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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — “Sorry if I’m not looking at you, I’m putting my shirts up online.”
That’s how Ryan Truex began his interview at Wednesday’s NASCAR Media Tour Presented by Charlotte Motor Speedway.
A new ride in a new series called for a new shirt (Dale Jr. has already confirmed he ordered it), but he didn’t have much time to pull the design together. Up until a few weeks ago, Truex wasn’t even sure he would be driving in 2018. At least not until he inked a deal with Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series.
“In December, I honestly didn’t have anything,” Truex said. “There were a lot of talks and a lot of things going on, but nothing set in stone. Nothing I could talk about. So … it’s come along really quick. Honesty, I’m really, really excited about it.”
The moment you’ve all been waiting for…@Ryan_Truex debuts his new shirt for the 2018 season. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/gUQRx8QBUs
– NASCAR (@NASCAR) January 24, 2018
Truex wasn’t convinced the deal would come through until the moment he signed the contract with Kaluig Racing the night before the announcement Jan. 9. Despite dubbing himself “pessimistic” when it comes to aspects of his career, he never doubted that if given the right opportunity, in the right equipment, he could make some noise.
“It’s because I love it,” he said. “This is what I want to do in life, it’s what I feel like I’m best at in life. I want to prove that to everyone who doesn’t think that. I know what I can do, I know what I’m capable of.”
Having a brother like Martin Truex Jr. — who also battled and clawed his way to a championship at the sport’s highest level — to lean on has helps ease Truex’s mind when hit with obstacles on and off the track. It gives him hope … and a different outlook on how to take the bad with the good.
“It’s made it a lot easier for me,” Truex said. “The stuff that I’ve dealt with is nothing compared to what (Martin) and Sherry (Pollex) and all those people (have) dealt with. It puts it in perspective. I can sit around and complain about not having sponsorship or getting overlooked for opportunities or whatever. Once you see him lose his Cup ride and not even know if he’d race anymore … to see Sherry battle through everything. That kind of put it all in perspective for me.”
Both brothers grew up around garages across the country, putting in long hours and working hard for every opportunity afforded to them. Even with a 12-year age gap between Ryan and Martin — Ryan turns 26 in March — the younger Truex always had eyes to follow in his big brother’s footsteps.
This season, Ryan Truex will pilot the No. 11 Chevrolet for Kaluig Racing as a full-time Xfinity driver, his first time competing at that level since 2015, when he had four Xfinity starts. The opportunity, he said, surprised him, despite his ninth-place finish in the 2017 Camping World Truck Series standings.
He has a plan for his approach to this season to minimize pressure and nerves: he’s just going to get behind the wheel and drive.
“… You never know. I know Martin says this a lot: ‘You never know when your last race or your last good opportunity is going to be,’ ” Truex said. “Before this past year, I thought mine was already gone. I thought it had come and gone. Now, I feel like it’s here again. … Honestly, I feel things are going in the right direction. … I guess it’ll work out or it’ll be my farewell tour.”