Before Friday night's 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season-opening Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway, the most recent Truck Series race to be contested without Matt Crafton in the field was the O'Reilly 400 at Texas Motor Speedway, contested on Friday, October 13 during the late Greg Biffle's championship-winning 2000 season.
Crafton, who landed his first full-time ride with SealMaster Racing (now ThorSport Racing) for the 2001 season, announced during the 2025 season that it would be his 25th and final season as a full-time driver in the Truck Series.
The 49-year-old Tulare, California native is a three-time Truck Series champion and a 15-time race winner. He spent the first three years of his career with SealMaster Racing before spending the 2004 season with Kevin Harvick Incorporated. He returned to ThorSport Racing in 2005, beginning a 21-year run with the team.
Daytona opener snaps 25-year, 592-race streak
Crafton drove the No. 88 truck in all 495 of those races over 21 years, representing each of Chevrolet, Toyota, and Ford along the way.
Including his three-year stint with the team in the early 2000s, he spent 566 races behind the wheel of a No. 88 truck throughout his career. Just one of his races with the team came in the No. 98 truck, that being the 2003 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He drove Kevin Harvick Incorporated's No. 6 Chevrolet during the 26-race 2004 season.
Ty Majeski, who had driven the No. 98 Ford for the team, took over for Crafton behind the wheel of the No. 88 Ford for the 2026 season. His start in Friday night's season opener, which he finished fourth after taking pole, marked the first time somebody other than Crafton had driven the No. 88 truck since Tracy Hines replaced Crafton at ThorSport Racing for the 2004 season.
Ben Rhodes has remained behind the wheel of the No. 99 Ford, and Jake Garcia has moved from the No. 13 Ford to the No. 98 Ford. Rookie Cole Butcher is effectively Crafton's true replacement, having taken over from Garcia behind the wheel of the No. 13 Ford.
Crafton has said that he plans on running a part-time schedule for ThorSport Racing during the 2026 season, but his schedule has not been confirmed.