Ty Majeski victorious again in Snowball Derby

Ty Majeski on Sunday emerged victorious in the Snowball Derby for the second time in his career.

Majeski held off Gio Ruggiero to earn his first Snowball Derby crown since 2020. Majeski slipped by Stephen Nasse and Bubba Pollard after they wrecked late.

After Majeski battled Nasse side-by-side for eight laps, Majeski conceded, giving Bubba Pollard his turn at Nasse.

Heavyweight battle gone wrong

Bubba Pollard bumped Stephen Nasse exiting turn four. As they crossed the line with six laps to go, Pollard got a bumper inside of Nasse. Then, entering turn one, they collided and wrecked.

Neither emerged with their first Snowball Derby win.

Neither saw it the same way, either.

“We wrecked, y’all saw. It’s the same shit, different day,” Bubba Pollard said, dejected. “Could’ve raced it out but it didn’t happen that way.”

“I definitely don’t want it to end that way. It’s the Snowball Derby, you aren’t gonna not go for it. I won’t lie and say I didn’t crowd him and that he didn’t crowd me. It was going to be checkers or wreckers but I still hate it. I don’t wanna end with wrecked racecars,” Stephen Nasse said.

Meanwhile, Ty Majeski scooted by for the lead. He held on over Gio Ruggiero and earned his second Snowball Derby crown.

“This is our 10th year coming down here. We have the original crew here and they really made my career. They’re the reason why I’m able to live my dream driving racecars for a living,” Majeski said.

TOP-10: Majeski, Ruggiero, Travis Braden, Cole Butcher, Matt Craig, Nasse, Derek Griffith, Luke Fenhaus, Jacob Gomes, William Sawalich (Bubba Pollard finished 19th)

Through the field

Gio Ruggiero finished second after being two laps down. A win was still front of mind, even after that comeback.

“I stayed in there [the car] and we got second but I would’ve loved to have won,” Ruggiero said.

Fenhaus finished eighth after Erik Jones spun him while battling for eighth with 25 laps to go. On the subsequent restart, it was Jones who ended up on the hood of Sawalich, who finished 10th.

Jones was many of the NASCAR guys whom the restart wreck wiped out. The wreck also took out William Byron, Noah Gragson and Pinty’s Series champion Treyten Lapcevich.

Byron, Gragson, Lepcevich and Jones finished 22nd-24th and 28th, respectively.

In 26th was Derek Thorn who earned his fourth pole in the last five editions of the Derby. Going into Sunday, Thorn had led 851 of the last 920 laps and finished no worse in the last three editions of the Snowball Derby, including his win last year where he led 312 of 318 laps.

Thorn had the pole but not the same dominating speed Sunday as in previous years. Then, the restart wreck brought his day to an end early.

NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece finished 31st after a wreck earlier in the race.

Ty Majeski and the Snowball Derby

Now a racer in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Ty Majeski broke through as a late-model ace from Wisconsin. Along the way, he caught the attention of Mark Martin and others.

He last won the Snowball Derby in 2020. In five attempts before, he led double-digit – even triple-digit – laps:

• 2015: Finished third (63 of 300 laps led)
• 2016: Third (50 of 300 led)
• 2017: 17th (27 of 300 led)
• 2018: Second (50 of 300 led)
• 2019: 13th (Led 140 laps; crash DNF after 317 of 330 laps)