Conner Jones is so young that he was born just three days after Jimmie Johnson won his first Daytona 500 in 2006. In April, he will make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series début on a nine-race schedule, driving the #66 Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing starting at Martinsville Speedway on 14 April.
Additional starts are planned at North Wilkesboro Speedway (20 May), World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (3 June), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (8 July), Richmond Raceway (29 July), Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (11 August), Milwaukee Mile (27 August), Bristol Motor Speedway (14 September), and Phoenix Raceway (3 November).
“It’s always been my dream to enter into the NASCAR Truck Series,” said Jones. “I’m thrilled to be signing a multi-year contract with ThorSport Racing. They have a rich history within the Truck Series, along with being proven champions. This will be a great year for me to learn and gain more experience behind the wheel of a NASCAR Truck. I know I have a strong team and organisation surrounding me.”
The 16-year-old Jones mainly competes in late models and short track racing. In 2021, he appeared in the ARCA Menards Series as well as its Eastern counterpart for the first time, scoring a top ten at Bristol in a combination race that year. In six ARCA East starts for GMS Racing and eventually Venturini Motorsports, he has top tens in all but two including a third at Dover in 2022.
While much of his racing is on short ovals, he also finished tenth in his first ARCA road course start at Watkins Glen in 2022. Mid-Ohio is the lone such track on his Truck calendar.
With Jones in the #66, Ty Majeski switches to #98 after driving the #66 to the 2022 Championship Round; #98 was previously used by Christian Eckes, who is now with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. ThorSport, now a Ford team after spending the last two years with Toyota, is also fielding the #88 for Matt Crafton, #99 for Ben Rhodes, and the #13 for newcomer Hailie Deegan.
