by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Justin S. Carroll picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Saturday’s Weather Guard Truck Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway when his #90 Carroll’s Automotive / Duratain Toyota fell out with brake issues after 57 of 250 laps.

The finish came in Carroll’s fifth series start. In the Truck Series last-place rankings, it was the 6th for the #90, the 29th from brake trouble, and the 55th for Toyota. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 53rd for the #90, the 167th due to the brakes, and the 405th for Toyota.

These last couple seasons have seen the 28-year-old second-generation racer from Williamsburg, Virginia battle to get his family’s Truck Series team into the field. After years of part-time efforts in ARCA, Carroll failed to qualify for his first six straight attempts from 2022 through the first part of 2023. He finally broke through thanks to a short field in Kansas, earning a career-best 23rd in the process. Another three starts followed, but only after he withdrew from Darlington to participate in an opening of Dodd RV & Marine’s new facility in Yorktown, Virginia. Dodd RV is one of the team’s four sponsors, joined by mobile home protectant company Duratain, electrical contractors Hamilton Electric, and his family’s garage, Carroll’s Automotive, founded in 1994. Justin’s father Terry Carroll serves as crew chief for what is listed as Terry Carroll Motorsports.

For more on Carroll’s efforts, check out his website at https://justincarrollracing.com/

Bristol marked the team’s first attempt of the season, one of a few small teams rejoining the circuit. In practice, Carroll ranked 32nd of the 36 entrants, then qualified 32nd – the fastest driver to lock in on Owner Points – with a lap of 120.354mph (15.943 seconds). There were exactly as many entrants as starting spots, so no drivers failed to qualify. Aquarium service company Fish Party Aquatics joined as sponsor on the truck’s tailgate.

Securing the 36th and final starting spot was Mason Maggio, whose #21 Rock Hill ACE Hardware Ford incurred a redundant tail-end penalty for unapproved adjustments. With no other drivers docked before the start, Maggio remained last across the stripe, 4.376 seconds back of the lead behind 35th-place Keith McGee in the #22 More Core Ford.

By Lap 3, Maggio remained 6.75 seconds back of the lead, and was now 0.304 back of new 35th-place runner Trey Hutchens in the #14 Quality Roof Seamers Chevrolet. “Feeling good so far, Carl,” Maggio said to crew chief Carl Long. “I’m gonna start making some moves.” An instant later on Lap 7, the first caution dropped for Matt Mills, whose #42 J.F. Electric Chevrolet spun off Turn 4 and bumped the inside wall, causing minor damage to the left-front fender. As Mills pitted, taking last on Lap 8, Long advised Maggio about the importance of patience. Mills remained last as he was joined on pit road by Spencer Boyd’s #76 Freedom Warranty Chevrolet and Mason Massey’s #02 RandCo Chevrolet, which dropped to 34th and 35th.

On the Lap 13 restart, Mills cleared the “Crash Clock,” and hoped another caution would put him back on the lead lap. Instead, eventual race winner Christian Eckes caught the tail end of the field on Lap 25, quickly lapping Maggio, then the now 34th-place Carroll, 33rd-place Hutchens, and 32nd-place McGee. On the 30th lap, Hutchens slipped to 35th, then took over last on Lap 40, reporting his right-front tire was “a fuckin’ pogo stick,” making him loose on corner entry and then struggling in the center. Hutchens radioed this on Lap 45, when the lapped McGee banged doors with Talyor Gray’s #17 Factory Canopies Toyota, then was bumped into a spin by Stefan Parsons’ #75 popsells.com Chevrolet. As McGee made it to pit road, team owner Josh Reaume got on the radio, telling him to make sure to hold the brake pedal when he spins to avoid spinning the engine backwards. A similar conversation occurred at Atlanta, where McGee also spun shortly after being lapped. Carroll briefly held last place before McGee took it under the ensuing caution, but Carroll retook it on Lap 47.

As it turned out, Carroll was still sitting in his pit stall, told by the Ilmor technician to shut off his overheating engine. Carroll radioed that his engine was only running at 200 degrees, but he had lost brake pressure. There was also some smoke, which may have been from boiling brake fluid getting on the headers. The crew closed the hood, and the driver nearly returned to the track before the crew told him to go to the garage to diagnose the brake issue. He did this around Lap 50, when the crew worked on the left side, calling for a bleeder wrench. As the team refilled the fluid and Carroll pumped the brakes, the team discussed an issue with the left-rear seal, noting how the caliper was glowing hot when he first pitted. On Lap 73, the crew prepared to return to the race. They decided not to change tires, hoping to save them for a future race. The next time by, Carroll was pushed backward and re-entered the track on the backstretch pits, merging into line off Turn 3. Just before the Lap 77 restart following the end of Stage 1, Carroll completed his 43rd lap, his first since his issues began. Now 33 laps down, Carroll completed just 14 more laps before he returned to the garage for a second time, again bleeding the brakes.

It wasn’t until Lap 203 – 47 laps to go – that NASCAR confirmed Carroll was out of the race. By then, two other drivers were also declared out. The first was Trey Hutchens, who was black flagged for not maintaining minimum speed, then ultimately pulled behind the wall due to suspension problems. The other was Ty Majeski, whose #98 Soda Sense / Curb Records Ford spun out of a battle near the front and collided with teammate Ben Rhodes. On Lap 179, Majeski’s truck was pushed behind the wall, citing engine trouble. Chase Purdy’s #77 Bama Buggies Chevrolet joined Majeski on Lap 194, but returned to the track on Lap 205 and finished 42 laps down, ten laps behind McGee.

Layne Riggs earns much-needed Top Ten

After a disastrous first three races of the 2024 season, then a spin just three minutes into Saturday’s practice session, Layne Riggs earned a 10th-place finish in the #38 Love’s Travel Stops Ford, his first top-ten finish since he earned his full-time ride at Front Row Motorsports, and his first at a track other than IRP.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #90 in a Truck Series race since May 31, 2002, when Lance Norick’s #90 Express Personnel Services Chevrolet crashed after 1 lap around Dover. Coming into tonight, Norick had scored the only five last-place finishes for the #90 in Truck Series history.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

36) #90-Justin S. Carroll / 57 laps / brakes

35) #14-Trey Hutchens / 113 laps / suspension

34) #98-Ty Majeski / 170 laps / engine

33) #77-Chase Purdy / 228 laps / running

32) #22-Keith McGee / 238 laps / running

2024 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Faction 46, Front Row Motorsports, Hill Motorsports, Terry Carroll Motorsports (1)

2024 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Toyota (2)

2nd) Chevrolet, Ford (1)

2024 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP