TRUCKS: Kyle Busch last at Watkins Glen after Caruth returns from first-lap mechanical issue
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
SCREENSHOT: FS1
Kyle Busch picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Friday’s Mission 176 at the Glen at Watkins Glen International when his #07 Gainbridge Chevrolet fell out with steering issues after 17 of 81 laps.
The finish, which came in Busch’s 180th series start, was his first of the season and first in a Truck Series race since May 10, 2024 at Darlington, 31 races ago. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 5th from steering issues, the 10th for the #07, and the 462nd for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 30th for the #07, the 39th from steering problems, and the 2,005th for Chevrolet.
While Busch still fights to end his winless streak in the Cup Series driving for Richard Childress Racing, he’s remained as fast as ever in his part-time efforts in the Truck Series. Coming into 2025, he’d won at least one series race in each of the last 12 seasons, even while running no more than five starts in each of the last seven seasons against a developing pool of new driver talent. Driving for the Spire team that was built upon his sold Kyle Busch Motorsports effort, Busch got his win in his first attempt of the season in Atlanta, but then finished just 9th, 5th, and 15th in his last three races at North Wilkesboro, Charlote, and Nashville.
For Watkins Glen, Busch would drive the team’s “all-star” #07 with shared team sponsor Gainbridge. Sponsor and team would win earlier on Friday as 15-year-old newcomer Tristan McKee won that morning’s ARCA Menards Series race. Busch’s was one of 36 drivers who made up the Truck Series’ first full field of drivers since the Daytona opener in February. He began the weekend with the 5th-fastest time of 72.715 seconds (121.295mph), but in qualifying slipped to 11th with a best lap of 71.955 seconds (122.577mph). This ranked him third of the four Cup Series regulars in the field behind Christopher Bell (2nd) and Ross Chastain (7th), but ahead of last fall’s Watkins Glen Cup race winner Chris Buescher (21st).
Five drivers failed to complete a qualifying lap, including 36th-place starter Grant Enfinger, whose crew needed to replace a snapped axle on his #9 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet. Enfinger was also one of the five drivers to incur tail-end penalties prior to the start. Handed the same unapproved adjustments penalties were 31st-place Derek White in Carl Long’s #69 OCR Gaz Bar Ford, 32nd-place Frankie Muniz in the #33 More Core Ford, and 34th-place Kaden Honeycutt, recently released by Niece Motorsports and hired for a one-off in the #02 RandCo Chevrolet. Road racer Gian Buffomante, who made his series debut in the Reaume Brothers’ #22 Goodridge Ford, was also sent from 33rd to the back for an engine change. This moved Ty Majeski, whose #98 Soda Sense / Curb Records Ford was the only truck without a qualifying time that didn’t receive a pre-race penalty, from the 35th spot to 29th at the green flag.
Friday saw the debut of a driver-requested change to the restart zone between Turns 10 and 11 (also called Turns 6 and 7, the last two turns on the track’s short course). For this race, the first 31 starters made it through the last turn and across the stripe within 5.526 seconds of the lead. Next came 32nd-place Muniz a half-second back at 6.004, then another 1.5 seconds back to 33rd-place Buffomante (7.587) and 34th-place White (7.623), followed another six-tenths back by 35th-place Slimp (8.297). But already another driver had taken the last spot, a full 17.626 seconds back of the lead.
Rajah Caruth was set to start 20th in the #71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, a truck whose roof rails for the first time showed the driver’s name in the style of Lightning McQueen’s character from “Cars.” In practice, Caruth avoided contact when he had a brake issue that caused him to slide off the course at the Inner Loop. Now, as the leaders took the green, Caruth was already coming down pit road, crossing the stripe on the way to his pit box in Stall 5, one of the closest to pit exit at Turn 1. Caruth was the first driver to lose a lap as White took over the 35th spot, already 18.114 seconds back of the lead on track. “Might have to take a hammer to get the gear out,” said Caruth’s crew on Turn 3. Reports varied about a possible broken axle, though radio traffic also at one point discussed the hub, transmission, and rear gear.
By Lap 4, Caruth was rolling down the hill and swinging wide to make the right-hand turn behind the wall, where the crew set to work, predicting they would return at least 20 laps down. But they only had some of their tools including two jack stands, so on Lap 8, they pushed the truck the rest of the way to the garage area, where they could pull parts from the hauler. They were soon joined by others as mechanical issues continued to take their toll. On Lap 12, William Lambros brought out the caution when his #2 Skip Barber Racing School Ford stalled on the entrance to Turn 5, the result of a brake pedal that had gone to the floor. After all three of his trucks had issues in practice, team owner Josh Reaume quickly directed Lambros behind the wall, where he called for tools and more brake fluid to refill the master cylinder.
On Lap 14, when the now 35th-place Lambros was about ten laps ahead of Caruth, Kyle Busch came down pit road to Stall 17 just past the starting line. After lifting up the hood, Busch backed up to the nearest garage entrance and drove behind the wall, passing Lambros and crew as he turned to the left. There were again conflicting reports about either a power steering issue or a steering box failure, though those reports seemed to trend toward the latter. While the radio broadcast indicated Busch might return to the race to help the #07 team’s battle in Owner Points, Busch was quickly declared the first truck out of the race. Lambros’ brake issue as fixed on Lap 20, and by Lap 21 he had returned to the track nine laps down. By Lap 23, he’d dropped Busch to 35th, but Caruth still needed to complete around 14 laps to climb out of last place.
By Lap 22, Caruth’s crew had nearly completed their repairs and also placed spring rubbers in both rear springs. The #71 returned to the track around Lap 29 and finally completed his first lap of the afternoon on Lap 33. At the time, scoring showed he’d been in the garage for 3,028.57 seconds, or just under 50 minutes, 30 seconds. As Caruth came up to speed, Lambros broke down a second time, this time in Turn 5, and limped onto pit road with a truck arm broken in half. This was too much for the Reaume team to repair, so the #2 also fell out of the race. He’d also been joined in the garage by Kaden Honeycutt, whose #02 had steering issues before he was pushed behind the wall – his team declared themselves done for the afternoon on Lap 35. Two laps after that, Jack Wood cut down a right-front tire entering The Esses and clobbered the outside wall, wrecking his #91 Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet. Caruth dropped Busch to last on Lap 45, then passed Lambros, Honeycutt, and Wood before dropping out a lap later. Six more trucks would drop out by the time the race ended in triple-overtime.
Just like in 2024, when Busch completed the LASTCAR Triple Crown, his fifth and final Truck Series start of the season resulted in a last-place finish.
Mills, Slimp, and White escape chaos at The Glen
Taking home 9th on Friday was Matt Mills, whose #42 Utilitra / J.F. Electric Chevrolet hadn’t finished in the Top Ten since Charlotte in May – his only other top-ten finish of the 2025 campaign. This occurred in Mills’ first series start at The Glen, a track where he finished 38th of 40 starters in his lone XFINITY start there in 2021.
Both Wesley Slimp and Derek White, who traded the 35th spot on the opening lap, recovered to earn solid finishes. Slimp climbed as high as 10th before he settled into 12th at the checkered flag, completing a strong weekend for the Halmar Friesen Racing effort that saw his #62 HNTB Toyota join Cup regular Christopher Bell in an injured Stewart Friesen’s #52 Halmar International Toyota, which led 30 laps, ran out of fuel, and finished 4th. Derek White ran as high as 15th as the race went into overtime, and though he fell more than 20 seconds back of the 18th-place running Spencer Boyd, still came home 19th – the best series run for driver and team.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish in a Truck Series race since November 15, 2013, when J.J. Yeley’s #07 BYF.org / nccer.org Toyota fell out with a fuel pump issue after 2 laps at Homestead. The number had never before finished last in a Truck race at Watkins Glen.
*Busch is the first driver to finish last in a Truck Series race due to steering issues since May 28, 2021, when Timothy Peters’ run in the #25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet ended after 13 laps around Charlotte.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #07-Kyle Busch / 13 laps / steering
35) #2-Wiliam Lambros / 21 laps / suspension
34) #02-Kaden Honeycutt / 29 laps / drivetrain
33) #91-Jack Wood / 35 laps / crash
32) #71-Rajah Caruth / 36 laps / brakes
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, Halmar Friesen Racing, Henderson Motorsports, Niece Motorsports, Spire Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet, Ford (8)
2nd) Toyota (1)
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
