Martin Truex Jr. is one of the best active drivers the NASCAR Cup Series has to offer, and he is among the 75 greatest drivers to ever race in the sport.
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He won the Cup title in 2017 and has won more than 30 races, but there is still a major race he would like to check off his list.
The 43-year-old has faced a lot of questions about how many more years he has left in racing, and that remains to be seen, but he's certainly hungrier than ever to finally get the Daytona 500 monkey off his back.
Perhaps he would trade his championship with teammate Denny Hamlin for one of his three wins in the sport's biggest race. Perhaps not.
Does it hinder his career if he doesn't win the Harley J. Earl trophy? No, there are plenty of Hall of Fame drivers and champions of the sport who failed to win the "Great American Race." Tony Stewart never won it, and he won three Cup championships.
It's at the top of Truex's list however, or that's what he told Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass anyway.
"I mean obviously I want it, it'd be great, it'd be amazing," Truex said. "I don't know if I'd be completely disappointed with my career as a whole if someday when I retire and I look back and I'm like, 'Ah, I didn't win that race.' I don't know if that is a big deal to me or not, I think I still have opportunities to get it done, so I try not to think about it. But it'd be huge, be huge to win for sure."
Martin Truex Jr. said he doesn’t know if not having a Daytona 500 win would feel like a void on his resume. He hopes to never find out. His outlook as he tries to earn his first Daytona 500 victory: pic.twitter.com/2jvIfyBaNZ
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 9, 2024
A lot of luck goes into winning the Daytona 500, and Truex hasn't had any luck at a superspeedway in his Cup career, as he hasn't won a race at Daytona, Talladega or even Atlanta.
His best 500 finish in the Daytona 500 came in 2016 when he lost by a mere 0.010 seconds to teammate Denny Hamlin.
Truex will try again this weekend, but if it isn't meant to be, so be it. He's won a lot of races and a championship. What else can you ask for?
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