Ty Majeski itching for NASCAR debut at Iowa Speedway

On May 16, NASCAR announced its latest class for the NASCAR Next program, which 'identifies emerging talent in our sport,' according to NASCAR senior vice president and chief marketing officer Jill Gregory.

Of the nine drivers selected, there's some name recognition — Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland are the sons of former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers Jeff Burton and David Gilliland — and some who are being introduced to the racing public at large for the first time.

There's also one who got there in large part because of a video game — the online racing simulation called iRacing.

'I have the No. 1 iRating in the world, so I'm the No. 1 ranked iRacer in the world,' Seymour, Wis., native Ty Majeski said. 'Long story short there was some dialogue shared both ways and (iRacing representatives) thought it would be a good opportunity for them to get a different region, on the Super Late Model level, short track level and get more racers up here on iRacing.

'I can't say enough how much I appreciate what they do for the sport and them putting money back into it for us.'

Majeski, a member of the NASCAR Next class, is someone asphalt Late Model fans know very well. He's the guy who has come to Hawkeye Downs Speedway in his No. 91 Super Late Model and dominated. He's the guy who carried the northern torch at the Snowball Derby and Speedweeks down in Florida the last few winters, winning races and weeklong championships.

Now he's set to make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Iowa Speedway on June 24 for Roush Fenway racing. iRacing will be on the hood, just like they are on his Late Model that's become so familiar to race fans throughout the Midwest.

It was his attaining the highest ranking in the world on that simulation game, and a friend sending an email, that caught the company's attention. Their relationship helped propel an already-successful Late Model team and its driver to heights that made NASCAR come calling.

The sponsorship 'helped' because Majeski had to have the results, too. He pointed out to The Gazette that his situation with Roush Fenway is unlike the current and growing trend of drivers securing sponsorship and taking it to teams to make a deal and run some races. Majeski said it was not a situation where he 'got iRacing to commit to an Xfinity race and we went to Roush Fenway and said, 'I have X amount of money, can we go race Iowa?' It didn't happen like that.'

Instead, he said, Roush Fenway saw the 28 races (out of around 60 he ran) Majeski won last year and went to Majeski with the offer to be a development driver for the organization. He said he gave Roush Fenway his contacts at iRacing, they worked out a deal for the Iowa race, and that Roush Fenway is 'actively trying to get sponsorship for me for more races this season,' as he soaks in time at the shop preparing.

Given the lower divisions of NASCAR include many seats filled by drivers bringing money in the form of sponsorship, Majeski takes obvious pride in apparently getting the gig the old-fashioned way.

'It's amazing, if this was the early 2000s, it would be a lot easier for sure,' Majeski said. 'It's just the way it is. Things have changed. To accomplish and have gotten to this point the way I've done it is something I take a lot of pride in.

'You don't see that too much in racing nowadays, and I'm very proud of how I've been able to do it.'

Majeski has both Iowa Speedway races confirmed for this year on the Xfinity side, and as usual will be in his familiar No. 91 Super Late Model, owned by Brad and Nancy Mannstedt. His continued work with crew chief Toby Nuttleman — who Majeski credits with much of his success, and calls him 'one of my best friends' — likely means the success won't stop soon on the short tracks.

He's itching to get to the Iowa race, of course, and said he's not going to slow anything down in terms of preparation.

Yes, that means more iRacing, too.

'You always want to race as much as you can as a driver (and) just like anything else, the more you do something the better you're going to get at it,' Majeski said. 'We've had good success, and I'm very thankful for the opportunity I've been given on the Late Model level and how it propelled my career, hopefully, into the upper three ranks of NASCAR.

'I think I've done the best I could to prepare, whether it's iRacing in an Xfinity car at Iowa or just being in the shop, being with the team. There are different ways to prepare and they all need to be taken into account.'

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com