Flat Tire Ends Majeski’s Night Early At Kansas

Ty Majeski heads to pit road with damage Saturday at Kansas Speedway. (HHP/ Tim Parks photo)

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Ty Majeski’s race at Kansas Speedway Saturday night ended early and abruptly, after his No. 98 Ford F-150 hit the wall with a flat left-front tire on the second lap.

Majeski was a pre-race favorite for the Heart of America 200 at the mile-and-a-half oval, rolling off second on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series grid, but encountered trouble virtually from the drop of the green flag.

“Right when we went green there, down the backstretch, [the tire] blew out,” Majeski said. “Not really too much of a warning … just unfortunate to come all this way and have nothing to show for it. I love Kansas; it’s fun running here because there’s so many options as a driver, so I’m disappointed that we didn’t get to finish it off.”

The Seymour, Wis., native brought his truck down pit road so his crew could try and repair the damage and salvage the evening. However, he soon met his final fate on the night, blowing another tire and retiring from the race after completing just 10 laps.

“[We] didn’t get the fender pulled out on the right front enough,” Majeski said when asked what went wrong the second time around. “Just the damage on the right side did us in. We had some left side damage and had a brake issue to fix, so we got that all fixed … but didn't get the fender cleared and kept blowing right front tires.”

The event at Kansas marked the halfway point in the regular season and the first of a five-week stretch of consecutive races for the Truck Series.

Luckily for Majeski, his DNF did not hinder him a great deal, only dropping him one spot in points to fourth. He’s 65 points back of series leader Corey Heim, who won Saturday night at Kansas, heading to Darlington (S.C.) Raceway next weekend.

“Hopefully we can find our way into victory lane … it’s why we come to these races, [because] we feel like we can win [on] any given week,” Majeski said in regards to rebounding.

Coverage of the Buckle Up South Carolina 200 at Darlington, the ninth race on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series calendar, is slated for Friday night, May 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.