For Ty Majeski, the pathway to a full-time opportunity in NASCAR’s top-three series has been a challenging one, starting more than a half-decade ago as a development driver for Roush Fenway Racing.
What originally looked like a full-time opportunity with Niece Motorsports in 2020, was cut short after only 15 races, which led Majeski to seek out work at ThorSport Racing, ultimately leading to this opportunity.
The season has been fruitful for Majeski, having recorded eight top-five and 13 top-10 results prior to Thursday’s UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway, but despite four finishes inside the top three, the 28-year-old was looking to break through.
A brave strategy call by crew chief Joe Shear Jr. gave the No. 66 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro the track position he needed late in the 200-lap event, putting him in the runner-up spot in the race’s final stage, with only Zane Smith to track down.
Majeski was able to accomplish this fairly easily, making the final pass for the lead with 45 laps remaining, and enduring a late-race restart to capture his first career victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Putting the rocket launchers on late in the race, Majeski was able to extend his lead to 1.152 seconds in the race’s final 12-lap run, holding a commanding victory over Zane Smith and Front Row Motorsports.
Parker Kligerman, despite struggling mightily in both practice and qualifying, finished in third, his fourth top-five finish of the 2022 NASCAR Truck Series season. Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton completed the top five.
Polesitter Derek Kraus ran inside the top five throughout the majority of the event, before slipping back on the race’s final restart to claim a sixth-place result. Stewart Friesen and Christian Eckes, both Playoff drivers, finished seventh and eighth.
Despite leading a race-high 89 laps, Chandler Smith wound up finishing in ninth after choosing to not pit until the conclusion of the second stage. Corey Heim rounded out the top-10.
After a crash in practice, John Hunter Nemechek brought his backup truck from the rear of the field to a 12th-place finish, keeping himself in contention for a chance to win the championship at Phoenix in November.
Ben Rhodes was the only other Playoff driver to finish outside the top-10, finishing 18th.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will have some serious time off before returning to competition at Talladega Superspeedway, as part of a tripleheader weekend at NASCAR’s largest oval.
