Richmond, Va. — Michael Jordan at Madison Square Garden. Babe Ruth at Yankee Stadium. Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros. Kobe Bryant at the Staples Center.
These are just a few examples of sports greats who found a sweet spot at select arenas or stadiums.
If you were to draw a comparison in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, you could make an argument for Ty Majeski at Richmond Raceway — almost.
The defending Richmond winner picked up right where he left off at the .75-mile track in the Truck Series regular season finale Friday (Aug. 15), sweeping the stages and pacing the field for a whopping 143 of the 250 laps.
The key word in all of this though is almost. And as the saying goes, “almost” only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
Only on restarts was any other driver in the same league as Majeski, as Corey Heim was the only driver who managed to get ahead of the No. 98 in those moments. Yet, those stints only lasted anywhere from five to 10 laps before Majeski looked like Jackson Storm in Cars 3, seemingly cruising by the competition. By the end of the first stage, only 11 cars were on the lead lap.
But as green flag pits stop began to commence with 50 laps to go, Majeski, who had yet to make his stop, had his race flipped upside down when his ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton drifted into him in turn 3, sending both trucks around.
A look at what brought out the caution on Lap 200. https://t.co/GYbkcsqzMW pic.twitter.com/UDfR4Z9pKa
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) August 16, 2025
Crafton declined an interview with Frontstretch post-race, but did confirm oil was the culprit for the incident, caused by a blown motor on Frankie Muniz‘s No. 33 truck.
Though relatively unscathed from the spin, and even with the aid of pitting for fresh tires while remaining on the lead lap, Majeski was unable to overcome the adversity, losing ground to the polesitter and eventual race winner, Heim.
“I knew right when I fired off (on the last restart), I thought ‘Man, this thing is a lot tighter than what I had all night long,'” Majeski said post-race. Just wasn’t our night. I thought we did everything right and executed well. My weakness was restarts, I couldn’t get going. It paid off on the long run. I was able to manage my runs and get Corey within five or 10 laps each run. Disappointed, I wish we could have put our ThorSport team in victory lane, but overall, a good night.”
Dominant all night, but @TyMajeski came up one spot short of the win. pic.twitter.com/SPkptDW1td
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) August 16, 2025
It’s an eerily similar scenario for Majeski, who led 73 laps in the 2022 race at Richmond, as well as 168 in 2023. In both instances, he came up short, finishing third and second in those events. In total, Majeski had led 454 laps in the four races since the Trucks returned to Richmond in 2022, with his 2024 win standing as the only victory to show for his pace.
Adding more salt to the wound for the reigning series champion is the fact that ThorSport Racing continues to dwell in unfamiliar territory, still winless on the season.
If there is a positive side, Majeski had already ensured his opportunity to defend his title as part of the 10-driver playoff, though he rued the missed opportunity to score more playoff points.
Still hungry for that first win, the 30-year-old will head into the playoffs as the sixth seed, seven points above the cut line to start.
But for now, the soap opera and love-hate relationship of Majeski and Richmond continues.
Entering his fifth year with Frontstretch, Luken Glover is the author of The Underdog House, shedding light on the motivation and performance of NASCAR's dark horse teams as they strive to fight to the top. Additionally, Glover reports for the site at various events, and he contributes in the video editing department.
A 2023 graduate of the University of the Cumberlands, Glover is a middle school math and PE teacher, as well as a basketball coach. He is passionate about serving in his church, playing/coaching a wide variety of sports, and researching motorsports history.