TRUCKS: Flat right-front tire sends Mason Massey into the wall early at IRP

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

Mason Massey picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Friday’s TSport 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park when his #02 Brunt Chevrolet fell out with crash damage after 44 of 200 laps.

The finish, which came in Massey’s 28th series start, was his second of the season and first since March 23, 2024 at COTA, ten races ago. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 12th for the #02, the 195th from a crash, and the 448th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 35th for the #02, the 1,385th from a crash, and the 1,952nd for Chevrolet.

As the season’s first repeat last-place finisher, Massey takes the lead in the 2024 LASTCAR Truck Series Championship over Thad Moffitt with eight races to go.

It’s continued to be a rollercoaster season for both Massey and the Young’s Motorsports team. Just two weeks after brake issues sent him to the garage in COTA, Massey rebounded with a season-best 11th-place finish the very next race at Martinsville. He then took 15th in Darlington and 18th at Charlotte before back-to-back DNFs in Gateway and Nashville. His 24th-place showing last week in Pocono coincided with the arrival of a new teammate, Thad Moffitt, whose shuttered Faction 46 team became part of the Young team. During that span, Massey also made three XFINITY Series starts for SS-Green Light Racing, including an impressive 11th-place showing in Talladega, but also a disappointing 30th at Loudon, one of his best tracks.

At IRP, Massey was one of 35 entrants for 36 spots, meaning all would start the race. Of that group, he ranked 31st in opening practice, then secured 27th on the grid with a lap of 23.555 seconds (104.844mph).

Securing the 35th and final starting spot was Conor Daly, making just the fourth Truck Series start of his career just days after his fill-in duties in Race 2 of IndyCar’s double-header at Iowa. This time around, Daly would run double-duty in NASCAR, combined with a ride with Sam Hunt Racing in Saturday’s XFINITY Series race. Daly didn’t complete a lap in qualifying due to a leaking hub, joined by 34th-place Matt Mills in another Al Niece truck. Mills’ #42 J.F. Electric / Utilitra Chevrolet bounced off the wall in practice, requiring repairs during time trials. Mills and Daly’s issues constituted unapproved adjustments, incurring each a redundant tail-end penalty. Also docked were 15th-place qualifier Ben Rhodes after he cut a tire in the garage following his qualifying lap in the #99 Campers Inn RV Ford, plus 28th-place Johnny Sauter, whose #16 Aisin Toyota was on jack stands during qualifying. Sauter still secured the Hattori Racing Enterprises team its first series start since last fall’s Phoenix finale.

When the race started, Daly remained in last, 3.853 seconds back of the leader and trailing the inside lane. Rhodes trailed the outside lane, 3.699 behind the leader with Sauter (3.468) and Mills (3.285) not far ahead, staggered between Thad Moffitt in the #46 Tasty Duck Chevrolet (3.527) and late model upstart Tyler Tomassi in the #22 Levrack Ford (3.316). By the end of Lap 1, Moffitt had dropped two spots to last place, 4.78 seconds back of the lead, and now battling door-to-door with Tomassi, just 0.091 ahead. By Lap 3, Moffitt cleared Tomassi by 0.279 second, and the gap grew to 0.530 on Lap 4 and 0.776 on Lap 6.

On Lap 8, Moffitt climbed past Pocono last-place finisher Spencer Boyd in the #76 KIR Ammo.com Chevrolet, and Tomassi gained some ground, now just 0.646 behind. Steadily, Tomassi gained ground: 0.602 on Lap 9, 0.561 on Lap 10, then 0.515 on Lap 13, when Boyd pulled alongside, then ahead of Moffitt by just 0.031 at the stripe. Tomassi gained even more the next time by, drawing to within 0.159 of the now 34th-place Moffitt, then dropping the #46 back to last place on Lap 16. The gap quickly grew to 0.507 on Lap 18. Two circuits later on Lap 20, the leaders put Moffitt the first truck one lap down, followed by Tomassi the next time by. Around Lap 33, Matt Mills had gained ground from his pre-race penalty, only to scuff the wall in Turn 2 and tumble back to 34th the next time by, splitting Tomassi from Moffitt.

*Massey’s truck shortly after the Lap 44 incident. (PHOTO: Colby Evans, @StartAndParkCar)*

Massey didn’t enter the last-place battle until Lap 43, when he blew a right-front tire and struck the wall. The incident happened at nearly the same instant that Ty Dillon spun in an unrelated incident at Turn 3 in the #25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet. Both trucks continued, but Massey’s had significant damage to the right-front. The first of at least two pit stops soon followed, dropping Massey to last on Lap 45 as the crew attempted repairs. Among these was a patch of black tape which covered the first three letters of the “Brunt” logo on the right-rear corner of the truck. When Massey returned to the track, the nose forward of the front wheels appeared to be pulled forward at an awkward angle, and he stopped on the apron of Turn 2. By Lap 48, MRN reported he was behind the wall, done for the day. The crew bolted on a set of white shop rims and prepared to load up for the night.

As it turned out, Massey was the race’s only retiree. Boyd’s #76 lost power entering pit road, but still finished under power a full 36 laps down to race winner Ty Majeski. Taking 33rd was Stewart Friesen, whose #52 Halmar International Toyota lost six laps by the finish after qualifying a strong 8th. Moffitt and Tomassi completed the Bottom Five, the pair separated by two laps.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #02 in a Truck Series race at IRP.

*The 44 laps completed by Massey were the fourth-most of any Truck Series last-place finisher at IRP. The current track record remains with Rick Crawford, who turned 98 laps before the engine blew on July 30, 1998.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

35) #02-Mason Massey / 44 laps / crash

34) #76-Spencer Boyd / 164 laps / running

33) #52-Stewart Friesen / 194 laps / running

32) #46-Thad Moffitt / 195 laps / running

31) #22-Tyler Tomassi / 197 laps / running

2024 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Young’s Motorsports (3)

2nd) TRICON Garage (2)

3rd) Bret Holmes Racing, Faction 46, Freedom Racing Enterprises, Front Row Motorsports, Hill Motorsports, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, Spire Motorsports, Terry Carroll Motorsports, ThorSport Racing, Trey Hutchens Racing (1)

2024 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (9)

2nd) Toyota (4)

3rd) Ford (2)

2024 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP