Those who’ve paid attention to the ASA STARS National Tour this year are likely to call Ty Majeski an “ace” behind the wheel of a super late model.
That would be on target.
In the opening six races of the inaugural ASA STARS season, Majeski secured two wins in his No. 91 entry — one a post-race declared victory in the Joe Shear Classic and a hard-fought triumph during the Father’s Day 100.
He’s been a frequent top-five finisher on the tour and has been successfully defending a narrow points lead over Casey Roderick, Cole Butcher and Bubba Pollard since late May when he took command of the top spot in the standings.
It’s not necessarily a surprise, as the 28-year-old racer brought quite the résumé when he showed up for the ASA opener at Florida’s Five Flags Speedway in early March.
The five-time ASA Midwest Tour champion has won a myriad of renowned short-track races over the last decade, from the Governor’s Cup to the Snowball Derby to the Rattler 250, among others.
But when considering which of his achievements initially shot him into the national spotlight, Majeski notes his venture with the Kulwicki Driver Development Program in 2015 and his Snowball Derby triumph in 2020 as defining moments of his career.
“If those wouldn’t have happened, I don’t know where I’d be,” Majeski said.
More on that later.
On the other hand, those tuned-in to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series the past two years might think Majeski has the potential to be the next Truck Series champion.
And that would also be a solid assumption.
Though the Wisconsin native feels he’s been flying under the radar since he went full time with ThorSport Racing last season, there’s little doubt Majeski has made some significant waves in the No. 66 Ford.
Along with picking up two wins during his debut campaign with the team, Majeski also reached the Championship 4, finishing fourth in the standings.
“It was a huge season for me,” Majeski said. “After having, I’ll call them failures — maybe they weren’t, but to my standards, they were — having two opportunities fail and then be able to land on my feet at ThorSport and prove with the right opportunity, the right people and right equipment that I do belong here.”
The first so-called “failure” originated with Majeski’s initial push into the NASCAR funnel in 2017, when he signed with Roush Fenway Racing as a developmental driver.
The opportunity, in part, came about due to his involvement with KDDP two years prior.
“The Kulwicki program really forced our (late model) effort to elevate, we ran more races and I think we won like 20 races that year. It just challenged me to be better and I felt like it gave me some national recognition, which parlayed into a good 2016,” Majeski explained.
A successful late model season in 2016 turned into three Xfinity Series starts with Roush Fenway in 2017, marking Majeski’s long-awaited NASCAR debut.
But times turned sour during the 2018 campaign while Majeski was splitting driving duties with Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric in the No. 60 Ford Mustang.
The car was involved in a record number of on-track incidents, with Majeski wheeling the ill-fated entry to a pair of top-10 finishes. In his 12 starts, four were marred by race-ending wrecks.