NASCAR has been a family sport ever since its inception. And leading the charge up front by laying down the foundation stones for this tradition was the Petty family. Lee Petty was one of the early pioneers and the superstar driver of his generation. This legacy was carried on by Richard Petty, who would go on to win the 7 Cup Series titles.

However, it looks like his grandson, Thad Moffit, the son of his youngest daughter Rebecca, is struggling to live up to the expectations. Things were looking to work out well for the 24-year-old after he bagged a full-time ride in the Truck Series with Faction46. But the team and the driver parted ways mid-season, forcing him to look for opportunity elsewhere.

Young’s Motorsports came to Thad Moffitt’s rescue, and he took command of the #46 truck for multiple races. There was no official confirmation if it was a partial run or a full-time commitment, leading to question marks on the driver’s future. And as it turns out, Moffitt won’t be able to complete his rookie season in the Truck Series.

Sharing an update about his situation via his X account, Moffitt wrote, “Due to lack of funding, I won’t be racing as much as I had planned. However, I hope to be on the track as much as possible for the remainder of 2024. Thank you to my fans for your continued support.” This wasn’t a surprise given how financially demanding NASCAR as a sport has become. And this is certainly not the way Moffitt thought he would end his rookie year competing in the Truck Series.

NASCAR fans react to Thad Moffitt’s sudden exit from competing in NASCAR races

The rookie year has been a constant struggle for Moffitt and his team whenever he’s raced. He started the year with a DNF at Daytona and then went on to add three more such results to name. His best result was P18, which came at Darlington Raceway. No one thought that the team could contest for the win, but the on-track misery with crashes certainly pushed the team to the brink of collapse, and that is exactly what happened. Reacting to Moffitt’s surprise exit, a fan brought up this argument, stating, “Crash Clauses are expensive.”

Thanks to his family’s racing heritage, the young driver has managed to garner good support from the racing community. While the trolls were busy doing their job in throwing shade at Moffit, a few ardent fans backed him and hoped for his comeback. “We, your Fans are behind you whatever it takes to get you back on the racetrack. As for me I have I am x Million % behind you. I believe in you and will support you forever, you can do it, we just need the right opportunity, and you’ll get it done! Go Thad Go!”

Meanwhile, there were a few who weren’t informed of Faction46’s closure mid-season. And this news came as a complete shock to them. “What happened to project 46.” In response, a user on X replying to this query shared, “Faction 46* And they closed down due to lack of (money emoji).”

NASCAR racing is indeed a tough job, and it gets ever so more difficult for drivers who hail from a big racing family like Moffitt. Stepping into a rookie season can be a huge hit or a failure. In Moffitt’s case, he didn’t even get a chance to stage a comeback run due to a lack of funding. But, for some, this was just an excuse for him to hide behind, “Lack of funding. Haha lack of talent and speed Broke one team and the other was smart enough to can ya b4 ya ended tnem.”

Interestingly, Moffitt has never been able to park his race car in the victory lane. Be it from his time in the ARCA Series or his limited schedule in the Trucks. In a day and age where the likes of William Sawalich, Connor Zilisch, and Corey Heim are making waves at such nascent stages in their careers. This display of mediocre performances by Moffitt wasn’t up to the standard for some race fans. And a few even celebrated his departure from competitive racing. “Best news all season.”

With no funding or support in sight, it is indeed hard to see Thad Moffitt return to NASCAR racing this year.