Controversial NASCAR Truck Series driver appears to have lost ride for 2025

If a team website is any indication, it appears that a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver has lost their ride for 2025. Conner Jones no longer appears as the driver of the No. 66 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150.

Conner Jones, 18, had raced 13 of 23 races for ThorSport in the No. 66 last season. In 2023 as a 17-year-old, he had nine starts in the truck. While he wasn’t full-time in the truck, Jones was listed as the driver on ThorSport’s website previously.

Joseph Srigley of TobyChristie.com and Racing America noticed the change. According to him, Jones was listed as the driver of the truck back at the end of December.

Jake Garcia, Matt Crafton, Ty Majeski, and Ben Rhodes are all still listed on the website. Now the No. 66 truck is a black rectangle and listed as “TBD.”

From the ThorSport Racing website, it appears as though Conner Jones will not return to ThorSport Racing in 2025 — which had Jones listed as the driver of the No. 66 as recently as December 27.#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/jvRaegZedH

— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) January 13, 2025

Last season, Conner Jones was suspended for a race after wrecking Matt Mills at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Mills’ truck caught on fire and the driver was hospitalized for multiple days for smoke inhalation.

While Jones put out an apology it was, at the time, seen as insincere. There have been other incidents of over-aggressive driving from Jones not just in NASCAR but also in grassroots racing.

In November, Jones got into a fight with Mason Diaz during the South Carolina 400. It appeared that he would be the full-time driver in the 66 or at least taking a bulk of races like 2024. Now it looks like he won’t be at ThorSport at all.

Competitive NASCAR Truck Series seat now open

Of course, if Conner Jones isn’t racing the No. 66 truck, who is? One driver’s misfortune is another driver’s opportunity. Someone, or multiple drivers, will step into that truck for 2025. We will have to wait and see who.

Without any inside knowledge about this, it would be great to see Corey LaJoie land in this seat. LaJoie still has no public plans announced for 2025. This appears to be the last competitive ride available in any of the three national series.

While at a different stage in his career, LaJoie could try the John Hunter Nemechek method. Drop to the NASCAR Truck Series and prove you can win. Show that you are who you say you are. Then try to move up to Xfinity. I see no reason why a team like Beard Motorsports or another open, part-time team wouldn’t give him a Cup start here and there.

Corey LaJoie skipped the Xfinity and Truck Series the first time around. He basically went from K&N/ARCA to the Cup Series. The ThorSport No. 66 could give him more opportunities than he realizes. Right now, no one knows who that seat will go to.