by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Bryan Dauzat picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Saturday’s Love’s RV Stop 250 at the Talladega Superspeedway when his #28 FDNY Racing Chevrolet fell out with handling problems after 5 of 99 laps.

The finish, which came in Dauzat’s 20th series start, was his first of the season and first in a Truck Series race since July 25, 2020 at Kansas, 79 races ago. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 6th for the #28, the 19th for handling issues, and the 439th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 43rd for the #28, the 128th from handling, and the 1,918th for Chevrolet.

In their continuing efforts to raise funds for the FDNY Widows’ and Children’s Fund founded after the 9/11 attacks, Jim Rosenblum’s single-truck effort continues to maintain a presence in the Truck Series. Since they were last featured here, the team has entered and often qualified for the races at Daytona, Pocono, and Talladega. During that stretch, the team’s highlights included a 21st in the 2020 race at Talladega, then a 19th and 23rd in their last two Daytona starts. But coming into this year’s Talladega race, the team failed to qualify for both Daytona and Pocono, joining DNQ lists of six and three drivers, respectively.

Both Dauzat and the FDNY Racing team faced another stiff challenge in this year’s Talladega race, where they were among the 40 entrants attempting to make the 36-truck field, and had no practice to shake down their Chevrolet. But in qualifying, Dauzat secured 30th on the grid with a lap of 174.735mmph (54.803 seconds). The four drivers sent home were Spencer Boyd in the #12 Alabama Roofing Professionals Chevrolet, Jennifer Jo Cobb in the #10 Concierge Motorsports Chevrolet, Keith McGee in the #33 More Core Ford, and Clay Greenfield whose electrical issues kept him from taking a lap in GK Racing’s #95 Backyard Blues Pools Chevrolet. This was Greenfield’s first attempt since GK Racing debuted at Gateway, where they wrecked on the first lap.

Securing the 36th and final starting spot was Jason M. White of Canada, whose AM Racing team added several decals to his #22 Powder Ventures Excavations Ford. There was originally just one driver with a pre-race penalty – Dean Thompson for unapproved adjustments on his #5 ST Industrial Toyota, which qualified a strong 4th. By race time, 26th-place qualifier Greg Van Alst also received an unapproved adjustments penalty on his #20 CB Fabricating Chevrolet, and Dauzat had to surrender 30th as he missed driver introductions. 

Before any of these drivers could fall to the rear, 3rd-place qualifier Jake Garcia was in his pit stall reporting either a clutch or transmission issue on the #35 Quanta Services Chevrolet. The truck was in its stall, hood up with the right side jacked up as the first pace vehicles returned to pit road. This would have sent Garcia to the tail end of the field for the start, but he was still in his stall at that moment. Timing and scoring still showed him 5.538 seconds back of the lead with White in 35th, just over two seconds ahead and 3.298 back of first place. By the end of the first lap, Garcia cycled back to last place and had yet to complete a single trip around the track.

Still another front-runner had trouble as, on the initial start, 6th-place Jack Wood was handed a pass-through penalty for jumping the start in his #51 TrueTimber Chevrolet. Wood didn’t immediately serve this penalty as trucks further back started to lose touch with the field. On Lap 3, White’s #22 fell 8.211 seconds back of the field, a gap that increased to 21.7 seconds the next time by, 17.492 behind 34th-place Dauzat. On Lap 6, Wood finally served his pass-through and returned to the track completely by himself. This same lap saw Dauzat come down pit road for an unscheduled stop. The next time by on Lap 7, Garcia’s crew pushed the #35 behind the wall, still yet to complete a single lap. And as the leaders rocketed past White’s 35th-place truck that held the high lane down the backstretch, NASCAR called White to pit road for repairs so he could meet minimum speed.

On Lap 10, Dauzat’s crew pushed him behind the wall. They didn’t push him all the way to the garage stall and instead continued repairs just behind the entrance. There, the driver believed the battery was dead, but the crew said it should still have a full charge. By this point, 34h-place White made his stop for repairs to meet minimum speed, which the crew completed without pushing the #22 to the garage. And so, on Lap 11, Garcia remained in last place, the crew continuing their work behind the haulers. Dauzat was five laps down in 35th, also in the garage, while White remained 34th on pit road, one lap ahead of Dauzat. 

On Lap 15, Jack Wood in 33rd lost a lap as he was caught by the leaders down the backstretch, then pulled into the inside line around seventh place. Jason White was still on pit road in 34th, though the crew discussed which entrance to the garage area they should use to continue repairs. The 16th lap saw Garcia re-fire the engine in the garage, and on Lap 17 was seen running the low lane entering Turn 1. With the end of Stage 1 coming up, Garcia remained below the line and finally completed his first lap of the race on the 19th circuit. When the Stage 1 caution fell on Lap 21, White finally left pit road to rejoin the race in 34th, but was told by NASCAR to stay below the yellow line as he was now leaking fuel. The next time by on Lap 24, Garcia finally dropped Dauzat to last place, 18 laps down, and the driver soon climbed out of the #28. On Lap 30, Dauzat was the first driver declared out of the race. While listed as a handling issue in the results, the team indicated this was an electrical issue.

White made at least two more stops, now addressing a possible voltage issue, but continued to race, keeping him ahead of Garcia. The pair ultimately finished 27th and 29th as the Bottom Five was filled. Playoff contender Zane Smith lost control of his #38 Speedco / Peak Ford entering pit road, causing his tire carrier Charles Plank to ditch the two wheels he was holding and jump for his life. Plank bounced off Smith’s left-rear, leaving a dent on the tailgate. Miraculously, Plank walked away with only a busted lip and continued to service Smith’s truck. But a slipping transmission sent Smith behind the wall, dropping him to the 35th spot. He returned to action with 21 laps remaining in regulation, ultimately completing the Bottom Five in 32nd. 

The three trucks Smith passed were all involved in wrecks. Both David Gilliland in the #1 Serial 1 Premium E-Bikes Toyota and Stewart Friesen in the #52 Gearwrench Chevrolet were involved in a grinding pileup off Turn 3. Friesen climbed from his truck in pain and was transported to a local hospital for further examination. Gilliland attempted to drive away, but needed a tow truck as he stalled short of the entrance. Tyler Ankrum took 33rd after a separate incident on the backstretch sent his #16 LiUNA! Toyota to veer into the outside wall.

Moffitt takes spectacular win in last-minute FRM deal

Taking the win on Saturday was Brett Moffitt, who was back in the Truck Series for the first time since September 9, 2022 at Kansas. Moffitt was entered in a new second Truck Series entry for Front Row Motorsports, a deal that came together barely a month before the race. The #34 Fr8Auctions.com Ford was teammate Zane Smith’s backup for this year’s Daytona event, and was the very truck Smith drove to victory in the 2022 race at Daytona. It also happened to be decorated in a black-and-red paint scheme reminiscent of Moffitt’s Ford he drove for Front Row in 2015, when he ran part-time along with Michael Waltrip Racing en route to Rookie of the Year. In the frantic final laps, Moffitt made the right move at the right time to take and defend his lead, passing Christian Eckes to lead his 22nd and final lap of the day. It was Moffitt’s 13th series win, his first since October 17, 2020 at Kansas, when he contended for the championship with GMS Racing.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*Dauzat is the first Truck Series driver to finish last due to handling issues since February 21, 2020, when Josh Bilicki fell out after three laps around Las Vegas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

36) #28-Bryan Dauzat / 5 laps / handling

35) #1-David Gilliland / 38 laps / crash

34) #52-Stewart Friesen / 38 laps / crash

33) #16-Tyler Ankrum / 50 laps / crash

32) #38-Zane Smith / 55 laps / running

2023 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Reaume Brothers Racing, Young’s Motorsports (4)

2nd) G2G Racing (3)

3rd) AM Racing, Niece Motorsports, Roper Racing, TRICON Garage (2)

4th) CR7 Motorsports, FDNY Racing, GK Racing, Kyle Busch Motorsports (1)

2023 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (9)

2nd) Ford (7)

3rd) Toyota (5)

2023 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP