TRUCKS: Clayton Green parks his damaged truck during pace laps, moving him into LASTCAR lead with one race to go

Written By Brock Beard

by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

PHOTO: Steven Taranto, @STaranto92

Clayton Green picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Friday’s Slim Jim 200 at the Martinsville Speedway when his #2 Royal Vista Inc. Ford fell out with electrical issues without completing any of the 203 laps.

The finish, which came in Green’s eighth series start, was his series-leading fourth of the season and first since September 11th at Bristol, four races ago. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 8th for the #2, the 43rd from electrical woes, and the 140th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 44th for the #2, the 145th from electrical problems, 1,082nd for Ford.

Martinsville marked Green’s first Truck Series start since he completed his streak of three last-place finishes in a row at Bristol. That streak put him into a three-way tie for the 2025 LASTCAR Truck Series lead with Norm Benning and fellow Reaume Brothers Racing driver Stephen Mallozzi. A last-place finish by Benning – back from a frightening cockpit fire last Friday in Talladega – would secure Benning his second LASTCAR championship and first since 2020. But a finish by Green or Mallozzi would eliminate Benning unless Benning finished last in next week’s championship round at Phoenix. With Mallozzi not entered, the stage was set for a battle between Green and Benning.

While Green has often run without sponsorship on the #2, his truck for Martinsville carried a new red-and-white paint scheme for new backer Royal Vista Inc. Construction & Utilities from Texas. Unfortunately, Green completed just two laps in opening practice, ranking next-to-last with a speed of 21.199 seconds (89.325mph). And during that first run, Green spun entering Turn 1 and smashed into the outside wall with the right-rear of his Ford, causing massive damage. With just a few hours before the start, the Reaume Brothers Racing team straightened out the bodywork and added tape to present it on the starting grid.

Green’s repairs meant the #2 was the only truck to not take a lap in qualifying, putting him 35th and last on the grid behind Benning, who ran another 1.5 seconds slower than Green in practice. Those same repairs would also incur Green a redundant tail-end penalty for unapproved adjustments, to be joined by NASCAR veteran Casey Mears, ironically making his first Truck Series start in Motorsports Business Management’s #69 Pit Stop Diecast Ford. Mears had to surrender 27th on the starting grid due to a transmission change.

But last place never changed hands on Friday. After the command to start engines, his spotter directed him behind the wall. “You're 10 away here,” said the spotter. “Right where this guy is – he’s waving you in.” Then, “All right, fellas, we’re behind the truck.” “Thanks, go to work,” came the answer. “Whew - good job, but we did it.” During the pace laps, FS1’s cameras showed Green’s truck pulled up behind the team’s hauler, roughly halfway down the row of transporters. The truck was then loaded on the liftgate, done for the night.

While unusual, Green’s last-place finish wasn’t unprecedented – particularly in the Truck Series. On July 20, 2016, Jordan Anderson’s #66 Chevrolet was twice rebuilt from crashes in the lead-up to the main event at Eldora, then turned just five laps before falling out with what the Bolen Motorsports team cited as engine trouble. At Kansas on May 10, 2019, Joey Gase swapped rides with team owner Jennifer Jo Cobb, who wrecked in practice, then didn’t complete a lap citing “chassis” issues. Also at Kansas on September 8, 2023, Spencer Davis sustained right-side damage in practice earlier in the day, then turned just one lap before suspension woes.

With the finish, Green holds a one-finish lead over both Benning and Mallozzi entering next Friday’s season championship race in Phoenix. Green will win the title next week unless either Benning or Mallozzi finish last as both already have far more bottom-five finishes than Green.

Finishing 34th was Playoff contender Rajah Caruth, whose #71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet banged fenders with Kaden Honeycutt in a tight battle off Turn 4. The contact cut Caruth’s left-rear tire, sending him spinning into the outside wall with the left-front corner. Caruth tried to continue down the track, but the truck was too badly damaged, ending his night and his run at the “Championship Four.” Benning took 33rd, losing laps in the early stages, spinning after contact from Brenden Queen on Lap 40, and was at one point black flagged for an issue with the splitter on his Chevrolet. Benning reached the final stage, only to be parked for not meeting minimum speed.

Rounding out the Bottom Five were Alan “A.J.” Waller, whose #22 Waller Brothers Cattle & Land Ford spun into the Turn 4 wall on Lap 140, and Playoff hopeful Daniel Hemric, whose #19 NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet started overheating after the tangle with Benning, then ultimately lost the engine in the final laps, leaving him in 31st.

Honeycutt fights his way into Championship Four

The upset of the night belonged to Kaden Honeycutt, who while continuing his search for a first career victory was released by Niece Motorsports after word of his impending move to TRICON Garage in 2026. After making a one-off start for Young’s Motorsports in Watkins Glen, Stewart Friesen’s injury in a big block modified race opened the door for Honeycutt to drive in his place – and with a team assured a Playoff berth thanks to Friesen’s Michigan victory. Honeycutt charged to a career-best 2nd-place finish, forcing a tiebreaker with 3rd-place finisher Layne Riggs, easily the second-best driver on the circuit in 2025 with three wins to his credit. Honeycutt prevailed with the best finish of the “Round of 8,” putting him into the Championship Four. It was in the Phoenix finale at Stewart Friesen, rumored to make his return next Friday, also won a race in 2019.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*Green is the first Truck Series driver to finish last without completing a lap since June 3, 2023, when Clay Greenfield wrecked on the opening lap at Gateway. It hadn’t happened in a Truck Series race at Martinsville since October 30, 2020, when team owner Josh Reaume lost the clutch during the pace laps.

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #2 in a Truck Series race at Martinsville.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

35) #2-Clayton Green / 0 laps / electrical

34) #71-Rajah Caruth / 72 laps / crash

33) #6-Norm Benning / 114 laps / too slow

32) #22-Alan Waller / 136 laps / crash

31) #19-Daniel Hemric / 163 laps / engine

2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Reaume Brothers Racing (11)

2nd) Norm Benning Racing (3)

3rd) Front Row Motorsports (2)

4th) CR7 Motorsports, FDNY Racing, Freedom Racing Enterprises, Halmar Friesen Racing, Henderson Motorsports, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, Niece Motorsports, Spire Motorsports (1)

2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Ford (13)

2nd) Chevrolet (10)

3rd) Toyota (1)

2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

Brock Beard https://lastcar.info
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