ThorSport Racing

ThorSport Racing is an American^[1] professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team was founded in 1996 as SealMaster Racing and is based in Sandusky, Ohio. Owned by Duke Thorson and his wife Rhonda, it currently fields five teams: the No. 13 for Jake Garcia, the No. 66 part-time mainly for Conner Jones, No. 88 for Matt Crafton, the No. 98 for Ty Majeski, and the No. 99 for Ben Rhodes. The team has won five Truck Series championships, three (2013, 2014, 2019) with Crafton, and two with Rhodes (2021 and 2023).^[2] The team is also the longest continually tenured team in the truck series, having fielded at least one truck in every season since 1996.

Nationwide Series

Car No. 13 history

In 2008, ThorSport Racing made their

In 1998, ThorSport Racing, at the time SealMaster Racing, fielded the No. 8 truck at Mesa Marin for Jerry Cook. Cook started 34th before retiring from the race and finishing 32nd.

The No. 8 was once again fielded by the team in 1999 at Phoenix for Joe Ruttman.

Truck No. 8 results

Truck No. 13 history

Multiple Drivers (2004–2005)

The No. 13 truck began racing in 2004, with

Kerry Earnhardt drove for ThorSport Racing during the 2006 season, his best finish being 11th which he recorded twice, at Nashville and Las Vegas.

Willie Allen (2007)

Earnhardt not retained for

Shelby Howard (2008)

Shelby Howard had two top-tens as well in the BobCat Company/FarmPaint.com Chevy, but finished seventeenth in points, and was released.

Johnny Sauter (2009–2012)

Meanwhile, the No. 13 was taken over by Cameron Hayley, with Cabinets by Hayley signing to sponsor the ride. Hayley returned to the ride in 2016.^[6] Hayley would have a dismal season, with not making it to the Chase and worse point standings finish than last year.

Cody Coughlin (2017)

Hayley did not return for 2017. He would be replaced by Cody Coughlin for 2017. Coughlin finished 14th in points, which lead to him being released after the 2017 season.

Myatt Snider (2018)

Coughlin was released and replaced by Myatt Snider for the 2018 season. Snider would go on to record 3 top 5s and 8 top 10s which would be good enough for a 9th-place points finish for the rookie driver.

Johnny Sauter (2019–2021)

Only a few days before the truck series season opener at Daytona, it was announced that Johnny Sauter would once again make a return to the team for the 2019 season.

In 2001, Lance Hooper drove a second ThorSport truck at Milwaukee, the No. 22.

Truck No. 22 results

Truck No. 27 history

Ben Rhodes (2017)

In 2017, it was announced that Ben Rhodes would move from the 41 to the 27 to run full-time with a full-season sponsor in Safelite AutoGlass. He held off Truck Series champion Christopher Bell to win his first race at Las Vegas and finished 5th in the point standings. For 2018, Rhodes moved back into the 41.

Part-time (2018–2019)

On July 16, 2018 Chase Briscoe joined forces with ThorSport Racing and won the 2018 Eldora Dirt Derby in his first race in a NASCAR truck since 2017.

For the 2019 NextEra Energy 250, Myatt Snider drove the No. 27 Ford F-150 at Daytona and Martinsville.

Chase Briscoe returned to the No. 27 for the 2019 Eldora Dirt Derby. After leading the majority of the race and winning the first two stages, a late crash lead to a seventh-place finish.

Truck No. 27 results

Truck No. 41 history

On December 15, 2015, Ben Rhodes joined the team in a new fourth truck with sponsorship from Alpha Energy Solutions, the truck being numbered 41.^[15] He recorded two top-fives and five top-tens.^[16] He had a shot to win at Kansas Speedway until he tangled with Johnny Sauter on the last lap, leading to a William Byron win.^[17]

The 41 truck returned for 2018 with Rhodes as the driver, scoring a win at Kentucky Speedway in the summer.

Truck No. 41 results

Truck No. 66 history

Part-time (2021)

In 2021, Ty Majeski was scheduled to drive at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway in the No. 66 truck. Later, retired driver Paul Menard would return to the series by driving at Circuit of the Americas. Majeski would drive an additional race at Pocono Raceway. Paul Menard returned to compete at Watkins Glen.

Ty Majeski (2022)

It was announced that Ty Majeski would drive the No. 66 full time in the 2022. He made the playoffs by staying consistent with seven top-fives and ten top-10 finishes. During the playoffs, Majeski won at Bristol and Homestead to lock himself in the Championship 4.^[20] Majeski finished 20th at Phoenix after a late spin, resulting in a fourth place finish in the standings.^[21]

Part-time (2023–present)

With Ty Majeski moving to the No. 98 entry, the No. 66 was reduced to a part-time entry with Conner Jones at the wheel for nine races. Joey Logano dominated the Bristol dirt race by leading 138 of 150 laps before taking the checkered flag.^[22]

Truck No. 66 results

Truck No. 87 history

Part-time (2006)

In 2006, ThorSport fielded the No. 87 truck for driver Willie Allen.

Truck No. 87 results

Truck No. 88 history

Part-time (1996–1997)

The No. 88 truck was the first out of the ThorSport stable. Debuting in the 1996 season at the Milwaukee Mile, Terry Cook finished 12th in the race for the team, which was then known as Sealmaster Racing. He ran two additional races in the truck that season but did not finish better than 21st. Cook drove a limited schedule with the team in 1997 in the PBA Tour Chevy. Despite not finishing in the top-ten, Cook won his first career pole at Flemington Speedway, and finished 24th in the final standings.

Terry Cook (1999–2000)

The team received enough funding to compete full-time in 1998, and Cook won his first career race at Flemington, but only improved to a twentieth-place points finish. ThorSport began the 1999 season without primary sponsorship before Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce joined the operation late in the season, allowing Cook to finish 15th in points. In 2000, PickupTruck.com became the team's new sponsor, and Cook had a total of eight top-ten finishes but was replaced in the final event of the season by Matt Crafton, who finished ninth.

Matt Crafton (2001–2003)

In 2004, rookie Tracy Hines became the team's new driver, and he posted three top-ten finishes and finished eighteenth in points.

Matt Crafton (2005–present)

Crafton returned to the 88 for 2005, winning his first career pole at

On March 30, 2014, Crafton scored his fourth career Truck win at Martinsville.^[25] On June 6, he won on fuel strategy at Texas Motor Speedway to win two races in a season for the first time in his career. It was also the first time he led more than 100 laps in a race. Despite crashing out at Dover and Gateway, his first DNFs in over two years, and dropping to 17 top tens, Crafton would ultimately go on to become the first back-to-back champion in the Truck Series.

Crafton would score his sixth career victory on February 28, 2015, in the

Crafton went on to conclude 2016 & 2017 with runner-up and fourth-place showings in the final point standings respectively under the new "Playoffs" system.

Crafton finished 6th in the 2018 standings despite being winless for the first time since 2012.

Despite also concluding 2019 without winning a race, Crafton made his third-ever Championship 4 appearance and beat out Ross Chastain by two spots to claim his third career Truck Series Championship.

On February 21, 2020, the No. 88 team was docked 10 owner and driver points before the

Crafton did not make the playoffs easily in 2022, as he had to hold off Derek Kraus for the final spot, which he succeeded at doing. He was eliminated at Kansas and finished ninth in the final standings.

Crafton once again made the playoffs in 2023 without winning a race, but was eliminated again at Kansas. Following the Talladega fall race, Crafton attacked Nick Sanchez in the garage area as a result of an on-track incident when both of their trucks made contact with each other, triggering a multi-truck pileup.^[26] NASCAR fined Crafton $25,000 and Sanchez $5,000 for the fight.^[27]

Truck No. 88 results

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

Truck No. 89 history

Part-time (2017)

This truck entered in the 2017 Eldora Dirt Derby, with Rico Abreu driving.

Truck No. 89 results

Truck No. 98 history

Part-time (2002–2003, 2009–2012)

ThorSport first fielded the 98 truck at the

In 2010, the 98 ran at Daytona with Landon Cassill and EasytoInstall.com, but wrecked early in the race. The 98 returned in 2011 with Penske development driver Dakoda Armstrong behind the wheel with sponsorship from Ferrellgas and Argisure for 7 races. Armstrong later joined ThorSport for the 2012 season to make a run at Rookie of the Year. However, the team's EverFi sponsorship would only last for the first 14 races, forcing the team to release Armstrong before the fall race at Iowa and shut the team down.

Johnny Sauter (2013–2015)

The 98 returned for 2013 with Johnny Sauter swapping numbers. The team took back-to-back wins at Daytona and Martinsville but suffered a setback when crew chief Joe Shear Jr. was handed a suspension from NASCAR due to a fuel cell issue. Despite Shear's return at Iowa, he would later resign from ThorSport after the Eldora race, citing disagreements over the team being based in Ohio rather than North Carolina. Sauter would nonetheless win his third race of 2013 at Talladega, sweeping the restrictor plate events in the Truck Series. He would finish fourth in final points. Sauter returned to the 98 in 2014. He dropped to just one win, at Michigan, but was a championship contender throughout much of the season before fading back to equal his fourth-place points finish from 2013. Sauter ran the Truck again in 2015, but announced late in the season that he would be leaving for GMS Racing in 2016.

Rico Abreu (2016)

Rico Abreu would replace Sauter in the 2016 season. Abreu posted 2 Top 5s and 5 Top 10s and finished 13th in points.^[55]

Grant Enfinger (2017–2020)

Abreu lost his ride after the 2016 season due to a lack of sponsorship.^[56] He would be replaced by Grant Enfinger for 2017.^[57] Enfinger missed the playoffs and finished 11th in points. 2018 saw a more successful year for Enfinger, as he made the playoffs with his strength throughout the regular season and won the fall Las Vegas race, advancing to the Round of 6. He missed the Championship 4 but finished 5th in points.

On February 21, 2020, the No. 98 team was docked 10 owner and driver points before the

In 2021, it was announced Enfinger and Christian Eckes would split the schedule in the #98, with Enfinger driving the races he did not have scheduled in the 98 for CR7 Motorsports. Eckes won at the Las Vegas night race.

Christian Eckes (2022)

Eckes would drive the truck full-time in 2022. In 2022, Eckes would run up front at numerous races and made the playoffs despite not having a win. At the Round of 8 cutoff in