Earlier in the week, NASCAR Truck Series championship finalist Ty Majeski was fined $12,500 for failing to attend the final four production day in Concord, North Carolina on Tuesday.
He was the only championship finalist to not appear but the reason was a decision to stay home in Wisconsin so he could cast a ballot in the federal election. Majeski intends to appeal and expressed the reasoning on Thursday on media day at Phoenix Raceway.
“It’s obviously been a whirlwind for sure,” Majeski said. “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 (Thorson,) we all made the decision to exercise that right.”
He works out of the Thorsport Racing team shop in Sandusky, Ohio and still resides in Seymore, Wisconsin and that is where he voted on Tuesday.
The production day for final four drivers is a new addition for this season and Christian Eckes, Corey Heim and Grant Enfinger each attended, but they also reside in North Carolina. Majeski said he was aware of the production day but also didn’t lock into the final four until this past Friday night at Martinsville Speedway.
“Yeah, we certainly knew about it,” Majeski said. “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. I didn’t know I was going to in the Championship 4 until a few days prior. 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.”
As far as the championship itself is concerned, this is the second time in three years that Majeski has raced in the championship deciding race at Phoenix and this is the best track type for he and crew chief Joe Shear — flatter short tracks.
He led 48 laps last year, too.
“I think this is our type of racetrack,” Majeski said. “Anytime Joe and I show up to a flat short track, I feel like we’re a threat to win. I feel like we’ve all kind of had our parts of the season where we’ve been dominant and I really feel like the Championship 4 that are here really are probably the four that deserve to be here the most. That doesn’t happen all the time with this format, so it’s good to see that. I think that’s good for the sport, good for everybody involved to have us four here. It’s going be an interesting race for sure. I feel like we have as good a chance as anybody. Like I said, being on a short track I feel really good about our chances.”
Majeski contended for the win two years ago and also feels confidence in knowing everything to expect. Majeski is one of the most decorated short track racers of his era, a two-time Snowball Derby winner and five-time Midwest Tour champion and now has a chance to add a Truck Series crown to that legacy.
“I’m just glad that this is kind of my second time here and I’ve had that experience to lean on and understand what goes into it with media day and all the attention you’ll be getting,” Majeski said. “Just having gone through it one time before this makes it that much easier. I’m much more calm this time around and understanding of what to expect. I’m excited for the opportunity. These are the types of moments that you dream of being in as a race car driver, kind of the Game 7 moment. It’s winner take all and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”