Beyond the Flag
Fansided

NASCAR: Matt Crafton re-signs with ThorSport Racing for 2018

By Alex Herbst

MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 27: Matt Crafton, driver of the #88 Ideal Doors/Menards Toyota, stands on the grid during practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Texas Roadhouse 200 at Martinsville Speedway on October 27, 2017 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 27: Matt Crafton, driver of the #88 Ideal Doors/Menards Toyota, stands on the grid during practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Texas Roadhouse 200 at Martinsville Speedway on October 27, 2017 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Matt Crafton will return to race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2018 with ThorSport Racing, seeking to add to his championship haul.

He might still be in the hunt for a 2017 title in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, but Matt Crafton has no problem looking ahead to the 2018 season. The familiar territory of ThorSport Racing will keep the veteran driver for at least one more year, with Crafton re-signing with the team to drive the #88 Toyota Tundra once again.

Crafton is a two-time Truck Series champion, and could hoist a third at Homestead-Miami before the end of the 2017 season. He is one of six truckers still in contention for the championship, before two are eliminated at the end of the race at Phoenix. Crafton is one of two drivers representing ThorSport Racing in the playoffs, with Ben Rhodes joining him.

It is also widely expected that longtime primary partner Menards will return to sponsor the #88 truck in 2018. Menards has sponsored Crafton in all but one year of his Truck Series career, when he drove the #6 Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Incorporated. The question will now become what Crafton’s surrounding cast will look like in 2018, with half of the team’s drivers changing between 2016 and 2017.

Here is what Crafton had to say to Motorsport.com’s Lee Spencer about returning to the team in 2018.

"“It’s been an honor to be with ThorSport Racing. I’ve always said I’d be happy to stay in the truck series and end my career in the truck series because it’s just awesome racing. I truly, truly love it here and with the owners I have, you could never ask for better owners. I’ve worked around and seen a lot of owners come and go, but Duke and Rhonda have always been a man and woman of their words.”"

More from Camping World Truck Series

By far the most veteran driver still competing in the Camping World Truck Series, Crafton has gone fairly quickly from among the crowd to a regular favorite wherever the series travels. He has also been surrounded in recent years by young drivers, who will often lean on the veteran to help improve their driving. The fruits of that labor have panned out in 2017, with Ben Rhodes joining Crafton in the playoffs and notching his first career win at Las Vegas. Expect ThorSport Racing to try to keep Ben Rhodes and sponsor Safelite around again for a 2018 campaign.

The question will be how the other two trucks shape up for ThorSport in 2018. The team expanded to four trucks ahead of the 2016 season, adding full-time rides for Rico Abreu and Ben Rhodes, while re-signing Cameron Hayley.

Next: Denny Hamlin Dumps Chase Elliott, Causes a Ruckus

One year later, Abreu and Hayley are gone, replaced now by ARCA champion Grant Enfinger and Cody Coughlin. While Enfinger has shown flashes of success, nearly making the playoffs himself, Coughlin leaves more to be desired, despite bringing JEGS sponsorship to the table. Are you excited to see Matt Crafton back with ThorSport Racing in 2018? Can he grab his third (and maybe fourth) title in the #88 truck?

Home/Camping World Truck Series