The last two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series seasons have not been entirely kind to ThorSport Racing.
Sure, Ben Rhodes is the defending champion, but he only has one win in the last two seasons and hasn’t really shown major signs of a championship defense this season.
In fact, ThorSport is completely winless in 2024, one year after winning just three races with three different drivers – one of which was a one-off start from Joey Logano on the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt.
The other driver to win in 2023 for ThorSport was Ty Majeski, who has, by and large, led the way for them the last two seasons. While ThorSport has arguably had a worse 2024 overall, this season feels like a wash, rinse, repeat cycle for Majeski.
Last season, ThorSport was struggling to produce wins. However, Majeski was able to stick around in the top five in points, remaining in contention for the regular-season championship before Corey Heim pulled away in the final few races.
Even without a win, Majeski was able to carry the torch for ThorSport.
Majeski only scored one win last season at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, which served as the first race of the 2023 playoffs. He was primed for a big playoff run before a major penalty after the Milwaukee Mile all but derailed his run before it could really get started.
This season, Majeski again enters IRP winless. With two races before the playoffs, though, Majeski again is holding strong in the points. He currently runs fourth, trailing Heim, Christian Eckes and Nick Sanchez – all of whom have won at least twice this season. Majeski has also run well enough to leapfrog Rajah Caruth, the only other full-time driver to win a race this season, in points.
Just how identical is Majeski’s 2024 season to his 2023 season? Much like last season, the Seymour, Wisc. native has had several near-trips to victory lane that have been pulled from under him.
Twice this season, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway, Majeski swept the stages, only to miss out on the true checkered flag. In the case of Las Vegas, Majeski also led the most laps and had the win on lock until he wheel-hopped on his final pit stop on lap 101.
That resulted in a speeding penalty and relegated him to 10th.
The other one that got away from Majeski was Darlington Raceway, where Majeski looked like the truck to beat in the final stage after a bunch of the contenders were taken out in an earlier crash.
However, a late caution set up an overtime restart, one in which Majeski couldn’t get going.
Contact from those behind him sent the No. 98 up the hill and out of the lead. While he was still able to salvage a top five, it was still a heartbreaker to lose out at one of NASCAR’s most historic tracks.
Majeski has shown that he has the speed to compete for wins. Much like last year, it feels like all he needs is a win to get back in the thick of the championship race. In a season that looks to be a two-horse race between Heim and Eckes, Majeski could make it a three-man battle, but he needs to clear the first hurdle of reaching victory lane.
The Truck Series returns to IRP this Friday (July 19) and provides a great opportunity for Majeski to go back-to-back. Fortunately, IRP was moved out of the playoffs and almost a month prior to its August date from last year. Therefore, if Majeski can finally breakthrough, he will enter the two-week Olympic break with a lot of momentum as the series rockets towards its regular-season finale at Richmond Raceway.
Fortunately, Majeski is already mathematically locked into the playoffs on points – he has been that good this season, even without a victory. There’s no worry for the No. 98 team of missing the playoffs, which could make the team’s strategy even more aggressive on the two short tracks that Majeski dominated at last season.
However, with the stress of making the playoffs lifted, it makes the goal of winning all the more prevalent. Eckes and Heim are far and away the two best trucks on the season, and the only way to beat them at this point is to win — and win a lot.
Majeski seems to be one of the few drivers who can run as consistent as those two, if you take out the DNFs between the three drivers.
It also seems that Majeski is able to ride waves of momentum that could carry him into a deep playoff run. All Majeski needs to do is reach victory lane once, and that could give him a Herculean wave of momentum and he could have a Tony Stewart 2011-esque postseason.
If the floodgates open for the No. 98 team, Eckes and Heim cannot overlook this. Otherwise, Majeski could steal a next-round-berth – or even a championship – from either of them.
It might be wise for ThorSport to devote most, if not all, of its best resources to Majeski from this point forward to further his chances of winning. It’s increasingly clear that Majeski could be the lone representative for the Sandusky, Ohio-based team in the playoffs. Defending champion Rhodes is currently in at this moment, but is one bad finish away from fighting for a spot of his own in Richmond.
Matt Crafton and Jake Garcia will more than likely need a win to make the playoffs.
ThorSport devoting its best resources to the No. 98 could be the ticket to earning its third drivers’ championship in four years. Majeski has found new life in his career since joining ThorSport, and seems content competing in the Truck Series for life. He could be the way forward for the team, at least in the near future.
But time is running out. The more races that go by without Majeski winning, the bigger the opportunity is for Heim and Eckes to duke it out for a championship themselves.
But the No. 98 team is right there. If they get that one win, then look out.
All you need is one.
Truckin’ Tidbits
- The lone penalty out of Pocono Raceway weekend came from the Truck Series. Ross Chastain‘s truck was found with a loose lug nut. As such, Phil Gould, crew chief of the No. 45, was fined $2,500.
- Upon the series’ return from the Olympic break at Richmond, Richard Petty will serve as the grand marshal for the truck race. Petty’s grandson Thad Moffitt competes full-time in the Truck Series this season.
About the author
Anthony Damcott joined Frontstretch in March 2022. Currently, he is an editor and co-authors Fire on Fridays (Fridays); he is also the primary Truck Series reporter/writer and secondary short track writer. He also serves as an at-track reporter and assists with social media when he can. A proud West Virginia Wesleyan College alum from Akron, Ohio, Anthony is now a grad student. He is a theatre actor and fight-choreographer-in-training in his free time.
You can keep up with Anthony by following @AnthonyDamcott on X.
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