Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Championship Race | Friday, November 8, 2024
FORD CLAIMS THIRD STRAIGHT NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK CHAMPIONSHIP AS TY MAJESKI WINS SEASON FINALE AT PHOENIX RACEWAY
- Ford’s championship streak continued tonight as Ty Majeski earned the manufacturer’s third straight NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title.
- It also continues a streak that has seen Ford win the last five NASCAR championships dating back to Joey Logano’s Cup title in 2022.
- Overall, Ford has won six of the last seven championships awarded in NASCAR’s top three divisions over the last three years.
- For Majeski, who led 132-of-150 laps, it’s his sixth series win and first championship.
- This is the sixth series championship for ThorSport and the third with Ford.
- Ford has now won five series titles overall and four in the last six seasons.
FORD NCTS CHAMPIONS
2000 – Greg Biffle
2019 – Matt Crafton
2022 – Zane Smith
2023 – Ben Rhodes
2024 – Ty Majeski
TY MAJESKI, No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150 – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – WHAT DOES THIS CHAMPIONSHIP MEAN TO YOU? “It means a ton. Looking at the sport as a whole from the outside you don’t realize how hard it is to get these opportunities and how hard it is to not only win races or find a good opportunity, but become a champion. This is surreal. I’ve put my whole life into this. I’ve put a lot of hard hours driving through the night to make it to races and then get back to work at ThorSport the next morning and all of that work paid off tonight. Thank you to Joe Schear. He’s one bad dude. I love that guy to death. Man, this thing was on point tonight.”
HOW MUCH EXPECTATION DID YOU PUT ON THIS RESULT ONCE YOU KNEW HOW GOOD YOUR TRUCK WAS? “I knew yesterday. I was so relaxed. We unloaded top of the boards and I knew we were gonna have a truck to beat tonight. We just had to execute every single restart, and I felt like I did that. I put a lot of emphasis on that coming into this race. A lot of times this race is won and lost on restarts and thankfully we had a little bit of a long run. Those last 20 laps or so were the longest of my career. A huge thank you to all of our partners – Road Ranger, Soda Sense, Curb Records, Duke and Rhonda Thorson, Ali Thorson. Everything that they do they’ve given us so many tools to go out and win championships like this and thankfully we were able to execute for them tonight.”
HOW NEAT WAS IT TO DO A POLISH VICTORY LAP AT THE PLACE ALAN KULWICKI DEBUTED IT? “It’s just special. The Kulwicki Driver Development Program, I won the competition in 2015. It’s kind of a full circle moment to be able to do that Polish Victory Lap here tonight. It’s so special. Alan means a lot to me and I’m glad to carry his legacy on a little bit tonight.”
CONGRATULATIONS. YOU’RE THE CHAMPION. “God, I can’t believe it. Just a huge thank you to Duke and Rhonda Thorson. Joe Schear Jr. He’s one bad dude. This is so much fun racing with this group. I’m so proud to have the opportunity to drive these great race trucks. Man, there are a lot of times in my career when this looked like a far dream and Duke and Rhonda really gave me my third opportunity after I had two opportunities that failed. Man, I can’t thank them enough. My wife, Ali. She’s been there every step of the way. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs and I’m just so proud of these guys.”
YOU ARE ONE OF THE MOST BLUE COLLAR DRIVERS IN ALL OF MOTORSPORTS. WHAT DOES THIS SAY TO OTHER SHORT TRACKERS TRYING TO CHASE THEIR DREAMS? “It’s possible. You just need to find a way to set yourself apart from everybody else. I did that by working in the shop. I started as an engineer at ThorSport in 2021 with three or four races. I didn’t know what it was gonna turn into and now we’re champions. A huge thank you to Road Ranger, Curb Records, Soda Sense – we have so many partners that go into this. Again, Duke, Rhonda Thorson, Ali. This is special. We’re gonna celebrate this one.”
WHAT WILL THE CELEBRATION LOOK LIKE? “I don’t know, probably not like Ben Rhodes.”
MARK RUSHBROOK, Global Director, Ford Performance Motorsports – HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE BACK IN VICTORY LANE? “We had so much fun here last year. We love coming out here to Phoenix and racing as part of NASCAR Championship Weekend and to have Ty Majeski and ThorSport here representing Ford in the Championship 4. For them to get it done, to get the race win and win the championship means so much for us as a company and for our employees. We’re so proud to be able to partner with such great people like Duke Thorson and Ty Majeski as a driver. We’re so happy.”
HOW IMPORTANT WAS THE DECISION TO BRING THORSPORT BACK TO FORD A COUPLE YEARS AGO? “We’ve had a great history with them and when we had the opportunity to have them come back to Ford it was an immediate decision to absolutely welcome them back to the family. They’re like-minded people. They want to win. They want to have the best people and the best tools and put the best product out on the track, so we’re really happy to be here with them.”
DOES IT EVER GET TIRING SEEING THAT F-150 IN VICTORY LANE? “Absolutely not. It looks beautiful sitting there.”
Ford Performance Results:
1st – Ty Majeski
9th – Ben Rhodes
10th – Layne Riggs
14th – Jake Garcia
17th – Conner Jones
19th – Matt Crafton
29th – Keith McGee
30th – Lawless Alan
34th – Frankie Muniz
FRANKIE MUNIZ, No. 27 More Core Diamond Drilling Ford F-150 – “It’s unfortunate. I felt like I’ve got a good opportunity to run with some guys and made some passes. I lost a few spots on restarts, but went back out and passed them again, so it was good for me to figure out how to get by people. I haven’t really gotten to do that much this year, so that was really positive, and then we just wanted to keep going. We wanted to keep running, but there was nowhere for me to go. I hit from behind. I got hit from behind into the 42 and then the 42 got moved and the 18 was right there stopped and I went right into him. I don’t feel like there was anything I could have done there. It was a luck situation of getting through it and it’s unfortunate. That said, I’m so grateful for my team – Reaume Brothers Racing and Ford Performance. I’m so excited for next season. This year wasn’t what we had hoped, but this proved that I can race with guys. I can pass here. We’re gonna be better next year and I’ve got the whole off-season to prepare and we’re gonna go get it.”
