TRUCKS: Mid-race damage mounts into last-place finish for Dawson Sutton in Michigan
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Rackley-W.A.R., @Rackley_WAR
Dawson Sutton picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Saturday’s DQS Solutions and Staffing 250 Powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics at the Michigan International Speedway when his #26 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet fell out with crash damage after he completed 54 of 125 laps.
The finish, which came in Sutton’s 44th series start, was his first of the season and first in a Truck Series race since October 31, 2025 at Phoenix, 12 races ago. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 8th for the #26, the 210th from a crash, and the 468th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 51st for the #26, the 1,462nd from a crash, and the 2,046th for Chevrolet.
This year marks Sutton’s second full-time season in the Truck Series. He again drives Rackley-W.A.R.’s flagship #26 entry, which on occasion has been joined by the team’s part-time #27 with Toni Breidinger. Through the first 11 rounds of the season, Sutton’s best finish of the year came at Bristol, where he ran 7th carrying the colors of the Tennessee Volunteers college football team. A native of Lebanon, Tennessee, home of the Nashville Superspeedway, he ran the same paint scheme to a 17th-place finish. But a pair of early-season crashes at Atlanta and St. Petersburg, combined with several mid-pack performances, have kept him a distant 18th in the point standings. In between, Sutton has remained active on the late model circuit, where in late May he rolled into victory lane at the fabled Nashville Fairgrounds.
For Michigan, Sutton was one of 36 drivers entered for as many starting spots, the result of Justin S. Carroll withdrawing from the event in his family’s #90 Carroll’s Automotive Toyota. In opening practice, Sutton ranked 17th with a best lap of 39.248 seconds (183.449mph), then based on the metric would be the 21st driver on track for qualifying. There, he secured the 16th starting spot with a slightly slower lap of 39.577 seconds (181.924mph).
Securing the 36th and final starting spot was Tanner Gray, whose #15 Black’s Tire Toyota suffered a flat right-front tire, forcing repairs to the right-front corner of his truck that kept him from taking a timed lap. Those repairs constituted unapproved adjustments, handing Gray a redundant tail-end penalty. Gray was warned by his team to lay back on the start as some of the trailing trucks ran at a much slower pace. But when the green flag dropped, Gray inched ahead into 35th with an interval of 3.352 seconds back of the leader, just ahead of new last-place runner Ben Rhodes in the #99 TYM Ford, which showed a gap of 3.409.
Seconds later, and still on the opening lap, 24th-place starter Daniel Hemric slid into the Turn 2 wall in his #19 Cloyes Rotomaster Chevrolet, causing him to plummet to last place as he made it to pit road. By then, both Gray and Rhodes had climbed out of the last two spots, dropping Morgen Baird to 35th in the #2 Alro Steel / Metals & Plastics Ford, 6.012 seconds back of the lead. Hemric’s crew had difficulty getting the right-front tire back on his truck, then sent him out, watching for smoke. He came up to speed on Lap 5 in last place, the only truck off the lead lap. By then, Gray had already climbed near the Top 20 when he cut down a left-front tire in Turn 3, forcing him to practically stop in the high lane as he cut onto pit road. Now 35th, Gray lost a lap as the leaders came off Turn 4, then was just starting to leave pit road when the first caution fell.
Heading into Turn 3 on Lap 7, Frankie Muniz in his #33 Morgan & Morgan Ford made a bold move to the inside of a returning Spencer Davis, whose #5 Ruud / Surf USA Mobile Toyota was now stuck in the middle of a three-wide battle with Kris Wright’s #81 iHeart Radio Chevrolet to his outside. Muniz lost traction, sliding into Davis, who collided with Wright, pushing in Wright’s driver’s side door, the lower-right corner of Davis’ Toyota, and the right-side door of Muniz’ #33. Davis pulled away as Muniz and Wright spun, drawing the caution. This caution allowed Gray to get his lap back as he rolled carefully off pit road, his team warning him not to speed. On Lap 10, Hemric dropped Wright to last place, and along with Davis and Muniz were handed penalties for pitting on a closed pit road. Also docked was Corey LaJoie, who made a stop of his own in the #10 Mopar RAM, only to be caught speeding. All four drivers were instructed by NASCAR to line up on the inside line for the following restart.
On Lap 12, the green flag fell with Wright still in last, now battling 35tth-place Hemric for the Lucky Dog. Davis, whose damage to the right-front nose appeared minor, struggled in the 34th spot, and was already 16.782 seconds back of the lead one lap later. By then, NASCAR penalized another driver as Josh Reaume had pulled to the inside coming to the restart, incurring a penalty for his #22 Aerial Titans Ford. Reaume served his penalty on Lap 14, dropping him behind Davis into 34th. Reaume lost a lap by Lap 17 along with 33rd-place Justin Haley, who had just pitted for a flat left-rear tire on his #16 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches RAM and dropped to last on Lap 18. Haley, too, received a penalty for improper fueling, sending him in for a pass-through on Lap 22. This only dropped Haley to 35th as on Lap 20, Wright lost two more laps after a lengthy stop for a flat tire, putting him three laps down to Haley’s two. Haley returned to the track without losing a third lap himself, but his crew was also concerned about fender damage rubbing one of his tires.
On Lap 27, Hemric climbed to the 33rd spot, but still wasn’t in the Lucky Dog position as Caleb Costner’s #93 Michael Waltrip Brewing Company / Lickety Lew’s Chevrolet went a lap down in 32nd, followed by Davis’ damaged #5 in 31st. This gave Davis back his lap when the Stage 1 ending caution came out on Lap 32, during which Wright reported smoke in his cockpit from a persistent fender rub. Under this same caution, Wright was told he’d have to make two separate stops as his flat tire had knocked the truck’s transponder loose. During these stops, the crew made adjustments to get the truck tighter, straightened a fender brace, and used a baseball bat to smooth out a wrinkled fender. The team completed these repairs without losing another lap, keeping Wright three laps down, though still in last place.
Stage 2 restarted on Lap 37 with Wright the only driver three laps down. Soon after, NASCAR reported a couple minor incidents in Turns 2 and 3, but neither drew the caution. At least one of these involved Sutton, who plummeted to 35th on Lap 41, then lost a lap as he came down pit road. By Lap 43, Sutton had taken last from Wright, then returned to the track on Lap 44 after a previous lap of 200.466 seconds, or just over three full minutes. Unfortunately, Sutton had too many crew members over the wall, forcing him to serve a pass-through that put him five laps down. Sutton cleared minimum speed by Lap 49, then cut down a right-rear tire on Lap 56, forcing him to pit road again. This time, he spent 138.983 seconds completing his lap – just over two minutes – and again was handed a penalty for too many crew members over the wall. By Lap 61, when the Stage 2 caution fell, Sutton was eight laps down, and he pulled behind the wall on Lap 64.
Photos taken by Sutton’s team showed several bands of bear-bond across the rear decklid and the left-rear corner, plus heavy damage to the truck’s entire right side. He would have incurred yet another penalty for pitting on a closed pit road, but never returned to the race. He wasn’t declared out until Lap 102. By then, polesitter Ty Majeski had backed into the Turn 2 wall in his #88 Ideal Door / Menards Ford, the result of close racing on the outside of a resurgent Gray in the #15. Majeski climbed out in the garage, and his #88 was first declared out under the “Damaged Vehicle Policy” (DVP) before this was corrected to show “Accident” in the official results. A two-truck accident on Lap 94 ended the day for both Spencer Boyd in the #76 Desnuda Organic Tequila Chevrolet and Cole Butcher in the #13 Atlantic Tiltload Ford. After two attempts over the radio, Butcher was first declared out by the DVP on Lap 103, though this too changed to “Accident,” with Boyd declared out sometime after. Christian Eckes rounded out the Bottom Five after late-race issues on his #91 Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet cost him six laps to the leaders.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #26 in a Truck Series race at Michigan.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #26-Dawson Sutton / 54 laps / crash
35) #88-Ty Majeski / 87 laps / crash / led 4 laps
34) #76-Spencer Boyd / 92 laps / crash
33) #13-Cole Butcher / 93 laps / crash
32) #91-hristian Eckes / 119 laps / running
2026 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Team Reaume (3)
2nd) Niece Motorsports, ThorSport Racing (2)
3rd) Front Row Motorsports, Halmar Friesen Racing, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, Motorsports Business Management, Rackley-W.A.R. (1)
2026 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (7)
2nd) Chevrolet (4)
3rd) Toyota (1)
2026 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
