Ty Majeski and the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Road Ranger Ford F-150 suffered another loss at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday, June 1, 2024. (Photo: Josh James | The Podium Finish)
MADISON, Ill. – Reliving a previous season’s race can be a good thing for many, but for Ty Majeski, experiencing the same disappointment as last year’s event at World Wide Technology Raceway was crushing.
Majeski’s Toyota 200 weekend started out very promising, as the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Road Ranger Ford showed great speed in practice and qualifying, just like last year. He became the first Craftsman Truck Series driver in WWTR history to win consecutive poles, setting a blistering lap of 32.475 seconds, just 0.124 seconds faster than second-place qualifier Christian Eckes.
“This place is definitely where you pick up so much speed here in qualifying trim just with the way the track is and how much you have to run the opening for cooling and everything,” Majeski said to FOX Sports on Friday. “So, this place is a little bit of an anomaly qualifying-wise. But, really fast Road Ranger Ford F150. Really happy to be here.”
Despite a two-hour rain delay and a green track to start the race on Saturday, Majeski was cool, calm and collected. “Our goal for today is to execute on all levels and put a full race together,” he said during the pace laps.
The green flag waved and Majeski shot forward from the outside, with Eckes following closely behind. Majeski was just starting to settle into the lead when the No. 66 of Luke Fenhaus went three-wide between the No. 33 and the No. 41 and spun out in Turn 3 on Lap 10, bringing out the first caution of the day.
Ty Majeski racing in the lead during Stage 1 of the Toyota 200. (Photo: Josh James | The Podium Finish)
Majeski restarted on the outside once again when the caution was lifted on Lap 16. The No. 2 of Nick Sanchez gave Majeski an aggressive push racing into Turn 1, giving Majeski the edge over Eckes. However, the momentum did not last long as Eckes side-drafted Majeski into Turn 3 and was able to take the lead coming out of the corner.
The top four cars of Eckes, Majeski, Sanchez and Stewart Friesen were bumper-to-bumper until Majeski slid low next to Eckes’ left rear quarter panel, getting him loose and slipping by to take the lead back on Lap 18. Majeski reported to his crew chief, Joe Shear, that the truck was running very well through Turns 3 and 4 but was a bit tight through Turns 1 and 2. Majeski extended his lead over Eckes to about two seconds by the time Stage 1 ended on Lap 35.
The No. 98 led the field down pit road for the first round of pit stops. Shear called for four new tires and no adjustments, as the truck was handling well overall. Majeski exited pit road in the sixth position, after some cars only took two tires.
Stage 2 started on Lap 42 with Majeski lining up in the 10th position, behind three cars who stayed out during the stage break and six cars who only took two tires during the pit stops. He restarted on the outside, his strongest position, and quickly made his way up to fifth before the second caution of the day came out on Lap 47.
Ty Majeski after passing ThorSport Racing teammate, Ben Rhodes, for the lead in Stage 2 (Photo: Josh James | The Podium Finish)
Majeski’s four-tire call started to build the No. 98’s momentum as he sliced through the field to the front by Lap 66, passing his teammate Ben Rhodes for the lead. Towards the end of Stage 2, Eckes was starting to gain on Majeski, but it was not enough as Majeski won the stage, sweeping two stages in a race for the fourth time in his career.
A four-tire call was made once again, setting Majeski back to Row 3 for the restart. Stage 3 was fairly uneventful, to everyone’s surprise, as WWTR normally provides about 10 cautions in a typical Truck race. No one expected to be completing green flag pit stops during the 90-lap run. Majeski was running in second behind Corey Heim when he was called to pit road on Lap 117. As drivers cycled in and out of the pits, Heim and Majeski ended up back on the lead lap and out front.
The fifth and final caution of the day came out on Lap 129 when Vicente Salas got loose off of Turn 2 and crashed into the inside barrier. On the restart on Lap 137, Heim strangely chose the inside lane, giving Majeski his most successful starting position on the outside. However, this did not end up working to Majeski’s advantage, as Heim was able to clear him for the lead. Majeski began losing momentum and was passed by Eckes and Sanchez, respectively, putting him back in fourth place by the time the checkered flag waved.
Corey Heim challenging Ty Majeski for the lead in the Toyota 200. (Photo: Josh James | The Podium Finish)
“The No. 2 had a little bit better tires than all of us,” Majeski said to Harry Loomis after the race. “I thought he was going to be tough to beat and he came forward, but obviously it wasn’t enough.
“So yeah, honestly the truck ran flawless today. We just missed it a little balance-wise. Probably a couple adjustments away from maybe being good enough to win at the end, but yeah, solid day for our Road Ranger Ford F-150.”
Majeski led 43 laps of the 160-lap event, but faltered at the end when it counted. He remains winless since the playoff opener at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 2023.
The Craftsman Truck Series is off for a few weeks and will return to racing at Nashville Superspeedway under the lights on Friday, June 28th.
