(Photo: Sam Draiss | The Podium Finish)
Nearly two weeks ago, Ryan Truex scored a victory 189 races in the making. He won at Dover Motor Speedway in dominating fashion, leading 124 laps for his first NASCAR touring series victory.
This weekend at Darlington Raceway, however, is supposed to be the last of a six-race slate with Joe Gibbs Racing. He hopes that what he has accomplished in 2023 has proven his value as a driver.
“To run a part-time season is just so hard as a driver,” Truex told The Podium Finish just hours before his win at Dover. “This is pretty much my sole focus right now. Hopefully, people see that I have value as a driver and I’ve got speed and the ability to go out and put a race together and perform where I need to get the job done.”
Over the course of his career, a lack of funding has limited Truex’s opportunities in NASCAR. He’s pieced together just three full-time seasons — two in Trucks (2017 with Hattori Racing Enterprises and 2021 with Niece Motorsports) and one in Xfinity (2018 with Kaulig Racing).
In each of the last two seasons, Truex has contested part-time schedules with JGR. He finished in the top 10 in three of his six races last season, which earned him six more events this season.
Truex easily could have won in each of his first two starts in 2023. He nearly tracked down teammate Sammy Smith in the closing laps at Phoenix Raceway eight months removed from his previous start and then survived late chaos to finish third at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
While disappointed to come so close to winning, Truex felt encouraged by those results.
“To be running down the leader and be that close at the end [at Phoenix] was kind of a hard pill to swallow,” Truex said. “At the same time, to jump off the couch after eight months and be as fast as we were and have a shot at winning was really cool and something that isn’t very easy to do.
“It’s fun to show up to the track knowing that you have race-winning capable cars every weekend. It makes your job a lot easier.”
(Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)
Truex ran between 10th to 15th for most of the day at Martinsville Speedway and eventually finished 12th before contending at Talladega Superspeedway and finishing 17th because of a late crash.
Truex had an extra emphasis on running well at Dover. He grew up in Mayetta, New Jersey, just 75 miles northeast of the track. He remembers sitting in the grandstands and watching Martin Truex Jr., his older brother, race in the then-called Busch Series.
Years later, the family aspect is just as important for Ryan Truex. He feels like he’s found a home with JGR and gets to do it with his championship-winning brother in the Cup Series shop.
“It’s really cool,” Ryan Truex said. “It’s tough now with the Cup cars being so different and [Martin] hasn’t really run these cars in awhile … It’s cool to just be under the same umbrella both with Toyota Racing. It kind of feels like home.
“I’ve felt like over the past few years, I’ve been in some situations where I feel like I wasn’t really appreciated in my role and just didn’t feel like the team had confidence in me as a driver and certain situations where I just wasn’t a good fit with where I was. At JGR, I feel like I fit well and I get along with everyone really well. I feel like a part of the team, which is a big deal for me.
“My guys, my team, have confidence in me as a driver and they believe that I can go get it done. For a driver, I feel like that’s a huge confidence boost.”
While 12 years apart in age and in different sides of the JGR shop, Truex Jr. said that he tries to serve as a resource for his younger brother when needed.
“I admire his passion and his drive to work hard and try to get in a seat full time,” Truex Jr. said. “I don’t try and tell him what to do or anything, but he asks a lot of questions and I’m always open to try to help as much as I can.
“This is a good place for him.”
(Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)
Ryan Truex has veteran crew chief Jason Ratcliff calling the shots for the No. 19 team. Ratcliff, a full-time crew chief since 2000, has 15 Cup Series victories and 55 Xfinity Series victories.
Truex delivered Ratcliff his first victory in three seasons at Dover.
“He has a very rich racing career history and he’s won a lot of races,” Truex said about Ratcliff. “He’s worked with a lot of young guys, a lot of veterans. Being able to work with him is really cool — he’s really good at keeping me calm, and obviously, he’s good at building fast racecars.”
Truex heads into Darlington with a massive weight off his shoulders, but he’s still hungry for more. He finished 30th there last year but said that it wasn’t indicative of the car’s speed.
“[Justin Allgaier] won the race and I felt like we were just as strong as he was,” Truex said. “We fought issues in practice with the brakes and ended up having to start in the rear which kind of hurt us … I feel like JGR has a really good package for there. Fun track, high wear, kind of plays into the driver’s hands. I feel like that’s one where we’ll definitely have a shot at winning at.”
Whether he’s a full-time driver or not, Truex said that the end goal is to maximize as many races in winning equipment.
While Saturday’s Shriners Children’s 200 may be it for Truex for now, team owner Joe Gibbs indicated that he wants to have him drive more races.
“We would love to have Ryan in the car,” Gibbs said. “He does a lot of simulation work for us. He’s a dedicated young guy, and as everybody knows, it’s hard to get sponsorship. We work our rear off.
“We committed to work hard this year to try and get Ryan in more races.”
