As he joins the broadcast booth for Amazon Prime’s Cup Series broadcast from Michigan, Martin Truex Jr.will return to the track after a two-year absence from the Cup Series. But the circumstances of his return are not what he would have wanted. His excitement for the race is buried under nostalgia and the weight of missing his old friend Kyle Busch. And he couldn’t help but share with everyone one such memory with Busch that still makes him smile.
Before the race began, Martin Truex Jr. took everyone on a trip back in time to 2019. He, Hamlin, and Kyle Busch were teammates and were stuck in the New York traffic ahead of the championship race. With time to kill, Truex Jr and Hamlin came up with a challenge for Busch, a $300 bet that he couldn’t get out of the car and run all the way to the hotel before they arrived. Busch didn’t hesitate. He got out of the car into the chaos of the city, and he somehow beat them to the hotel. As for the money Busch owed, he did get it back except not the way he would have liked it. He came to a bed full of pennies! Sure, that was a prank, but it was a reflection of who Kyle Busch was in a nutshell. And that Martin Truex Jr still cherishes. “It was one of my favorite memories from Kyle Busch away from the racetrack. You know, we had a lot of great memories, obviously, on the racetrack in battles,” Truex revealed in Michigan. “Obviously, we raced in 2005 against each other for a championship. But Kyle off the racetrack, whom I got to know over the years, was just a lot of fun, and you just saw him right there.” “It was classic Kyle. He just wanted to pull one over on everybody and come out going, ‘Hahaha, I won the deal. I outsmarted you guys, so.’ Obviously thinking about his family and miss Kyle. He was one of a kind, a special guy, and a great friend.” As for Kyle Busch, well, he cheekily mentioned he might “wreck” them for that prank. Classic Rowdy.
That said, Truex and Busch go back further than JGR, further even than the Cup Series. Not many people know it, but the two were originally slated to share the Chance 2 Motorsports car in 2004, until Hendrick Motorsports came in with a full-time offer for Busch. As Busch himself explained it: “Him and I actually came in at the same time. Not many people really know it, but he and I were slated to share the Chance 2 car together. Then when I got my opportunity at Hendrick [Motorsports], that give him the full-time opportunity in the #8 Busch car and me in the #5 Busch car.” That chain of events is what sent them in opposite directions in 2004, and into a championship battle against each other, which Truex won. And by the time they became Cup champions, Busch in 2015 and 2019, Truex in 2017, they had been measuring themselves against each other for the better part of two decades. Busch summed up that dynamic once pretty well. “I hate him,” Busch admitted at Sonoma Raceway in 2019. “I mean, yeah, I guess you could say there are sibling rivalries, there are teammate rivalries, whatever you want to call it. Truex and I have always had a good relationship with one another, ever since the Xfinity Series days when we were rookies together … “Now he’s on my team, and I know he’s got the same stuff, so no excuses.… He’s one of the best here. Year in, year out, he’s kind of the guy to beat. In the last few years he’s been the guy to beat.” Martin Truex Jr also talked about the more recent moment at Michigan, where he praised Hamlin for his tribute to Kyle Busch after winning the NASCAR Cup Series race and matching Busch’s career win total. “It was special to see. You could just feel the energy,” Martin Truex Jr. said on the Prime Video broadcast. “You could feel the crowd going crazy for that. Denny said it perfectly- a great tribute. Everybody is thinking about Samantha [Busch] and their family. What they’ve been through is just horrific. We’re all thinking about them, but man, Denny is just on fire. What can you do right now?” But besides Kyle Busch, there is another personality that Martin Truex Jr. couldn’t help but talk about.
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A memory of a lifetime and a chance like no other
Martin Truex Jr. will be sharing the broadcast booth with his friend, Dale Earnhardt Jr., for Amazon Prime. Their friendship is one of the long-standing bonds of the NASCAR Cup Series. Dale Jr. played a particularly important role in Truex’s career. First, he helped Truex settle into NASCAR by renting out his house to him in North Carolina.
Later, he lobbied for Truex Jr. and helped him earn a seat with Chance 2 Motorsports for the 2004 and 2005 Busch Series seasons. Truex Jr. repaid his kindness with two titles in 2004 and 2005. Yet, even today, he cannot help but feel grateful towards Dale Jr.
“I always tell people I feel like I owe you something for giving me my big chance. Honestly, staying busy—it’s crazy how many things I found to keep me busy when I am not racing,” Truex thanked Dale before continuing with details about his post-NASCAR life. After he retired from the sport in 2024, Truex Jr. was rarely seen on track or on broadcasts. But what was he busy doing?
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“I’ve been doing a lot of fishing. Probably drank a few too many beers, my shirt’s a little tight today,” Truex said.
As he mentioned, he seems pretty busy fishing and having the time of his life as he discovers other interests besides stock car racing.
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