MAJESKI SCORES FIRST CAREER NASCAR WIN
Claims Position in Championship Final Four in Phoenix
BRISTOL, Tenn. (September 15, 2022) – Ty Majeski became the first driver locked into the Championship 4 as the Wisconsin-native earned his first career victory at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday evening. He led the final 45 laps and drove away on the final restart to claim the victory. Majeski earned the win in his first career Truck Series start at the facility. It is Majeski’s first career Championship 4 berth in his first full-time Truck Series season competing for ThorSport Racing.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Bristol Motor Speedway
Race 20 of 23 – 106.6 Laps, 200 Miles
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, TY MAJESKI
2nd, Zane Smith*
3rd, PARKER KLIGERMAN
4th, Grant Enfinger*
5th, MATT CRAFTON
7th, STEWART FRIESEN
8th, CHRISTIAN ECKES
9th, CHANDLER SMITH
10th, COREY HEIM
11th, TYLER ANKRUM
12th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
13th, KADEN HONEYCUTT
18th, BEN RHODES
26th, TIMMY HILL
30th, CHASE PURDY
35th, JOSH REAUME
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
TY MAJESKI, No. 66 Road Ranger Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
What is the feeling after your first career NASCAR Truck Series win?
“This is unbelievable. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this. Thank you to Duke, Rhonda and Allison Thorson, thank you for this opportunity. Just so proud to be here. We came guns blazing for this race and brought our best truck. Joe (Shear, crew chief) was aggressive on pit strategy, got us out front and we were able to get it done. This is so cool, and my crew has been so up and down. There’s been a lot of people who have helped get me to this point. I know my Late Model guys are watching back at the shop and they’re a big part of me getting here. My parents, my fiancé, this is just damn cool. Road Ranger, Toyota, TRD and all that they do for us – I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.
How were you able to hold off Zane Smith on the final restart?
“Just had to do what I do. I’ve been in that position a lot in my career Late Model racing, and we’ve been fortunate enough to win a lot of races and this was just another restart. “
What does it mean to win at Bristol and for it to be your first career victory, locking yourself into the Final Four in Phoenix?
“Feels so good man. We came with this plan and obviously it’s a tall task to win at any of these races. I’ve been in that position a lot as a Late Model guy, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be in the position to win a lot of races and I’ve been in that position a lot. Just another late-race restart on a half-mile. Just so cool for these guys, they’ve been working hard all year. Duke (Thorson), Rhonda (Thorson) – thank you for this opportunity. It’s awesome to get this Road Ranger Toyota in victory lane. This is a dream come true.”
With three consecutive top-10 finishes coming into this race, did it feel like it was all coming together?
“I hope so. I feel like we’ve been peaking at the right time. We’ve had a really good back-half of the year and a really good first round. We really wanted to go to Talladega and not have anything to worry about and that meant winning this race and we did it.”
Has it sunk in yet that you will compete for a NASCAR championship in Phoenix?
“Man, we’re going to enjoy this one and this is the truck we’re taking back over there so we’re going to go polish it up and fluff on it for the next month or so and bring a winner to Phoenix.”
CHANDLER SMITH, No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 9th
Do you feel like you did enough today as you run towards the Championship 4?
“I guess it is an okay day. I don’t know how stage points really matter – every little bit counts, especially if two drivers win these next two races and they’re Playoff drivers. It’s always good, so we can point our way in. We want to go to Talladega or Miami and win it, so we don’t have to worry about it. We had this one circled for us to win. I felt like we had a dominant truck. We had a really, really fast Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro tonight. Once we went stage racing, they played track position at the very end and the 66 (Ty Majeski) and 38 (Zane Smith) were able to get up front. Us and the 52 (Stewart Friesen) were the only two that passed all night. I don’t know how to fix that. It wasn’t good fun racing; I can promise you that. Us as a group, we were just a little bit too tight coming back through the field. I felt like if we were freer, we would have had something for them, but we ran so many caution laps as well. We would have probably run out of time no matter what.”
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 4 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 12th
Can you talk about your race after having to go to a back-up truck?
“We had a fast truck in practice. We got behind by blowing a right front tire. All of my guys scrambled hard and gave us a fast piece. Racing here sucked tonight, honestly. I don’t want to say that, but you couldn’t pass. It was super hard to pass. Heck, the 38 (Zane Smith) and I started in the back, almost went a lap down early on, running the bottom, couldn’t really make the bottom work. I thought the PJ1 was going to wear out tonight, and it didn’t. We were just one adjustment behind, I feel like, all night. You get that when you get behind from the start of the race.”
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