where I came up with that number, but it's a guess.
Denny Hamlin: Three times. FOX: "You might see him more in your shop." Hamlin: I see what you're doing there, Bob.
Joey Logano: I think we'll see him ... maybe he will run a couple of races here and there in some different things. But I think that will be it.
Austin Cindric: I guess in the Cup Series, never. Maybe the Daytona 500. I don't know him that well but just from observation, there's some tracks you can associate him with like a Richmond or a Dover or Darlington, those types of tracks. I guess it depends on whatever he wants to do.
Harrison Burton: I'd say probably five or six times next year. That's my guess.
Ryan Blaney: More than seven races.
Tyler Reddick: Gosh. I got no idea. It would be cool if he was on Lake Lloyd [at Daytona International Speedway] fishing. Same thing for Homestead, but I don't know if there is a lot of fish in that pond. If there's a lake in the racetrack, maybe he'll be there. But other than that, I'm not really sure.
Daniel Suarez: Not often at all. I don't think I see him much at all this year racing full-time. So next year, I expect to see Carl Edwards more often than Martin.
Martin Truex Jr.: I'm not sure either. I'm kind of looking at it still. Definitely once. And then from there, my guess would be five, six, seven times. So we'll see.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
