TRUCKS: Stephen Mallozzi first Truck Series driver with consecutive last-place runs in more than four years
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: David PeQueen, @CarSDS2078
Stephen Mallozzi picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Friday’s Baptist Health 200 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway when his #2 Levrack / More Core Ford fell out with a vibration after 15 of 134 laps.
The finish, which came in Mallozzi’s ninth series start, was his second of the season and second in a row, following last week’s race in Las Vegas. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 4th for the #2, the 35th from a vibration, and the 130th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 39th for the #2, the 216th from a vibration, and the 1,060th for Ford.
Mallozzi wouldn’t run the same truck at Las Vegas, but would still campaign the #2, this time with longtime team sponsor Levrack and associate backing from More Core. His was one of the 34 entrants, all of them assured a spot in the short field. He ranked 33rd in practice, then was 33rd again in qualifying with a lap of 36.260 seconds (148.924mph).
Securing the 34th and final starting spot – both in practice and qualifying – was Michel Disdier, a French-born driver who was making his first start in the series since March 2, 2018. Disdier would debut a new second entry for Freedom Racing Enterprises, his #67 partnered with team owner Spencer Boyd’s #76. Disdier’s paint scheme was the most spectacular in the field, his rookie stripes practically lost in a multi-colored paint scheme designed by Theirry Guetta. Also known as “Mr. Brainwash,” Guetta is a street artist from Disdier’s native France who has decorated several cars in his portfolio, including at least one Lamborghini on the sports car circuit.
No drivers were sent to the rear for pre-race penalties, so Disdier remained in the last spot, trailing the outside line. This was a ragged start, the inside line stacked up such that Disdier crossed the line 4.079 seconds back of the lead to Mallozzi’s 4.244, and Disdier seemed to increase the gap entering Turn 1. By the time this happened, there was already a wreck further up the field.
The 33rd-place Disdier (No. 67) leads Mallozzi (No. 2) into the first corner on the start. (SCREENSHOT: Homestead-Miami Speedway, @HomesteadMiami)
On the same initial start, 7th-place starter Ross Chastain’s #44 Niece Chevrolet got a jump on 5th-place Giovanni Ruggiero’s #17 First Auto Group Toyota, pulling to the inside entering Turn 1. The pair immediately caught 6th-place starter Tyler Ankrum’s #18 LiUNA! Chevrolet and Grant Enfinger’s 8th-place #9 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet to their outside, forming a four-wide battle into the turn. As Ankrum appeared to come down from the high side, the rear of Chastain’s truck bumped Ruggiero’s left-front fender enough to bend it. Trapped, Ruggiero spun up the track between Turns 1 and 2 and hit the outside wall. After narrowly missing most of the field, Ruggiero collected Ben Rhodes, whose #99 TSPORT Trucks Ford started 24th and was trapped in the high lane. The left-front of Rhodes struck Ruggiero in the left-rear, sending the #17 spinning down to the apron.
Both trucks limped down pit road under the ensuing caution – Rhodes with noticeable damage to his left-front fender and Ruggiero with more significant damage to both sides. It was Rhodes who first took over last place on Lap 3 with Ruggiero still up to 28th. Both managed to stay on the lead lap after multiple stops, taking the final two spots with Mallozzi up to 32nd. Ruggiero took the spot on Lap 6, the team telling him to focus on reaching the end of Stage 1 before they could make additional repairs. In the meantime, both drivers needed to clear minimum speed of a 39-second lap, which both did shortly after the Lap 7 restart.
On that restart, Ruggiero and Rhodes were still on the lead lap, and both dropped Mallozzi to last place with Disdier now 33rd on Lap 9. At the time, both trucks were losing touch with the field, though Mallozzi was within striking distance of Disdier, just two-tenths ahead. This remained the case though Lap 13, when both were nearly 20 seconds back of the lead and about to be lapped. Mallozzi’s crew told him not to race the trucks ahead of him, wanting to keep his Ford in one piece. On Lap 15, the team told him to bring the truck in the next time by, remarking at smoke coming off the back of his truck. He did, and pulled into his stall for the crew to take a look. The team discussed the truck’s water temperature, which Mallozzi reported had gone from 180 to 200 degrees. Behind the wall on Lap 18, the team counted down the laps until the end of Stage 1, then packed up for the night. NASCAR didn’t declare him out until Lap 100 along with the damaged Rhodes, who made an unscheduled stop in Stage 1 that put him multiple laps down.
Taking the 32nd spot was Akinori Ogata, who after withdrawing from Atlanta was finally able to take his first laps as an owner-driver of a NASCAR national series team, Akinori Performance. Ogata’s #63 Kyowa Industrial / YKK AP Toyota finished 10 laps down, four laps behind 31st-place Disdier, who was first lapped on the 18th circuit. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Atlanta last-lace finisher Keith McGee in his own Reaume truck, the #22 More Core Ford, four laps down to race winner Kyle Larson.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first time a Truck Series driver finished last in consecutive races since the fall of 2020, when his team owner Josh Reaume in the #00 Levrack Chevrolet had transmission issues without completing a lap at Martinsville on October 30th, then at Phoenix on November 6th lost the brakes after 44 laps.
*It’s the first time a Truck Series number finished last in three consecutive series races since 2016, when Caleb Roark’s #10 Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet owned by Jennifer Jo Cobb finished last in four consecutive races: Mosport on September 4th, Chicagoland on September 16th, Loudon on September 24th, and Las Vegas on October 1st. This remains the most consecutive last-place finishes by a driver in series history.
*Mallozzi is the first Truck Series driver to finish last due to a vibration since August 30, 2020, when Johnny Sauter’s #13 Vivitar Ford fell out after 22 laps around Gateway.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
34) #2-Stephen Mallozzi / 15 laps / vibration
33) #99-Ben Rhodes / 83 laps / suspension
32) #63-Akinori Ogata / 124 laps / running
31) #67-Michel Disdier / 128 laps / running
30) #22-Keith McGee / 130 laps / running
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Reaume Brothers Racing (3)
2nd) Henderson Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (3)
2nd) Chevrolet (1)
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
