Majeski wins Bristol Trucks playoff race for first career win
Ty Majeski not only got his first NASCAR Truck Series victory but the opportunity to compete for the season championship as well.
Majeski, 28, easily cleared for the lead on a restart with 12 of 200 laps remaining and held off Zane Smith by 1.152 seconds to win Thursday night’s race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
It’s Majeski’s first win in 40 series starts and first in NASCAR national series competition (he’s also made 15 starts in the Xfinity Series).
With the victory, Majeski locks himself into the Truck Series championship race at Phoenix regardless of how he finishes in the next two races.
“I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this,” Majeski said. “Just so proud to be here. We came guns blazing for this race. Took our best truck. This is so cool.
“My career’s been so up-and-down. There’s been a lot of people that have helped get me to this point. This is just damn cool. Man, I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
Parker Kligerman finished third, Grant Enfinger fourth and Matt Crafton rounded out the top-five.
Completing the top-10 were Derek Kraus, Stewart Friesen, Christian Eckes, Chandler Smith and Corey Heim.
Stage 3
Following the break between Stages 2 and 3, several trucks decided to pit – including Chandler Smith – and Zane Smith stayed out and inherited the lead.
On the restart on Lap 122, Zane Smith was followed by Kligerman and Kraus. Chandler Smith lined up 15th.
With 65 laps remaining, Zane Smith was working hard to fend off a challenge for the lead by Majeski. Enfinger ran third.
Chris Hacker spun off Turn 3 following contact with Eckes on Lap 111 to bring out the fourth caution of the race.
A handful of trucks pit but Zane Smith remained on the track and in the lead when the race resumed on Lap 157.
Majeski quickly powered to the lead on the restart.
Tanner Gray got into Dean Thompson in Turn 3 and sent him into the wall on Lap 179. That brought out the sixth caution of the race.
Majeski continued to lead the way on the restart on Lap 189.
Stage 2
Chandler Smith again held off a late charge from Friesen to win Stage 2 and complete the sweep of stage victories.
Eckes was third, Ben Rhodes fourth and Taylor Gray rounded out the top-five.
Following the break between Stages 1 and 2, several lead-lap trucks pit but Chandler Smith stayed out and remained in the lead.
On the restart on Lap 66, Chandler Smith was followed by Friesen, Kraus and Majeski.
Connor Mosack spun off Turn 2 on Lap 85 to bring out another caution. Matt DiBenedetto had just hit pit road under green prior to the incident.
Several lead-lap trucks decided to pit and Carson Hocevar was penalized for speeding on pit road. Again, Chandler Smith elected to remain on the track and led the way on the restart on Lap 92.
With 10 laps remaining in the stage, Chandler Smith held a small lead over Friesen as Eckes had moved into third.
Stage 1
Chandler Smith held off a tough challenge from Friesen to claim the Stage 1 win, his fourth of the 2022 season.
Kraus was third, DiBenedetto fourth and Enfinger rounded out the top-five.
Kraus started on the pole and jumped out to a more than 1-second lead after 10 laps.
On Lap 26, Chandler Smith made his way around Kraus to take the lead for the first time in the race.
Josh Reaume spun off Turn 2 on Lap 37 to bring out a caution and then Rajah Caruth’s No. 7 slammed into Reaume after the fact. Reaume was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Several lead-lap trucks pit – including Zane Smith and Nemechek – but Chandler Smith remained on the track and in the lead when the race resumed on Lap 48.
John Hunter Nemechek (backup truck) and Zane Smith (unapproved adjustments) both had to start the race from the rear of the field.
Cla | # | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | Laps Led |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 66 | Ty Majeski | Toyota | 200 | 1:25'36.934 | 45 | ||
2 | 38 | Zane Smith | Ford | 200 | 1:25'38.086 | 1.152 | 1.152 | 39 |
3 | 75 | Parker Kligerman | Toyota | 200 | 1:25'39.383 | 2.449 | 1.297 | |
4 | 23 | Grant Enfinger | Chevrolet | 200 | 1:25'39.751 | 2.817 | 0.368 | |
5 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Toyota | 200 | 1:25'40.118 | 3.184 | 0.367 | |
6 | 19 | Derek Kraus | Chevrolet | 200 | 1:25'40.709 | 3.775 | 0.591 | 27 |
7 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Toyota | 200 | 1:25'40.978 | 4.044 | 0.269 | |
8 | 98 | Christian Eckes | Toyota | 200 | 1:25'41.419 | 4.485 | 0.441 | |
9 | 18 | Chandler Smith | Toyota | 200 | 1:25'41.660 | 4.726 | 0.241 | 89 |
10 | 51 | Corey Heim | Toyota | 200 | 1:25'42.017 | 5.083 | 0.357 | |
11 | 16 | Tyler Ankrum | Toyota | 200 | 1:25'42.707 | 5.773 | 0.690 | |
12 | 4 | John Hunter Nemechek | Toyota | 200 | 1:25'43.555 | 6.621 | 0.848 | |
13 | 30 | Kaden Honeycutt | Toyota | 200 | 1:25'44.271 | 7.337 | 0.716 | |
14 | 1 | Hailie Deegan | Ford | 200 | 1:25'45.766 | 8.832 | 1.495 | |
15 | 44 | Bayley Currey | Chevrolet | 200 | 1:25'45.918 | 8.984 | 0.152 | |
16 | 17 | Taylor Gray | Ford | 200 | 1:25'46.037 | 9.103 | 0.119 | |
17 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Ford | 200 | 1:25'46.236 | 9.302 | 0.199 | |
18 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | Toyota | 200 | 1:25'46.486 | 9.552 | 0.250 | |
19 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Chevrolet | 200 | 1:25'46.856 | 9.922 | 0.370 | |
20 | 22 | Austin Wayne Self | Chevrolet | 200 | 1:25'47.467 | 10.533 | 0.611 | |
21 | 24 | Jack Wood | Chevrolet | 200 | 1:25'48.053 | 11.119 | 0.586 | |
22 | 35 | Jake Garcia | Chevrolet | 200 | 1:25'48.190 | 11.256 | 0.137 | |
23 | 45 | Alan Lawless | Chevrolet | 200 | 1:25'48.653 | 11.719 | 0.463 | |
24 | 91 | Colby Howard | Chevrolet | 200 | 1:25'49.302 | 12.368 | 0.649 | |
25 | 02 | Jesse Little | Chevrolet | 200 | 1:25'51.064 | 14.130 | 1.762 | |
26 | 56 | Timmy Hill | Toyota | 200 | 1:25'51.948 | 15.014 | 0.884 | |
27 | 25 | Matt DiBenedetto | Chevrolet | 199 | 1:25'50.173 | 1 Lap | 1 Lap | |
28 | 9 | Blaine Perkins | Chevrolet | 197 | 1:25'51.411 | 3 Laps | 2 Laps | |
29 | 20 | Leland Honeyman | Chevrolet | 195 | 1:25'53.115 | 5 Laps | 2 Laps | |
30 | 61 | Chase Purdy | Toyota | 193 | 1:24'43.499 | 7 Laps | 2 Laps | |
31 | 32 | Connor Mosack | Chevrolet | 192 | 1:25'52.101 | 8 Laps | 1 Lap | |
32 | 40 | Dean Thompson | Chevrolet | 178 | 1:14'42.815 | 22 Laps | 14 Laps | |
33 | 33 | Chris Hacker | Toyota | 165 | 1:11'21.900 | 35 Laps | 13 Laps | |
34 | 7 | Rajah Caruth | Chevrolet | 44 | 18'55.311 | 156 Laps | 121 Laps | |
35 | 43 | Josh Reaume | Chevrolet | 34 | 9'41.099 | 166 Laps | 10 Laps | |
36 | 12 | Spencer Boyd | Chevrolet | 25 | 8'06.638 | 175 Laps | 9 Laps |
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