Matt Crafton: Three-Time Truck Champion and ThorSport's Longest-Serving Driver

Matt Crafton is an American former full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver who won the championship in 2013, 2014 and 2019. He holds the record for the most Truck Series starts, and his run of 592 consecutive starts is the most by an active driver. He stepped back from full-time competition after the 2025 season.

Crafton spent almost his entire Truck career with ThorSport Racing, driving the No. 88 with longtime sponsor Menards. The only exception came in 2004, when he drove for Kevin Harvick Incorporated. He is regarded as one of the greatest drivers in the series' history, a view that rests on three titles, a long record of consistency and some of the most durable results in the sport.

How did Crafton start racing?

Crafton was born in Tulare, California, on June 11, 1976. He began go-karting at seven, after receiving a kart as a gift for finishing kindergarten. He won multiple national and regional kart championships before moving to midgets at fifteen, where he won twenty main events.

In 1996 he substituted for his injured father, Danny Crafton, in the Featherlite Southwest Series, driving the No. 46 for the final three races of the season. He took over the car full-time in 1997. A 1998 appearance in the Winter Heat Series at Tucson Raceway Park, shown on ESPN, brought him national attention, and he raced against several NASCAR drivers there. After four full-time seasons, he won the Featherlite Southwest championship in 2000 with four wins.

A Truck veteran who kept one team and one number for a quarter century, then won three titles with a winless season among them.

What were Crafton's early ThorSport seasons like?

Crafton made his Truck Series debut at the 2000 season finale at California Speedway, qualifying 17th and finishing ninth in the PickupTruck.com Chevrolet for ThorSport. He then drove the No. 88 full-time from 2001, with eleven top-ten finishes and twelfth in the standings. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Ricky Hendrick and Travis Kvapil.

Menards joined as an associate sponsor in 2002, and that season he recorded six top-tens and finished 15th in points. In 2003 he earned eleven top-tens and finished 11th. He then left ThorSport in 2004 to drive the No. 6 GM Goodwrench Silverado for Kevin Harvick Incorporated, where he posted six top-five finishes and 17 top-tens and ended the season fifth in the standings.

He returned to ThorSport in 2005 and won his first career pole at New Hampshire International Speedway. That season he had two top-fives and ten top-tens, finishing ninth. In 2006 he added four top-fives and ten top-tens for a 14th-place finish, and in 2007 he improved to eighth in points with ten top-tens for the third straight year.

When did Crafton win his first Truck race?

His first Truck win came on May 16, 2008, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, in his 178th start. That start count was a series record for the most starts made before a first win. The win moved him into the top five in points that season, and he later filled in for Robby Gordon in practice at Homestead, qualifying for a Cup event as a substitute while Gordon was busy in the season's final off-road race.

In 2009 he did not win but recorded two poles at Chicagoland and Texas, 11 top-five finishes and 21 top-tens, finishing second in the standings behind Ron Hornaday. In 2010 he earned a pole at Texas and finished fourth in points with ten top-fives and 20 top-tens.

In 2011 he won his second career race at Iowa Speedway and earned poles at Michigan International Speedway and at Martinsville, where he set a new track qualifying record. Four DNFs, caused by engine failures, mechanical trouble and accidents involving other drivers, held him to eighth in the standings. In 2012 the team switched from Chevrolet to Toyota, and he finished sixth in points.

How did Crafton win three championships?

Crafton's 2013 title came after a third career win at Kansas in April. From that race onward he held the points lead for the rest of the year, finishing in the top ten in the first sixteen races and 19 overall. His worst finish was 21st in the season finale at Homestead, where he clinched the championship. He became the first driver to complete every lap of a Truck Series season. He also made three Nationwide Series starts for Richard Childress Racing that year, finishing third at Kentucky, tenth at Chicagoland and third in the second Kentucky race.

In 2014 he won at Martinsville for his fourth Truck victory, then used fuel strategy to win at Texas on June 6. On November 14, 2014, he became the first back-to-back Truck champion. Earlier that season he had crashed out at Dover and Gateway, his first DNFs in more than two years, and still went on to take the title. The 2015 season brought six wins, more than his entire career total before that year, including a Homestead finale from pole, but he finished third in points behind Erik Jones and Tyler Reddick. He also crashed out at Gateway for the second year running after tangling with John Hunter Nemechek, and later at Pocono after contact with Brad Keselowski.

Crafton's 2016 season included back-to-back wins at Dover and Charlotte, eight days apart, and in 2017 he won at Eldora on July 19 for his 14th career win. In the 2017 NextEra Energy Resources 250 he was leading on the final lap when Ben Rhodes clipped him, sending his truck airborne into a flip before it landed on its wheels. His 2019 title was a historic one. He went winless that season, yet he won the championship, becoming the first driver in series history to claim a title without a win in the season. At Homestead he finished second to Austin Hill, two spots ahead of Ross Chastain, to clinch the crown.

What were the later years of Crafton's career like?

After 2019 his results became less consistent. He went winless in 2018, finishing sixth in points after a second place at Dover, and in 2021 he returned to the Championship 4 without winning. In 2023 he made the playoffs without a win but was eliminated at Kansas. In 2024 he failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since they were introduced to the Truck Series in 2016.

He broke a 67-race winless streak on July 25, 2020, with a win at Kansas Speedway, his third victory there. That was his only win that season. In 2021 he finished fourth in points after late-race chaos at Martinsville helped him. In 2022 he held off Derek Kraus for the final playoff spot and finished ninth in points with two top-fives.

In 2023 Crafton attacked Nick Sanchez in the garage after a multi-truck crash at Talladega. The penalties were $25,000 for Crafton and $5,000 for Sanchez.

What are Crafton's main milestones and records?

Crafton's career set several records, both individually and for his team. The table below lists the key milestones that define his time at ThorSport and in the series.

Crafton's team milestones mattered as much as his own. In August 2011 he and teammate Johnny Sauter started ThorSport Racing's 354th race with at least one entry in the field, beating Roush Fenway Racing's previous record of 353.

What did Crafton do after 2025?

Crafton announced in August 2025 that he would retire from full-time competition after that season, and his ThorSport teammate Ty Majeski took over the No. 88 for 2026. Crafton said in December 2025 that he would return for five to ten part-time races in 2026 in a different ThorSport truck.

Outside the Truck Series, Crafton made Cup starts as a substitute for Menards' Cup teams. In 2015 he took over for Kyle Busch at the Daytona 500 and finished 18th after starting 43rd. In 2019 he ran the First Data 500 at Martinsville for Front Row Motorsports and finished 25th. He returned to the Cup Series in 2023 to replace Cody Ware at the Food City Dirt Race.

He also raced in other formats. In 2012 he finished third in the TORC PRO 2WD race at Chicagoland, supported by Travis Pastrana. In 2014 he took pole for the IWK 250 at Riverside International Speedway in Nova Scotia and finished tenth. In 2019 he took part in the Michelin Pilot Challenge at Sebring for Multimatic Motorsports.

What is Crafton's place in Truck Series history?

Crafton's record shows three titles, the most starts in the series and a single-team career, which together place him among the most accomplished drivers the series has produced. His 2013 and 2014 titles came back to back, and his 2019 championship came without a win.

Few drivers have combined a long run of starts with championship form, and his durability mattered as much as his speed. He was often the steady presence at the front of a season, which is why his name recurs in the series' records.

How did Menards sponsorship lead to Crafton's Cup appearances?

Menards' sponsorship of Crafton gave him spot duty with Paul Menard's Cup teams. He stood in for Menard's No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet twice in 2014, and he was on standby to relieve Menard at Las Vegas that March while Menard was on paternity leave.

At January 2014 Daytona testing, Crafton stood in after a pipe burst in Menard's house, and he was third fastest with a speed of 312.763 km/h (194.342 mph). Later he qualified Menard's car at the Auto Club 400, starting 30th.

At Talladega in 2019 he was on standby to drive Menard's No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford while Menard dealt with neck pain. Menard ran the first stage before Crafton relieved him for the rest of the race, and Crafton finished 14th despite a multi-car wreck on lap 163.