Fine Upheld for Ty Majeski After Missing Championship Media Day to Vote
The National Motorsports Appeals Panel (NMAP) has ruled against Ty Majeski, the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, who appealed a substantial fine issued by NASCAR ahead of Championship Wekeend at Phoenix Raceway.
Majeski, who competes on a full-time basis in the NASCAR Truck Series for ThorSport Racing, was fined a sum of $12,500, after missing out on Championship 4 Media Day for the series' broadcast partners.
The three-person panel, which included Hunter Nickell, Cathy Rice, and Lake Speed, determined that Majeski did violate the listed rule in NASCAR's Penalty Report, and have thus elected to maintain the original penalty.
In reaching said decision, the panel offered an explanation: “Driver failed to meet contractual agreement with NASCAR. One of the most, if not most, important media obligations of the entire season.”
After being assessed the penalty, Majeski spoke to members of the media in advance of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix, stating that he felt his reasoning behind skipping the engagement was valid.
So, why did Majeski choose to skip the media engagement? Well, the Seymour, Wisconsin native chose to remain in his home state and cast a vote in the 2024 Federal Election, which happened to fall on the same day. The engagement was scheduled for November 5 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“I felt like I needed to do my duty as a [United States] citizen to vote,” Majeski explained. “My team owners and I, Duke [Thorson], Rhonda [Thorson], Allison, we all made the decision to exercise that right.”
Majeski and ThorSport were aware of the engagement, but felt Majeski casting a vote was more important. A representative from NASCAR said the driver did inform the sanctioning body that he wouldn't be there, but didn't provide a reason.
“We certainly knew about it,” Majeski said. “I didn’t specifically have much communication with NASCAR prior. I let everybody internally at ThorSport handle those communications prior to not being there on Tuesday. So, yeah, I feel like they knew our position. Kind of unprecedented this has never happened before. Election Day, everyone knew it was Election Day for a long time.”
In a later statement, a representative from NASCAR said that would they have known that Majeski was prioritizing casting a vote in the election, that the sanctioning body would have made arrangements for things to work.
Majeski will have the opportunity to have his appeal heard by a Final Appeals Officer, should he so choose.
