ThorSport Racing, the longest-running team in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series will rejoin Ford Performance and carry the legendary Ford blue oval emblem when the 2023 season kicks off from Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on February 17, 2023.
Additionally, the Sandusky, Ohio-based team welcomes female race car driver Hailie Deegan to its No. 13 lineup – solidifying her third-year campaign as a full-time driver in the Truck Series.
Deegan will be joined by ThorSport Racing teammates Matt Crafton, Ty Majeski and 2021 Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes.
“With 28 years in the Truck Series, we look forward to the partnership with Ford Performance in NASCAR,” said team owner Duke Thorson. “Our pursuit of wins and championships remains at the forefront of our objectives.”
Arriving at ThorSport Racing from David Gilliland Racing (DGR), Deegan boasts a career-best sixth-place effort at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in October and was recently named the series’ Most Popular Drive for the second consecutive year.
“I really didn’t know what to expect until I got here and it’s really been more than I could have dreamed of – everything that I’ve wanted it’s been more than that, exceeding my expectations,” Deegan said during a media teleconference Thursday afternoon. “Just to meet everyone here. There are so many great people, just an abundance of quality people working at this place. There are so many people that care and care about your racing, care about your career and your success.
“They truly care about their driver and I think I just feel that already after being here for 24 hours. I feel so comfortable and so accepted, and I think that’s a great feeling to have as a new driver going anywhere. I think there’s been so much success in the past with Ford and ThorSport’s relationship that bringing them back together, I feel like it’s a good move. There’s a lot of similar qualities as organizations and companies themselves that are on the same level.
“They give off the same vibes and you kind of get the same feeling from it, so I think Ford and ThorSport being together is a match made in heaven.”
The Temecula, Calif. native joined Ford Performance as part of its driver development program following the 2019 season and drove in a variety of different disciplines in 2020, including the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and ARCA Menards Series where she finished third in the point standings and won Rookie of the Year honors.
Deegan also competed in the ARCA Menards Series West in 2018 and ’19, earning three victories during her time there.
The 21-year-old also has a decorated off-road racing career and is the daughter of Motorcross legend, Brian Deegan.
In 2018, ThorSport joined Ford Performance. Crafton won the 2019 Truck Series title without winning a race. In addition to Crafton, Johnny Sauter, Rhodes and NASCAR Cup Series star Chase Briscoe all won races in Ford F-150s fielded by ThorSport Racing.
The team returned to Toyota in 2021 for two seasons before reviving its prior relationship with the Detroit-based manufacturer.
“We’re happy to welcome ThorSport back to our NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series program,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports.
“Duke has assembled one of the best organizations in the series with a driver lineup that is filled with youth and experience. We celebrated a championship together just a few years ago and know they have the potential to do it again in 2023.”
Three-time series champion Crafton will enter his 23rd full-time season in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series along with long-time ThorSport partner Menards.
Rhodes is set to compete in his eighth full-time season in the Truck Series, following a season that consisted of one win, eight top-five finishes and finishing second in this year’s final championship standings.
Following a breakout year that included two wins and a spot in the Championship Four at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway last month, Majeski returns for his sophomore year for the team owned by Duke and Rhonda Thorson.
Deegan replaces Christian Eckes who announced last week he is moving to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing next season replacing Derek Kraus as the driver of the No. 19 truck.
ThorSport Racing launched its career in the Truck Series with its No. 88 truck with driver Terry Cook in 1996. ThorSport moved from Chevrolet to Toyota in 2012 and remained with the manufacturer through the 2017 season before embracing a round of manufacturer switches ahead of its 28th year of competition.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
