Majeski Wins Homestead, Truck Championship 4 Set

Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR

Ty Majeski Takes Second Round of 8 Win, Championship 4 Set for Trucks

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – In the penultimate Truck race of the season, a championship-level effort was put forth by many. Ty Majeski picked up the win, taking his second career triumph in the past three races. Behind him, Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, and Chandler Smith are the rest of the 2022 Championship 4. For Rhodes, the closing laps were quite stressful, swapping the final berth back and forth with Stewart Friesen. By virtue of finishing sixth, Rhodes got the last ticket to Phoenix by just one point.

After starting on the front row, Ben Rhodes led every lap in Stage 1. One other Playoff contender ran into season-ending issues early on, as John Hunter Nemechek slapped the outside wall. After having to pit twice with two separate flat tires, the 4 only mustered a 35th-place finish, six laps down. This eliminated the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 Toyota from the title fight, after two wins in 2022.

Stage 2 would belong to Zane Smith, as the 38 took this win by two seconds over Ty Majeski. While nobody clinched a Championship 4 berth after either Stage, this point saw both Zane and Chandler Smith sitting pretty on points. Both drivers would make the cut on points, as the points battle in Stage 3 was between Ben Rhodes and Stewart Friesen.

Ty Majeski quickly took command in Stage 3 and never looked back. While Zane Smith was on Majeski’s bumper many times throughout this final run, the 66 remained constant out front.

Even after green flag pit stops, Majeski could not be denied from his second career win. After coming into these Playoffs winless, Ty Majeski has won two of three races in the Round of 8, the only one locking into Phoenix early.

“Man this is awesome,” Majeski said post-race. “This place is so hard to read in practice, nobody has any grip. I didn’t really know what we had, but this 66 Road Ranger Toyota Tundra TRD Pro was bad to the bone today. Just thank you to Joe Shear, my crew chief, we’ve been working great together this year. Duke, Rhonda, and Allison Thorson, they’re here today, thank them for all they do for us, giving me this opportunity. Just so thankful that we’re able to make the most of this thing, and we’re going to go chase a championship in two weeks.”

“We’ve been working hard on Phoenix ever since we won Bristol. We’re bringing that truck back, feel really good about what we have so far. Just have to keep fine-tuning it, and if it’s anywhere near this thing today, we’ll be pretty good.”

Behind Majeski, Stewart Friesen raced all the way up to third, but that would not be enough. Ben Rhodes stalled out around seventh, good enough for a points tiebreaker that benefitted the 99. In the last laps though, Rhodes got by teammate Christian Eckes for sixth. This was enough to finalize his spot to defend the championship.

Top 10 results from Homestead behind Majeski, Zane Smith, and Friesen were Ryan Preece, Corey Heim, Ben Rhodes, Christian Eckes, Matt Crafton, Parker Kligerman, and Chandler Smith.

The 2022 Truck Series Championship 4 features ThorSport’s Majeski and Rhodes, as well as Chandler Smith from Kyle Busch Motorsports and Front Row Motorsport’s Zane Smith. While Rhodes is the defending champion, Chandler Smith won at Phoenix a season ago. Zane Smith is also the regular season champion, and has finished runner-up in 2020 and 2021 championships. Majeski also comes into Phoenix with arguably the most momentum, winning two of the last three races.

Eliminated from the 2022 Playoffs after Homestead were Friesen (third), Eckes (seventh), Grant Enfinger in 14th, and Nemechek in 35th.

The Camping World Truck Series will crown their champion in two weeks at Phoenix Raceway. Rhodes, Majeski, or either Smith will celebrate on the big stage as 2022 series champion. The Lucas Oil 150 will go green on November 4 at 10:00 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Last year for Rhodes, third was enough to get the championship. This year, it will likely take a win to secure anyone’s fate as king of the Truck Series.

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images for NASCAR