Nemechek’s Brakes Burn Out At Indy, Moves To Sixth On All-Time Rankings

Joe Nemechek picked up the 15th last-place finish of his career in Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #87 NEMCO Motorsports Toyota fell out with brake problems after completing 21 of 160 laps.

Nemechek qualified 30th on Saturday with a speed of 177.284 mph, locking him into the Allstate 400 field as the third-fastest car outside the top 35 in owner’s points. In the early stages of Sunday’s race, it appeared as though Elliott Sadler would score his sixth last-place finish as a mysterious leak on the first lap forced him behind the wall. On lap 21, Nemechek then fell out with brake problems in the ensuing green-flag run, followed two laps later by 2009 last-place leader Dave Blaney. Sadler returned to the track late in the event, but Nemechek did not, giving him the 43rd and final finishing position.

The finish was Nemechek’s second of 2009 and his first since February’s Auto Club 500 at the Auto Club Speedway. It is the third time in 2009 that the last-place finisher fell out with brake problems and was also the first time that Nemechek, NEMCO Motorsports, and car number 87 have ever finished last in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Nemechek now sits sixth on the all-time last-place finisher rankings and is just one finish away from tying Derrike Cope and Todd Bodine for the most last-place finishes since 1998.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #87-Joe Nemechek / 21 laps / brakes
42) #66-Dave Blaney / 23 laps / brakes
41) #36-Mike Skinner / 35 laps / transmission
40) #19-Elliott Sadler / 45 laps / running
39) #78-Regan Smith / 108 laps / running

2009 RANKINGS
1st) Dave Blaney (5)
2nd) Mike Bliss, Patrick Carpentier, David Gilliland, Joe Nemechek, Tony Raines (2)
3rd) Todd Bodine, P.J. Jones, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Mark Martin (1)

Blaney’s 5th Last-Place Finish Comes When Engine Expires Early at Chicago

Dave Blaney picked up the 10th last-place finish of his career in Saturday night’s Lifelock.com 400 at the Chicagoland Speedway when his unsponsored #66 Prism Motorsports Toyota lost the engine after 10 of the race’s 267 laps.

On Thursday, Blaney qualified a solid 18th with a speed of 180.723 mph, making him the third-fastest car outside the top 35 in owner’s points. However, despite running mid-pack in the early stages of Saturday’s race, Blaney pulled behind the wall under green on lap 10 with engine problems. David Gilliland nearly took the finish from Blaney when he suffered transmission problems, but he completed one more lap than Blaney before heading to the garage.

It is the first time Blaney has ever finished last in two consecutive points races. It is the third time a driver has finished last with an engine failure in 2009.

With the finish, Blaney now sits 11th on the all-time list and became just the eighth driver ever to score five or more last-place finishes in a single season. The other seven are Jimmy Pardue (1961), Jimmy Helms (1965), Wayne Gillette (1969), J.D. McDuffie (1969), Derrike Cope (2003, 2006), Todd Bodine (2004), and Joe Ruttman (2004). As mentioned last week, Derrike Cope is the only driver with more than five in a single season: six in 2006.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #66-Dave Blaney / 10 laps / engine
42) #71-David Gilliland / 11 laps / transmission
41) #87-Joe Nemechek / 30 laps / clutch
40) #09-Mike Bliss / 58 laps / electrical
39) #36-Mike Skinner / 60 laps / engine

2009 RANKINGS
1st) Dave Blaney (5)
2nd) Mike Bliss, Patrick Carpentier, David Gilliland, Tony Raines (2)
3rd) Todd Bodine, P.J. Jones, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Joe Nemechek (1)

Blaney Extends 2009 Lead With Overheating Car at Daytona

Dave Blaney picked up the 9th last-place finish of his career in Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at the Daytona International Speedway when his unsponsored #66 Prism Motorsports Toyota fell out with overheating problems on lap 2 of the 160-lap race.

Qualifying was rained-out for the second straight NASCAR Sprint Cup race, allowing Blaney to secure the 40th starting spot. The #64 team of Gunselman Motorsports and the #13 team of Germain Racing were also on the entry list for Daytona, but both attempted fewer races than Blaney in 2009 and wound up as the two teams that failed to qualify. Still, Blaney was unable to secure a sponsor for the Daytona event and, just two laps in, he pulled behind the wall with overheating problems.

It is the first time the #66 had finished last at Daytona since Harry Gant fell out with an engine failure after completing just one lap of the 1978 Daytona 500.

The finish was the fourth for Blaney, team, and the number 66 in 2009, and the first for each since Blaney’s crash early in May's Crown Royal presents the Russ Friedman 400 at the Richmond International Raceway. Blaney tied P.J. Jones in last month’s Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway for the fewest laps completed of any last-place finisher in 2009 and joined Mike Bliss in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta as the only two drivers to finish last because of overheating problems.

Blaney moved past Ricky Craven and Kyle Petty and now stands alone with the fourth-most last-place finishes since 1998. Blaney sits 12th-ranked on the all-time list. Only three times since 1972 has a single driver scored more than four last-place finishes in a single NASCAR Sprint Cup season. By scoring their fourth, both Blaney and Prism Motorsports might make history in 2009. With 18 races to go, Derrike Cope’s driver record of six last-place finishes in 2006 and Means Racing’s team record of nine finishes in 1992 may both fall at season’s end.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #66-Dave Blaney / 2 laps / overheating
42) #36-Patrick Carpentier / 18 laps / engine
41) #87-Joe Nemechek / 25 laps / transmission
40) #71-David Gilliland / 76 laps / accident
39) #88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. / 76 laps / accident

2009 RANKINGS
1st) Dave Blaney (4)
2nd) Mike Bliss, Patrick Carpentier, David Gilliland, Tony Raines (2)
3rd) Todd Bodine, P.J. Jones, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Joe Nemechek (1)