'Until I see replays': Martin Truex has put near miss in Daytona 500 to rest . . . mostly
Coming up on the short end of the closest finish in Daytona 500 history has long-lasting ramifications.
For one, Martin Truex knows he’s never far away from a reminder as soon as he crosses the Volusia County line.
“You know, I don’t honestly think about it until I see replays, which basically happens every time we go down there now,” he said via Zoom call on Thursday.
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Truex can smile about it now, with nearly seven years and a Cup Series championship separating him from coming up 0.01 seconds short to now-Joe-Gibbs-Racing-teammate Denny Hamlin in 2016. The distance between the front of their cars was about the length of a Ticonderoga No. 2 but it’s the second-place finish he’s spent the most time replaying in his mind.
“I got ahead too quickly off Turn 4,” Truex explained. “I think I could’ve basically drug the brake a little bit and stayed just a bit behind him until the last second. But you’re always kind of in a bad spot when you’re on the inside coming off of 4.”
Racing is a sport of numbers and that second place is part of a career 0-for-71 in superspeedway starts for Truex. It’s a stat that borders on the unbelievable for a driver with 31 Cup Series wins and four top-two points finishes. But Truex is accustomed to busting such slumps. The 42-year-old was once 0-for-80 in short-track starts. Since, he’s collected six wins in 19 tries.
Things would seem to be trending in the right direction at Daytona and Talladega with Truex scoring four top-13 finishes in his last five starts, including a pair of top 10s in four tries last year. He also won both of the first two stages in last year's Daytona 500 before eventually settling for 12th.
And while he certainly had a rocky start with the Next-Gen car, Truex said that it drives more like the Xfinity cars he took to Victory Lane a combined four times at superspeedways from 2004-2006.
"I think the cars are more similar to years ago than they were in the last-gen car and I feel like it’s been really good for us," Truex observed. “It seems like anytime we get to the end of the plate races, we’re in the mix. We haven’t figured out how to win it yet but we’ve been close. Hopefully, we’ve got some momentum and this time around, it’s going to be ours.”
'You just never know in this sport'
By bucking the superspeedway trend in the Daytona 500, to go along with a victory at last week's Busch Light Clash, Truex could quickly put last year’s struggles behind him. Last Sunday marked his first Clash win and his first trip to Victory Lane since 2021.
Truex finished 17th in the 2022 points standings, missing the playoffs and turned in his worst showing since ending up 24th in 2014. In the seven years between, he was as good as anyone, finishing fourth, 11th, first, second, second, seventh and second with 29 total victories.
He admitted that his team was behind with the new car early but more than anything, Truex pointed to bad luck and missed opportunities. Either way, for a driver in the latter part of his career and one who had enjoyed that kind of success in the years prior, he admitted a season of disappointment and underperforming had taken its toll by the end.
“It’s really tough because you feel like you’re trying everything you can, you’re working hard, you’re doing all the things you need to do and it’s just not coming together,” Truex said. “There were many races where we felt like we had the car to beat or we should’ve won.
"Racing is funny that sometimes, no matter what you do it just doesn’t work out for you. You can turn around and go back the next weekend and all the sudden, things play out like you need them to and you look like a hero.”
That was certainly the case last Sunday as Truex unloaded fast, won his heat race from the back and dominated the last quarter of the race to claim a much-needed victory. Even though the Clash wasn’t a points-paying win, any momentum was welcome for Truex and his No. 19 team.
“Starting sixth in our heat race — it’s a tough track to pass on — and starting on the outside, I was pretty nervous but to be able to drive up there and win the heat race, I knew then we had something for them,” he said. “We went to the Clash not really having huge expectations and we put together a weekend like that. You just never know in this sport.”
One lap, one race, one year at a time
For the first time, Truex kicked around the idea of retirement last year before deciding to return for the 2023 season in late June of last summer.
He admitted that the frustration made the decision to return much easier.
“Last year, I was like, ‘There’s no way I can stop doing this right now, especially the way things are going and knowing what we’re capable of still,’ ” he said. “I feel like I can go win every single race this year, so that’s kind of what made my decision.
"It’s just one of those things where never in my career had I ever thought about it and looked into it and thought, ‘How long am I going to do this? What are the things that matter to me, that are going to make me stay or make me go?’ And I can’t walk away right now.”
It's been a year of transition already for Truex. He announced via social media late last month that he had split with long-time girlfriend Sherry Pollex, who has battled cancer off and on since 2014. He added he'd have no further comment on the matter.
Often reserved, Truex readily admits he's not likely to follow Kevin Harvick into the broadcast booth when the end of his racing days arrives, adding he'd like to find away to stay with Joe Gibbs Racing in some capacity if he chooses to stay in the industry at all. Whether or not that comes at the end of this season, Truex remains noncommittal, telling Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass that it’s something he’d mull over much later in the year.
But Truex knows that between now and then, anything could happen. Would a return to the top make it easier to step away? Maybe. But in racing, there’s no choice but to take things one lap, one day at a time and at this point in his career, Truex is happy in doing so.
“Just taking it one year at a time and trying to enjoy it and so far, it’s going really well,” he said.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR: Martin Truex looks for Daytona 500 breakthrough, 2023 redemption
