WEST SALEM – Other than the fact everyone is playing by the same rules, there’s nothing inherently fair about the way NASCAR champions are crowned these days.
Ty Majeski is fine with that.
Especially this season.
The reigning Craftsman Truck Series champion from Seymour has yet to win and in fact he doesn’t have as many top-five finishes as series leader Corey Heim has victories with three races to go. And …
“It really doesn’t matter,” Majeski said. “It’s a clean slate.
“If we go to Phoenix and finally win there, that’s perfect. I didn’t need to win those other 10 races that Corey won. It would rile up the sport pretty good if something happened to Corey at Phoenix. He’s most certainly the most deserving guy performance-wise this season.
“But we go to Phoenix and whoever the other three drivers are, none of that even matters. What he’s done all year, it doesn’t matter.”
Heim tied the series record Oct. 3 with his 10th victory in 22 races. To extrapolate using a previous season-long point system, Heim would already be champion. But NASCAR’s championship format is designed to mimic those of stick-and-ball sports, opening the door for a first-round surprise or an upset in the Super Bowl.
Behind Heim, the seven other drivers still eligible are separated by five points. They’ll have two races to either win and advance or accumulate enough points, and the top four will race for the championship on Halloween at Phoenix International Raceway.
That’s where Majeski ended a six-race drought to win the 2024 title.
“The pressure’s going to be on him to back up his season at Phoenix,” Majeski said. “So whatever other three drivers make it are going to be feeling pretty good about their chances, I think.”
One day after finishing eighth at the Charlotte Motor Speedway “roval,” Majeski was back in Wisconsin, pursuing his passion of super late model racing and trying to win a record-tying fifth Oktoberfest 200 at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway.
A thousand miles away from Majeski’s day job, there was no escape from truck talk.
He has carried the title of champion for 48 weeks, even if sometimes it still doesn’t quite feel real.
“You just take it race by a race as you go throughout the season, you almost get lost within the season,” Majeski said.
“You go through different points, low points and high points, in your career, and you’ve got to manage those. I’ve been saying since back when I first started racing is whenever you think you’re the best, that’s exactly when you’re going to get beat.”
Whatever happens at Talladega, Martinsville and Phoenix, the 2025 finale will signal the end of at least one era for the 31-year-old Majeski.
For 2026, he will turn in his familiar No. 98 to drive Thorsport Racing’s flagship No. 88 Menards-sponsored Ford as 25-year veteran Matt Crafon steps away. As far as Majeski knows, he’ll have the same crew led by Joe Shear Jr. and the same trucks, just with different decals on them.
Outwardly, Majeski and Shear would appear to be a bit of an odd couple, a college-educated engineer in the seat with a battle-tested crew chief born to a hands-on short-track standout from an era before engineering.
That look may be deceiving, and their relationship could be an edge when the truck series gets to Phoenix, especially if Heim somehow falters.
“Joe’s been around a long time, but he’s probably one of the most innovative guys in our sport, and a lot of people don’t know that,” Majeski said. He’s old school, but he’s also … always ahead of the curve on innovation and ideas and setups.
“That’s one advantage he has on a lot of people is he’s the one that’s innovating. He’s ahead of the curve. Sometimes, when you’re like that, you miss, right? You try things and they don’t work, and that’s all right. That’s how you figure it out, how to be better.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin NASCAR racer Ty Majeski pushing for 2nd truck championship
