TRUCKS: Stephen Mallozzi’s season debut hampered by a distracting vibration
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Randy Klein, @randyjklein
Stephen Mallozzi picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Friday’s Ecosave 200 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his #2 More Core Ford fell out with drivetrain issues after 17 of 134 laps.
The finish, which came in Mallozzi’s eighth series start, was his first of the season and first in a Truck Series race since April 14, 2023, 42 races ago. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 2nd from drivetrain issues, the 3rd for the #2, and the 129th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 2nd from the drivetrain, the 38th for the #2, and the 1,058th for Ford.
As Mallozzi continues to balance his developing NASCAR career with his pursuit of a law degree and his job as server at Outback Steakhouse, he’s continued to make the occasional Truck Series start for Josh Reaume’s team, Reaume Brothers Racing. He earned a series-best 24th at Pocono in 2023, and a year later ran double-duty at the track. He made his XFINITY debut that weekend for Joey Gase Motorsports. He nearly made it to the finish before the engine let go in the final 22 laps. On Tuesday, it was announced he’d make his first NASCAR start since that weekend.
Mallozzi ran the slowest lap in Friday’s opening practice. His best of only three laps was a speed of 33.769 seconds (159.910mph), a full 3.5 seconds slower than teammate Josh Reaume in the #22 Levrack Ford. The issue was a vibration, perhaps in the driveshaft, which made the truck practically undriveable. The team made repairs and improved nearly a full second in qualifying with a lap of 32.778 seconds (164.745mph), but this was still the slowest completed lap, 1.279 seconds slower than the next-slowest truck of his other teammate, Frankie Muniz, in the #33 Morgan & Morgan Ford.
The preliminary entry list showed just 32 trucks to attempt the field of 36. By Friday, that list shrank by one as, according to Chris Knight, Justin S. Carroll said he had to withdraw his #90 Carroll’s Automotive Chevrolet. Carroll had planned on racing, but their hauler broke down on Tuesday, and their backup was stranded in a snow storm that shut down a highway in Arizona.
Securing the 31st and final starting spot was Nathan “Byrdman” Byrd, whose #02 Champion Health Chevrolet was the only truck to not take time in qualifying. Unapproved adjustments to Byrd’s truck incurred him a redundant tail-end penalty, and the same penalty was handed to 23rd-place starter Layne Riggs in the #34 Love’s RV Stop Ford.
When the field took the green flag, last place had changed hands once more as Mallozzi crossed the stripe 3.389 seconds back of the lead to 30th-place Riggs’ 2.990. By the end of Lap 1, he’d already lost touch with the pack, falling 6.192 seconds back of the lead to Byrd – back to 30th – showing 3.858. On Lap 2, Mallozzi was now 8.922 back of the lead, then 11.819 on Lap 3. By Lap 4, he was behind the wall to address the vibration once again. He was still in the garage on Lap 26, when the first of a series of rain storms drew the caution. The crew completed repairs on Lap 28 and sent him out on the track, where the driver noticed the rain was intensifying. Already 23 laps down, and still unhappy with the truck, he pulled into the garage once more on Lap 30. The red flag came out four laps later, halting the team’s repairs.
Mallozzi preparing to return to the track. (PHOTO: Bryan Nolen, @TheBryanNolen)
After a 55-minute delay, Mallozzi’s crew resumed their work under yellow, then sent him back out before the Lap 38 restart. By then, he was now 25 laps down, and all 31 trucks were still running. The plan was to stay out in hopes other drivers would wreck, allowing them to gain a few spots. If they were lapped, they’d call it a night. On Lap 44, Mallozzi came down pit road once more, then behind the wall on Lap 45. “Thanks for the hard work, everyone,” he said. “Appreciate it.” By Lap 49, the team called their spotter down from the stand, and the team called it a night.
The only other DNF that night was Jack Wood, whose #91 Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet wrecked out of 20th on Lap 93. Byrd took 29th, finishing six laps down in 29th, while Reaume finished two laps down after he stalled on pit road. Rounding out the Bottom Five was polesitter Corey Day, whose #7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet also finished two laps down at the checkered flag.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The only other NASCAR national series race where the last-place finisher fell out with “drivetrain” as the official cause was on March 26, 2022, when Sheldon Creed’s #20 Wiley X Chevrolet fell out after one lap around the Circuit of the Americas.
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #2 in a Truck Series race at Las Vegas.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
31) #2-Stephen Mallozzi / 17 laps / drivetrain
30) #91-Jack Wood / 92 laps / crash / led 2 laps
29) #02-Nathan Byrd / 128 laps / running
28) #22-Josh Reaume / 132 laps / running
27) #7-Corey Day / 132 laps / running / led 2 laps
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Reaume Brothers Racing (2)
2nd) Henderson Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (2)
2nd) Chevrolet (1)
2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
