A rumor swirling over the last three weeks became reality Monday when ThorSport Racing, one of the longest-running NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams announced they will switch manufacturers ahead of the 2021 season.
After a tenured partnership with Toyota, the Sandusky, Ohio-based team switched to Ford Performance at the beginning of the 2018 season and earned modest success.
This past season, Grant Enfinger led the way with three victories and a spot in the Championship 4 race at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway, while teammates Matt Crafton and Ben Rhodes also added to the win column with one win apiece.
Enfinger finished fourth in the championship standings ahead of Crafton in fifth, Rhodes seventh and their fourth teammate Johnny Sauter a surprising 13th after a dismal season in the No. 13 Ford F-150.
Over the past three seasons, the team captured its third Camping World Truck Series driver’s championship, a regular-season title, and Ford’s 100th series win. In addition to 10 wins, 83 top-five and 163 top 10 finishes, 12 pole awards, and 1,707 laps led.
ThorSport Racing also led Ford to their second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver’s championship in 2019 with Crafton who went the 23-race schedule winless but claimed his third Truck Series crown.
The Duke and Rhonda Thorson-owned team started their tenure in Trucks as a Chevrolet team before moving to Toyota in 2012 for six seasons before their three-year run with Ford.
Sources tell CATCHFENCE.com that ThorSport Racing will return to Toyota for the 2021 season as the manufacturer is eager to return to its dominant presence in the series.
The manufacturer switch is the latest of a series of offseason changes for ThorSport.
Jeff Hensley and Matt Noyce who served as crew chiefs for Enfinger and Rhodes respectively left the organization to pursue other Truck Series offers in North Carolina. Hensley joined GMS Racing to crew chief Chase Purdy in 2021, while Noyce will guide Derek Kraus at McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.
The team has not finalized their driver lineup for this year – which also could see a facelift.
ThorSport Racing who debuted in the Truck Series at The Milwaukee (Wisc.) Mile in 1996 has three championships and 21 victories.
The season-opening NCWTS NextEra Energy Resources 250 from Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway is set for Feb. 12, three weeks from Friday.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
