Thad Moffitt

Thad Moffitt
Moffitt at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2024
BornThaddeus Drake Moffitt
(2000-09-12) September 12, 2000 (age 24)
Trinity, North Carolina, U.S.
Achievements2016 Southeast Limited Late Model Series Challenger Division Champion
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
10 races run over 2 years
Truck no., teamNo. 46 (Faction46)
No. 46 (Young's Motorsports)
2022 position46th
Best finish46th (2022)
First race2022 NextEra Energy 250 (Daytona)
Last race2024 Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
ARCA Menards Series career
45 races run over 6 years
Best finish4th (2021)
First race2017 Music City 200 (Nashville Fairgrounds)
Last race2022 General Tire 200 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 26 0
ARCA Menards Series East career
3 races run over 1 year
Best finish15th (2021)
First race2021 Shore Lunch 150 (Iowa)
Last race2021 Bush's Beans 200 (Bristol)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 2 0
ARCA Menards Series West career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish38th (2021)
First race2021 General Tire 150 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 1 0
Statistics current as of April 5, 2024.

Thaddeus Drake Moffitt (born September 12, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado for Young's Motorsports. He previously drove the 46 for Faction46 before the team was shut down by its owner Lane Moore due to financial constraints.

Racing career

[edit]

Early career

[edit]

Growing up in a racing family, Moffitt cut his teeth in go-karts at age fourteen and later moved up to quarter midgets and limited late models,[1] running at tracks like Caraway Speedway and Ace Speedway.[2] Speaking about having racers in the family, he said that advice will be given upon request but also that older relatives wanted him to develop without help.[3] Moffitt was the 2016 Southeast Limited Late Model champion[4] and won his first late model race earlier that year.[5]

ARCA Menards Series

[edit]
Moffitt's No. 46 car at Pocono Raceway in 2018

Moffitt made his ARCA Racing Series debut in April 2017 at Fairgrounds Speedway, driving a car reminiscent of one driven by his grandfather Richard Petty, for Empire Racing, a satellite team of Richard Petty Motorsports.[6] He ran three races in 2017.[7] Moffitt's best finish was eleventh, at Lucas Oil Raceway.[8]

In early 2018, Moffitt tested at Daytona International Speedway[7] and announced races at Fairgrounds Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Lucas Oil with the potential for more races to be added later in the year.[1] In his second start of the year, at Salem Speedway, Moffitt was involved in two incidents, one with Natalie Decker and one with Jack Dossey III.[9] Moffitt rebounded from a mid-race spin in his next race to claim his first top ten, finishing tenth in the race at Toledo.[10]

On January 9, 2020, it was announced that Moffitt would join DGR-Crosley for the season-opening race at Daytona,[11] and would then run all races on the schedule until sponsorship dried up, plus Memphis, which the team had previously signed a sponsor for. He claimed three top five finishes over thirteen races, with a career-best finish of fourth at Memphis.

Moffitt's No. 46 car at Pocono Raceway in 2021

In January 2021, it was announced that Moffitt would return to ARCA with the renamed David Gilliland Racing team for at least eleven races that year.[12] He proceeded to compete in almost the entire season, only being replaced by Taylor Gray for the dirt races and Canadian J. P. Bergeron for the final two events. At Michigan, Moffitt was involved in controversy after his retaliation attempt against Drew Dollar for a previous wreck resulted in a crash which injured Tim Richmond.[13]

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

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On February 10, 2022, it was announced that Moffitt would make his Camping World Truck Series debut at Daytona for Reaume Brothers Racing in collaboration with GMS Racing, running a paint scheme that pays tribute to Richard Petty's 1992 retirement season.[14]

Moffitt's No. 46 truck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2024.

On December 9, 2023, Moffitt was announced as the full-time driver for the new NASCAR team, Faction46, in the No. 46 Chevrolet for the upcoming 2024 season.[15][16][17][18] On June 28, 2024 prior to the race at Nashville Superspeedway, Moffitt had a medical emergency and the team substituted Dawson Cram as the driver of the No. 46 truck. On July 8, 2024 Faction46 team owner Lane Moore officially shut down the team due to financial constraints. On July 10, 2024 Young's Motorsports officially announced that Moffitt would drive the No. 46 at Pocono Raceway and the remainder of the 2024 season, which is the same team he drove for at one point in 2022.

Trans Am

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In 2023, Moffitt would run the full schedule in the Trans Am Series, driving the No. 43 Chevrolet for TeamSLR with support from Petty's Garage in the TA2 class. He would earn six top-tens with a best finish of second at the second Detroit Street Circuit race on his way to finish seventh in the class standings.[19][20]

Personal life

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Moffitt was born on September 12, 2000, to Brian Moffitt and Rebecca Petty-Moffitt in Trinity, North Carolina. His mother, Rebecca, is the youngest daughter of NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Richard Petty. Throughout his childhood, Moffitt played football and other organized sports. In his mid-teens, Moffitt began competing in Kart racing before moving to Late model racing in 2016. Moffitt had attended Wheatmore High School before deciding to switch to online schooling midway through his high school career.[2]

In 2019, Moffitt traveled to England to run a 1981 edition of grandfather Richard Petty's racecar at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.[21]

Despite sharing the same last name, he is not related to fellow NASCAR competitor Brett Moffitt.

Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

[edit]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Craftsman Truck Series

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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NCTC Pts Ref
2022 Reaume Brothers Racing 43 Chevy DAY
18
LVS
29
ATL
32
COA MAR BRI DAR KAN TEX CLT GTW SON 46th 38 [22]
Young's Motorsports 20 Chevy KNX
31
NSH MOH POC IRP RCH KAN BRI TAL HOM PHO
2024 Faction46 46 Chevy DAY
36
ATL
26
LVS
25
BRI
26
COA
32
MAR
27
TEX
32
KAN
24
DAR
18
NWS
31
CLT
33
GTW
28
NSH
Wth
-* -* [23]
Young's Motorsports POC
29
IRP
32
RCH
33
MLW
32
BRI KAN TAL HOM MAR PHO

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

ARCA Menards Series

[edit]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Menards Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 AMSC Pts Ref
2017 Empire Racing 46 Ford DAY NSH
16
SLM TAL TOL
23
ELK POC MCH MAD IOW IRP
11
POC WIN ISF ROA DSF SLM CHI KEN KAN 45th 440 [24]
2018 DAY NSH
14
SLM
16
TAL TOL
10
CLT POC
25
MCH MAD GTW CHI IOW ELK POC ISF BLN DSF SLM 26th 780 [25]
Chevy IRP
15
KAN
2019 DAY
27
FIF SLM TAL
25
NSH
9
TOL CLT
10
POC MCH MAD GTW
9
23rd 1110 [26]
Ford CHI
9
ELK IOW POC
11
ISF DSF SLM IRP KAN
2020 DGR-Crosley 46 Ford DAY
5
PHO
18
TAL
6
POC
20
IRP
5
KEN
15
IOW
10
KAN
10
TOL
12
TOL
8
MCH
9
DAY
11
GTW L44 TOL BRI WIN MEM
4
ISF KAN 9th 539 [27]
2021 David Gilliland Racing DAY
21
PHO
3
TAL
6
KAN
6
TOL
5
CLT
7
MOH
3
POC
5
ELK
9
BLN
12
IOW
6
WIN
4
GLN
11
MCH
8
ISF MLW
9
DSF BRI
25
SLM KAN 4th 666 [28]
2022 Ferrier-McClure Racing 44 Chevy DAY PHO TAL
4
KAN CLT IOW BLN ELK MOH POC IRP MCH GLN ISF MLW DSF KAN BRI SLM TOL 74th 40 [29]

ARCA Menards Series East

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ARCA Menards Series East results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 AMSEC Pts Ref
2021 David Gilliland Racing 46 Ford NSM FIF NSV DOV SNM IOW
6
MLW
9
BRI
25
15th 143 [30]

ARCA Menards Series West

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ARCA Menards Series West results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 AMSWC Pts Ref
2021 David Gilliland Racing 46 Ford PHO
3
SON IRW CNS IRW PIR LVS AAS PHO 38th 42 [31]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Thad Moffitt to Race ARCA Racing Series Events and Late Model with Performance Plus Motor Oil". Speedway Digest. 16 March 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Hardin, Ed (22 May 2018). "Ed Hardin: Thad Moffitt, Richard Petty's grandson, is racing to catch up". Winston-Salem Journal. BH Media Group. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  3. ^ "4th-gen Petty...Thad Moffitt first to file entry for Nashville". ARCAracing.com. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  4. ^ Weaver, Matt (April 4, 2017). "Richard Petty's grandson, Thad Moffitt, will make his ARCA debut this weekend". Autoweek. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  5. ^ Marquis, Andy. "Thad Moffitt Continues the Petty Family Legacy in Late Models". Short Track Scene. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  6. ^ "Thad Moffitt has helmet fit for 'The King' in ARCA debut". NASCAR.com. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  7. ^ a b McFadin, Daniel (January 13, 2018). "Thad Moffitt, Richard Petty's grandson, makes Daytona debut in ARCA test". NASCAR on NBC. NBC Sports. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  8. ^ "Thad Moffitt Set For Three ARCA Events". Speed Sport. March 16, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  9. ^ de la Bastide, Ken (April 22, 2018). "Eckes gets ARCA win at Salem". The Herald Bulletin. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  10. ^ Eberly, Brian (20 May 2018). "Thad Moffitt Recovers From Spin to Earn First ARCA Top-10". Motorsports Tribune. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  11. ^ Tomlinson, Joy (January 9, 2020). "Thad Moffitt Joins DGR-Crosley". Frontstretch. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  12. ^ Koelle, Christian (January 23, 2021). "Taylor Gray and Thad Moffitt Return to David Gilliland Racing in 2021; Add Joey Iest to East Lineup". Kickin' the Tires. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  13. ^ Walters, Shane (August 21, 2021). "Racing driver suffers broken leg following retaliation at Michigan (Video)". RacingNews.co. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  14. ^ Srigley, Joseph (February 10, 2022). "Thad Moffitt Competing Part-Time in Trucks with Reaume Brothers Racing, Driving No. 43 at Daytona". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  15. ^ Christie, Toby (December 9, 2023). "Thad Moffitt Officially Announced as Faction46 NASCAR Truck Driver". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  16. ^ "Thad Moffitt Running Full Truck Schedule for Faction46". Frontstretch. December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  17. ^ "Thad Moffitt to compete full-time in Truck Series with Faction46". NASCAR.com. December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  18. ^ "Petty family member Thad Moffitt joins NASCAR Truck Series in 2024". Motorsport.com. December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  19. ^ "That Moffitt Joins Trans AM TA2 Class". Speed Sport. December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  20. ^ "Pair of Solid Top-Fives for TeamSLR in Detroit Race No. 2". TeamSLR. 4 June 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  21. ^ "Goodwood Festival of Speed 2019: oddities and unexpected gems". Autocar. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  22. ^ "Thad Moffitt – 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  23. ^ "Thad Moffitt – 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  24. ^ "Thad Moffitt – 2017 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  25. ^ "Thad Moffitt – 2018 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  26. ^ "Thad Moffitt – 2019 ARCA Menards Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  27. ^ "Thad Moffitt – 2020 ARCA Menards Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  28. ^ "Thad Moffitt – 2021 ARCA Menards Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  29. ^ "Thad Moffitt – 2022 ARCA Menards Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  30. ^ "Thad Moffitt – 2021 ARCA Menards Series East Results". Racing Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  31. ^ "Thad Moffitt – 2021 ARCA Menards Series West Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
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