ThorSport drivers have 'healthy' in-house rivalry

PERKINS TWP. — ThorSport Racing has four full-time teams at Daytona as the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes its first laps Friday night. Ben Rhodes — the 2023 Truck Series champion — leads the pack. Joining him are three-time series champion Matt Crafton, Ty Majeski, newcomer Jake Garcia and Connor Jones, who will race part-time for the second straight year. Those five are teammates in one sense, rivals in another. "The dynamic in here is all the crew chiefs share information and we build the trucks the same," ThorSport general manager David Pepper said. "Now, do they want to beat each other and be No. 1 in-house? Oh, absolutely. There's always gonna be that rivalry, but it's a good, healthy rivalry. "They're not gonna go wreck each other. Not that they haven't, but they're not intentionally gonna do it. Guys are gonna run next to each other and sometimes it happens and they crash. They talk through it and we go back to work the next day. Let the drivers talk it out, figure out who made the mistake and move on." Rhodes, who won his second championship and ThorSport's fifth in 10 years last November in Phoenix, said there's a fine line when it comes to racing teammates. "Stick-and-ball sports, it's one team versus the other. If your teammates succeed, you also succeed," Rhodes said. "In racing, it's one against 39. If your teammate is winning, you're not winning. If you're having a really bad time and you're losing and wrecking and your teammate's winning, that looks terrible for you and you probably will not have a job in the future." Last year at Mid-Ohio, Rhodes and teammate Majeski were both running strong when they made contact with each other on Lap 43, sending both contenders back in the field. Rhodes managed to finish fifth while Majeski took seventh. Crafton finished sixth and was not pleased with Rhodes, confronting him on pit road. "The biggest thing when you're racing with teammates, you actively try not to hurt one another," Rhodes said. "You help one another off the track and maybe help on the track if the occasion arises. The absolute worst is if you're having a bad day and you bring out the caution and your teammate doesn't win a race, that's the nightmare. "I've been the cause of that one time and it's a really bad feeling. It can happen really, really easily. If it does happen, make sure you don't blow anything out of proportion." There will be four ThorSport Ford F-150s at Daytona International Speedway for Friday's Fresh From Florida 250 (7:30 p.m., FS1). Rhodes will be paired again this year with crew chief Rich Lushes and truck chief Anthony Pelican, whom he credits for helping him win it all in 2023. Rhodes is one of just five drivers to win multiple season championships. Crafton also is on that list. "To think that we've joined this rare group just blows my mind," Rhodes said. "We were really just trying to have fun and win some races. I'm excited for what the future holds. This is the best our team has been and myself, I feel like every year I'm learning something new." Rhodes started racing for ThorSport in 2016 and credits team owners Duke and Rhonda Thorson with helping him reach the top of the Truck Series. "If we keep giving this young man championship-winning trucks, the sky's the limit on what he can do," Pepper said. "The lineup we have this coming year, I'm pretty excited." Crafton and Majeski, who is coming off an ASA title, also made the 10-truck playoff field last year and will be part of a veteran group that pushes Rhodes. Crafton has made a record 544 starts in the Truck Series. The playoffs start with the Round of 10 on August 10 at the Milwaukee Mile. The season champion will be crowned November 8 in Phoenix. "We have a little mix of everything. Really confident," Pepper said. "We're gonna take four full-time trucks with Jake Garcia joining the program. He's an extremely talented young man." Garcia replaces Hailie Deegan, who moved to the Xfinity series. Garcia, who turns 19 on March 3, had three top-five finishes in 22 starts last year for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. Majeski won an ASA title last year and had seven top-five finishes in the Truck Series. "He's been knocking on the door. I feel like he's ready to kick it in and win a championship for us," Pepper said. "He may be Ben's biggest competition." Competitors, and rivals. "For the most part they get along," Pepper said about his drivers. "Even the competitors you race really hard, you have a level of respect."