Majeski wins again as Truck Series Championship 4 set
Ty Majeski had already clinched his spot in the Championship 4 of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, but he asserted himself as the title favorite with another win Saturday in Homestead.
Majeski led 67 of 124 laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway and won the 2022 Baptist Health 200 by more than 4.5 seconds. It was the second win in the Round of 8 for Majeski, who clinched his championship spot by winning the 2022 UNOH 200 in Bristol, Tennessee, last month.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will crown a champion next month at the Lucas Oil
150 in Avondale, Arizona, as part of NASCAR’s championship weekend.
“We certainly have momentum on our side, winning two of the last three here,” Majeski said. “I can’t really say who the favorite is and who isn’t, but regardless I really like my chances here going to Phoenix.”
Majeski’s win in ThorSport Racing’s No. 66 Toyota Tundra meant the real battle shook out behind him. Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes and Chandler Smith all clinched their spots in the final four based on points this weekend by finishing second, sixth and 10th, respectively.
Those four were top four in the standings entering the week, but Rhodes, Majeski’s teammate with ThorSport, had the most tenuous grip on his spot, ultimately beating out Christian Eckes by just three points.
“I had no idea what the points situation was,” Majeski said. “I knew it had to be close.”
Although he has won two of the past three races on the Camping World Truck Series, Majeski struggled in the last race Oct. 1 in Lincoln, Alabama.
It was important, then, to finish the Round of 8 strong before he goes for a title at Phoenix Raceway in November.
“We wanted to get our momentum back going into Phoenix,” Majeski said. “Our team has been really strong in the back half of the season, and we really wanted to come here with a good run, build to Phoenix and carry that momentum.”
WALLACE SUSPENSION DOMINATES CUP TALK
The most talked about NASCAR Cup Series driver discussed Saturday at HMS won’t even race in the 2022 Dixie Vodka 400 on Sunday.
Bubba Wallace, who usually drives the No. 45 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing, is suspended for the race after spinning out
Kyle Larson in Las Vegas on Sunday in a “dangerous act” of retaliation, NASCAR determined.
He’s the first driver to be suspended for a Cup Series race in seven years and drivers spent the day of qualifying weighing in on the association’s decision and its potential fallout.
Denny Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI with Michael Jordan despite driving the No. 11 Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, said the team dealt with the issue in a manner “above and beyond” NASCAR, although he didn’t give specifics on any teamissued penalties.
“He understands where I stand, where the team stands, the values that we want to present on the racetrack and he just didn’t represent it that well last week,” Hamlin said.
Wallace’s suspension is the harshest penalty handed out by NASCAR this year, but hardly the only one. NASCAR fined Cole Custer and his crew chief each $100,000 for slowing down at the end of a race Oct. 9, and letting teammate Chase Briscoe advance to the next round of the NASCAR playoffs.
With three races left in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR sent a clear message to all drivers.
“NASCAR’s like your parents a lot of times, right?” said Joey Logano, who drives the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske and has already clinched a spot in the Championship 4. “You gotta let the boys figure it out sometimes, and they’ll figure it out together and move on, or mom and dad have to step in a little bit and control the situation because it’s gotten out of hand, so I believe NASCAR kind of decided that it was a little getting out of hand. And I would agree with them.”