AVONDALE, Ariz: When most of the questions during Thursday’s Championship 4 Media Day at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway for Ty Majeski should have been about propelling ThorSport Racing into Friday night’s Championship 4 race; the buzz centered around the $12,500 fine NASCAR handed down Tuesday night.
Majeski skipped his required Championship 4 media obligations Tuesday during a preplanned content day with FOX Sports, the television provider for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.
Instead of joining Championship 4 rivals Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, or Corey Heim, Majeski was back home in Wisconsin, electing to vote in person on Election Day.
Majeski said Thursday that he intends to appeal NASCAR’s fine. He has until later this week to officially file.
“That is our intent, yes,” Majeski said Thursday morning at Phoenix Raceway when asked if he would appeal his monetary fine.
“It’s obviously been a whirlwind for sure. Like I said, I’m really focused on the race Friday night. I felt like I needed to do my duty as a U.S. citizen to vote. My team owners and I, Duke, Rhonda and Allison (ThorSport), we all made the decision to exercise that right.”
Majeski said he was aware of Tuesday’s responsibilities.
“Yeah, we certainly knew about it,” added Majeski. “I didn’t specifically have much communication with NASCAR prior. I let everybody internally at ThorSport handle those conversations prior to not being there on Tuesday, so I feel like they knew our position, and it’s kind of unprecedented. This has never happened before. Election Day everyone knew it was Election Day for a long time.
“It’s unfortunate circumstances for everybody. I don’t think anybody wants to be put in that position, but we have to have a free country to race in and that’s just part of being a U.S. citizen, so I wanted to exercise that right.”
When asked why he did not submit an absentee ballot, Majeski said he was not locked into the Championship 4 race until Friday night and has always pledged his vote in person on Election Day.
“I didn’t know I was gonna in the Championship 4 until a few days prior,” Majeski mentioned. “I’ve always in my whole life been an election day vote guy. I’ve never done an absentee ballot. I wanted to make sure my vote was counted.”
Majeski, 29, returns to the Championship 4 race on Friday night for the first time since the 2022 season and hopes to improve on his fourth-place championship finish in the 150-lap race.
The Seymour, Wisc. native finished 11th last Friday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, acquiring enough points to proceed to the Truck Series Championship race.
In 22 races, Majeski has earned two wins, nine top-five and 13 top-10s, a slightly improved record from 2023.
Majeski, expected to return to the Sandusky, Ohio organization next year, looks to deliver ThorSport Racing its third Truck Series championship in the last four years. His teammate Ben Rhodes brought home the hardware in the 2021 and 2023 seasons, respectively.
“I’m excited,” sounded Majeski. “It’s good to be back. In 2023, it was a little weird not being here for the championship race, so it’s good to be back. I feel like we belong here and I feel like we deserve to be here, I really do. And I think the same can be said for the other three.
“I think the four that are here deserve to be here, and with this format, it doesn’t always go that way, so it’s good to have what I feel like are the best four in the series this year battling for the championship, so I’m excited for the opportunity. It’s been a great year, and hopefully, we can close it out.”
Follow Chris Knight on X (Twitter) @Knighter01 or email at cknight@catchfence.com.
