Matt Crafton announces his retirement from Thorsport, the Xfinity Series gets a new title sponsor, and NASCAR is considering rule changes on Cup drivers in Xfinity and Truck races. This is your NASCAR News Flash for the third week of August.
Matt Crafton Announces Retirement, O’Reilly Auto Parts Becomes Title Sponsor of Xfinity Series, and more: NASCAR News Flash
While the races at Richmond dominated the headlines throughout the weekend, the NASCAR industry awoke to some exciting news about a new sponsor and rules in the Xfinity Series and the retirement of one of the most senior drivers in the garage.
Matt Crafton to Retire at the End of the 2025 Truck Series season:
Matt Crafton, 26 26-year veteran of the Craftsman Truck Series, announced that he will retire after the 2025 season. This comes after he failed to make the playoffs for the second year in a row and has not won since 2020.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE pic.twitter.com/hsw2m2XoRF
— ThorSport Racing (@ThorSportRacing) August 18, 2025
The partnership between Menards and the No. 88 Thorsport truck is one of the longest tenured sponsorships in NASCAR. And it will continue, with teammate Ty Majeski taking over that truck in 2026.
I think this is the correct move for Matt Crafton. Open up a Truck for a good rookie or another veteran at one of the winningest teams in the Series. It is always sad to say goodbye, but the writing has been on the wall for a while for Crafton. Let’s hope he can go out with one final win.
O’Reilly Auto Parts will become the title sponsor for the Xfinity Series in 2026:
Longtime partner, Xfinity, will not be the title sponsor for NASCAR’s second-tier touring series. O’Reilly Auto Parts will become the title sponsor in 2026. O’Reilly’s joins competitors Advance Auto Parts and NAPA Auto Parts as sponsors in the largest motorsport in the United States.
A bold new chapter is about to be written.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series becomes the NASCAR @OReillyAuto Parts Series starting in 2026. pic.twitter.com/djqon33he1
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 18, 2025
The discourse around the name has become a topic of conversation on social media. Many are saying, ‘I will still call it the Xfinity Series’ or ‘I never stopped calling it the Busch Series’. It brought up a good topic: should NASCAR return to calling the second-tier racing series, the Grand National Series?
I believe it would be a good change, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Grand National Series. It’ll take a bit of getting used to, but it would stop some of that confusion. The Series has had several different title sponsors in the last two decades, and the Cup Series has gone back to just its original title of ‘NASCAR Cup Series’.
An exciting addition to one of the best racing series in the world.
Read More: Ugly Road Racing Overshadows Connor Zilisch’s Xfinity Series Win at Watkins Glen
NASCAR Considering Lifting Limit on Cup Drivers in Xfinity and Trucks
Continuing on the topic of Xfinity and Trucks, Adam Stern from the Sports Business Journal, is reporting that NASCAR is considering changing the limit of races Cup Series drivers are allowed to participate in, in the lower series. The current limit is that a driver who is declared for the Cup Series championship points can run five races in a lower series.
.@NASCAR is considering changing its rules in the coming seasons to allow Cup drivers to compete in Xfinity and Truck races more often. https://t.co/d4rrEmyNcW
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) August 19, 2025
The current rule change was made in 2020, changing from seven races to the current limit of five. Busch-wacking, as it was coined in the Early 2000’s saw drivers like Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch win titles in both Xfinity and Trucks, absolutely dominating the fields.
Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s President, was quoted in Stern’s article, saying…
“You look at all of our series and we’ve had limits on, ‘Could a Cup driver compete?’ ‘How many races could they compete in?’ So we’ve certainly had discussions with The CW and in the Truck Series as well (about), ‘Does that rule as it stands now make the most sense to continue as it is? Do we tweak it?’ So we’re looking at a lot of things over the offseason and talking to a lot of the teams and drivers.”
Nothing in the works right now, but NASCAR has some exciting things it can do with its new partner, O’Reilly’s. I would expect any changes to be announced following the 2025 season.
Read More: JR Motorsports Makes Right Call with SVG in Xfinity Series Win at Chicago Street Course
Main Photo: Kyle Rivas, Getty Images
Recording Date: 6/17/2022
