NASCAR: Ty Majeski dominates at Phoenix, wins Truck Series title

All Ty Majeski needed was a green-flag run to finish off his domination of Friday night‘s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race — a victory that earned him his first series title.

Majeski led 132 of 150 laps at one-mile Phoenix Raceway, and when the race-ending 27-lap green-flag run finally came, Majeski pulled away to a 3.945-second victory over Corey Heim, who recovered from a restart violation to finish second.

“I can‘t believe it,” said Majeski, who won for the first time at Phoenix, the third time this season at the sixth time in his career. “Huge thank you to (ThorSport Racing team owners) Duke and Rhonda Thorson, (crew chief) Joe Shear Jr. — he‘s one bad dude.

“This is so much fun racing with this group. I‘m so proud to have the opportunity to drive these great race trucks. There‘s a lot of times in my career when this looked like a far dream. Duke and Rhonda really gave me my third opportunity after I had two opportunities that failed—man, I can‘t thank them enough.”

The championship was the second for Shear, who guided Johnny Sauter to the title with GMS Racing in 2016. For ThorSport, it was a series-record sixth championship, adding to three with Matt Crafton and two with 2023 champion Ben Rhodes.

ThorSport has won three of the last four Truck Series titles.

Heim restarted 19th on Lap 108 after his penalty and quickly moved forward, but the driver of the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota couldn‘t overcome the speed in Majeski‘s No. 98 Ford.

“I‘m really disappointed to come up short like that,” said Heim, who will return for a third season with Tricon next year. “It‘s hard to even be upset. I did almost everything right except for that restart violation (changing lanes before the start/finish line).

“But we were able to get our track position back pretty quick and make the most of it. I just had nothing for the 98. All day, he was so fast … We‘ll move forward with our heads up high, a six-win season — career highs for myself, my team, organization, everybody — just one spot short of the championship.”

Championship 4 drivers Christian Eckes and Grant Enfinger finished third and fifth, respectively, after pitting for fresh tires on Lap 113. Though they were able to move through the field, they had nothing for the race winner.

Before the final green-flag run, three quick cautions — including a six-minute, nine-second red flag for a nine-truck wreck on the backstretch — interrupted the action at the start of the final stage, bringing the total for yellows to six for 43 laps. After Majeski got away in clean air from a restart on Lap 124, however, the race was over.

Starting from the pole position, Majeski streaked to a lead of more than two seconds, but Heim tracked him down in traffic and passed the No. 98 Ford for the top spot on Lap 39.

Three laps later, the Ford of Frankie Muniz spun after contact with William Sawalich‘s Toyota, ending the first 45-lap stage under caution.

But Majeski reclaimed the lead, with Eckes advancing to second, after Heim slid past the marks in his pit stall under the caution for the stage break and came out third.

Heim complained on the team radio channel that the concrete pit stall was one of the slickest he had ever experienced.

Majeski flipped the script in Stage 2, passing Heim for the top spot on Lap 71, six circuits after a restart that followed Jack Wood‘s hard crash into the Turn 2 wall.

By the end of the stage at Lap 90, Majeski had expanded his advantage to 3.597 seconds. But stage wins were inconsequential to the Championship 4 contenders, who would settle possession of the title in the frenetic final segment of the race.

Nick Sanchez finished fourth as the only non-Championship 4 driver to crack the top five. Taylor Gray was sixth, followed by Kaden Honeycutt, Connor Mosack, Rhodes and Layne Riggs.

Ty Majeski

Ty Majeski emerges from the truck victorious and salutes the fans here at Phoenix. We can see the emotion. You can see the passion that Ty has, that he always has every time he’s behind the wheel in this Craftsman Truck Series. Ty, what an absolutely dominant performance tonight by you and this race team. You are a Craftsman Truck Series Champion.

TY MAJESKI: I can’t believe it. A huge thank you to Duke and Rhonda Thorson, Joe Shear, Jr. He’s one bad dude. This is so much fun racing with this group.

So proud to have the opportunity to drive these great race trucks. Man, you know, there’s a lot of times in my career where this looks like a far dream, and Duke and Rhonda really gave me my third opportunity after I had two opportunities I failed.

Man, I can’t thank them enough. My wife, Ali, been there every step of the way. Man, we have had a lot of ups and downs, and just so proud of these guys.

You mentioned those ups and downs and the hard work. You’re one of the most blue collar drivers in all of motorsports. What does this say to all of the other short trackers around that are trying to chase their dreams and do what you just did tonight in the Craftsman truck series?

TY MAJESKI: It’s possible. You need to find a way to set yourself apart from everybody else. I did that by working in the shop. Started as an engineer at ThorSport in 2021 with three or four races. Didn’t know what it was going to turn into, and damn it, now we’re champions.

Huge thank you to Road Ranger, Curb Records, Soda Sense. We have so many partners that go into this. Again, Duke, Rhonda Thorson, Ali. Man, this is special. We’re going to celebrate this one.

What’s that celebration going to look like tonight?

TY MAJESKI: I don’t know. Probably not like Ben Rhodes’ (laughing).

Note: Post-race inspection in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series garage is complete. No issues. The winning No. 98 engine will be torn down Saturday morning to make sure it was legal.