ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski, making his 55th start in a national NASCAR race, scored his first career win Thursday night in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The victory secured Majeski a spot in the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway in November.
Majeski scored the win after holding the lead in a 12-lap run to finish the race.
The 28-year-old Wisconsin native led 45 of the race’s 200 laps and won over Zane Smith, Parker Kligerman, Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton.
“Man, this is unbelievable,” Majeski told FS1. “I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this. … Just so proud to be here. We came guns blazing for this race. We took our best truck … (were) aggressive on pit strategy, got us out front and were able to get it done. This is so cool. My career has been so up and down. There’s been a lot of people to help me get to this point. I know my late model guys are watching back at the shop. They’re a big reason why I’m here. …
“This is just damn cool.”
Thursday’s race was Majeski 40th start in the Truck Series. ThorSport represents the third different team Majeski has competed for in NASCAR. His road to the victory started in 2017 as a development driver with RFK Racing. In 15 starts through 2018 he never finished better than seventh.
In the Truck Series, Majeski competed in 16 races for Niece Motorsports from 2019 to 2020, never finishing better than eighth. With ThorSport, he entered the Bristol race having 15 tops 10s and eight top fives.
Now he’ll get the opportunity to run for a championship in Phoenix.
“Man, I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Majeski said.
Zane Smith finished second after he had to start from the read due to mechanical problems that surfaced on his No. 38 Ford during practice.
He led 39 laps.
“A good salvage of the night, we work on our (truck) the only chance we got and I felt like it went the right direction,” Smith said. “I wish I could have done a few things different there, like take the top (on the final restart). It always launches better here. I was so bad if I was outside the PJ1 (on the inside lane in the turns).”
Click here for Truck Series Bristol race results
Derek Kraus, the pole-sitter, led the first 27 laps before he lost the lead to Chandler Smith. Prior to Thursday night, Kraus had led only 15 laps through the first 19 races this season.
Kraus would finish the night in sixth.
The race’s first caution arrived on Lap 36 for a two-car incident involving Josh Reaume and Rajah Caruth. Initially, Reaume spun entering Turn 1, backed into the outside wall then slid to the bottom of the track. Caruth then slammed into the side of his No. 43 truck. Reaume was able to exit his truck and walk under his own power. But it was later announced he would be taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Neither Caruth or his crew chief heard his spotter’s warning over the team’s radio. Caruth’s team would make an attempt at repairs, but by the end of the stage Caruth was out.
The race resumed with eight laps left in the first stage, as Smith took off and kept the lead until the stage caution. Smith won the stage over Friesen, Krause, Matt DiBenedetto and Enfinger.
During the stage break, the top three trucks stayed out of the pits. Smith held the lead on the Lap 66 restart after Friesen spun his tires in the inside lane.
By Lap 80 John Hunter Nemechek, who started from the rear in a backup truck after a wreck in practice, had entered the top 10.
On Lap 85 the second caution for an incident was caused by the No. 32 of Connor Mosack spinning in Turn 2.
Smith kept the lead on the Lap 91 restart and would stay there until the end of Stage 2, winning it over Friesen, Eckes, Ben Rhodes and Taylor Gray.
Nemechek was eighth and Zane Smith was 10th.
Chandler Smith and Friesen pit for the first time in the race, giving the lead to Zane Smith, who last pit on Lap 45. Parker Kligerman restarted second. Majeski took second on the restart as Kligerman fell to fourth.
Chris Hacker brought out another caution with 50 laps to go when he was spun from contact from behind with Christian Eckes.
The race resumed with 44 to go as Majeski jumped out to the lead over Zane Smith.
The caution flag waved again when Dean Thompson wrecked entering Turn 3 when he was turned by Tanner Gray as he tried to pass Thompson to the inside.
After a lengthy clean up the race went back to green with 12 laps to go.