Majeski Overcomes Adversity to Dominate at Kansas, Earns Career-Best Second-Place Finish

With a commanding performance in the season finale at Kansas Speedway, Cunningham Motorsports driver Ty Majeski never fell out of contention for the win after running in the top-five for the duration of the 100-lap Kansas 150 Friday night. Starting from the third position, Majeski took his No. 99 Treeo’s Ford Fusion to the front for 38 laps, coming away with a career-best second-place finish in the last race of the 2017 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season.

 

“We had a great race to close out the season and it was refreshing to finally get a finish that reflected how strong this No. 99 Ford has been each race,” said Majeski. “There really wasn’t a time throughout the race that I didn’t think we could win, right up until the final lap. We had speed all day and it definitely showed throughout the entire night.”

 

From the start it was clear Majeski had one of the strongest cars in the field, posting the third-fastest lap time during practice. Even after an engine swap midway through practice, Majeski maintained those high speeds with a third-place General Tire Pole Qualifying effort.

 

When the green flag fell, Majeski quickly moved up to second and settled into that position slowly chipping away at the lead. With a caution falling just 17 laps into the night, Majeski reported battling a free car, but opted to stay off of pit road until later in the race. On lap 24, Majeski took the lead on the restart and held it for the next 32 laps.

 

“I knew once we had the lead I could really work to create a gap between first and second,” said Majeski. “We knew we needed to make a pit stop at some point during the race still and if there wasn’t a caution I knew I’d want a sizeable lead to pit comfortably and hopefully not lose any positions. I knew we had a good car and it was just up to me to make sure I could stay focused and consistent for the rest of the race.”

 

That chance to make his way down pit road came under yellow on lap 54 where he got four fresh General Tires, Sunoco race fuel and adjustments. Taking the outside line on the lap 63 restart, Majeski lost the lead and fell back to third but swiftly climbed back to second with 30 laps to go. Majeski came down pit road one final time after a lap 85 caution for four tires, fuel and adjustments. With a quick stop complete Majeski stalled leaving the box, costing him valuable positions for the restart. Lining up fifth and having nine laps left when the track went back to green, Majeski was able to regain those lost spots to finish the night in second.

 

“We overcame a lot of obstacles throughout the day to get that second-place finish,” said Majeski. “I’m disappointed we weren’t able to come away with the win since we were so close but overall it was a great way to end the season. I think if I hadn’t stalled on that last pit stop we could have won the race, but it’s just another learning moment for me as a driver. These five races this season have been incredible opportunities for me and I can’t thank Treeo’s, Cunningham Motorsports, Ken Schrader Racing and Roush Fenway Racing enough. I’m really looking forward to take what I’ve learned here and apply it to my future endeavors as a driver.”

 

The second-place finish tops off a list of achievements earned by Majeski throughout the 2017 season. In all five races with Cunningham Motorsports, Majeski never qualified or finished outside of the top-10. The Roush Fenway Racing development driver came away with one top-five finish, five top-10 finishes and 89 laps led. Majeski’s average finish was fifth with an average start of fourth.

 

Keep up with Cunningham Motorsports on Facebook and Instagram (@CunninghamRace) and on Twitter (@Cunningham_Race). Head to www.cunninghamrace.com for more news. You can also follow Ty Majeski on Facebook (@TyMajeskiRacing), Twitter (@TyMajeski) and Instagram (@TyMajeski_).

 

Cunningham Motorsports PR