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via Imago

via Imago

Ty Majeski will be feeling hard done by. Despite winning his first Truck Series championship in 2024, the 30-year-old driver will be forced to pay $12,500 for missing media obligations. Hailing from Wisconsin, the racer was seen casting his ballot on election day and posted a selfie on social media with the classic “I voted” sticker. However, that decision came at a cost, as it made Majeski’s wallet lighter and forced him to miss out on NASCAR’s Championship 4 Media Day in Charlotte, North Carolina.

It seems like NASCAR takes media commitments very seriously, so much so that it’s also included in their contracts. However, the penalty hasn’t gone down well with fans, many of whom took to social media to criticize the fine being upheld.

Ty Majeski bears the brunt of NASCAR’s media rules

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It wasn’t the decision Ty Majeski was hoping for. Days before the title-winning race at Phoenix, the driver opted to remain home in Seymour, Wisconsin, to cast his vote in the 2024 Federal Election. Unfortunately, the day also coincided with his media commitments, which were scheduled for November 5th in North Carolina. Even though he did inform NASCAR’s authorities about his decision to skip the engagement, the sanctioning body said that Majeski didn’t provide a reason for the same.

Explaining his decision late, Ty Majeski said, “I felt like I needed to do my duty as a [United States] citizen to vote. My team owners and I, Duke [Thorson], Rhonda [Thorson], Allison, we all made the decision to exercise that right.” However, opting to miss out on media obligations didn’t go down well with NASCAR, who fined him a significant sum for missing out on the commitment. Despite appealing the verdict, the decision was held, with the panel saying that the “Driver failed to meet contractual agreement with NASCAR. One of the most, if not most, important media obligations of the entire season.”

Majeski could have opted for a different route. Voting in person isn’t the only way to exercise his right as a citizen of the United States. He could have mailed it in with an absentee ballot, a path that he consciously avoided. The 30-year-old justified his actions, saying, “I wanted to make sure my vote was counted”, which is why he was determined to be physically present. While many believed that the appeals committee, comprising television executive Hunter Nickell, former South Boston track GM Cathy Rice, and former driver Lake Speed would overturn the verdict given the circumstances, they were in for a rude awakening.

 

In some ways, the blame needs to be shared by both parties. Ty Majeski should have informed NASCAR about the ‘reason’ he was missing out on media duties so that it wasn’t held against him later on. Meanwhile, NASCAR could have planned better and ensured commitments didn’t coincide with Election Day so that drivers didn’t have to make a difficult choice between choosing their civic responsibility or fulfilling their job demands. While Majeski still has the chance to make his appeal heard by the Final Appeals Officer, will he choose to go through this route once again? Time will tell.

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Fans furious after Majeski’s fine is upheld by NASCAR

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Predictably, NASCAR’s decision to uphold Ty Majeski’s $12,500 fine didn’t go down well with fans. While it wasn’t the first time the sanctioning body has been criticized by its fandom, it’s quite rare for the entire community to be this united against a verdict. Highlighting the organization’s failure to manage the situation, a fan wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), “0 days without NASCAR being incompetent”. Echoing that sentiment, another disgruntled motorsports enthusiast accused NASCAR of being tone-deaf and couldn’t help but say, “That penalty had to be the dumbest ever handed down by nascar.”

Urging Majeski to take drastic action, an infuriated fan urged the reigning Truck Series champion to take NASCAR to court. Expressing disappointment at the appeal being upheld, the fan wrote, “I think to violate a persons right to vote is wrong! Plain and simple! He needs to sue them, that is totally wrong of NASCAR!!” Even though the media commitments were scheduled for November 5th, just two days before the season-finale fixture at Phoenix Raceway, one fan questioned its importance by saying, “Media obligations are not important whatsoever, actually. This is stupid.”

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The ongoing dilemma could have been easily avoided, had NASCAR shifted the media commitments so that it doesn’t coincide with civic responsibilities. Blaming the sanctioning body’s hierarchy for putting Ty Majeski in a tough situation, one fan wrote, “Maybe the powers that be at Nascar shouldn’t have a championship production day on election day 🤔” While the organization’s authorities will defend themselves against such criticism, by saying that they would have done so if the racing driver had informed them about the reasoning beforehand, should the racer have been put in this position to begin with?