by Kari Shear-Carlson / Sep, 28, 2015 – On what was a perfect night for racing, Ty Majeski made history on Saturday night after winning his fifth ARCA Midwest Tour presented by Scag Power Equipment event of 2015, the only driver in series’ history to win five races in one season. It wasn’t an easy feat for the Seymour, WI native, however. Majeski started eighth in the 7th Annual Thunderstruck 93 at Elko Speedway, but found himself having to pass every car on the track to claim the victory, something almost unheard of in short track racing.
“I don’t even know what to say,” expressed Majeski from victory lane after his fight to the finish.
Matt Goede and Steve Apel led the 26-car field to the green for the 125-lap event. Apel and Goede raced side-by-side for several laps before Goede fell off the pace handing the lead over to Apel.
The first caution fell when Midwest Touring Star, Skylar Holzhausen, spun. When the race went back to green, Paul Paine started on the inside of the front row with Apel to his outside. Majeski and fast qualifier, Dan Fredrickson, who started 10th, set up row two.
Apel and Paine raced side-by-side as Majeski searched for an opening to make his move to the lead. Apel continued to lead by a nose as the first three rows were door handle to door handle and bumper to bumper. On lap 20, Majeski and Paine made contact sending Paine spinning in turn four. Both drivers were sent to the rear.
“It was my mistake in the beginning,” admitted Majeski. “I know if I wanted a chance, I had to save my stuff.”
Apel once again chose the outside at the restart. This allowed local favorite, former event winner, and former Midwest Tour Champion, Dan Fredrickson, the inside of row one. Another former event winner and local favorite, Jacob Goede, had made his way up to third and started right behind Fredrickson.
When the green flag waved for the restart, Fredrickson grabbed the lead. Apel and Chris Weinkauf got a little crossed up and Apel slipped back to third as Goede got by for second. Weinkauf dove to the inside and stole the third spot from Apel with 100 laps remaining.
The all to common battle between Fredrickson and Goede began. Goede dove to the inside going into the turns, but Fredrickson fought back on the straightaways, lap after lap. Goede backed off a little bit at one point to try to get a good run on Fredrickson. He went to the outside and then crossed over to the inside. He had a fender on Fredrickson, but the dance continued with Fredrickson having just enough of an advantage to hold onto the lead.
As the battle for the lead continued, Chris Weinkauf was running third with a clear track both in front of and behind him. Apel and Ricky Baker battled for fourth, Baker finally taking the spot with 80 laps to go. Two laps later, the second caution of the night came out as Jason Weinkauf spun coming out of turn four.
This set up an epic battle as Goede and Fredrickson started side-by-side at the restart. Fredrickson powered to the lead on the outside. Goede was right on his bumper and gave him a slight tap, but Fredrickson maintained his lead.
As the two came up on lapped traffic, Goede tried once again to take the inside line away from Fredrickson, hoping to use the traffic to his advantage. The two made slight contact, but Fredrickson powered back. As they approached lap 93, Goede made one last ditch effort to get around Fredrickson, but Danny kept the top spot going into the 10-minute break.
With all of the attention focused at the front of the field, Ty Majeski had been methodically making his way back up to the top ten. When the green flag dropped for the remaining 32 laps, he was sixth.
Goede and Fredrickson restarted side-by-side once again. Goede got a little high and took the lead from Fredrickson. Fredrickson tried the cross-over move, but this time Goede powered back and held onto the lead. They started doing the dance all over again. One would get an advantage and the other would try a cross-over move.
Meanwhile, Majeski was behind Chris Weinkauf and Joey Miller as those two raced for fourth. Weinkauf cleared Miller, and Majeski followed him through. On the next lap, Majeski went to the outside of Weinkauf and was up to third with 15 laps to go.
Fredrickson and Goede were racing inches apart. Majeski was a straightaway behind the leaders with 10 laps to go.
Fredrickson went to the inside and got a little sideways but gathered it up and tried again. As they came up on lapped traffic, Majeski closed in. Danny looked down to the inside, he and Goede got together a little bit and Fredrickson got the top spot. Majeski was right on their bumpers. Goede tried the cross-over move on Fredrickson. The two were side-by-side with a clear track ahead of them. This time, Goede got the position.
With five laps to go, Majeski looked to the inside of Fredrickson and took over second. With three to go, he dove to the inside of Goede. Tom White waved the white flag. Majeski and Goede were side-by-side. They rubbed a little bit coming out of turn four. The two powered across the finish line. It was Majeski by a foot, in one of the most exciting races and finishes the Midwest Tour has ever seen!
“I saved just enough. When I got into third, and they were battling up there, that definitely helped me. I guess I got in on it [the battle] too, and thankfully came home with the victory,” said a very happy Ty from victory lane.
Jacob Goede wasn’t quite as happy finishing second. “I’m pretty dejected. I thought I did the hard part using Danny up and getting the lead. The car wasn’t quite right the last 32 laps. And then Ty just came and got us both. We were close, just not quite close enough,” said Goede.
While Fredrickson and Goede would have liked to be in victory lane, they also know what great racing is all about.
“I’m sure it was a great race for the fans to watch, and that’s what matters,” Goede said.
“Great job for Ty. Running with Jacob, that was fun. It was a great race. I hope everyone liked it,” added Fredrickson.
Chris Weinkauf and Tim Sauter rounded out the top five.
The ARCA Midwest Tour will close out its season on October 9th-10th at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway for the 46th Annual Oktoberfest. Click here for complete information about Oktoberfest Race Weekend.
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To learn more about the Automobile Racing Club of America Midwest Tour, log on to arcamidwesttour.com. The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country. Founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum, the organization administers more than 100 events each year in multiple racing series, including the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the ARCA/CRA Super Series, the ARCA Truck Series and the ARCA Midwest Tour, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedway.
