NASCAR: ThorSport Racing ends agreement with Toyota

Toyota and ThorSport Racing have mutually agreed to part ways just one month before the 2018 season is set to begin for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

ThorSport Racing have been on top of the world of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the past six seasons. Led by Matt Crafton, who has won two series titles, the team have found great success from a partnership with Toyota. However, that relationship has ended fairly abruptly and somewhat surprisingly on Tuesday, when the team and manufacturer mutually parted ways.

Per multiple reports, the team and Toyota will not continue their relationship, despite the 2018 season being now just a month away. The team has not confirmed who their new manufacturer partner will be, however speculation will be that Chevrolet could once again partner with the organization as they have in the past. Matt Crafton is also the only assumed driver thus far to be back with ThorSport in the new season.

Already other dominoes have begun to fall within the ThorSport lineup, which could lead to changes for the upcoming season. Cody Coughlin has left the organization and will race instead with GMS Racing in 2018, while both Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes remain unconfirmed for the upcoming season. Rhodes is widely expected to remain with the team despite losing primary sponsor Safelite to Kyle Busch Motorsports, thanks to his qualifying for the playoffs and one victory in 2017.

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If Chevrolet is not the new manufacturer partner for ThorSport Racing in 2018, then Ford would appear to be the only outlet remaining. The blue ovals had solely run with Ricky Benton Racing and Brad Keselowski Racing in 2017, but BKR has shut their doors after the season. This would leave only one Ford truck in 2018, with little to no backing from Detroit. It is possible that ThorSport could remain fluid with their manufacturer partner until a new OEM joins the series in 2020, like Dodge or Nissan.

The separation from Toyota for ThorSport could also signal the beginning of the “spec” era in the Camping World Truck Series. It is no secret that the series was testing a uniform “crate” engine in 2017 and could introduce that further for the new year. It could also mark a move away from manufacturers as an effective way to cut costs and budgets in a series with declining truck counts.

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Who do you think ThorSport Racing will partner with, if anyone? Who will be driving for the organization during the 2018 season?

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