TRUCKS: Matt Crafton, 3-Time Champion, Retiring From Full-Time in 2026

Matt Crafton, who has built a racing legacy behind the wheel of the No. 88 ThorSport Racing entry in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, will step away from full-time racing in the series following the 2025 season.

According to a statement from ThorSport Racing on Monday morning, Ty Majeski, the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, will take the reins of the team's flagship No. 88 entry in 2026.

“ThorSport Racing announces a new chapter for its storied No. 88 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series entry,” the team said in its statement. “Three-time series champion Matt Crafton will complete his full-time role after the 2025 season. His 23-year partnership with Menards is the longest-running driver/pri mary sponsor relationship in NASCAR history. Teammate and 2024 series champion, Ty Majeski, will pilot the No. 88 full-time in 2026.”

Crafton, who has competed full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series since the 2001 season, has competed as the driver of the No. 88 ThorSport Racing entry in 24 of those 25 years. Crafton spent one season behind the wheel of the No. 6 entry for Kevin Harvick, Incorporated in 2004.

While the 49-year-old has seven races left in his storied run in the iconic No. 88 Menards truck, Crafton has amassed 15 victories, 135 top-five finishes, and 331 top-10s in 585 starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Crafton, who hails from Tulare, California, made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA, in October 2000. Crafton started 17th and finished ninth in his series debut.

In 2014, Crafton became the first, and to date, only bac k-to-back champion in the history of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and in 2019, the driver secured his third and final NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title, despite having a winless season that year.

Crafton scored his most recent win at Kansas Speedway in July 2020.

The veteran racer reached the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs in 2021, 2022, and 2023 despite not recording a victory, but failed to clinch a Playoff berth last season, and will not compete in the Playoffs this year after a 26th-place result this past weekend at Richmond Raceway.

Majeski, 31, who is set to take over the flagship No. 88 ride in 2026, has racked up six victories since moving to ThorSport Racing full-time in 2022. Majeski is currently seeking to defend his championship from a season ago as he is one of the 10 drivers who advanced to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs this season.

If Majeski can end the season with the championship, he'll match Crafton as the only drivers in the history of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to score back-to-back championships.