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Rockingham's return was disastrous for ThorSport Racing
NASCAR Truck Series driver Ty Majeski. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Rockingham's return was disastrous for ThorSport Racing

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. 

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. 

A blown engine ended 21-year-old Luke Fenhaus' day early, as the Wausau, Wisconsin, native finished 26th, 64 laps down.

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. 

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. 

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. 

"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. 

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. 

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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