TRUCKS: Clayton Green scores back-to-back last-place finishes during chaotic opening laps at Darlington
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: David PeQueen, @CarSDS2078
Clayton Green picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Saturday’s Sober or Slammer 200 at the Darlington Raceway when his unsponsored #22 Reaume Brothers Racing Ford fell out with transmission issues after 3 of 147 laps.
The finish, which came in Green’s sixth series start, was his second of the season and second in a row. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 9th for the #22, the 43rd from transmission issues, and the 137th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 48th for the #22, the 179th from the transmission, and the 1,073rd for Ford.
Following his last-place run at Richmond, Green originally wasn’t entered for this week’s action in Darlington. The driver’s column of the preliminary entry list showed “TBA” for his #2, a spot then given to Stephen Mallozzi. The team’s #22 was to be a “throwback” scheme for a returning Mason Maggio, his Denssi Energy Pouches Ford resembling Michael Waltrip’s Aaron’s sponsored Busch Series car from 2004. But then came news that Frankie Muniz, driver of Reaume’s full-time #33, broke his wrist after he fell from a ladder at his home in Arizona. With that, Maggio’s “throwback” was renumbered as the #33 in Muniz’ place, and Green was called upon to run a now unsponsored #22. This truck appeared to by Muniz’ from last week in Richmond, renumbered from the #33, and still carrying the photo from the team’s YouTube series.
The Reaume trio of Green, Maggio, and Mallozzi were among the 32 entrants for 36 available spots in Saturday’s race, meaning all would qualify. Mallozzi was the only driver to not turn a lap in practice, a session led by Timmy Hill and his #45 Coble Enterprises / Units Toyota. Green ran three laps and secured 28th in the rankings with a lap of 32.850 seconds (149.699mph). He then took 31st in qualifying with the slowest completed lap of the session at 34.150 seconds (144.000mph).
After not participating in practice, Mallozzi also didn’t turn a lap in qualifying, placing him 32nd and last on the grid. No other drivers incurred tail-end penalties, so Mallozzi remained last across the stripe, 4.329 seconds back of the lead to Green’s 3.716. By the end of Lap 1, Mallozzi had dropped 9.650 seconds back of the lead to Green’s 6.773, and on Lap 3 he was 14.502 behind to Green’s 10.104, himself even further back of 30th-place Caleb Costner, whose #74 Ironside Forestry Toyota was 8.957 behind. That time by, Mallozzi’s crew asked about a voltage issue, and the driver said the truck was bottoming out. The crew told him to bring it in and go to the garage. He did so one lap after Green pulled his truck behind the wall at the Turn 2 entrance. For now, both drivers stayed in their trucks with the engines shut off.
On Lap 7, Costner’s #74 fell off the pace down the backstretch and lost a lap as he made it to pit road. He returned to the track on Lap 12, having spent 113.290 seconds – or nearly two minutes – in his stall. But he incurred a speeding penalty, forcing him to pit road once more. As Costner prepared to come in, Chandler Smith had just lost the lead to teammate Layne Riggs when his #38 Wheelers Ford cut down a right-front tire and hit the wall, forcing him to pit road for an extended stop. Costner, now four laps down after his penalty, was caught speeding again while serving it, and was told by the team to run 3000rpms when he came in a second time. By Lap 17, when leader Riggs started lapping trucks on pace, Smith returned to the track four laps down in 29th, Costner back out five down in 30th, and Mallozzi and Green still separated by a lap in the garage. On Lap 21, Green was told by his team he could get out of the truck. An instant later, Smith’s truck which had been smoking lost another tire and struck the wall once more, dropping him seven laps down. Smith pulled behind the wall on Lap 24, and Green’s crew relayed Smith’s was the first truck out of the race. Smith’s truck reached the Truck Series garage by Lap 27.
During all this, Nathan Byrd, whose #02 Champion Health Chevrolet had been lapped on the 17th circuit, had also gone to the garage for a mechanical issue, and by Lap 21 had dropped to 28th, six laps down and on the same lap as Costner. On Lap 24, when Costner bounced off the wall, Matt Mills limped onto pit road after his #42 J.F. Electric Chevrolet also hit the fence, tearing up the right side. On Lap 27, Costner was back on track again in 28th, but by Lap 29, Mills had gone back to the garage, already seven laps down in 27th. Byrd was still in the garage at that point, now 14 laps down in 29th, one lap ahead of Smith, who was out of the race and now in 30th.
On Lap 40, Costner went to the garage for the first time, leaving just 26 trucks on track. That time by, NASCAR’s official in the garage was about to relay information about the first trucks out of the race. After three attempts, the tower responded, declaring the trucks of Green, Mallozzi, and Smith out of the event. At the time, Smith was just ten laps ahead of Mallozzi with Mills another eight laps ahead. On Lap 45, FS1’s leaderboard also showed Mills out of the race in 27th, but repairs continued on the trucks of both Costner and Byrd.
Byrd returned to the track on Lap 48, saying, “Thanks for getting me fixed up, guys,” then joking about if 40 cautions could put him on the lead lap. Four laps later, Costner also came back out, his truck just one lap ahead of Byrd. Both passed Mills who fell to 29th, setting up a battle for the 27th spot. But Costner still had a tire rub, and was forced back to pit road on Lap 58, letting Byrd pass him for 27th. By now, the Harmon team felt they had nothing more to gain and pulled into the garage on Lap 62, done for the day. “I think you’re done if you go back (to the garage) twice,” said the team. The crew cleared out their pit stall, and Costner was declared out on Lap 74. Byrd remained 15 laps behind the next truck of Maggio, climbing out of the Bottom Five after Costner’s exit, but reaching no higher than 27th.
Timmy Hill and Trevor Bayne earn strong runs
The feel-good story of Saturday’s race involved Timmy Hill, who after putting up the fastest lap in practice, then qualifying just 23rd, had climbed up to 12th by Lap 73 then into the Top Ten with just 7 laps to go. In the final laps, he gained two more spots, crossing the line in the 8th spot, 8.182 seconds back of the lead and just 18-thousandths ahead of Corey Day’s high-powered Spire Motorsports entry. This earned him attention from the booth and a post-race interview, where he thanked the two crew members who help him on the #56 team. Hill has now scored a top-ten finish in each of the last three straight seasons, and three of his 10 career top-ten runs have come at Darlington.
Also impressive was series veteran turned broadcaster Trevor Bayne, who landed a ride in TRICON Garage’s “all-star” #1 Toyota, this week sponsored by Victory Junction. Making his first series start in two years, Bayne climbed from 9th to 5th in the final laps, earning his best series finish since his runner-up showing at Talladega back in 2020. This occurred in what was only the 10th series start for the 2011 Daytona 500 winner.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #22 in a Truck Series race in Darlington.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
32) #22-Clayton Green / 3 laps / transmission
31) #2-Stephen Mallozzi / 4 laps / rear gear
30) #38-Chandler Smith / 14 laps / crash / led 10 laps
29) #42-Matt Mills / 21 laps / crash
28) #74-Caleb Costner / 25 laps / handling
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Reaume Brothers Racing (8)
2nd) Norm Benning Racing (3)
3rd) Front Row Motorsports (2)
4th) FDNY Racing, Freedom Racing Enterprises, Halmar Friesen Racing, Henderson Motorsports, Niece Motorsports, Spire Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (10)
2nd) Chevrolet (8)
3rd) Toyota (1)
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
