What’s Happening?

While the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is largely considered a development series for drivers hoping to get to the Cup Series, some drivers make entire careers out of running in the Truck Series. It’s easy to see why as the Truck Series is comparatively less expensive to get involved in than the higher series alongside a shorter schedule of only 23 races. Here are some of those drivers from both the modern day and the past in this series.

• For this list, we will include drivers who had the bulk of their NASCAR success in the Craftsman Truck Series. Having one or even multiple full-time Cup or Xfinity Series seasons does not exclude drivers from this list as long as their success was primarily in Trucks.
• Drivers like Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle are ineligible since they are primarily known for their Cup Series accomplishments. They both sit 1st and 8th respectively on the series all-time wins list.
• Fans love seeing the stars of tomorrow racing in the Truck Series, but, seeing them tear it up with veterans is pretty cool as well. These veterans often become the gatekeepers to the top division. Beating these drivers proves that the young guns just may have what it takes.

Modern Stars

This part of the list includes any drivers who are full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series today. Each of these drivers has well-established themselves in the Truck Series, and they will likely stay here for the rest of their career.

Matt Crafton

Matt Crafton has competed in every Craftsman Truck Series race since the season finale at Fontana in 2000. For some perspective, full-time Cup Series drivers Ty Gibbs and Carson Hocevar were not even born when Crafton made his first Truck Series start. While Crafton has made the rare Cup and Xfinity Series start here and there, he’s a Trucker through and through.

He’s also incredibly accomplished to go along with the longevity. He is 10th all-time in the series in wins with 15, and he is one of 3 drivers to have won 3 Championships. For anyone who has watched the Truck Series over the past two decades, it’s hard to imagine a race without the neon yellow Menards No. 88 Ford F-150.

Grant Enfinger

Grant Enfinger has had to fight and claw for everything he has in NASCAR. Since 2017, he’s been a mainstay of the series racing for multiple race teams. During that time, he has developed a reputation as one of the good guys in the sport.

Enfinger has won 10 career races, and he has 2 Championship 4 appearances in his career. While he has not lifted the big trophy yet, he is usually a factor in it. Most of his success has come with ThorSport and GMS Racing, but, now he races for CR7 Motorsports.

Ben Rhodes

Ben Rhodes joined the Truck Series full-time at age 19 in 2016. Since then, he has been a consistent presence up front, and, he has joined the likes of some of the series greats. He has poked his head into the Xfinity Series and the Cup Series on rare occasions, but, he has been primarily a Truck Series driver.

Rhodes has 7 career wins, but, he hangs his hat on the 2 Series Championships. Only 5 drivers in the history of the series have won 2 Championships including Matt Crafton. Rhodes is in elite company, and he has a chance to set the bar even higher.

Johnny Sauter

While Sauter is no longer a full-time competitor in the series, he still straps in from time to time. He joined the series full-time in 2009 after mixed results in the Xfinity and Cup Series throughout the 2000s. He quickly became a standout with 24 victories (5th on the all-time list) in 13 full-time seasons.

Sauter came oh so close to Championships on multiple occasions, particularly in 2011 when he lost out to Austin Dillon. In 2016, it finally came together as he won his first Truck Series Championship. While it was his only big crown, the entire body of work makes Sauter a Series legend.

Past Stars

These drivers form the past legends of the Truck Series. Some of which were involved in the inception of the series back in the mid-1990s. They are a large reason why the series is where it is to this day.

Mike Skinner

Mike Skinner was the Truck Series’ first superstar. He was in the series at its inception in 1995 and 1996 before jumping up to Cup in 1997. By 2004, he dove back into the Truck Series, becoming one of the top drivers in the series once again.

Skinner won 8 races apiece in 1995 and 1996, taking home the Championship in the Series inaugural season. When he came back to the series in 2004, he failed to win a Championship, but, he went on to win 12 more races before stepping aside in the early 2010s. Overall, Skinners sits 3rd on the all-time series wins list with 28 victories.

Jack Sprague

When Mike Skinner left to go Cup Series racing, Jack Sprague became the man to beat. He competed full-time in the series from 1995 until 2001, and he stepped back into the Trucks full-time from 2004 to 2008.

Sprague was virtually unstoppable with 3 Championships in 5 seasons from 1997 until 2001. He joins Matt Crafton and the driver next on our list as the only drivers to win 3 Championships in the series. Sprague also compiled 28 victories, tied with Skinner for 3rd all-time.

Ron Hornaday Jr.

Ron Hornaday Jr. is statistically the GOAT of the Truck Series lifers. He, Jack Sprague, and Mike Skinner all battled together throughout the series’ infancy. Hornaday was full-time in the series from 1995 until 1999, and once again from 2005 until 2014. During that time, no one won as much as Hornaday.

His 4 Championships is a record left untouched by anyone in the series’ history. His 51 wins ranks second all-time only to Kyle Busch. As far as Truck Series drivers go, it’s hard to find one better than Ron Hornaday Jr.

Todd Bodine

As Ron Hornaday was rewriting the series record book in the 2000s, Todd Bodine became his chief competition. Bodine stepped into the Truck Series full-time in 2004 after a stellar Xfinity Series career and a Cup Series stay that yielded mixed results. The Truck Series proved to be where he built his legacy.

Nicknamed “The Onion”, Bodine never finished worse than 4th in the series standings from 2004 until 2010. This included Championships in 2006 and 2010 and 22 checkered flags. His most impressive achievement may have been winning 4 restrictor plate races in a row between 2007 and 2009.

These Truck Series drivers are a huge part of what the series has become. In order to make it to the top, these are the drivers that many current NASCAR stars had to beat.