Thomas "Moose" Praytor IV (born February 28, 1990) is an American former professional stock car racing driver who last competed part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet for his family team, Max Force Racing.

Racing career

Praytor started racing at eight years old in a borrowed yard kart from a family friend. He quickly progressed from karts to Bandoleros, where Praytor would drive one that was sponsored by The Outdoor Channel. He later began racing late models, running in the Southeast and picking up three US Army Rookie of the Year titles, local and state titles. Praytor and the Max Force Racing team earned the Ironman Status of the Gulf Coast competing in every Pro and Super Late Model Race at Mobile International Speedway and Five Flags Speedway while finishing in the top 10 of the Championship standings at both tracks.

Praytor made his first ARCA Racing Series start at the inaugural ARCA Mobile 200 at the Mobile International Speedway in 2012. He made later starts at Talladega Superspeedway and also saw starts with Venturini Motorsports. In the 2013 season, Praytor ran for rookie of the year as it was his first full season in ARCA. He drove the No. 2 Ford/Chevrolet for Hixson Motorsports and finished the season ninth in points and also earning the HG Adcox Sportsmanship Award. Returning to the Hixson No. 2 in 2014, Praytor acquired sponsorship DK-LOK Fittings and Valves and ended the season eighth in points. Praytor was also named the Hard Charger Driver after the Herr's Chase the Taste 200 in Winchester. For the 2015 season, Praytor and his father Tommy started their team, Max Force Racing, which fielded the No. 9 DK-LOK Ford for Praytor, who would finish ninth in points. The team was named in memory of Thomas's brother Max, who died in June 2001.

Praytor statistically had his best season in 2016. Competing in all twenty events and earning four top-ten finishes, he went on to finish fifth in season points. The following year, Praytor dropped to seventh in points, not earning a top-ten that year but still having a consistent season overall.

In 2018, the team would cut back their schedule, only running the first four races before taking a break. The team would return to field their No. 9 car for Jesse Iwuji at Chicago. Additionally, the Max Force team entered a second car at Daytona, the No. 99, for Ronnie Osmer. Their only races in 2019 came at Talladega, where Praytor would finish 20th in the race. Their next race would not come until Daytona in 2020, where it was later revealed that they took most of the 2019 season off so Praytor could spend time with his newborn son, (Hugh) Thomas Praytor V.

Personal life

Praytor was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, and is the son of local realtor and owner of Praytor Realty, Thomas ("Tommy") Praytor III, who also used to drive racecars.

Praytor is nicknamed "Moose". The name derived from one of Praytor's first cars being sponsored by The Outdoor Channel and featuring a giant Moose coming out of the rear wheel well. When that paint scheme was run, the name "Thomas" above the window net on the car was changed to "Thomoose", which was later shortened to "Moose" and the nickname stuck. Every car Praytor has driven since then has had "Thomoose Praytor" above the window net.

Praytor is a weekly host on the Inside ARCA Racing radio show on WNSP, a station in his home state of Alabama. Praytor's segment, the "Moose Call", is named after his nickname.

In 2008, Praytor's team had a car for sale, which led to a partnership with Warner Brothers Pictures for the film series Final Destination fourth installment, The Final Destination. Filmed at Mobile International Speedway, Praytor and fellow driver David Ellis worked as stunt drivers for the film.

During the 2013 season, Praytor joined up with Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback A. J. McCarron to design a McCarron replica helmet; Praytor wore the helmet at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega, after which it was donated to the Alabama Institute of the Deaf and Blind to benefit the annual Race Fever Action.

On May 9, 2022, it was revealed that Praytor was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis. On lap five of the 2022 General Tire 200, Praytor lost movement in his left arm and leg. He would drive with his right hand, until the red flag came out with 10 laps to go. He went through a driver change, with Sean Corr taking over his car for the remaining ten laps. Medical personnel removed Praytor from the car, where he was transported to the infield care center. He had flu-like symptoms just a few days prior to the race.

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 21 Pts Ref 2012 Andy Belmont Racing 5 Ford DAY MOB34 SLM 58th 370 2 TAL20 TOL ELK POC MCH WIN NJE IRP IOW CHI POC BLN ISF Venturini Motorsports 35 Chevy MAD28 66 Toyota SLM28 DSF KAN 2013 Hixson Motorsports 2 Ford DAY22 TAL22 POC16 MCH10 CHI23 KEN19 KAN19 9th 4210 Dodge MOB16 SLM21 Chevy TOL18 ELK10 ROA16 WIN9 NJE17 POC24 BLN18 ISF22 MAD14 DSF20 IOW21 SLM17 2014 DAY31 TAL22 NJE15 ELK15 WIN12 ISF15 MAD13 DSF13 7th 3950 Ford MOB11 SLM11 TOL21 POC13 MCH14 CHI18 IRP16 POC16 BLN20 SLM13 KEN21 KAN20 2015 Max Force Racing 9 DAY24 MOB7 NSH10 SLM15 TAL20 TOL16 NJE15 POC16 MCH17 CHI21 WIN15 IOW18 IRP19 BLN18 ISF16 DSF13 SLM18 KEN16 KAN14 8th 3930 12 Chevy POC28 2016 9 Ford DAY14 NSH18 SLM17 TAL16 TOL14 NJE21 POC20 MCH14 MAD9 WIN11 IOW15 IRP15 POC21 BLN8 ISF8 DSF9 SLM14 CHI15 KEN14 KAN15 5th 4055 2017 DAY29 NSH28 SLM14 TAL12 TOL14 ELK15 POC24 MCH19 MAD13 IOW18 IRP17 POC22 WIN14 ISF13 ROA19 DSF11 SLM16 CHI30 KEN14 KAN20 7th 3790 2018 Chevy DAY14 TAL21 TOL CLT POC MCH MAD GTW CHI IOW ELK POC ISF BLN DSF SLM IRP KAN 37th 560 Ford NSH18 SLM19 2019 Chevy DAY FIF SLM TAL20 NSH TOL CLT POC MCH MAD CHI GTW ELK IOW POC ISF DSF SLM IRP KAN 77th 130 2020 DAY11 PHO TAL POC IRP KEN IOW KAN TOL TOL MCH DAY GTW L44 TOL BRI WIN MEM ISF KAN 60th 33 2021 DAY PHO TAL KAN TOL CLT MOH POC ELK BLN IOW WIN GLN MCH ISF MLW DSF BRI SLM KAN 101st 27 2022 DAY PHO TAL KAN CLT IOW BLN ELK MOH POC IRP MCH GLN ISF MLW DSF KAN BRI SLM TOL 104th 25

Season still in progress Ineligible for series points

References

External links