Lawless Alan Terrific in TRICON Garage Debut at Martinsville Speedway

MARTINSVILLE, Va.: Lawless Alan’s journey through the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series hasn’t been without its critics.

At times, questions about his potential at this level have been warranted. Two full-time seasons with Niece Motorsports yielded just a single top-10 finish, leaving many to wonder if the raw speed would ever translate to results.

In 2023, Alan made the move to Reaume Brothers Racing. The season produced only six top-20 finishes, but there was a standout moment in October at Talladega Superspeedway. After qualifying 16th, Alan maximized the speed in his No. 33 AUTODockit Ford F-150 and delivered a career-best performance — battling for stage points and ultimately crossing the line in fifth.

It marked a milestone finish for both the Van Nuys, California native and the Josh Reaume-owned team.

In between his full-time Truck Series commitments, Alan also dipped his toes into the NASCAR Xfinity Series with two starts for the Ford Performance-backed AM Racing team. His debut at Michigan International Speedway offered a glimpse of what he’s capable of, as he impressed with a strong 15th-place qualifying effort.

During the race, he cracked the top five, earning crucial stage points for the team — a highlight that quickly turned bittersweet. A misstep midway through the event led to an accident, relegating him to a disappointing 35th-place finish.

Undeterred, Alan returned to the seat at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After qualifying a respectable 22nd, he worked his way into contention for a top-five finish in the closing laps.

However, as the race reached its climax, his inexperience in the series became apparent. Caught in the late-race shuffle, Alan slipped back to 13th — still a solid and noteworthy result in just his second Xfinity start.

At the end of the 2024 season, Alan stepped away from the Truck Series to pursue a full-time opportunity in the ARCA Menards Series with powerhouse Venturini Motorsports.

But his Truck Series story wasn’t over. Alongside his ARCA title pursuit, Alan secured a part-time deal with the championship-caliber TRICON Garage, kicking off his return Friday night at Martinsville Speedway in The Boys & Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200.

His debut with TRICON was nothing short of impressive and sets the tone heading into his next start in June at Michigan International Speedway.

After qualifying a career-best on Friday afternoon, Alan took advantage of the track position and ran consistently inside the top 10 throughout the opening stages. He picked up crucial owner points with an eighth-place finish in Stage 1 and a 10th-place result in Stage 2.

With tension mounting in Stage 3, Alan slipped outside the top 10, and it seemed a solid performance might still fall short of the result he was chasing. But he wasn’t about to back down. Digging deep in the final laps of a chaotic sprint to the checkered flag, Alan rallied to finish 10th, securing just the third top-10 finish of his Truck Series career.

“One of the big of things is – it is a lot of fun being fast,” Alan said after the race. “I can’t say enough about the TRICON guys bringing me a fast AUTOParkIt Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. It was one of the first times I feel like I’m leaving here, and I feel like I had a lot of fun. It was battle.

“We were running eighth-to-tenth the whole first two stages and then coming back on tires – it seemed like on every restart, we made the wrong choice, but then they started to go right for us.”

At one point in Stage 3, 25-year-old Alan saw a window to break into the top five and challenge the lead pack. But in true Martinsville fashion, the chaos ramped up. As the beating and banging escalated, Lawless found himself caught right in the eye of the storm.

“I almost broke into the top-five, but then we got shucked in the mayhem. Someone just sailed it off in there, and shipped me three-wide, but finished with a top-10. I’m happy with that. It was a lot of fun. I’m very grateful for the opportunity.”

Alan is set to return to ARCA Menards Series competition on April 26 at Talladega Superspeedway. He currently sits fourth in the championship standings following a strong fourth-place finish in the series’ most recent race at Phoenix Raceway earlier this month.

At Daytona — a track that shares Talladega’s high-speed, pack-racing characteristics — Alan made a strong statement to open the season. He started on the front row, led an impressive 26 laps, and looked poised to contend for the win before a late-race accident ended his day in 18th.

Follow Chris Knight on X (Twitter) @Knighter01 or email at [email protected].