The chances of Erik Jones securing his third Snowball Derby victory have come to an end, in quite a spectacular fashion, after the Petty GMS driver’s entry was completely destroyed after contact from Ty Majeski.
With just over 100 laps remaining, Jones and Majeski were battling for a spot inside the top-10, when a shot to the rear bumper of the No. 4, turned into a free-ride for Ty Majeski, who jumped his No. 91 onto the left rear of Jones’ entry.
— Jake Neely (@indycarfan25) December 4, 2022
The damage to the No. 4J entry was extensive – and honestly, bizarre – with Majeski’s car acting as a can opener on the rear-end of the Petty GMS Motorsports driver’s entry, tearing the entire back off.
What’s left of @Erik_Jones super @RacingAmerica @5FlagsSpeedway pic.twitter.com/8FPzCvsyId
— Brandon Zumbach (@BrandonZumbach) December 4, 2022
“Ty [Majeski] caught us, and ran us over,” Jones said after the accident. “I don’t know what to say, he ran us down, caught us, ran into the back of me, and floored it. I don’t want to say a lot, because I got a lot I could say, but that’s pretty poor racing, 181 laps into the race, destroy a racecar.
“Ty should… Ty has respect, he’s better than that, knows he’s better than that, and it’s just, what do you say, I’m not upset, I’m just disappointed, it’s pretty… it’s disappointing.”
With extensive damage to Jones’ Late Model, the NASCAR Cup Series driver would be forced to retire from the event, relegating him to a finish outside the top-30. As for Majeski, the NASCAR Truck Series driver was able to continue in the event, and continue running inside the top-10.