By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Ty Majeski took a big step to solidify himself as the championship “favorite” with a victory in Saturday’s Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway – the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular season finale to set the Championship 4 field for the 2022 title race in two weeks.
The 28-year old Wisconsin native led a race best 67 of 134 laps, his No. 66 ThorSport Racing Toyota Tundra crossing the finish line a convincing 4.524-seconds ahead of Zane Smith’s No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford.
Behind Majeski, it was a tight and valiant rush to the checkered flag to set the four-driver Playoff field. Stewart Friesen finished third, but ultimately missed making the Championship 4 by a single point – as reigning series champion Ben Rhodes turned in a sixth place run to secure that position. All he needed.
Majeski, Zane Smith, Chandler Smith and Rhodes will now race for the big trophy on Nov. 4 at Phoenix Raceway.
Saturday’s work at the 1.5-mile Homestead oval marked Majeski’s series’ best second win of the Playoffs and second win of his young career. He makes the Championship Four in only his first year competing fulltime in the series and smiled, saying he doubted if anyone had him penciled in for the championship round.
Majeski said he had no idea what the points situation was behind him. “I knew it was close,’’ he said, adding that he holds a lot of confidence in his ThorSport team for the upcoming season finale.
“We certainly have momentum on our side winning two of the last three,’’ Majeski said. “I can’t really say who the favorite is and who isn’t. But I really like my chances going to Phoenix.”
Zane Smith, 23, the regular season champion, is a three-race winner this season and will be making his third run at the championship – the most Final Four appearances among the 2022 title-eligible drivers.
Chandler Smith, 20, a three-race winner in the Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, finished 10thon Saturday and will be making his debut in the Championship 4. He is the defending Phoenix race winner.
Rhodes, 25, who won at the Bristol, Tenn. dirt track, will be defending his title. It’s only the second time he’s advanced to the Playoffs’ final round and it was a tense afternoon for the driver of the No. 99 ThorSport Toyota.
“Fighting with my teammates really hard there for the last few laps,’’ Rhodes…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Motorsports Tribune…