Ty Majeski rolls off from the second starting position for Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
LEXINGTON, Ohio – Ty Majeski has a lot of success throughout his career on many different tracks.
However, Majeski does not have the best track record when it comes to road courses.
Then again, the young Seymour, Wisconsin native looks forward to his second start at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with the hopes of building on his early season success at the only other road course race, Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, when he came home third.
“I think we learned a lot from a driving standpoint. Where to go, where to be, Downshifting, your braking points, all that kind of stuff. And we also learned a lot about the race truck. So I really expect us to be a lot better this year than what we were last year.” Majeski said.
In 2022, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series made its debut at the 2.258-mile, 13-turn Lexington, Ohio road course and weather impacted qualifying once the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers were forced to qualify in the rain.
This year, the rain could show up around the time the green flag is unfurled by the flagman. For Majeski, he is hoping for a dry race track.
“We had to qualify in the wet last year and that was my first experience in the rain on a road course,” he said. “Hopefully, it stays dry this year so we can put on a good race for all of our ThorSport team members that get to make it to the track.”
ThorSport Racing is based out of Sandusky, Ohio, a short 45-minute driver to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The driver of the No. 98 Curb Records/Cincinnati Ford F-150 considered the significance of having all the team and office personnel that do not regularly travel with the team at the race track.
Last year, Majeski ran 12th after starting the O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 from the 21st position. This year, Majeski starts on the outside pole alongside two-time polesitter Corey Heim. So Majeski certainly knows how to make passes on this challenging race track.
On the other hand, starting up front will make things a little more comfortable, especially early. Still, if the driver of the No. 98 wants to remain on track for a good result, there are some other places on the race track where he can pass.
“The best place is definitely into the keyhole and of course, down into (Turn) 4,” Majeski said. “Those are the two most obvious points if you get a good run out of turn one and carry that momentum up the hill then outbreak the guy in front of you.
“If you get a good run off of Turn 9 and can get alongside a guy down through Thunder Valley and out brake them in to (Turn) 11, you can make a pass there before Turn 12. (You can’t make any) mistakes. You can’t get pushed off line or wheelhop under breaking and slide wide in a corner. Mistakes and lost momentum will hurt your lap times here and ruin an entire lap.”
Mid-Ohio is a track known for contact like a short track oval. Balancing risk versus reward moves is on every drivers’ minds. In a series known for contact and highly aggressive driving, Majeski tries to find the fine line.
“You have to balance everything racing here,” he said. “You want to have a truck to race with at the end. But at the same token, track position is so important. Track position is always king. If you can get yourself out front, this race has a tendency to string out a little bit just because there are such low speed parts of the track.”
With the low speed sections of the track in Turns 4 through 8, there are high speed sections including the run up to the “keyhole” in Turn 2. That is a little tricky this year as the section of Turn 1 just before the braking zone underneath the bridge by pit road exit has been repaved.
Some drivers have run into issues negotiating that portion of the track. This puts the focus on getting into that corner as smoothly as possible because there is so much grip.
“Those areas help spread out the field,” Majeski said. “So it’s really important to stay in the top five to ten. It gives you the chance to stay in that safe zone.”
Presently, Majeski, who ranks fourth in the championship standings, realizes a race like Mid-Ohio can erase beneficial points in a hurry. At the same token, it can provides the opportunity for racers to maximize on making up ground ahead of the Playoffs.
“Obviously, you want to get through every race,” he said. “But we look at road courses as a good opportunity for us to run good and collect some stage points and maybe some playoff points. So the last couple road courses we’ve had (such as) last year at Sonoma, I ran third to Kyle Busch and Zane (Smith) and then this year as well at COTA, we ran second to Kyle Busch and Zane. So (we’re) obviously in good company. We have really good road course trucks.”
This could be the weekend that Majeski can make a push closer to the frontrunners with only two races left in the regular season, Majeski is in a good position, but a win and precious Playoff points would certainly help his chances towards realizing his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship.
