Ty Majeski NASCAR Truck Series contender, overcame heavy turmoil during the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway on October 17, 2025, staging a gritty comeback to secure a third-place finish. Despite early setbacks, Majeski’s performance keeps his Playoff ambitions alive heading into the next leg at Martinsville Speedway.
The race began with Giovanni Ruggiero piloting the #17 First Auto Group Toyota and Ty Majeski in the #98 Soda Sense | Curb Records Ford leading the field to the green flag, marking the opening laps of the Love’s RV Stop 225 at the storied Talladega circuit in Alabama. From the outset, the event was fraught with typical Talladega chaos, quickly turning the contest into a test of resilience for Playoff drivers such as Majeski.
Early Wreck Presents Mountain to Climb
Majeski, the defending truck champion representing ThorSport Racing, saw his Friday turn complicated after getting caught in a multi-truck incident just four laps into the race. The crash not only collected fellow Playoff driver Grant Enfinger but also significantly damaged Majeski’s own Ford F-150. Despite these immediate challenges, Majeski’s team sprang into action, working through the first two stages of the event to patch his car and keep him running on track.
“We had all kinds of damage from the incident with the 9 truck (Enfinger),”
said Majeski, who started the race from second position.
“Wrong place, wrong time, and we were mostly playing catch-up all day.”
— Ty Majeski, Driver
The aftermath of the early wreck forced Majeski to shift strategies.
“We were in a position not to get stage points after that. We were just trying to put a cap on a huge leak.”
— Ty Majeski, Driver
By the beginning of Stage 2, Majeski found himself starting 28th in a 36-truck field—a daunting task given the fierce intensity of Playoff racing at Talladega. Despite these long odds, he methodically advanced up the rankings. By Lap 40 and the stage’s conclusion, Majeski had climbed to 12th place, positioning himself for a strategic comeback as the race progressed.
Strategic Pit Stop Sparks Comeback
The turning point came with a series of green-flag pit stops on Lap 55, which proved critical for the ThorSport Racing team. The Ford drivers executed their pit sequences with discipline, allowing Majeski the chance to regain precious track position as the final stage drew near.
“The Fords executed really well on that green-flag pit stop,”
noted Majeski.
“I was able to get some track position after that exchange. We cycled into the top five or six there and was able to keep it for the rest of the day.”
— Ty Majeski, Driver
As he moved into the closing portion of the race, Majeski still faced the limitations caused by the earlier wreck. The repairs had left the No. 98 Ford F-150 with major aerodynamic compromises, reducing his ability to push or lead drafting lines effectively on the high banks of Talladega. On the final restart, he lined up fourth—a position from which he held firm, ultimately crossing the line third for his 16th top-five result of the season.
The damaged car challenged Majeski throughout the rest of the race. He said,
“I wasn’t able to push the way that I wanted to—or obviously lead a lane with all of that damage,”
adding,
“But I was able to choose the bottom on that restart and was able to get behind the Toyotas and get some help for a podium finish.”
— Ty Majeski, Driver
Points Chase Intensifies After Talladega
Majeski entered Talladega just two points below the Playoff elimination line, with a tight pack of seven drivers trailing points leader Corey Heim by only a six-point spread. Early drama for contenders like Grant Enfinger, who exited after the Lap 4 crash, and Daniel Hemric, who also fell out mid-race after cutting a tire, drastically reshaped the points landscape ahead of the penultimate race in this Playoff round.
Currently, there is only a 20-point margin between Rajah Caruth, who holds second place, and Layne Riggs in sixth, underlining the competitive nature of this year’s chase for the Truck Series Championship.
After Talladega, Majeski now sits five points adrift of the cut line heading to Martinsville Speedway. His recent record at Martinsville offers promise—over his last five starts there, Majeski owns two top-fives and an average finish of 8.2, giving him a realistic shot at advancing to the Championship 4.
“In my head I was thinking that if we could be within five or ten points of the cut line, I’d at least have a shot at pointing my way in,”
Majeski remarked.
“So I’m certainly not out of it, and we’ve got to go to Martinsville and execute really well. There’s no reason why you can’t do that on a short track.”
— Ty Majeski, Driver
Looking Ahead: The Road to Martinsville
As the NASCAR Truck Series Playoffs roll toward Martinsville Speedway, Ty Majeski’s tenacity at Talladega has kept his championship hopes intact. The Round of 8 will culminate in a high-stakes showdown, with just a handful of points separating potential finalists and miss-outs alike.
Giovanni Ruggiero’s career-first win at Talladega added another twist to the Playoff mix, while veterans like Grant Enfinger now face must-win scenarios. The collision of fortunes at Alabama’s superspeedway underscores the unpredictable, turbulent nature of this Playoff stretch.
The coming race at Martinsville will not only test the skills of drivers like Majeski, Caruth, Riggs, and playoff frontrunner Corey Heim but also serve as a defining moment in the Truck Series season. For Majeski and his ThorSport Racing team, capitalizing on every opportunity is all that stands between another title shot and elimination.
