Matt Crafton, three-time Truck Series champion, to 'conclude' full-time NASCAR career

2025 will mark the end of an era for Matt Crafton in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, as he will conclude his career after Phoenix. Crafton, a three-time champion, has been sponsored by Menards for 23 years on the track, the longest-running driver/sponsor partnership ever.

Matt Crafton has had a storied career in NASCAR. A Truck Series lifer, he made the most of it. Now, at 49, Crafton is stepping back from racing full-time.

ThorSport has announced that Ty Majeski will take over the No. 88 truck for the 2026 season. One champion replaces another.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE pic.twitter.com/hsw2m2XoRF

— ThorSport Racing (@ThorSportRacing) August 18, 2025

“ThorSport Racing today announced a new chapter for its storied No. 88 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series entry,” the organization said in a press release. “Three-time series champion Matt Crafton will conclude his full-time driving career after the 2025 season. His 23-year partnership with Menards stands as the longest-running driver/primary sponsor relationship in NASCAR history. Beginning in 2026, teammate and 2024 series champion Ty Majeski will take the wheel of the No. 88 full-time.

“In his 26th year behind the wheel of the No. 88, Crafton – champion in 2013, 2014, and 2019 – ranks second all-time in series championships and remains the only driver to secure back-to-back titles. His remarkable longevity is highlighted by the most consecutive Truck Series starts, projected to exceed 560 by 2025. Crafton also ranks among the series’ best in wins (15), top-10 finishes (328+), poles (16), and laps led (2,716). A West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame inductee, Crafton is a cornerstone of ThorSport’s legacy.”

So, the end of an era. Matt Crafton started in the Truck Series so long ago. Now, he’s concluding his career at the end of the 2025 season.

Time has come for Matt Crafton to retire

With Matt Crafton’s last Truck Series win coming back in 2020, it is obvious that he isn’t the driver that he used to be. Last season, he only managed a single top-five finish. This year, he has only three top-10 finishes, and even at tracks where he would usually excel, he has struggled.

From 2013 to 2016, Crafton was the driver to beat in the Truck Series. At least, it felt that way. Those years when ThorSport was with Toyota were the best of his career. The 2015 season didn’t end in a championship, but he won six races in a 23-race season.

Crafton has had frustrating moments in recent years. He allegedly jumped Nick Sanchez after a race at Talladega in 2023. He’s had moments that definitely aren’t the most proud. But Crafton is one of these old-school, blue-collar drivers who helped define the Truck Series over the last two decades.

While I’m not sure Matt Crafton will ever make the NASCAR Hall of Fame, he has the trophies and wins to make him one of the best lifers ever in the Truck Series. He can walk away knowing he did all he could in the series.