ThorSport tries to work its way back to the top

There was no championship celebration for ThorSport Racing late last year. There were no parties in Victory Lane during the entire 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. Getting shut out was a strange feeling for a team that has won six Truck Series championships. ThorSport's Ty Majeski came close to defending his title, losing the series finale in Phoenix to Corey Heim by less than a second — in double overtime. The close calls fueled a focused offseason for the Sandusky-based race team, now in its 31st year in the Truck Series. "It started the minute they dropped the checkered flag in Phoenix," ThorSport general manager David Pepper said last week. "We came back, and to a man, everybody went to work. The gravity of not winning a race for the first time in I think 17 years really hit home for a lot of people. "We were competitive, we had chances to win. We didn't get it done — 60 feet short or one caution short. You're watching everybody else celebrate and thinking, 'Man, this isn't right.' " ThorSport is confident it can return to the top after winning back-to-back championships in 2023 (Ben Rhodes) and 2024 (Majeski). It gets its first shot at redemption when the Truck Series takes off Friday at Daytona. Majeski has become the face of ThorSport Racing and will pilot the iconic No. 88 Menards Ford F-150, taking over for Matt Crafton, who stepped away from the Truck Series after a career that included three series championships. Majeski, in his sixth year with ThorSport, appears to be the perfect successor for Crafton. He's young (31), smart (studied engineering) and successful (six career truck wins, 38 top 5s). "ThorSport Racing built something special with Menards — championships, wins, a reputation for doing things the right way," Majeski said in a social media post. "I've watched Crafton do it, I watched what that partnership meant, not just to the team, but to the fans. "Menards represents hard work, loyalty and consistency. Those are things I believe in on and off the track. Being trusted to carry that color forward means everything to me." Pepper feels like Majeski will be a great fit for the No. 88. "I think it energizes the whole program," Pepper said. "He's excited to wear those colors and get race wins for Menards. What they've meant to the sport, we want to get them back to winning truck races. The Menards folks wanted to go in that direction and we were excited about It. Matt did a great job representing their company and we don't see why Ty can't do the same thing for another 20 years." As a bonus, Majeski lives in Wisconsin, where Menards is headquartered. "He is just down the street in the grand scheme of things," Pepper said. "It was a natural fit. He'll be able to pop up to the home office and make store visits because he's right there." Majeski will again team up with crew chief Joe Shear Jr. Jake Garcia will move from the No. 13 truck to Majeski's old No. 98. Garcia, 20, won three poles last year and qualified for the playoffs in the 10th and final spot. "Jake took a huge step last year winning poles and leading laps and making the playoffs," Pepper said. "We've won championships with that program. I feel like this is his year to break out and win that first race." Rhodes, who has seven career Truck Series wins to go with his series championships in 2021 and 2023, returns in the No. 99 truck. He turns 29 on Feb. 21. He won one pole last year and had five top-5 finishes, but finished out of the playoffs at 12th in driver points. Cole Butcher is a new face at ThorSport, taking over the No. 13 ride. Butcher, 29, was born in Canada and has had plenty of success driving stock cars. He'll be paired with crew chief Rich Lushes, a two-time series champion. "He's kind of a mix between Ty and Ben," Pepper said. "He's been a breath of fresh air in here; everybody's likes him. He has a great sense of humor and is extremely talented. We'll try to get our fourth rookie of the year title with him. "He's like a sponge talking the other drivers and walking through the shop asking questions to try to get up to speed as quick as he possibly can." Pepper said some rules changes affecting truck bodies and suspensions could benefit Butcher. "Everybody's gonna be in a learning mode the first part of the year so it might not be as big of a learning curve as it would normally be because everybody's trying to learn the same things," he said. ThorSport plans on going with four full-time trucks, but there's a chance they might stick the No. 66 in a trailer and go racing… with a familiar face who won series titles in 2013, 2014 and 2019. "We may roll the 66 out," Pepper said. "You might see a wily old veteran in that truck for a race or two. We don't have a dead-set plan, but Matt (Crafton) did say he was stepping back; he didn't say he was retiring. "He's still in the family. If a great opportunity to go to a race track with a talented driver and a cool storyline, a good sponsor comes along, we can certainly get that 66 out." A new NASCAR points system that eliminated the automatic "win and in" playoff qualifiers seems to play to ThorSport's strength. "You gotta be consistent and competitive all year long to get one of those 10 (playoff) spots," Pepper said. "We've won championships with this kind of points system. We gotta be there every week — no 25th-place finishes, but seventh place is OK." The 2026 schedule includes 25 races. Seven of them are playoff events. May will be the busiest month with five races, starting May 1 in Texas and finishing May 29 in Nashville. The Truck Series makes a special trip to San Diego Naval Base Coronado for a June 19 race. That date replaces the Las Vegas event this year and will take place just 15 days before the Fourth of July. "Really looking forward to getting out to San Diego and celebrating with the Navy and celebrating America's 250th anniversary," Pepper said. "That will be a really cool weekend. For NASCAR to have a premier event to celebrate that landmark achievement for the nation, yeah, it'll be really exciting. "We're racing stock cars by the carriers on one straightaway. You've got guys coming out of the woodwork in all three series trying to get truck rides just to race at a naval base." Dodge joins the manufacturer lineup this year with Kaulig Racing, adding more competition for ThorSport. "We've got all-time manufacturer support across the board," Pepper said. "We'll be happy to race against (the Dodge Rams) and try to beat them. There are a lot of really good drivers and race teams that are gonna make the 2026 season extremely hard to make the playoffs and win races."