Toyota leadership confirms engine issues after Martin Truex Jr.’s Richmond woes

We sent a TRD ‘fire team’ from our Costa Mesa (Calif.) engine shop to make tuning updates to all our engines heading to Michigan this weekend,” Gibbs said. “We are confident that this remediation step will give us the durability margin we need. Our team partners, including our drivers, remain tremendously supportive.””Our goal and expectation each year is perfect engine reliability. We had only one failure in 2023. TRD takes full accountability for the issues we have had this year, and we have fallen far short of what is acceptable. We will not rest until we regain our form. And rest assured, we will.”

High speeds and good fishing. Those are just two of the things that NASCAR Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. enjoys when he heads up to Michigan.

However, this weekend at Michigan International Speedway, he will be enjoying one of those things for the final time. The New Jersey native will retire from full-time Cup racing after 2024, which likely means Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 will be Truex’s last at MIS.

One of the most unique aspects of MIS is the speed. Unlike Daytona and Talladega, where horsepower is restricted, Michigan allows drivers to push their cars to the limit.

“It’s one of those tracks I’ve always enjoyed,” Truex said in an interview with MLive. “The high speeds … it’s a fun place. It tests everything you have.”

Speeds at the 2-mile, D-shaped oval are the highest of any track in NASCAR.

“It’s crazy fast,” Truex said, with a laugh. “It’s just so big and wide. When you’re watching on TV, it doesn’t look like we’re doing anything, but you go there in person and it’s like, ‘Holy cow.’ I think the fastest speeds we ever ran on any track that I’ve ever been to was at Michigan. I think we were getting over 220 (mph) or something crazy like that.”