TRUCKS: Mechanical problems, radio issues, and a lack of tires cut short Stephen Mallozzi’s return to Bristol
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Scotte Sprinkle, @ScotteSprinkle
Stephen Mallozzi picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Friday’s Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway when his #2 More Core Ford fell out with electrical issues after 4 of 250 laps.
The finish, which came in Mallozzi’s 10th series start, was his third of the season and first since Homestead, two races ago. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 5th for the #2, the 42nd from electrical woes, and the 131st for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 40th for the #2, the 142nd from electrical problems, and the 1,061st for Ford.
After Cody Dennison made his Truck Series debut in the Reaume Brothers’ #2 entry two weeks ago in Martinsville, yielding a 30th-place finish, Mallozzi was back behind the wheel for Bristol. It was with the Reaume team at this same track two years ago that Mallozzi first carried sponsorship for Outback Steakhouse, his day job while pursuing a career in both racing and law. Mallozzi would wear his Outback uniform to Bristol again on a rainy Friday, where both practice and qualifying were cancelled. The rule book placed him 32nd on the grid of 35 as all drivers entered filled the field.
Securing the 35th and final starting spot was Parker Kligerman, back in action for the first time since his Daytona victory was stripped away in post-race inspection. Kligerman’s #75 Food Country USA Chevrolet wouldn’t be joined by any others from pre-race penalties, leaving his truck the last on the inside line. However, intervals taken at the green flag indicated Mallozzi had dropped behind Kligerman, the #2 showing 5.040 seconds back of the lead to Kligerman’s 4.485.
With no time for anyone to shake down their trucks, several had early issues. During the pace laps, 21st-place starter Luke Fenhaus was having radio issues on his #66 Soda Sense Ford, with loud bursts of static occurring after each transmission. “I have never seen radio problems like this in my whole fucking life,” said someone on his channel with one lap to green. Then, at the start, 23rd-place starter Justin S. Carroll reported his throttle stuck going into Turn 1, forcing his #90 Carroll’s Automotive Toyota to come to pit road. This immediately dropped him to last place, then off the lead lap. By Lap 5, he was joined by 30th-place starter Nathan Byrd, who cut down a right-front tire on his #02 Timothy Plan Chevrolet, dropping Byrd off the lead lap in 35th. Byr returned to the track three laps down on Lap 7, only to incur a speeding penalty in Section 9 that handed him a pass-through, dropping him five laps down. Byrd then nearly wrecked when he broke loose off Turn 2, chasing Ben Rhodes’ #99 Bommarito Automotive Group Ford close to the outside wall
By Lap 7, Mallozzi had also made a trip to pit road for an extended stop which dropped him to 34th behind the penalized Byrd. On Lap 11, Mallozzi was still sitting in Stall 37 on the backstretch when the crew pushed him behind the wall for further repairs. At the same time, on the frontstretch pits in Stall 8, Carroll’s crew dropped the hood and sent the #90 back on the track nine laps down. But Carroll, too, incurred a penalty – his for a blend line violation – sending him back for a pass-through that kept him in last place behind Mallozzi. It wasn’t until Lap 18 – during the first caution for Connor Mosack’s spin in the #81 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Chevrolet – that Carroll dropped Mallozzi to last as the #2 fell a 13th lap back of the leaders.
On the Lap 20 restart following Mosack’s spin, Norm Benning was black flagged for improperly switching lanes after addressing the choose cone, forcing his #6 MDIA Inc. Chevrolet down pit road for a pass-through penalty. At the time, Benning was already two laps down in 32nd, and he returned to the track in the same spot, now four behind. But NASCAR then reported he was too fast in Sections 1 and 2 during the pass-through, handing him another pass-through on top of it. Benning advised his crew to speak up before the start, and had trouble hearing his team over the radio, so he kept going. By Lap 40, NASCAR said they would stop scoring if he didn’t serve the penalty. On Lap 44, Benning’s crew was still telling their driver to come in, but NASCAR quickly said “Have the 6 taken to the garage.” When the team relayed this to Benning, he was confused. “What the hell for?” he asked. “What did I do?” The team had trouble relaying the reason, saying, “I don’t know – I can’t tell what this guy’s yelling at me about.” By Lap 46, Benning had pulled off the track, and demanded to speak to an official. Another member of the crew explained the situation, saying he’d failed to serve the second pass-through penalty. “I guess they just don’t want me here, right?” he said. Benning then relayed his radio troubles, and said he only heard the message after getting his right earphone to work.
Not far away, Mallozzi’s crew was still looking over the #2, and was having radio issues of their own. The team continued to test both Channels 1 and 2, trying to figure out which connection had failed. In the meantime, the team was also looking for more tires so they could return to the track and gain a few positions. At the time, they were 32 laps behind the now 34th-place Benning, and a few other incidents had started sending other trucks to the garage – so many that, at one point, the team had to make sure they didn’t get blocked in. The team looked into getting tires from Carroll’s #90 and Frankie Muniz’ #33 PBZ OTC Ford, but found both trucks were still running. They also looked to Ty Majeski’s #98 Soda Sense / Curb Records Ford, which had been eliminated in a wreck with Muniz. A $3,000 price tag was quoted for a set from one of these teams. The Reaume crew apparently did not know Benning had himself bought tires, as a frustrated Benning explained over the radio after he was parked. By Lap 62, when Mallozzi was 57 laps down, the crew said they were done for the night. NASCAR officials relayed at least two messages about drivers falling out of the race – one on Lap 91, the other on Lap 152 – but noise made it impossible to tell which drivers they declared out of the race.
Ultimately, Mallozzi, Benning, and Majeski were among the ten drivers who failed to finish Friday’s race. Taking the 32nd spot was Brandon Jones, whose #1 University of Arkansas College of Engineering Toyota was eliminated with crash damage a lap after 33rd-place Majeski. Muniz took home 31st, eliminated under the “Damaged Vehicle Policy” after he climbed past Majeski and Jones. Nathan Byrd climbed out of the Bottom Five into 28th while Spencer Boyd, who had power steering issues on his #76 Camp Cowboy Chevrolet, also climbed out of the Bottom Five to take home a 30th-place finish, one lap ahead of Muniz.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #2 in a Truck Series race at Bristol.
*Mallozzi is the first driver to finish last in a Truck Series race at Bristol due to electrical issues since August 22, 2012, when Johnny Chapman’s #5 RSS Racing Chevrolet fell out after 2 laps.
*Ironically, the four laps Mallozzi completed are not the fewest by a Truck Series last-place finisher at Bristol. Another six races saw the driver in last complete fewer than four laps, including Chapman’s two laps in 2012 that was matched on August 15, 2019 by Jesse Little.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
35) #2-Stephen Mallozzi / 4 laps / electrical
34) #6-Norm Benning / 35 laps / handling
33) #98-Ty Majeski / 52 laps / crash
32) #1-Brandon Jones / 53 laps / crash
31) #33-Frankie Muniz / 76 laps / dvp
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Reaume Brothers Racing (4)
2nd) Freedom Racing Enterprises, Henderson Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (4)
2nd) Chevrolet (2)
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
