by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Garage 66 & MBM Motorsports, @MBMMotorsports
Josh Bilicki picked up the 5th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s XFINITY 500 at the Martinsville Speedway when his #66 Kickback Jack’s Ford fell out with clutch issues after he completed 105 of 500 laps.
The finish, which came in Bilicki’s 111th series start, was his second of the season and first since September 19th at Bristol, six races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 44th from clutch issues, the 75th for the #66, and the 778th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 72nd from the clutch, the 100th for the #66, and the 1,112th for Ford.
Sunday’s race marked Bilicki’s first Cup start since his last-place run at Bristol, when he was sponsored by wrestling legend Ric Flair’s brand of alcoholic beverages. Jumping on board Garage 66’s team this time around was Kickback Jack’s, a sports bar franchise with 22 restaurants in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, where the series was competing.
Bilicki would also run double-duty with the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, continuing his full-time effort in SS-Green Light Racing’s #07 team. Since Bristol, he’d picked up a pair of top-twenty finishes, taking 18th in Charlotte and 16th in Talladega. In Saturday’s Martinsville race, where he carried a special paint scheme for the Lego-themed Little Bricks Charity, he finished on the lead lap for the third time in four races, taking 24th.
Back in the Cup garage, Bilicki was one of 37 drivers entered for 40 available starting spots, and the lone “open” entry on the grid. He ranked slowest in opening practice, clocking in at 20.603 seconds (91.909mph), just over one full second off session leader Ryan Preece. Buoyed by the team’s 23rd-place finish with Gray Gaulding in Talladega, Bilicki’s was the fourth car on track for qualifying, ranked ahead of the Chartered entries of John Hunter Nemechek, Connor Zilisch, and A.J. Allmendinger. He again clocked in the slowest completed lap, though he improved to 20.004 seconds (94.661mph), and would line up 36th.
Securing the 37th and final starting spot was Cody Ware, the lone driver unable to complete a qualifying lap in his #51 Rocket Doctor Chevrolet. During practice, Ware accidentally rear-ended a slowing Ross Chastain, causing some minor damage to the left-front corner of his car’s nose. The team elected to make repairs rather than take their qualifying lap, and incurred a redundant tail-end penalty for unapproved adjustments. When the green flag dropped, Ware remained in the 37th and final spot, 4.546 seconds back of the lead. Ahead of him, 4.101 behind the lead, John Hunter Nemechek held the 36th spot in his #42 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota, which ran to the inside of Bilicki’s #66 at 4.051 seconds.
At the end of Lap 1, Ware remained in the last spot, 5.055 back of the lead, with Bilicki now right in front of him in a single-file line. Ware looked to the outside of Bilicki coming off the corners on Lap 5, but couldn’t make it past as his car was too free. Then on Lap 6, he pulled to Bilicki’s inside off Turns 3 and 4 and made it by, dropping Bilicki 7.900 back of the lead. Ware opened up a four-tenths of a second advantage. The next time by, Ware said he thought he bounced off the wall in Turn 3, and Bilicki reported his clutch was slipping between third and fourth gear. Bilicki also felt a lot of wheel spin off the corners as he went down the straightaways, to which team owner Carl Long suggested he stay in fourth gear.
On Lap 8, Ware made it past Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., whose #47 Carolina Country Snacks Chevrolet fell to the 36th spot. Bilicki stayed in Stenhouse’s tire tracks, but by Lap 17, Stenhouse had inched away by about seven-tenths. That gap increased to a full second by Lap 21, when Bilicki was 16.128 seconds back of the lead. Just ahead, Stenhouse started to challenge Ware for 35th on Lap 25, then got under him entering Turn 1 on Lap 27. Bilicki couldn’t catch the pair of them, and on Lap 30, was lapped by race leader Ty Gibbs, who moved under him entering Turn 1. Gibbs then lapped 36th-place Ware on Lap 33.
While the broadcast showed some aggressive tire strategy by the leaders, this extended to drivers at the other end of the field. The plan had been to wait until the end of Stage 1 on Lap 130 for Bilicki to make his first pit stop. But around Lap 50, when Brad Keselowski and Carson Hocevar made contact to his inside, nearly spinning all three, he was already struggling to keep pace.
On Lap 58, new leader Denny Hamlin put Bilicki a second lap down. Four laps later on Lap 62, frontrunner Christopher Bell was among the first to it road, joined by Michael McDowell, Noah Gragson, and the #16 Grizzly Nicotine Pouche / Turtlebox Chevrolet of A.J. Allmendinger. Allmendinger, who had been battling Nemechek for the Lucky Dog, was now two laps down, and took last from Bilicki on Lap 66. Next to take the spot was Connor Zilisch, last week crowned the 2026 LASTCAR Cup Champion, whose #88 Red Bull Chevrolet was caught speeding on pit road. The pass-through penalty dropped him a third lap down on Lap 71, one lap after he took last from Allmendinger.
Ware made his first stop by Lap 79, when he fell a third lap down and took the spot from Zilisch. Bilicki dropped to 36th on pace by Lap 80, now two down. On Lap 85, when Bilicki lost a third lap, he took last from Ware, who passed him off Turn 2. Again, Bilicki was nearly caught up in a side-by-side battle to his inside, this time after race leaders Hamlin and Ryan Preece made contact through the corners. On Lap 89, Bilicki said he was still sliding his tires and loose on the straightaway. He let a group of cars pass to his inside, and for a moment appeared off the pace. By Lap 98, Erik Jones dropped to 35th as he, too, had not yet pitted his #43 Dollar Tree Toyota. Jones finally pitted on Lap 99, dropping him to 36th, while Bilicki lost a fourth lap by Lap 103, keeping him in last place. Nemechek, Jones’ teammate, fell two laps down from 31st to 34th as he too awaited his first pit stop.
On Lap 110, with 20 laps until the end of a caution-free Stage 1, Bilicki radioed to his team “got a bad vibration.” He immediately came to pit road, saying he thought his rear tires were cording. Now a fifth lap down, he waited as his crew changed tires, which incidentally had the same gold rims as those used by Rick Ware Racing. But while trying to leave, Bilicki said, “Clutch I think is out – yeah, I have no clutch.” “Well, shit,” said Long as Bilicki limped down pit road. Bilicki managed to get his car under power, but n top of his issues said he still had a bad vibration, perhaps something in the drive train. Already under penalty by NASCAR, Bilicki crept down the backstretch and returned to the pits. Stopped in Pit Stall No. 40, the second in from the Turn 4 entrance, Bilicki was told by the crew to go to the garage. Soon after, Long indicated they would be done for the afternoon.
On Lap 118, Bilicki steered into the first garage entrance past Joey Logano’s Pit Stall No. 34. This proved a tight fit as he was immediately nose-to-nose with the team haulers parked in the infield. He was originally told to stay in that spot until after Stage 1 ended, but the crew managed to back his car up and get it pointed to the right, allowing him to be guided through a narrow path. On Lap 127, the team had to take a shortcut up and over the ramp in the inspection tent before he ended up in the garage area. He was parked perpendicular to the stalls for a moment before the crew pushed him into Garage Stall No. 33 on Lap 132. As he did, Bilicki said, “I felt something at the beginning of the race, I thought it would get better. . .right now I have no clutch, a terrible vibration.” On Lap 138, Bilicki’s onboard camera was shut off, and NASCAR declared him out on Lap 155.
During a battle for around 16th place, Carson Hocevar repeatedly brake-checked Austin Cindric’s #2 Menards / Delta Ford until it heavily damaged the nose of Cindric’s car, forcing the crew to remove the hood, then ultimately take him behind the wall. Cindric didn’t return to the race and wound up the only other DNF of the year. Taking the 35th spot, who was likewise brake-checked by Josh Berry during a battle for position, stoving in the nose of his #12 Discount Tire Ford. Blaney’s crew parked his car to the right of Cindric’s, where they completed repairs in 57 laps. Blaney returned to the track and only lost one more lap by the checkered flag. He finished 46 laps behind Cole Custer in the #41 Haas / Bonanza Wines Chevrolet. Custer, in turn, was another seven laps behind 33rd-place Ware, who finished six laps down to race winner William Byron.
A few surprises endure record-breaking green-flag run at the end of Martinsville race
Following his tangle with Blaney, Josh Berry in the #21 Motorcraft / Quick Lane Ford finished 4th, resulting in his fourth top-five finish since Iowa in August. Shane Van Gisbergen took home 5th in his #97 Wendy’s Chevrolet, his best finish since his last top-five run at North Wilkesboro in July. Just behind in 7th came Austin Dillon, who earned his own fourth top-ten finish since Iowa and first since his 6th-place showing in Gateway.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
Andy Hillenburg’s Marcis Auto Racing No. 71 at Martinsville - April 14, 2002 (SCREENSHOT: NASCAR Classics)
*Bilicki is the first Cup driver to finish last at Martinsville due to clutch issues since April 14, 2002, when Andy Hillenburg’s #71 Camp 28 Saloon / Fast Track Driving School Chevrolet for Marcis Auto Racing fell out after 9 laps of the Virginia 500.
*This marked the 11th last-place finish for the #66 in a Cup race at Martinsville, and the first since November 3, 2024 – this same race two years ago – where Bilicki had brake issues on his #66 2ONE Pouches Ford after 131 laps.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
37) #66-Josh Bilicki / 105 laps / clutch
36) #2-Austin Cindric / 222 laps / crash
35) #12-Ryan Blaney / 441 laps / running
34) #41-Cole Custer / 487 laps / running
33) #51-Cody Ware / 494 laps / running
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Trackhouse Racing (6)
2nd) Front Row Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing (4)
3rd) Garage 66 (3)
4th) 23XI Racing, Kaulig Racing, Live Fast Motorsports, RFK Racing (2)
5th) Beard Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Rick Ware Racing, Spire Motorsports, Wood Brothers Racing (1)
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (18)
2nd) Ford (9)
3rd) Toyota (5)
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
