Toyota GAZOO Racing – Ryan Truex
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
MEXICO CITY (June 13, 2025) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ryan Truex was made available to the media on Friday prior to this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
RYAN TRUEX, No. 11 Yahoo Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Can you talk about your preparation for this opportunity?
“It’s been a crazy few weeks – especially since Charlotte, I’ve been on standby. I’m glad it is at a track where I can practice and have time and know what to do to. I found out on Wednesday night, so it has been kind of chaotic getting here and putting all of that together, but I’m just grateful for the experience and grateful to be here. Really just want to enjoy it. I don’t really have any set goals or expectations – I just want to enjoy the weekend. I’m driving a Cup car for Joe Gibbs at an international race – this is not something I ever dreamed of doing, just want to take it all in and have a good time.”
Can you take us through what you’ve went through since Wednesday?
“I’ve been at the track – like I said – every weekend since Charlotte, and Charlotte, Nashville, Michigan was more precautionary than anything. Michigan was when it started to get close – I felt like there was a pretty good chance I was going to be in the car at some point, but yeah, their due date was during the Michigan race and that week leading into Mexico – I don’t have kids. I don’t know how any of it works. I don’t what happens, when it is supposed to happen, so I’m just kind of hanging on waiting for the call yes or no. Every time (Chris) Gayle (crew chief) would text me, my heart would stop and be like is it a yes or no, and every time it was a maybe. So, that definitely fuels the anxiety a little bit when you don’t know what is going on and what is going to happen. I’ve been prepping every week. Preparing like I’m going to be in the car, and yeah, found out on Wednesday night and flew out on Thursday. So, it was a quick turnaround, but everyone made it happen and we made it here.”
First Cup race since 2014. What does it mean to be back in a Cup car?
“My last time in Cup was not a fun experience. It didn’t go well for me. I didn’t enjoy it. That was probably not the right move for me, career-wise, and I’ve kind of been fighting back since then. I enjoy everything I do at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). I’ve been able to race part time the last couple of years, and do all of this stuff away from the track. It has been nice. It has been fun to race part-time and have some Saturdays at home, but it is also fun to be at the track, so I feel like I’ve had a good balance the last few years and the Cup cars then are so different than what they are now. I have some experience now with the gen 7 car with some testing and things and doing the sim stuff every single week – I feel like I’ve run a million laps here already the past month. I definitely feel like I’m ready. Like I said, it is good that we have full practice, and I have three sets of tires, and I can work through that, work on pit road, work on my positioning around other cars and race trim. Everyone is kind of on equal footing on that regard, yeah, it should go well, I hope it goes well.”
Is it possible that you have more laps than any other driver on the simulator too?
“I don’t know. Everyone has prepared a lot because no one has been here. It is hard to say. I know I’ve run a lot, and I’ve spent some time with the 11 team this week – with the prep session they usually do with Denny (Hamlin) – I did that with them, so I have a little bit of experience working with them, and made some laps with the setup that we are going to run this weekend. It’s been a lot of laps – it will be interesting to see how close it is, or how far away it is. It’s never one-on-one perfect, but with the limited practice and test time, it is a huge tool for everyone to use, especially at a place like this, so I’m not sure, I probably have the most, but we will see if it translates.”
Do you think muscle memory will click in?
“I plan on using the same brake markers and things like that. I just hope they actually are the same – and not too deep. I would rather be a little more conservative than not, but I guess we will find out.”
Is this kind of the best scenario for you to make this start?
“Yeah, I was definitely more nervous about Charlotte. The idea of jumping in for 600 miles with no practice or anything – just going for it, was a little nerve-wracking, same with Nashville. Michigan – I was pretty comfortable with. I did the test a few months ago, so I did at least have some reps to fall back on. Yeah, I feel like this is the best-case scenario, obviously, I have tracks that I enjoy – Dover, Richmond, New Hampshire – where I feel like I know what I need, but with this car it is a whole different animal. Just the fact that we get practice – we get 50-minutes and then a half-an-hour – that’s huge for me. It is so hard when you just go out for 20 minutes and first of all, know the track, and then be fast. I feel like it always takes a lot to find that last tenth or two. When you only race Xfinity part-time, after a while, when you come back, it is always that last tenth or two that takes a while to find or is hard to find compared to the guys that are doing this every single week. They know what they need and are faster off the bat. I think that is the biggest thing for me – just having practice.”
Is it your seat and are the pedals set for you?
“I mean it is close. It is a little bit of a mismatch because the cars came straight from Michigan and we weren’t sure if this was going to happen. When the car got here, it was set up for Denny (Hamlin), so they are making adjustments after tech. Honestly, I fit pretty well – the pedals are a little far away, so they are going to have to move those. If it was an oval, I could have made deal with how the pedals were, but for a road course, you are going to be braking a lot and throttle modulation, so we need to move those, but for the most part, for all of the JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) guys, I feel like I fit close. Obviously, if it is a 600-mile race, you want to be perfect, because any little pinch point or tight point is going to drive you crazy, but for the most part we should be able to get it close.”
Do you have any memories of Martin’s victory here?
“I watched it on TV, but I remembered watching it. I forget who was driving the 5 car – he was really, really fast, and something happened to him and he was trying to come back and he was trying to run Martin (Truex Jr.) down, and I got super nervous and I couldn’t really watch. I get really nervous when he races, when he’s leading or going for a win – I don’t have to worry about that now, I guess. I texted him this week when I found out and he said Truex’s are one-for-one in Mexico, so no pressure. I’m glad he could throw that at me (laughter), but he’s been good for advice. I did ask him about Michigan – and he just said a lot of throttle. That was his whole debrief with me – a lot of throttle. What you guys see on TV, that is him. That’s how he is – short and to the point. If I ask him stuff, he will tell me, but I don’t know how much it will translate from 2005.”
Were you rooting for this outcome to be in the car?
“I mean, when you are in this situation, you don’t want anyone to get hurt, or be sick or have something crazy bad happen – like you said this is a good thing. The timing just worked out where we are racing in a different country and it all happened at the same time. It is a great opportunity for me. Like I said, I don’t have a set goal or expectation, I just want to enjoy it, have fun and hope that the result comes.”
Are you aware of the effect that one race could have on your career?
“Yeah, I’ve thought about that. I try not to think about it too much and put too much pressure on myself, because it is really easy to do that and make mistakes. I have a lot of confidence with this group and just JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) as a whole. I feel like it has really been family for me the last few years and they’ve really taken me in and done a lot for me, helped me develop my skills and made me a better driver. I just want to return that investment into a good finish for them.”
Have you talked to Denny and what was that conversation like?
“We’ve seen each other a little bit. I haven’t talked to him about this weekend yet. He’s been pretty preoccupied with the new baby, but we’ve communicated through (Chris) Gayle (crew chief). We did talk before Michigan a little bit – just about Michigan, nothing about Mexico, but I’m sure after practice, once we get some time, we will debrief a little bit and see if he has any advice or not. I’m not sure if he will be watching – I’m sure he will – but I know it is hard to watch someone else drive your car, so I totally understand if he didn’t want to watch, because I’ve been there before too. We will probably debrief and move on from there.”
Were you on a charter or a commercial flight?
“Yeah, no issues. It was all good. All smooth. I get in last night, had a good sleep, got used to the elevation and I’m ready to go.”
Did you go through Toyota’s program for the altitude?
“Yeah, I’m there pretty much every week, so I train like I’m racing for that weekend, so I’ve been doing everything to get ready – pretty much for every weekend. Obviously, no one really knows what to expect with the elevation, because none of us have really ever done a race at this elevation before. I did talk to Martin (Truex Jr.) about it and he said he was fine, and I don’t think he’s ever been in the same room as a treadmill (laughter), so I should be good, but I guess we will find out. We are all in the same boat here, but we will see how everyone feels today and go from there.”
What was your favorite part of altitude training?
“It’s nothing crazy honestly.”
So, you didn’t sleep in a tent like Tyler?
“I didn’t sleep in a tent. I didn’t do all of that. I did hear about that. I heard it was really hot – like 90 degrees when you are sleeping in them – so I don’t think I could have physically actually done that. Yeah, I think I’ll be alright. I feel like I’m in good shape, and I feel good so far, so we will see what happens.”
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