Ty Majeski was simply not going to be denied Friday night at Phoenix Raceway. He was the the last driver to transfer into the Championship 4, but he made the most of it in the title-deciding race. He crossed the line over four seconds clear of his nearest rival, taking the win and the series title at the age of 30.
“I can’t believe it,” said Majeski, who dominated the night by leading 132 of 150 total laps. “Just huge thank you to [ThorSport owners] Duke and Rhonda Thorson. [Crew chief] Joe Shear Jr. — he’s one bad dude. This is so much fun racing with this group. So proud to have the opportunity to drive these great race trucks. There’s a lot of times in my career where this looks like a far dream, (but) Duke and Rhonda really gave me my third opportunity after I had two opportunities (and) I failed. I can’t thank them enough. My wife … man, we’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but just so proud of these guys.
He went on to note how he started out at ThorSport by working in the shop as an engineer in 2021 with just a handful of races behind the wheel. “Didn’t know what it was gonna turn in to and damn, now we’re champions.”
Corey Heim, TRICON Garage, Safelite Toyota Tundra
Photo by: Danny Hansen / NKP / Motorsport Images
Heim just misses out again
The first loser was Corey Heim, who finished second, 3.9 seconds adrift of championship glory. It was a sensational comeback in the final stage, driving through the field following a restart violation to come one spot short of the big prize. He recently resigned with TRICON Garage and will return to the Truck Series for another title shot in 2025.
“Really disappointed to come up short like that,” said Heim. “It’s hard to even be upset. I did almost everything right except for that restart violation, but we were able to get our track position back pretty quick and make the most of it. Just had nothing for the 98 [Majeski] all day. He’s so fast, but I’m just proud of myself for not driving through the fastest truck like I got drive through last year by Hocevar. We’ll move forward with our heads up high and a six-win season.”
As for the other Championship 4 drivers, Christian Eckes finished third and Grant Enfinger placed fifth. Nick Sanchez was the highest-finishing driver not part of the Championship 4 in fourth place. As for the rest of the top-ten, it was Taylor Gray, Kaden Honeycutt, Connor Mosack, Ben Rhodes, Layne Riggs.
The final stage got underway with about 50 laps to go in the event. Majeski was in control with Heim as his nearest challenger. But when Heim moved to cut the dogleg just before reaching the start/finish line, he was dined with a restart violation.
While this was unfolding, chaos broke out in the middle of the pack. Mosack got pushed out of the groove and hit the wall, leading to a multi-truck accident. Frankie Muniz, Tyler Ankrum, Stefan Parsons, Brett Moffitt, and William Sawalich were among those involved. There was a brief red flag for cleanup.
While Majeski ran away with the race lead, Heim was carving his way back through the pack and by the time he was back inside the top-ten, another caution flag reset the field. Enfinger and Eckes chose to pit for fresh rubber and restarted back in 15th and 16th, respectively.
On the ensuing restart, Layne Riggs lost it near the front but thankfully, no one else collided with his spinning truck. Heim was all the way back up to the second row but despite restarting on Majeski’s back bumper, he had nothing for him in the closing laps.
