O’REILLY: Luke Baldwin’s series debut ends with brake failure, vicious crash in Turns 3 and 4
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
SCREENSHOT: TheCW
Luke Baldwin picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career in Saturday’s NFPA 250 at the Martinsville Speedway when his #5 Victory Custom Trailers Ford crashed after 31 of 250 laps.
The finish came in Baldwin’s series debut. In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series rankings, it was the 15th for the #5, the 178th for Ford, and the 418th from a crash. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 42nd for the #5, the 1,088th for Ford, and the 1,450th from a crash.
Baldwin is among the third generation of racers in his family – one of the sons of longtime crew chief and team owner Tommy Baldwin, Jr., and grandson of modified great Tommy Baldwin, Sr., who won two Martinsville races in 1988. The 19-year-old Baldwin is already the two-time and defending SMART Modified Tour champion and just last season made his first five Truck Series starts with ThorSport. His debut in that series also came at Martinville, where he took a respectable 22nd on the lead lap, and by season’s end had improved his series-best run with a 12th at Pocono.
This year, Baldwin teams with Hettinger Racing, a start-up organization which last year made its own move from late models and ARCA by acquiring Bret Holmes’ shuttered Truck Series team in late 2024. The team hired Mason Maggio for the season opener in Daytona, producing a strong 15th-place showing. This turned out to be team owner Chris Hettinger’s only entry of the season. They have since shifted focus to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, where theirs is now one of only two Ford teams on the circuit. Baldwin is already the team’s fifth different driver in these first seven races: Luke Fenhaus ran the opening two rounds with a team-best 20th in Atlanta, followed by rookie Tyler Gonzalez’ DNQ in COTA, two rough outings with Truck Series full-timer Chandler Smith, and J.J. Yeley’s 25th-place effort in Darlington.
Baldwin was one of 40 drivers entered to try and make Saturday’s field of 38. In practice, he ranked just 38th with a best lap speed of 20.970 seconds (90.300mph). In that session, Baldwin turned 65 total laps, a mark topped by only seven other drivers. He would line up 12th to take his qualifying attempt, but rain cut the session short after the first six took time, placing him 29th on the starting lineup. Sent home were Mike Harmon Racing with driver Dawson Cram in the #74 Drowned Valley Brewing Company Chevrolet and Truck Series part-timer Justin S. Carroll, driving the #35 Ace Hardware Rock Hill / Michael Annett 2014 Tribute Chevrolet that Matt DiBenedetto failed to qualify last week in Darlington. This marked the fourth consecutive DNQ for Joey Gase Motorsports’ #35 entry and the third of the year for Harmon.
Regardless, Baldwin would become one of three drivers making their NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut in Saturday’s race. He’d be joined by late model ace and hometown hero Lee Pulliam, starting 12th in JR Motorsports’ #9 Folsom Fence Supply Chevrolet, and Jordan Anderson Racing crew member Andrew Patterson, who rebounded from a DNQ last fall on the Charlotte “Roval” to line up 19th in the #32 WinSupply / SCS Gearbox Chevrolet.
One week after Alex Labbe finished last at Darlington with the same team, DGM Racing x JIM’s #91 would roll off in the 38th and final starting spot. This time the car was driven by Cup Series regular Ross Chastain and backing from “Who’s Your Driver?” his latest sponsorship from a safe driving initiative. Chastain ran 4th-fastest in practice and looked for a strong run, though he incurred a redundant tail-end penalty for unapproved adjustments. Before the cars rolled off pit road, Anthony Alfredo had radio issues on his #96 Dude Wies MentHOLE Chevrolet while on track, 20th-place Jeremy Clements’ #51 Kingdom Truck Sales / Alliance Chevrolet ran in the back of 18th-place Nick Sanchez’ #25 Paynuity / Travel Curious Ford.
By the time the green flag dropped, Chastain had already moved up to 36th based on intervals, showing 4.027 seconds back of the lead ahead of 37th-place Kyle Sieg in the #28 Monroe Extinguisher Chevrolet (4.059) and new last-place runner Myatt Snider in the #30 Proof Hard Ice Cream Chevrolet (4.383). On Lap 5, Snider reported his car was “really right in the center” and showed 7.002 seconds back of the lead. Three laps later, Joey Gase was shaken out from around the 34th spot to last place, his #55 NFPA Chevrolet showing 9.290 seconds back of the lead, but still within two-tenths of the now 37th-place Snider. Gase climbed back past Snider on Lap 14, then Snider put an increasingly frustrated Gase to last again on Lap 16. The interval between Gase and Snider remained within two-tenths through Laps 31 and 32, when first Gase and the Snider lost a lap to leader Justin Allgaier.
Meanwhile, Baldwin was also running toward the back of the field and struggling with the handling of his car. TheCW broadcast caught him snapping loose between Turns 3 and 4, sending his car up the track in the corner. Then on Lap 32, as he raced under Lavar Scott’s #45 Sunoco Chevrolet entering Turn 3, Baldwin later reported his brake pedal went to the floor. Without front brakes, his car suddenly switched ends and slid into the outside wall at high speed. Trapped in the high lane, Scott checked-up to avoid being collected, but Baldwin’s car struck the wall with the left-rear, then left-front at such speed that he bounced back into Scott, damaging the rear of the #45. Fortunately, Baldwin soon dropped the window net and climbed out, done for the afternoon. He’d immediately taken last from Gase on Lap 33, and by Lap 39 his car was towed behind the wall. According to Gase’s crew, they tried to work out a deal for Baldwin’s remaining tires, but the Hettinger team already had a deal with Bobby Dotter’s team SS-Green Light Racing.
But this wasn’t the end of Baldwin’s weekend in Martinsville. Friday’s modified race, for which he qualified 4th, was postponed by the same rainstorm to after the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race. He’d finish 23rd in a field of 30 after a late-race tangle with Justin Bonsignore off Turn 2 while battling in the Top 5 with just 11 laps to go. Baldwin later tweeted that this wreck was caused by his car’s rear end seizing up.
After his damage during the pace laps, Jeremy Clements suffered additional damage to the nose of his Chevrolet, reportedly damaging both the power steering and the radiator to the point that NASCAR threw the caution for his smoking car. The car was so hard to steer that his crew needed to push him behind the wall on Lap 93, where he was soon declared out on Lap 116, locking up 37th. Josh Bilicki then had an electrical issue on his #07 Mando Chevrolet that forced him behind the wall for 44 laps. His crew tried to find a replacement battery, unable to find one at teammate Garrett Smithley’s hauler, before finally returning to the track in the last 100 laps. Bilicki finished under power in 35th, passing Ryan Ellis who had brake issues on his #02 Tablo TV Chevrolet following a spin in Turn 2 on Lap 181. Kyle Sieg rounded out the Bottom Five for suspension issues on his #28 Monroe Extinguisher Chevrolet after an earlier tangle with Patrick Staropoli.
Lee Pulliam nearly pulls off win in series debut
Running on old tires while also struggling to come through the gears on restarts, Lee Pulliam led twice for 40 laps until one of his JRM teammates in Justin Allgaier made the winning pass with 26 laps to go. Pulliam struggled most with a restart on Lap 234 where his car didn’t get out of third gear, triggering the day’s biggest pileup on the frontstretch. Still, he managed to recover through one additional restart to earn a sterling 5th in his own series debut. This capped an emotional weekend for the late model driver whose fans also sold out his t-shirts at the JRM hauler on Friday.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #5 in an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Martinsville.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
38) #5-Luke Baldwin / 31 laps / crash
37) #51-Jeremy Clements / 89 laps / oil cooler
36) #02-Ryan Ellis / 183 laps / brakes
35) #07-Josh Bilicki / 205 laps / running
34) #28-Kyle Sieg / 207 laps / suspension
2026 LASTCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) DGM Racing x JIM (2)
2nd) AM Racing, Hettinger Racing, Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen, RSS Racing, Young’s Motorsports (1)
2026 LASTCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (5)
2nd) Ford (2)
2026 LASTCAR O’REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
