AVONDALE, Ariz.: Ty Majeski entered CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship weekend confident that he could win the title.
With his engineering background, the 30-year-old racer understands that preparation and execution are the keys to success.
But ThorSport team owner Duke Thorson believed Majeski needed more.
“It started with my dad, because him and Dad have a great relationship,” said Allison Thorson, co-owner of ThorSport Racing. “We always go out to eat. I show horses. They’re in the barn mucking stalls, sweeping. We’re going out to dinner like it’s one big family and because Ty was always there, ‘Golden Shoes is there again.’”
After Duke Thorson landed on Majeski’s new moniker, he took the term of endearment one step further. He presented his driver with a pair of golden driving shoes earlier this season.
“My dad is sneaky,” added Allison Thorson. “He won’t tell anybody because he doesn’t want that sticker like he bought them, but he definitely ran with the golden shoes.”
Majeski was almost embarrassed at first. The diminutive driver is far from flashy. Golden shoes would have been the least practical purchase for a grassroots racer who grew up in Seymour, Wisconsin, 20 minutes west of Green Bay.
“That’s definitely my team owner (Duke Thorson), sort of an internal joke at the shop,” Majeski said. “We always try to have fun. That’s the one thing I love about the culture at ThorSport. There is absolutely never a dull moment.
“I’ve worn the golden shoes all but two races. I wrecked at Bristol (Motor Speedway) and we had an electrical issue at Pocono (Raceway). So, the golden shoes are here to stay.”
Of course the pragmatist in Majeski also entered the Phoenix Raceway finale with a game plan.
After finishing fourth in the Championship 4 round two years ago, Majeski and crew chief Joe Shear Jr., knew they had to step out of their comfort zone and bring a truck that would topple the competition.
The No. 98 ThorSport team did exactly just that on Friday. He won the pole for the title bout, then led all but 18 laps before crossing the finish line with nearly a four-second advantage over second-place Corey Heim.
“I’m not going to elaborate on how they were different,” Majeski said of the truck he drove to the title. “I’ll keep that to myself. We were good the last couple of years here, but felt like we were lacking a little bit of longevity, and we saw that a little bit in the first stage where we had a dominating lead.
“It was a lot like last year where we built up a lead, and the 11 caught us. We were able to hold on for the stage win last year, but Corey was able to get by me this year.”
Shear prepared a stout long-run truck but Majeski could also execute textbook launches on restarts. He altered his tactics over the final three restarts to keep the competition guessing.
“We made a really good change at the end of Stage 1 to make our truck just that much better,” Majeski said. “A lot of work went into sim. I was at the Ford sim at least once for Phoenix, and we were able to tune in the tire and make really good changes.
“Looking back at it now, the tire was really good, and we were able to make changes on it.
Yeah, propel us to a championship. Any time you can use your tools and trust your simulation that Ford Performance has given us is a good thing when you can trust your tools and have it correlate to real life.”
Majeski’s life has taken many turns since he was identified as a development driver by Ford in 2017. He shared a ride with Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric in the Xfinity Series but never ran enough races to build consistency. While Briscoe and Cindric’s careers took off—and the drivers eventually landed in the NASCAR Cup Series—Majeski continued to race in the Midwest and chart his next path.
In 2021, Duke Thorson offered Majeski a unique opportunity to use his engineering skills at ThorSport and race when seats opened. While he only competed in four races that season, Majeski’s potential was undeniable. ThorSport paired the driver with fellow Wisconsinite and former champion Shear, in 2022 and they scored two wins, two poles and advanced to the Championship 4.
After three seasons together, they won their first truck title.
“There’s no guy I’d rather have in the truck series—or any series for that matter,” Majeski said. “Joe and I have such a great relationship, really outside of the Truck Series as well, and I think that’s where we might have a step up on a lot of these driver/crew chief relationships. Ours goes beyond that.”
As communicative as the driver and crew chief are throughout the week, during the race Majeski provided constructive feedback, and Shear continued to dial the truck in. While Heim passed the No. 98 truck twice, he was never able to hold the point. Majeski scored a career-best third win of the season and delivered ThorSport a series-best sixth championship.
“That’s what we like to do—an ass-kicking like that,” Majeski said. “There was no denying us tonight. Executed on all levels.”
As the organization celebrated for a second-straight year in Championship Victory Lane at Phoenix, Majeski and Allison Thorson reveled in their accomplishment by sharing a shoey—from the infamous golden driving shoes.
Majeski first poured the champagne into his shoe and chugged the bubbly, then refilled the gilded slipper and presented it to his owner.
“Ty is super humble,” Allison Thorson said. “He’s the best person to have that nickname, but I think he sports it pretty well.”
Could Majeski have envisioned a moment when he would be hoisting the truck trophy and drinking champagne from the golden shoes?
“Honestly, I did,” Majeski said. “I knew it was going to be a matter of execution. All the tools were there. Joe Shear, everybody at ThorSport, all the equipment that Duke and Rhonda (Thorson) were giving us, I knew it was possible. We just had to do our part of putting it all together.
“I love showing up for work each day and going to battle for everybody at the shop. I love where I’m at. I love driving for Duke and Rhonda. They’ve built a great culture up there and there’s no where that I’d rather be.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
