TRUCKS: Alex Labbe’s Truck Series debut ends with mechanical trouble in Lime Rock
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Reaume Brothers Racing, @RBR_Teams
Alex Labbe picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Saturday’s LiUNA 150 at Lime Rock Park when his #22 Levrack Ford fell out with rear gear issues after 34 of 100 laps.
The finish came in Labbe’s series debut. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 8th for the #22, the 17th from rear gear trouble, and the 135th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 47th for the #22, the 53rd due to the rear gear, and the 1,067th for Ford.
When the preliminary entry list for Lime Rock was posted, the Reaume Brothers Racing team had no driver listed for both its #2 and #22 entries. While Skip Barber Racing instructor William Lambros got the opportunity to make his NASCAR debut in the #2, Alex Labbe was named to the #22. When the Reaume team first announced Labbe’s hiring on Tuesday, his #22 truck had no primary sponsorship. By race day, the truck carried logos for team sponsors Aerial Titans, Inc. on the hood, Levrack on the quarter-panels, and Vyper on the tailgate.
Through 159 career XFINITY Series starts, the Quebec native Labbe has been regarded as one of the series’ most consistent road course specialists. Interestingly, just six of his 13 career top-ten finishes in the series have taken place on the road courses, most recently a 6th-place showing on the Charlotte “Roval” in 2022. Through his full-time seasons for Mario Gosselin’s team DGM Racing, Labbe has also found success on the superspeedways at Daytona and Talladega, plus a 10th-place sweep of the 2021 campaign at Darlington.
Despite the prestige of an inaugural event, Labbe was among the 34 drivers entered to attempt the field of 36, continuing a streak of short fields in this year’s Truck Series. In practice, he ranked 25th with a lap of 55.637 seconds (95.634mph). He then qualified 26th with a lap of 54.914 seconds (96.893mph).
Securing the 34th and final starting spot was Jack Wood, whose #91 Adaptive One Specialties Chevrolet was the only truck to not complete a timed lap. He’d be joined at the tail end by first-timer Wesley Slimp, a three-tie race winner from the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series, who had just completed a test with the Halmar Friesen Racing team at Carolina Motorsports Park. In practice, Slimp’s #62 HNTB Toyota erupted in flames during practice. Slimp climbed from his truck without serious injury, and the Halmar Friesen Racing team unloaded their backup truck. This put Slimp in a truck with Friesen’s blue paint scheme, but white door and roof numbers in place of Friesen’s red.
When the green flag dropped, Wood was last across the stripe, 5.273 seconds back of the lead to Slimp’s 5.116. Wood clipped the inside of Turn 1, but pulled ahead of Slimp, who fell to last entering Turn 2. By the end of Lap 1, the now last-place Slimp was 10.724 seconds back of the lead. That gap increased to 15.562 on Lap 3, 18.134 on Lap 4, then 21.251 on Lap 5, when he and now 33rd-place Spencer Boyd in the #76 Freedom Warranty Chevrolet were about seven-tenths of a second apart. From there, Slimp began to chip away at Boyd’s advantage. He cut it down to six-tenths on Lap 6, four-tenths on Lap 7, and two-tenths on Lap 8. On Lap 9, Slimp caught and passed Boyd, then by Lap 10 built up a more than three-second gap on Boyd, showing 32.978 seconds to Boyd’s 36.672.
Boyd continued to struggle, losing a lap to the leaders on Lap 12 as he made his first trip down pit road. Then on Lap 15, he skated off the track at Turn 3, leaving him stranded in the grass. The caution didn’t fall, even as it took Boyd some time to return to the track. When he did, he had a flat right-front tire, and clumps of grass fell from the right side of his truck. He was now three laps down, then lost a fourth by Lap 18 and a fifth by Lap 19. This was apparently from an extended stay on pit road as on Lap 20, he completed his next lap with a time of 314.480 seconds while the leaders averaged between 57 and 58 seconds. That time by, Slimp lost a lap in 33rd, taking the “Lucky Dog” spot from Boyd, who lost his seventh lap on Lap 25.
Alex Labbe’s issues began on Lap 33, when he made it to pit road and lost a lap, only to drop from around 27th clear back to 33rd, the last truck one lap down. He lost a second lap on Lap 34 and was five laps down on Lap 37, when the caution fell to end Stage 1. His last lap clocked in at 194.178 seconds, which likely indicated a lengthy stop in Stall 29 on the Turn 7 side of the track before he crossed the line between Stalls 9 and 10. On Lap 40, Labbe took last from Boyd. At the time, the NRN radio broadcast indicated Labbe’s crew was attempting repairs, intending to return. On Lap 72, Labbe’s “last lap” timing refreshed to show a time of 73.676 seconds, 37 laps down. He was ultimately credited with 34 laps completed, but didn’t finish under power. On Lap 82, both the FS1 leaderboard and the Reaume team’s social media indicated Labbe was out of the race. By then, he’d all but locked-up last place anyway as no other drivers were more than eight laps down at the time.
In the final laps, Slimp’s ignition failed, and he needed a push through the back half of the track, ultimately ending his day ten laps short. Dale Quarterley took 32nd after electrical issues on his #32 Van Dyke Recycling Solutions Chevrolet, a race that marked the return of NDS Motorsports for the first time since Robert Mitten’s unsuccessful bid at starting the race at Mosport in 2015. Boyd took the 31st spot, eight laps down, four laps behind 30th-place Dawson Sutton, who cut down a tire and ran off-course in his #26 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
34) #22-Alex Labbe / 34 laps / rear gear
33) #62-Wesley Simp / 90 laps / ignition
32) #32-Dale Quarterley / 91 laps / electrical
31) #76-Spencer Boyd / 92 laps / running
30) #26-Dawson Sutton / 96 laps / running
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Reaume Brothers Racing (6)
2nd) Norm Benning Racing (3)
3rd) Front Row Motorsports (2)
4th) FDNY Racing, Freedom Racing Enterprises, Henderson Motorsports, Niece Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (8)
2nd) Chevrolet (7)
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
