Ty Majeski Scores Second Tom Dawson Trophy in Eventful Snowball Derby

Ty Majeski collected his second Tom Dawson Trophy on Sunday evening at Five Flags Speedway, scoring the win in a dramatic 56th Annual Snowball Derby presented by Hooters and Safe Locator.

Majeski inherited the lead with six laps to go when Stephen Nasse and Bubba Pollard, both battling for their first wins in the Snowball Derby, came together during an intense battle for the top spot.

Majeski then held off Gio Ruggiero on the final restart of the race, finishing ahead of Ruggiero and Travis Braden by 1.042 seconds.

"We made some adjustments to the car to make it better," said Majeski about the fight to the finish. "I still don't know if we could have won on that short run. Anything can happen in the Snowball. you just have to be in the game. You have to be in the top five when it's go-time, anything can happen."

A late caution set up a fight to the finish with 18 laps to go. However, a multi-car incident on a lap 282 restart collected several competitors, including the likes of Noah Gragson, William Byron, Erik Jones and Derek Thorn. Gragson missed a shift on the restart, leading to a chain reaction on the frontstretch.

On the following restart, Majeski and Nasse battled side-by-side for the lead for several laps, exchanging the lead multiple times before the fight turned to Nasse and Pollard.

"It was a hell of a race between Nasse and I," said Majeski. "The fans must have loved that one. That's a hell of a race between a lot of great race cars and drivers."

Cole Butcher and Matt Craig rounded out the top five. While the lap 294 incident ended Pollard's race, Nasse soldiered on to finish sixth, the last car on the lead lap. Derek Griffith, Luke Fenhaus, Jacob Gomes and William Sawalich rounded out the top 10.

READ MORE: Unofficial Results: 56th Annual Snowball Derby

Majeski is now the 12th driver to win more than one Snowball Derby. Rich Bickle has the most wins in the event at five, while Majeski joins a list of two-time winners that includes Augie Grill, Bobby Gill, Chase Elliott, Dickie Davis, Erik Jones, Freddy Fryar, Gary Balough, Gary St. Amant, Kyle Busch and Wayne Niedecken.

"It's hard to do," said Majeski. "You can't just have a car fast enough to win this race. I felt like we actually had the best long-run car today. We were really strong at the end of the runs. I thought we had Nasse there before that caution came out with about 20 to go. It came down to a short-run race."

It was also a special win for Majeski and his team, making their 10th appearance in the Snowball Derby. Majeski now has two wins and five top-five finishes in those 10 races, and his career has taken him to the highs of NASCAR's national series since that first Snowball Derby back in 2014.

"This is actually our 10th year coming down here. This group behind me, we have our original crew back here with us. These guys really made my career. That's what's special about this team. They're everything. I'm able to live my dream, making a living driving race cars. It's just such a blessing to still come with them and win races as a family."

While the Snowball Derby typically brings a close to an exciting weekend of racing at Five Flags Speedway, inclement weather on Saturday postponed the Allen Turner Snowflake 100 and Faith Chapel Outlaw 50 to Monday, December 4. Click here to watch live on Monday at Racing America.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
56TH ANNUAL SNOWBALL DERBY

-Photo credit: Will Bellamy/Racing America