TRUCKS: Lack of both practice and brakes leave Norm Benning last in Martinsville

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

Norm Benning picked up the 18th last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Friday’s Zip Buy Now Pay Later 200 at the Martinsville Speedway when his #6 MDIA, Inc. Chevrolet fell out with brake trouble after 17 of 200 laps.

The finish, which came in Benning’s 248th series start, was his first of the season and first in a Truck Series race since March 20, 2021 at Atlanta, 86 races ago. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 17th for the #6, the 33rd from brake issues, and the 453rd for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 71st for the #6, the 172nd from brakes, and the 1,969th for Chevrolet.

Over the last three years, Benning has stepped away from competing nearly full-time in the Truck Series and has brought his owner-driver operation to specific tracks. In that time, he’s been featured in a popular garage tour video on Stapleton42’s YouTube channel, and thanks to sponsorship from Circle B Diecast, two versions of his black #6 Chevrolet were produced in 1:24 scale. After a disappointing DNQ with G2G Racing at Daytona last year, Benning turned his attention to this year’s running, securing a truck from Henderson Motorsports. Sponsorship issues pushed the truck’s debut from Daytona to last month in Talladega, and the white #6 was prepared in Joey Gase’s shop. After battling inside the Top 20 late in the race, contact from Stefan Parsons on pit road left him 21st at the checkered flag.

Benning crossed the finish line with the truck intact, and now prepares to run it again in the 2025 opener in Daytona. In the meantime, he brought his familiar black Chevrolet back to Martinsville. The truck, acquired from the shuttered Kevin Harvick, Incorporated, had mechanical issues on Friday, preventing Benning from taking a lap in practice. He made it out to qualifying, where he turned two laps and clocked in 34th with a lap of 21.488 seconds (88.124mph).

Benning was one of 37 original entrants, but at midweek Josh Reaume withdrew the #27 Ford he planned to drive, locking in the rest of the entrants. This helped Justin S. Carroll, who secured the 36th and final starting spot despite his #90 Carroll’s Automotive / Duratain Toyota being the only truck to not post a time, this due to a right-rear axle leak. Repairs incurred a redundant tail-end penalty along with brake issues for 15th-place Tanner Gray in the #15 Dead On Tools Toyota and 23rd-place Tyler Ankrum in the #18 LiUNA! Chevrolet, plus other issues for 35th-place Clayton Green in the #22 Royal Vista, Inc. Ford.

When the green flag dropped, Carroll remained in last place, 4.084 seconds back of the lead, but he quickly dropped Benning to last, opening up a gap of 1.243 seconds over the #6 by the time they reached the stripe. As the gap steadily increased to 1.582 on Lap 4 and 2.447 on Lap 6, Benning tried to radio his crew, but they couldn’t hear him over the engine noise. As the spotter tracked where the leader was running, he told Benning to move he microphone closer to his mouth. By Lap 7, the gap from Benning to Carroll was 3.064 seconds, then increased to 5.213 on Lap 11. By then, Benning was 20.105 seconds back of then-leader Christian Eckes, who on Lap 12 got to his outside and put him the first truck a lap down.

As the spotter negotiated Benning through faster traffic, the driver radioed he had issues with the brakes. On Lap 17, NASCAR reported Benning had fallen off the pace and soon black-flagged him. “I have no brakes at all,” said the driver. Around this time, he had a close call off Turn 4 when he cut to the inside, barely clearing 2nd-place runner Ty Majeski in the #98 Road Ranger Ford. By Lap 20, Benning was on pit road, saying, “I had the fans on – I think I blew a line or something.” He then told the crew to push him behind the wall, which was done on Lap 21. That same time by, the leaders lapped 35th-place Carroll.

In the garage, Benning’s crew looked for a possible leak in the brake lines, but didn’t find any fluid anywhere, including the calipers. On Lap 37, Benning got half his pedal back, then it went to the floor again. He thought the crew had added more brake fluid, but he was told they hadn’t added any because the reservoir was still full. The search continued to revolve around the master cylinder, which wasn’t circulating the fluid through the system, and had also been an issue at North Wilkesboro. On Lap 41, Benning had the crew jack up the truck and spin the tires, which he was able to stop by hitting the brakes. Driver and team were uncertain about returning, not wanting to risk wrecking their truck if the pedal went to the floor. On the Lap 43 restart after Matthew Gould stalled his #44 Niece Chevrolet, Benning said he was going to sit for a moment to see if the brakes came back. When the pedal went to the floor again, he declared the truck out. NASCAR confirmed Benning out on Lap 62.

Finishing 35th was Landen Lewis, the last-minute substitute for Johnny Sauter at the Hattori Racing Enterprises after Sauter took the place of a suspended Conner Jones at ThorSport. Lewis looked for a strong run in Hattori’s #16 Toyota Tsusho Toyota, but lost multiple laps after his truck shut down in the closing laps of Stage 1. He returned to the track on Lap 54, showing 15 laps down, but now felt his own brake pedal go to the floor. Like Benning, his crew didn’t want to risk wrecking the truck, so he pulled behind the wall around Lap 100, done for the night. Dylan Lupton’s run in the #02 RandCo Chevrolet ended when he spun rear-first into the Turn 2 wall, drawing the third caution that ended Stage 2 under yellow. Kaden Honeycutt’s run was also spoiled by crash damage on Lap 163, the right side torn up on his #45 Moore’s Venture Foods Chevrolet. Completing the Bottom Five was Daniel Dye, whose #43 Champion Container Chevrolet had its hood up on pit road for a late-race brake issue. He was just passed in the final laps by Playoff contender Rajah Caruth, whose left-front brake issues on the #71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet put him behind the wall for 20 laps around the halfway point.

2024 LASTCAR Truck Series Championship heads to Phoenix finale

The 2024 LASTCAR Truck Series Championship will go down to next Friday’s season finale in Phoenix. Mason Massey remains the only two-time last-place finisher this season, and could clinch the title even if he doesn’t start, depending on who finishes last. Thad Moffitt, Spencer Boyd, Bayley Currey, and Matt Mills can take the title by finishing last, no matter where Massey finishes. Conner Jones and Justin S. Carroll may take the title with a last-place finish, depending where Massey finishes (or will take the title if Massey doesn’t qualify). All other contenders, including those without last-place finishes, have been eliminated.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place run for both Benning and the #6 in a Truck Series race at Martinsville.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

36) #6-Norm Benning / 17 laps / brakes

35) #16-Landen Lewis / 82 laps / brakes

34) #02-Dylan Lupton / 96 laps / crash

33) #45-Kayden Honeycutt / 162 laps / crash

32) #43-Daniel Dye / 166 laps / brakes

2024 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Young’s Motorsports (4)

2nd) ThorSport Racing, TRICON Garage (2)

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

2024 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (13)

2nd) Ford, Toyota (4)

2024 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP