Matt Crafton

Matt Crafton pilots the No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 in the NASCAR Truck Series.

Crafton, a native of Tulare, California, began his racing career in go-karts, mini sprints, and midgets before following his father, Danny Crafton, who had his own legacy on the West Coast, into late models. When Danny was injured with three races left in the 1996 season, he selected his son as his substitute. Crafton’s performance in those races led Danny to hang up his helmet and step out of his familiar No. 46 to allow his son to take over. The younger Crafton rewarded his family’s faith in 2000 by winning four races enroute to the prestigious NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series championship.

Following Crafton’s championship in the 2000 Featherlite Southwest Series. ThorSport Racing named him the driver of the No. 88 truck for the 2000 season finale at Auto Club Speedway. Beginning the series’ longest-running driver-team relationship. Crafton became a fixture in the Truck Series finishing inside the top-10 in the standings the last 17 seasons and drove his way into the NASCAR history books becoming the first series back-to-back champion, winning titles in 2013 and 2014. Additionally, capturing a third series championship in 2019. Crafton holds the record for the most consecutive starts in CRAFTSMAN Truck Series history with 544 starts ahead of the 2024 season.