Thad Moffitt
Thaddeus "Thad" Moffitt (born September 12, 2000) is an American stock car racing driver. He is the grandson of seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Richard Petty, and he currently competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving for DGR-Crosley.
Thad Moffitt | |
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![]() Moffitt in 2018 | |
Nationality | ![]() |
Born | Trinity, North Carolina | September 12, 2000
Related to | Lee Petty (great-grandfather) Richard Petty (grandfather) Maurice Petty (great-uncle) Kyle Petty (uncle) Ritchie Petty (uncle) Adam Petty (cousin) |
ARCA Menards Series career | |
Debut season | 2017 |
Current team | DGR-Crosley |
Engine | Ford |
Starts | 28 |
Wins | 0 |
Poles | 0 |
Best finish | 8th in 2020 |
Finished last season | 8th (2020) |
Last updated on: October 16, 2020. |
Racing career
Early career
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
![](../I/Thad_Moffitt_Pocono_2018.jpg.webp)
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 Group, 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.[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 Menards 200.[10]
On January 9, 2020, it was announced that Moffitt would join DGR-Crosley for the season-opening race at Daytona.[11] He claimed three top five finishes over thirteen races, with a career-best finish of fourth at Memphis International Raceway.[12]
In January 2021, it was announced that Moffitt would return to the DGR team for at least eleven races.[12]
Personal life
Moffitt 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.[13]
Despite sharing the same last name, he is not related to fellow NASCAR competitor Brett Moffitt.
Motorsports career results
ARCA Menards Series
(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 | [14] |
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 | [15] | |||||
Chevy | IRP 15 |
KAN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2019 | DAY 27 |
FIF | SLM | TAL 25 |
NSH 9 |
TOL | CLT 10 |
POC | MCH | MAD | GTW 9 |
23rd | 1110 | [16] | ||||||||||||
Ford | CHI 9 |
ELK | IOW | POC 11 |
ISF | DSF | SLM | IRP | KAN | |||||||||||||||||
2020 | DGR-Crosley | 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 | 8th | 539 | [17] |
* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
References
- "Thad Moffitt to Race ARCA Racing Series Events and Late Model with Performance Plus Motor Oil". Speedway Digest. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- Hardin, Ed. "Ed Hardin: Thad Moffitt, Richard Petty's grandson, is racing to catch up". Winston-Salem Journal. BH Media Group. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
- "4th-gen Petty...Thad Moffitt first to file entry for Nashville". ARCAracing.com. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- Weaver, Matt. "Richard Petty's grandson, Thad Moffitt, will make his ARCA debut this weekend". Autoweek. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
- Marquis, Andy. "Thad Moffitt Continues the Petty Family Legacy in Late Models". Short Track Scene. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- "Thad Moffitt has helmet fit for 'The King' in ARCA debut". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
- McFadin, Daniel. "Thad Moffitt, Richard Petty's grandson, makes Daytona debut in ARCA test". NASCAR on NBC. NBC Sports. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- "Thad Moffitt Set For Three ARCA Events". Speed Sport. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- de la Bastide, Ken (22 April 2018). "Eckes gets ARCA win at Salem". The Herald Bulletin. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- Eberly, Brian. "Thad Moffitt Recovers From Spin to Earn First ARCA Top-10". Motorsports Tribune. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- Tomlinson, Joy (January 9, 2019). "Thad Moffitt Joins DGR-Crosley". Frontstretch. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- Koelle, Christian (2021-01-23). "Taylor Gray and Thad Moffitt Return to David Gilliland Racing in 2021; Add Joey Iest to East Lineup". Kickin' the Tires. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
- "Goodwood Festival of Speed 2019: oddities and unexpected gems". Autocar. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- "Driver Thad Moffitt 2017 ARCA Racing Series". Racing Reference. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
- "Driver Thad Moffitt 2018 ARCA Racing Series results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
- "Driver Thad Moffitt 2019 ARCA Menards Series". Racing Reference. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- "Thad Moffitt – 2020 ARCA Menards Series results". Racing Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
External links
- Thad Moffitt driver statistics at Racing-Reference