TRUCKS: Majeski makes determined climb out of last place, handing spot to Luke Baldwin’s fiery engine failure
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Steven Taranto, @STaranto92
Luke Baldwin picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Sunday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway when his #2 Gap Year at Lodestar Ford lost the engine after 37 of 110 laps.
The finish came in Baldwin’s 9th series start. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 9th for the #2, the 145th from the engine, and the 147th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 45th for the #2, the 1,095th for Ford, and the 1,164th from a blown engine.
It’s already been a challenging season for young Baldwin in his bid to work his way into NASCAR’s national ranks. A third-generation standout in NASCAR Modifieds, Baldwin made his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut two months ago at Martinsville, where just 32 laps into the race, the brakes went to the floor, putting him hard into the outside wall. His next start at Kansas didn’t go much better, catching damage during a Lap 1 melee that put him out after just four laps. Both starts came with Hettinger Racing, whose #5 team has now been absent since Talladega.
Looking to get as much track time as possible, Baldwin has also run part-time in the Truck Series driving for Team Reaume as one of the pilots of the #2 Ford. There, too, the realities of driving for an underfunded team have proven a challenge. After three straight finishes of 16th or better to close out a part-time run for ThorSport in 2025, Baldwin’s best run of the current year came in Rockingham, where he finished 21st, two laps down. His following two starts on the concrete tracks in Bristol and Dover both ended in late-race accidents that left him in 32nd.
For Charlotte, Baldwin carried sponsorship from Gap Year at Lodestar, a nine-month Christian program for students to continue their education outside the classroom in Smoke Hole Canyon, West Virginia. His was among the 37 drivers entered to attempt the field of 36. As with the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, persistent rain forced the cancellation of both practice and qualifying, where Baldwin was set to be the seventh driver to take time. He ended up securing 32nd on the starting grid. The lone team sent home was that of Caleb Costner, whose #93 Lickety Lew’s / Michael Waltrip Brewing Company Chevrolet was soon found with shop wheels, ready to load up for the early trip home.
Further rain postponed the event three times, pushing the start from Friday night to early Saturday morning, then after the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, then finally to Sunday morning. Remaining in the 36th and final starting spot was Timmy Hill, who wore a bright yellow uniform for his #56 Coble Enterprises Toyota. No teams incurred tail-end penalties, but Josh Reaume surrendered the 33rd starting spot in his #22 Aerial Titans Ford and took the start about a half-second of open track behind the now 36th-place Hill, who was on the outside of 35th-place Shane Van Gisbergen in the #71 NationsGuard Chevrolet.
Baldwin pits for early repairs after hitting the wall. (PHOTO: Matt Miller, @MGMiller17)
On Lap 3, Baldwin snapped loose off Turn 2 and lost positions, ultimately taking the 36th spot from Reaume by the time he reached the line. Baldwin got into the outside wall with the right-rear, forcing him to make an unscheduled stop that dropped him two laps down. On Lap 8, when Van Gisbergen spun while racing Travis Pastrana’s #25 RAM in Turn 2, Baldwin got one of his laps back. Under the caution, Baldwin made another stop for the crew to check the fender braces and the track bar, focusing under the damaged right-rear fender. The crew also discussed adding a wheel spacer before the Lap 12 restart, where Baldwin remained in the last spot, the only driver off the lead lap.
Next to find trouble was Ty Majeski, who while running 20th around Lap 18 suddenly lost power down the backstretch. NASCAR instructed him to pull his #88 Kingsford / Menards Ford behind the wall on the back half of the track, but he instead coasted to a stop in Turn 3, dropping him to last when he lost a second lap on Lap 20. “I have data, no ignition,” he said. “I have power, no ignition.” A push-truck helped Majeski to his stall near the exit of pit road, where the crew looked under the hood. On Lap 25, teammate Cole Butcher’s #13 Atlantic Tilt Load Ford stopped at pit entrance for a fuel pressure issue and likewise needed a push to his stall. By Lap 27, when Butcher returned to the track two laps down in 35th, Majeski’s crew looked under the rear deck lid to examine the fuel pump. On Lap 33, Majeski re-fired the engine and returned to the track, now 12 laps down. But on Lap 36, Majeski pulled behind the wall, saying he was still losing power.
Ty Majeski during one of his trips to pit road for a vexing mechanical issue. (PHOTO: Matt Miller, @MGMiller17)
Then on Lap 39, as Baldwin entered the frontstretch, his truck erupted in smoke, then flames from behind both front wheels. He slowed entering Turn 1, parked in the infield grass, then quickly climbed out without serious injury. On Lap 41, under the ensuing caution, Majeski’s crew told their driver to re-fire the engine again, then inspected the carburetor. He was still in the garage on Lap 48, when polesitter Corey Day – driving the #7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet that was supposed to be run by Kyle Busch – spun on the backstretch after he tangled with Giovanni Ruggiero battling for the 7th spot. Day’s truck briefly caught air before it slammed the wall with the driver’s side, sending him back into traffic and collecting Mini Tyrrell in the #14 Ram’s Race for the Seat RAM. Day climbed from the truck and was checked and released from the infield care center. Tyrrell pulled his truck behind the wall, the driver’s side sheet metal stripped away by the impact.
Big flames for Luke Baldwin #NCEducationLottery200 #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/8r9rUtUdR5
— Andrew Higginbotham (Higgy) (@HighSpeedHiggy) May 24, 2026
On Lap 49, during Day’s caution, Majeski’s crew called “Airbox back on! Airbox back on!” At the time, they were 14 laps behind 35th-place Baldwin, and another nine and ten laps behind 34th-place Day and 33rd-place Tyrrell. So, on Lap 50, Majeski returned to the track a second time, now 25 laps down. But again, he was only on track for a couple laps, pulling behind the wall on Lap 52. Now the team discussed if they had another battery and on Lap 62, during the caution to end Stage 2, were swapping it out. The crew also called for a jack stand as they continued to make repairs. On Lap 66, just as the race restarted to begin Stage 3, Majeski was seen pulling off pit road, now 39 laps down. Seconds later, when Spencer Boyd spun his #76 anal Coffee Company Chevrolet in Turn 1, Majeski was still trailing the field by open track. “What do you think it was, Joe?” asked Majeski about his issues. “Well, we don’t know – we changed everything.”
By Lap 71, Majeski was now within five laps of dropping Baldwin to last place. On Lap 72, NASCAR declared both Tyrrell and Day out of the race for their accident, followed on Lap 73 by Baldwin with his blown engine. On Lap 75, as Majeski discussed issues with his splitter, he finally dropped Baldwin to last place – only for his truck to lose power yet again. On Lap 78, Majeski was once again behind the wall, and now asked his team “Are we done?” At the time, he was within eight laps of passing both Day and Tyrrell. By Lap 104, Majeski had returned to the track after his fourth extended stay in either the pits or the garage, now a full 59 laps down to the leaders. By then, time was literally running out in the race as the white flag would wave at 12:00pm local time. By the time it did, the race was under its 11th caution, this time for a crash involving Chandler Smith in the #38 Matheus Lumber Ford.
The race ended after 110 of 134 laps, at which point Majeski was still trying to figure out the issue with his truck. Again, the team responded, “We don’t know, Ty – we changed everything.” By the checkered flag, the raw feed of NASCAR.com’s leaderboard showed Majeski spent 4,146.069 seconds – or just over 24 minutes – on pit road.
Rounding out the Bottom Five was Brenden Queen, whose #12 Cummins RAM was collected by Kris Wright, who tried to clear himself off Turn 4 in the #81 F.N.B. Corporation Chevrolet.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #2 in a Truck Series race since October 24, 2025 at Martinsville, when Clayton Green had electrical issues without completing a lap. The number had never finished last in a Truck Series race at Charlotte.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #2-Luke Baldwin / 37 laps / engine
35) #7-Corey Day / 46 laps / crash / led 1 lap
34) #14-Mini Tyrrell / 47 laps / crash
33) #88-Ty Majeski / 51 laps / running
32) #12-Brenden Queen / 87 laps / crash
2026 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Team Reaume (3)
2nd) ThorSport Racing (2)
3rd) Front Row Motorsports, Halmar Friesen Racing, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, Motorsports Business Management, Niece Motorsports (1)
2026 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (7)
2nd) Chevrolet (2)
3rd) Toyota (1)
2026 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
