Grant Enfinger to race part-time; ThorSport partners with Toyota

SANDUSKY — Grant Enfinger is a former NASCAR Truck Series champion and won a career-best four races last year for ThorSport Racing. He has an impressive résumé, but Enfinger will be racing the 2021 season in a part-time role. "It is a demotion to be running part-time, but it's part of it," Enfinger said on a conference call Thursday. "The whole racing deal is a rollercoaster of emotions. It's not the first time something like this has happened. I'm gonna go in with an open mind. I feel we can go out and win a lot of races this year." Enfinger, 36, will split time in the No. 98 truck with Christian Eckes, who had three second-place finishes last year racing for Kyle Busch Motorsports. It was the 20-year-old's first full season in the series. ThorSport also announced Thursday that it will partner with Toyota Racing for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, which begins Feb. 12 at Daytona International Speedway. Eckes, who ran part-time for Busch in 2018 and 2019, has raced only Toyotas since he joined the truck series. He said he visited ThorSport Racing in December after a couple options in November didn't work out. Busch replaced Eckes with Chandler Smith after the 2020 season. "I knew there was some kind of possibility there, but up until probably two or three weeks ago I didn't even know if I was racing or doing something else," said Eckes. "I'm very grateful for the opportunity and hope to take advantage of it." Eckes, who made the playoffs last year, is tentatively set to run 10 races in the No. 98 with his first race at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course on Feb. 19. The team will be led by Jeriod Prince as he moves into crew chief position from the No. 88 truck. Enfinger, who is in his fifth season with ThorSport, will run in the series opener and then again March 20 in Atlanta. "It's a little bittersweet because I love it here at ThorSport Racing," he said. "(Owner) Duke Thorson has done a lot for me that he hasn't had to do. "It's still a great situation. We've got a great team behind us. We're very capable of winning races. It's gonna be some off weekends so hopefully I can fill them up somehow." Sponsorship plays a big role in racing, and Enfinger was asked about that aspect of the sport. He mentioned that major sponsor Champion Power Equipment is on board for seven races this year, down from 11 in 2020. "It's a tough time right now to put all these deals together and go racing," Enfinger said. "As much as it's a competition-based sport it's also a business." The rest of the ThorSport's driver roster returns intact: -- Johnny Sauter, the 2016 truck series champion, will drive the No. 13 Toyota Tundra. His crew chief is Joe Shear Jr. -- Three-time series champion Matt Crafton returns to the No. 88 Toyota. Carl Joiner Jr. will lead the team as crew chief. Crafton won one race last year. -- Ben Rhodes, who also won one race in 2020, is back behind the wheel of the No. 99 Toyota. Rich Lushes takes over as crew chief following his move from the No. 13 truck chief position. "This is a great team with an impressive lineup of drivers," said Paul Doleshal, Group Manager for Motorsports, Toyota Motor North America. "Our previous relationship yielded success in the form of race wins and two driver championships for Matt Crafton. We're looking forward to working with the team again and adding to our accolades together as we focus in on contending for Toyota's 12th Truck Series manufacturer's title." ThorSport has raced under the Ford banner the last three years. It was a Toyota team from 2012-17. Crafton won titles in 2013 and 2014 for ThorSport in a Toyota. He was the 2019 series champ in a Ford. The 44-year-old from California fully supports the move back to Toyota. "I was a very big supporter in going back to Toyota," said Crafton. "All the tools they give you are unreal, and that's why we were as successful as we were in the past. I'm ecstatic."