TRUCKS: Muhammad Zain Abdullah's broken Gearbox prevents him from completing a lap at Texas; gives him the 5th last-place finish of his career

Muhammad Zain Abdullah picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL Rainbow Dash Truck Series career in Tuesday's Pronto Auto Parts 400K at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #90 NHL Dodge fell out with gearbox issues without completing any of the 36 laps.

The finish, occurred in his 34th career series start. In the Truck Series, it's the 1st for the #90 and the 2nd for gearbox issues. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 2nd for the #90 and 13th for gearbox issues.

Abdullah has been competing in the SCRL for several years now, and was struggling to make a name for himself in the SCRL until he signed up to drive in the first ever season of the SCRL Formula 2 Series, a season in which he scored 4 wins on the season and won his first ever SCRL Championship. This time however for Abdullah, he would sign on to compete on a part-time schedule, driving for team owner Ron Norick and their team L&R Racing. Abdullah's return for his second season in the truck series would begin in the season's second event at Homestead, where he would finish 4th, 36th at Phoenix before taking the next three races off before returning in the last round in the season's first road course event of the season at Watkins Glen, a race Abdullah would finish a disappointing 31st.

The entry list for the fourth time this season would be 37 trucks. For the second race in a row, there was a surprise pole winner, with Chakat Stripepaws collecting the first career pole of hir career, posting a time of 29.661 seconds, while Abdullah would post a time of 29.923, only 0.262 seconds behind Stripepaws pole winning time. Posting the slowest time during qualifying was the #1 Team ASE Racing Ford of Michael Brown, who posted a time of 30.069 seconds, 0.408 seconds behind Stripepaws's pole winning time.

Flaremane stalls in Turn 1.

On race day as the field was starting their pace lap, Portland last-place finisher the #35 Ortho Lawn & Garden Products Chevrolet of Chakat Flaremane, would slow going into Turn 1 before stalling in Turn 1 after being spun out by Brown. No caution would come out as Flaremane would be towed to pit road, reporting of a flat left front tire. 

As the field entered Turn 3, Abdullah pulled down onto the apron with a smoking truck, with him reporting some wrong in the engine. Abdullah would pull behind the wall as the field took the green flag, Abdullah's team looked over the truck and found that the gearbox was broken. With being a mid-field of the pack team going only for wins, the team decided it was best to call it a night, with Abdullah being listed as "out" by the 3rd lap.

Flaremane however would get back out on track around the same time and would start beside the leaders when the race went back racing, but would be caught up in the race's second caution of the night, hitting the inside concrete wall and destroying hir truck and ending hir day after six laps.

Finishing 35th would be Evergreen last-place finisher the #14 Circle Bar Motel & RV Park Ford of Mitchell Collins, who would retire from the race eight laps later when he suffered a broken Piston, pulling behind the wall just before the race went back under green after the race's third caution.

It would take a whole seven other laps before the next spot would be filled, as finishing 35th was the #1 Team ASE Racing Ford of Michael Brown, who would suffer a broken header just before the race would be extended by way of the Green, White, Checkered rule.

The remaining Bottom Five would be filled up just three laps later when another caution flew that would fill up the final two spots: 34th was the #44 Federated Auto Parts Ford of Chase Harris and 33rd was the #1 Team ASE Racing Ford of Monika Flores.

SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first time the #90 has finished last in the Truck Series as well at Texas.
*This marked only the second time in the four year truck history that a driver has trailed due to gearbox issues; the only other time it happened was in Season 3 in the Federated Auto Parts 250 at the Nashville Speedway when his #17 Sears DieHard Chevrolet fell out with gearbox problems after completing 17 of the 20 laps; 16 races ago.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
37) #90-Muhammad Zain Abdullah / 0 laps / gearbox
36) #35-Chakat Flaremane / 6 laps / crash
35) #14-Mitchell Collins / 14 laps / piston
34) #44-Chase Harris / 17 laps / crash
33) #2-Monika Flores / 17 laps / crash