(Photo: Josh Jones | The Podium Finish)
DOVER, Del. — In the closing laps at Dover Motor Speedway in 2012, Ryan Truex got trapped behind lapped traffic and surrendered his lead to Joey Logano. He finished second, lamenting what could have been his first win and a turning point in his career.
Eleven years later with the same team, that moment came full circle.
At the same track in front of his hometown crowd, Truex finally sealed the deal for his first NASCAR touring series victory.
“It feels like a huge 11-year weight lifted off my shoulders,” Truex said after the race. “Finally, people can stop asking me about 2012 here.
“It’s pretty special of all the places to get it, it’s where I gave it up 11 years ago with six to go or whatever it was — felt like that could have been a huge turning point in my career. It’s been a battle ever since. So to finally come back 11 years later with the same team and get it done it really rewarding for me.”
Truex struggled for most of his career to find funding for full-time rides. He ran the full Truck Series schedule in both 2017 and 2021 and drove all 33 Xfinity Series events for Kaulig Racing in 2018.
Otherwise, it’s been an up-and-down, uncertain journey for the 31-year-old.
“It’s just been such a long road and a lot of self-doubt along the way and just wondering ‘is it ever going to happen? Am I good enough to do this?'” Truex said. “It’s so easy to doubt yourself and be down on yourself. Just keep digging, keep pushing through.
“It was just a huge relief to get that white flag. As soon as I got that white flag, I knew it was over. I just was trying to get it back around as smoothly as I could. I was definitely choking up coming to the checkered.”
Ryan Truex celebrated a hard-earned victory. (Photo: Sam Draiss | The Podium Finish)
Last season, Truex re-joined JGR for five races, recording three top 10s and his season-best result of third in his final race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. His success earned him six more races with JGR in 2023.
In each of his first two races, Truex has cars with race-winning speed. He finished runner-up at Phoenix Raceway as he nearly traced down teammate Sammy Smith in the closing laps. A week later, he finished third at Atlanta. After finishing 12th at Martinsville Speedway and 17th at Talladega Superspeedway, Truex went into his final two starts with a vengeance.
At Dover, he started 12th after the cancelation of qualifying and quickly climbed to the lead. He won both stages and paced the field for 124 of the 200 laps, earning a dominant first victory.
“I’ve dreamed a lot over the years of wins. I feel like before every race, I daydream about ‘alright, this is going to be the one,'” Truex said. “I think about how I’m going to come across the line, do burnouts, jump out of the car — all this stuff. And it’s never happened.
“Leading a lot of laps and winning both stages feels a lot better than just pulling it out off the last corner. It shows that I can put a whole race together.”
One of the most influential people in Truex’s career is someone close to his heart — Martin, his brother. The Truex brothers have faced similar challenges in their careers. In 2013, Martin Truex Jr. was essentially out of a ride at Michael Waltrip Racing after primary sponsor NAPA left because of a race manipulation scandal at Richmond Raceway.
Four years later, Martin won the Cup Series championship with Furniture Row Racing, an end-to-end journey that has motivated Ryan.
(Photo: Sam Draiss | The Podium Finish)
“Back in 2013, when he was basically out of a ride and didn’t know what was going to happen, to be his biggest fan and watch him battle through that and come out the other side and be a champion I think motivated me and inspired me to keep digging, keep doing what I’m doing,” Ryan Truex said. “There’s been a lot of really rough moments behind the scenes for me, personally, just trying to battle through it all.”
Martin, who’s 11 years older than Ryan, has always been a resource for his younger brother. When Ryan made it to the now-named ARCA Menards East Series, Martin helped him ease the transition into full-sized stock cars.
After Ryan won at Dover, Martin ran down pit road and met his brother at his car before turning into victory lane.
“It’s been a long road for him. Limited starts this year — it’s so, so tough to do part-time,” Martin Truex Jr. said after Saturday’s race. “He just gets in there, no practice and just gets after it. He’s a hell of a wheelman. I’m really proud of him.”
But it wasn’t just Martin who witnessed the victory. Their father, Martin Truex Sr., attended the race with many other friends and family members. The Truex family is from Mayetta, New Jersey, a 127-mile drive from Dover.
“[My father] has watched myself and Martin come up through the ranks and have been a huge part of our success,” Ryan Truex said. “It’s definitely been frustrating for him as well with how my career has been so up and down, been so close and just couldn’t get the job done. He’s definitely seen behind the scenes how much I’ve battled and worked and struggled and done everything that I’ve done to stay relevant in the sport and stay involved. A lot of that resiliency and refusal to give up comes from him.”
(Photo: Josh Jones | The Podium Finish)
Two days after Ryan’s victory, Truex Jr. won the Würth 400 in the Cup Series, snapping a 54-race winless streak and making it a Truex sweep. Nonetheless, both brothers drove the No. 19 car.
“It’s not a long list of brothers that have swept a weekend in NASCAR racing history,” Martin Truex Jr. said after his win. ” To be on that list with some of the guys that have done it is really, really cool for both of us and our whole family.”
John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Truex’s teammate, also has family ties to the sport. His father, Joe Nemechek, has four Cup Series victories and 16 Xfinity Series victories.
Last season, John Hunter Nemechek made limited starts in the No. 18 car, the same car that Ryan Truex drove. Now racing concurrently, Nemechek has developed a relationship with Truex and understands the significance of the victory.
“A lot of this is a family sport — a lot of sacrifices to get guys here like myself or Ryan,” John Hunter Nemechek said. “When you go out and win, it means a lot, not only to the driver, Ryan or myself, but also the family.
“[Ryan’s] a funny guy. You never know what’s going to come out of his mouth. I’m sure he’ll be celebrating pretty big.”
For now, Ryan Truex has just Darlington Raceway on May 13 left on his schedule, but he’s hoping that number will increase. He spoke with team owner Joe Gibbs after the race, and following Martin’s win on Monday, Gibbs acknowledged that he wants to have Ryan in the car.
“My goal is to stay with Joe Gibbs Racing and go full-time Xfinity racing,” Ryan Truex said. “I feel like if I can drive one of these cars every week and be on the track every week with this team and this group, I feel like we can win a lot of races and compete for a championship.”
