TRUCKS: Jackson Lee finishes all but eight laps of oval track debut as entire Phoenix field comes home under power
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Luis Torres, @TheLTFiles
Jackson Lee picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Friday’s Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150 Powered by Poet at the Phoenix Raceway when his #23 Browning Chapman Ford finished under power, completing 142 of 150 laps.
The finish came in Lee’s fifth series start. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 9th while finishing under power, the 20th for the #23, and the 151st for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 68th while running, the 72nd for the #23, and the 1,111th for Ford.
Lee, a 23-year-old driver from Indiana, started competing in USAC Quarter Midgets, but has predominately competed on road courses. According to his website, the turning point came in 2018, when he won a scholarship to the Cooper Tires Karting Shootout at Sebring with the Lucas Oil School of Racing. Since then, Lee has raced just about everything. He’s already risen through the ranks of open-wheel racing from the Lucas Oil Formula Car Series Championship to USF Pro 2000, and has branched out into sports cars through various IMSA divisions. His diverse resume has earned him a job as both a driving coach and instructor for the Skip Barber Racing School.
Throughout his efforts, Lee has attracted several sponsors including design consultants California Closets, contractors Browning Champman, LLC, financial services provider Invst, and a lung cancer research initiative through the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. These brands would all join Lee at St. Petersburg this past February, where Lee looked to build on his experience at the track by making his NASCAR debut in the Truck Series. There, he’d get to race against three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti, with whom he was photographed as a young fan. Driving Josh Reaume’s #22 Ford, Lee came home 29th, then in the #2 ran 26th at Watkins Glen, 27th in San Diego, and a season-bet 13th his last time out at Lime Rock Park.
For Phoenix, Lee would be one of two road course specialists making their first-ever NASCAR oval track start. The other was Ben Maier, who piloted the #76 Top Liner Chevrolet for Spencer Boyd’s team Freedom Racing Enterprises. Lee would this time pilot a new fourth team for Team Reaume, debuting the #23 with Lee’s sponsors again joining the effort. Prior to the day’s on-track action, this truck was on display for a fan event, where IndyCar veteran Paul Tracy took the opportunity to climb behind the wheel.
Of the 36 drivers entered, Lee ranked 35th with a best lap of 29.427 seconds (122.337mph). His brand-new entry as the first truck on track for qualifying, he climbed to 33rd with a lap of 28.637 seconds (125.711mph). Both times, he outpaced teammate Clayton Green in the #22 The Turner Company Ford, but in qualifying he also ranked ahead of two drivers who didn’t take a lap due to mechanical issues. The 36th spot fell to Maier, whose #76 had a driveline issue, and 35th went to a returning Frankie Muniz, fresh off his Pirelli GT4 championship, due to a busted axle seal on his #33 Dr. Sheffield / Firman Power Equipment Ford. Both Muniz and Maier incurred redundant tail-end penalties in the race.
When the green flag dropped, Maier remained in the 36th spot, 3.697 seconds back of the lead and less than one-tenth behind teammate Green. Immediately after, NASCAR penalized 19th-place qualifier Dawson Sutton for pulling out of line early in his #26 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet. At the end of Lap 1, Maier inched ahead of Green, who was now 5.027 seconds back of the lead and three-tenths back of Maier. On Lap 3, Lee dropped off the pace with a flat tire, dropping him to last place, then forcing him to pit road, where he lost a lap on Lap 4. Lee returned to the track on Lap 7, already three laps down after the crew took a baseball bat to smooth out his dented fender. By then, Sutton served his penalty and lost a lap, dropping him to 35th. Soon after on Lap 12, the leaders caught Lee on track, dropping him a fourth lap behind.
On Lap 18, Lee reported he had a vibration, which by Lap 31, when he lost a fifth lap to the leaders, he reported was getting worse. The team asked him where he felt the vibration, if it was through his seat, the steering wheel, or the shifter. Lee responded it was from the right-front and the brake pedal. The team decided to keep Lee on track and to diagnose the issue after Stage 1 ended on Lap 45. In between, last-place starter Maier had already gained the second-most spots of anyone in the field, passing nine trucks by Lap 26, though the leaders were quickly lapping many of the trailing trucks. On Lap 42, Lee reported his water temperature was at 202 degrees, and he reached the Lap 46 caution to end Stage 1, still showing five laps down. By then, only 21 trucks were on the lead lap.
Leland Honeyman, Jr. makes a lengthy stop. (PHOTO: Luis Torres, @TheLTFiles)
On Lap 59, shortly after the start of Stage 2, Tanner Gray dropped to 35th after an unscheduled stop following contact with his #15 Homes For Our Troops Toyota. By Lap 79, he’d managed to climb out of the Bottom Five while Green’s #22 dropped back to 35th, now three laps down. With so few cautions on the night, many of the lapped trucks ahead went a second lap down. On Lap 84, Green was four laps down while Lee was down six. Soon after, the stage caution came out a moment early after Ben Rhodes cut down a tire on his #99 TSPORT Ford, minimizing the damage done. Around Lap 109, Leland Honeyman, Jr. made an unscheduled stop in his #62 DPR Construction Toyota, dropping him four laps down into 35th between Green and Lee. By Lap 131, Lee was seven laps down. On Lap 143, Honeyman climbed past Green into 34th while both were now five down. And with two laps to go in the race, Lee was told to hold the low lane as he lost an eighth lap to eventual race winner Kaden Honeycutt.
The garage remained a ghost town for the entire distance as all 36 starters finished the race on track without a single trip behind the wall. During his cool-down lap, Lee was congratulated by his team for showing respect to faster traffic, and Lee said he learned a lot during the race, even enjoying the final stage. “We’ll do some more next year,” said the team. Green finished 35th, three laps ahead of Lee and on the same lap as 34th-place Honeyman. Muniz took 33rd while the fourth Team Reaume truck of Monty Tipton, driver of the #2 Bare Bones Ford, rounded out the Bottom Five.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Lee set a new record for the most laps completed by a Truck Series last-place finisher at Phoenix and is the first last-place finisher at the track to finish the race under power. The previous laps completed record was set by Travis Kvapil, who turned 99 laps before a crash in his #5 International Truck / Monaco RVs Toyota on February 25, 2011.
*This marked the first time all 36 starters finished a Truck Series race under power since July 29, 2023, when Josh Reaume’s #34 Levrack Ford finished 11 laps down at Richmond.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #23-Jackson Lee / 142 laps / running
35) #22-Clayton Green / 145 laps / running
34) #62-Leland Honeyman, Jr. / 145 laps / running
33) #33-Frankie Muniz / 147 laps / running
32) #2-Monty Tipton / 147 laps / running
2026 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Team Reaume (7)
2nd) Niece Motorsports (4)
3rd) Halmar Friesen Racing, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, ThorSport Racing (2)
4th) Freedom Racing Enterprises, Front Row Motorsports, Kaulig RAM Racing, Motorsports Business Management, Rackley-W.A.R. (1)
2026 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (11)
2nd) Chevrolet (8)
3rd) Toyota (2)
4th) RAM (1)
2026 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
