Winning a championship in one of NASCAR’s top touring series should be a ticket to celebration. Imagine it: the spoils of a season-long victory, a massive trophy, and a check big enough to make Jeff Bezos smirk. It’s the stuff racing dreams are made of. A few weeks ago, three drivers basked in that glory. Among them was Ty Majeski.
But wait—Majeski’s check isn’t quite as fat as it should be. Why? Because the 30-year-old who clinched the NASCAR Truck Series title at Phoenix on November 8 found himself $12,500 lighter in the wallet. His crime? Apparently daring to exercise his civic duty. That’s right: Majeski got slapped with a fine just days before the biggest race of his career, all for voting. Yes, voting.
Let’s rewind to November 5. It wasn’t just any ordinary Tuesday—it was Election Day, a pivotal moment when Americans cast their ballots to determine the next president. Majeski, a proud Wisconsinite, did exactly that. He even posted a smiling selfie on social media with the classic “I voted” sticker. Great stuff, right? Democracy in action. Unfortunately, this civic moment collided headlong with NASCAR’s Championship 4 Media Day in Charlotte, North Carolina. And NASCAR takes its media obligations very, very seriously—written-into-contracts serious.
So, as Majeski fulfilled his patriotic duty in Wisconsin, NASCAR was firing up its weekly penalty report. Most of it focused on the Cup Series antics at Martinsville Speedway, but there, tucked at the bottom, was this gem: “Ty Majeski for ThorSport Racing was fined $12,500 for failing to perform a media obligation.”
When Majeski arrived in Phoenix a couple of days later, he met with the media—finally. He called the penalty “unprecedented” and announced plans to appeal. “I felt like I needed to do my duty as a U.S. citizen to vote,” he said. “My team owners and I, we all made the decision to exercise that right.”
And if you’re wondering why he didn’t just mail it in with an absentee ballot, Majeski had an answer for that too: “I wanted to make sure my vote was counted.” It’s hard to argue with that logic, isn’t it?
Meanwhile, NASCAR was mumbling off the record that the team only informed them Majeski would miss the media event but hadn’t mentioned it was because he was voting. Bureaucratic bickering ensued. Still, many in the sport believed common sense would prevail in the appeals process. Surely the appeals panel would take one look at the situation and say, “Alright, he voted. Fine dismissed. Let’s move on.”
Wrong.
On Wednesday, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel—a trio of presumably very serious people—dropped the hammer. They upheld the fine, citing Majeski’s failure to meet a “contractual agreement with NASCAR.” The panel’s explanation boiled down to this: “Driver failed to meet one of the most, if not the most, important media obligations of the entire season.”
So there you have it. According to NASCAR’s brain trust, talking to reporters is more critical than participating in democracy. The appeals panel’s decision reads like something out of a dystopian satire, except it’s very real, and it’s Ty Majeski who’s left footing the bill.
To be fair, there’s blame to go around. NASCAR could have planned better, knowing Election Day was coming. Majeski and his team might have done more to ensure NASCAR understood the reason for his absence. But let’s not lose sight of the bigger picture here. Elections happen once every four years. Media days? There’s practically one every Tuesday in this sport.
As of now, neither Majeski nor ThorSport Racing has signaled plans to escalate the matter to NASCAR’s final appeals process. And why bother? The whole situation has already left NASCAR looking as sharp as a wrecked car dragged out of the Talladega infield. Unless something changes, this story will remain a black eye for the sanctioning body.
In the end, Ty Majeski won a championship and a hefty dose of frustration. He’s now a reigning NASCAR champion with a side gig as an ambassador for the importance of voting. It’s a bizarre footnote in a career-defining season, but hey, it’s NASCAR. Where else could the winner’s circle come with a fine for civic responsibility?
This news appeared first on @The Forbes
