The business end of the 2024 NASCAR season has seen a ton of penalties and fines levied by the sanctioning body to the drivers and teams. Last weekend three Cup Series teams (#1, #3, and #23) landed themselves in trouble for manipulating the outcome of the crucial race at Martinsville. But, out of all, Ty Majeski’s fine of $12,500 is the one that’s left many scratching their heads.

The ThorSport Racing driver has qualified for the championship race in Phoenix. However, his absence from the mandatory media production day to cast his vote is what led to his penalty. In no way does this change anything for Majeski going into the race, but still the driver and the team are going to appeal the fine.

Ty Majeski wanted to serve his first duty as a U.S. citizen to cast his vote

The driver and his team were made aware of the media obligations. NASCAR likes the build before the mega weekend, and media obligation is a part of the whole process. We recently saw the likes of Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and William Byron all taking the time out to speak with the media. However, Ty Majeski thought his presence casting the vote for the US presidential election was more important than the media day.

Reacting to the fine, the driver of the No. 98 truck said, “I felt like I needed to do my duty as a US citizen to vote, and my team owners and I, we all made the decision to exercise that right. We certainly knew about it. I didn’t specifically have much communication with NASCAR. I let ThorSports handle these conversations prior to not being there on Tuesday, so I feel like they knew our position.”

We’ve hardly seen a driver getting fined for missing a media day. However, when it came to choosing to be present for the media day over casting the vote, Majeski chose the latter. “Yeah, kind of unprecedented; this has never happened before. Everyone knew it’s an election day for a long time, and yeah, I mean unfortunate circumstances. I don’t think anybody wants to be put in that position, but we need to have a free to race in, and that’s just part of being a US citizen, so I wanted to exercise that right.”

A place in the championship 4 didn’t come easy for Majeski, but now that he’s made it to the big race, he will be looking to clinch his first championship.

Will Ty Majeski come out on top at Phoenix Raceway?

The Thor Sports driver was desperately trying to make the cut in the championship 4 last weekend at Martinsville Speedway. A streak of cautions certainly didn’t help his cause, but Talyor Gray and Christian Eckes trading blows worked out in his favor. A P11 finish saw him gain enough points and book his post for the championship 4 race.

Eckes will likely have a target on his back while racing at Phoenix, and this could work in Majeski’s favor. However, when it comes to Majeski’s record at the low-banked oval track in Phoenix, nothing but his A-game will help him prevail over his rivals. In the three starts, he has never finished inside the top 10. His best result came during his debut back in 2019 with Niece Motorsports, as he finished P11.

On the other hand, Christian Eckes was victorious at the track last year in the final race, but he wasn’t part of the final 4. Corey Heim certainly will be optimistic after winning six races so far in 2024, and he would like to make it seven with a trophy win. Last but not least, Grant Enfinger will look to continue his dominant run of the playoffs at Phoenix. He won back-to-back races at Talladega and Homestead, which led to the carnage last weekend at Martinsville as the drivers were fighting for the remaining spots.

Interestingly, all four drivers are eyeing to clinch their first-ever Truck Series championship. This is why it is too close to call which driver is the outright favorite going into the race at Phoenix.