Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway was, by all accounts, a successful event. In the first Truck Series race at Rockingham since 2013, a packed crowd saw Tyler Ankrum save just enough gas to break a 130-race winless streak.
But for ThorSport Racing, a championship-winning team that entered five trucks into the Black's Tire 200, NASCAR's return to 'The Rock' was anything but successful.
Not an ideal meeting for @ThorSportRacing behind the wall. pic.twitter.com/5QdFcua4pu
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) April 18, 2025
Four of ThorSport's five entries finished 24th or worse. Three-time Truck Series champion Matt Crafton finished 24th, 44 laps down, after battery issues forced him off track.
The No. 88 goes behind the wall with battery issues. pic.twitter.com/MtKhodAw8f
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) April 18, 2025
A blown engine ended 21-year-old Luke Fenhaus' day early, as the Wausau, Wisconsin, native finished 26th, 64 laps down.
The hits keep coming….. @luke_fenhaus has blown up and is done for the day. #FordPerformance | #BlacksTire200
— ThorSport Racing (@ThorSportRacing) April 18, 2025
But it was two-time series champion Ben Rhodes who suffered the worst of ThorSport's mechanical gremlins, as power steering issues early in the race saw Rhodes bleed positions before finally taking his truck behind the wall. Rhodes finished 32nd, 129 laps down.
That was one of the tougher days that I’ve had inside a race truck. While running in the top 5 and around lap 7 we lost power steering. After multiple trips to pit road, we were unable to fix the issue as we ran too many laps without power steering and the box started to seize up pic.twitter.com/AWV02dmqw1
— Ben Rhodes (@benrhodes) April 18, 2025
Ty Majeski finished 31st after a hard crash into turn one on Lap 109. Majeski spun after getting loose under Grant Enfinger, and the impact of the crash was so violent that NASCAR had to red-flag the race to repair the SAFER barrier in turn 1.
Here's what happened to Ty Majeski at Rockingham. #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/ZzhK09OO7s
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 18, 2025
The crash and subsequent 31st-place result come after Majeski, a driver known for his short track prowess, finished 13th at Martinsville and 33rd at Bristol over a rough three-race stretch.
"Embarrassed, honestly."- Ty Majeski after his Rockingham crash#NASCAR | @NASCAR_Trucks pic.twitter.com/Kvh6uPUhzf
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 18, 2025
"These last three weeks isn't who I am as a driver," a frustrated Majeski told Fox Sports. "I just need to be better."
Combined, Crafton, Fenhaus, Majeski and Rhodes had an average finish of 28.25 at Rockingham on Friday. The lone beacon of light for ThorSport was 20-year-old Jake Garcia, who won the pole for Friday's race and finished second to Ankrum. Garcia's runner-up result boosted ThorSport's overall average finish at Rockingham to 23rd.
Jake Garcia
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) April 18, 2025
>Matches his career-best finish with a second at Rockingham (prev. Phoenix 2023)
>Earns his fourth Top 10 in a row (+ two Top 5s) and also has five Top 10s in his last six races
>Has only one finish worse than 12th all season
Becoming a force to be reckoned with. pic.twitter.com/iA7A88xi3l
Better days are ahead for ThorSport as it looks to add another championship trophy to its collection, but Friday's race at Rockingham was one the organization would like to forget.
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