CUP: Robby Gordon Gets First Brickyard Last-Place Finish, Falls From Top 35

Robby Gordon picked up the 10th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s 18th Annual Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when his #7 SPEED Energy Dodge fell out with engine problems after 5 of the race’s 160 laps.

Gordon, an owner-driver still fighting to make it through another Sprint Cup season, came into Sunday’s race in the coveted 35th spot in Owner Points, just 7 markers ahead of 36th-ranked TRG Motorsports, which fields rookie Andy Lally’s #71. Coming into the weekend, it appeared that Gordon, a ten-time starter of the Indianapolis 500, would have the advantage in padding this lead over the rookie. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

Scott Wimmer, who has helped keep Gordon’s #7 in Top 35 contention, was unable to qualify the team’s backup #77 on Saturday, joining a list of four other DNQs that included the #55 Front Row Motorsports team that came home 43rd at New Hampshire. Gordon, 41st on the grid at a speed of 177.866 mph, was destined to run a short race on Sunday. Five laps into the race, Gordon pulled behind the wall.

It was the eighth time his #7 was forced to “start-and-park” in 2011 and the first time this season that it has resulted in a last-place finish (joining part-time teammate P.J. Jones’ finish at Sonoma in the #77).

As a result of the finish, Gordon’s team has fallen outside the Top 35 and now stands 10 points behind Lally’s #71, which came home on the lead lap in 26th. Gordon must now attempt to qualify on speed this Saturday at Pocono, where co-driver Scott Wimmer parked his Dodge 51 laps into the June race.

Paul Menard went on to score his first Sprint Cup victory in a stunning upset. In 167 series starts since 2003, Menard has just one last-place finish: an engine failure 22 laps into the 2007 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega. At the time, Menard was driving Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated’s #15 Chevrolet in his rookie season, a year in which he qualified for 30 of the season’s 36 races. The Wisconsin native has never finished last in his 174 combined Nationwide and Truck Series starts.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Gordon and the #7’s most recent last-place finish in Cup came last year at the spring race at Atlanta, where his #7 Warner Music Nashville / Blake Shelton Toyota lost a tire and crashed after three laps of the 2010 Kobalt Tools 500.
*This was Gordon’s first-ever last-place finish at Indianapolis - including his 10 open-wheel starts at the fabled Brickyard.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #7-Robby Gordon / 5 laps / engine
42) #50-T.J. Bell / 10 laps / brakes
41) #23-Terry Labonte / 15 laps / transmission
40) #60-Mike Skinner / 16 laps / electrical
39) #37-Scott Speed / 19 laps / rear gear

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Current 2011 LASTCAR Cup Championship leader Michael McDowell turned in the 12th-fastest speed in Friday’s second practice session and timed in 35th for Sunday’s race. Still without sponsorship, however, McDowell also exited the race early and came home 37th.
1st) Michael McDowell (5)
2nd) Joe Nemechek, Mike Skinner (3)
3rd) Kevin Conway, J.J. Yeley (2)
4th) Landon Cassill, Robby Gordon, Jeff Green, P.J. Jones, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #66-HP Racing LLC (5)
2nd) #60-Germain Racing (4)
3rd) #87-NEMCO Motorsports (3)
4th) #46-Whitney Motorsports, #97-NEMCO Motorsports (2)
5th) #7-Robby Gordon Motorsports, #55-Front Row Motorsports, #81-Whitney Motorsports, #77-Robby Gordon Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (14)
2nd) Chevrolet (3)
3rd) Dodge (2)
4th) Ford (1)

N’WIDE: Jo Cobb’s Sour Indy Weekend Ends With A Last-Place Finish In LOR Finale

Jennifer Jo Cobb picked up the 4th last-place finish of her NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s Kroger 200 Benefitting Riley Hospital for Children at the Lucas Oil Raceway when her #13 TenForJen.com / Lilly Trucking Ford fell out with handling problems after completing 2 of the race’s 204 laps.

Overall, the Indianapolis weekend proved forgettable for the aspiring female racer. On Friday, she spun during Truck Series qualifying, narrowly avoiding contact with the inside wall, then finished 32nd in the race, 17 laps down.

Saturday proved even worse as Cobb wrecked her Nationwide car in practice. Though she acquired a backup car from owner Rick Ware, who withdrew his #71 start-and-park entry before the race, she was overly-cautious in qualifying, turning in a lap good enough for 41st in the 42-car field at a speed of 94.066 mph. Cobb’s lap was more than three seconds slower than polesitter Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.’s lap of 108.278 mph.

Ironically, after stepping out of a ride she was asked to “start-and-park” at Bristol, Cobb pulled Ware’s backup car behind the wall after two laps.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is Cobb’s first last-place finish in the Nationwide Series since 2010, when she and teammate Johnny Chapman were involved in a two-car crash on Lap 6 of the 2010 Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona - scene of the debut of the new Nationwide Series car.
*The #13 has not finished last in a Nationwide Series race since 2001, when Drew White’s bgnracing.com Chevrolet fell out with overheating problems six laps into the 2001 Nazareth 200 at Nazareth.
*Cobb’s finish ended a nine-race last-place streak by Chevrolet in 2011, which started after Blake Koch gave Dodge its only 2011 last-place finish at Dover in May.
*With Nationwide Series racing at Lucas Oil Raceway possibly at an end, it is perhaps significant to note that every Nationwide Series race ever held at the track has had a different last-place finisher. Among the track’s most famous last-placers were Bobby Allison (1984), Darrell Waltrip (1987), and Jack Ingram (1990).

THE BOTTOM FIVE
42) #13-Jennifer Jo Cobb / 2 laps / handling
41) #46-Chase Miller / 7 laps / brakes
40) #47-Charles Lewandoski / 8 laps / vibration
39) #42-Scott Wimmer / 9 laps / brakes
38) #74-Mike Harmon / 11 laps / brakes

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (4)
2nd) Brett Rowe (3)
3rd) Kelly Bires, Dennis Setzer (2)
4th) Matt Carter, Johnny Chapman, Kevin Conway, Marc Davis, Mike Harmon, James Hylton, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Blake Koch, Justin Marks, Scott Wimmer (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
It was another rough night for Key Motorsports at LOR. After the team’s three “start-and-park” cars left the race within the opening nine laps, Tim Andrews, taking his turn driving Key’s primary (but still unsponsored) #40, was involved in a grinding crash with Rusty Wallace Incorporated teammates Michael Annett and Steven Wallace with just 23 laps to go.
1st) #44-TriStar Motorsports (4)
2nd) #55-Faith Motorsports (3)
3rd) #25-Ed Rensi, #49-Jay Robinson Racing (2)
4th) #0-JD Motorsports, #13-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #27-Baker Curb Racing, #47-Key Motorsports, #68-Fleur-De-Lis Motorsports, #74-Mike Harmon, #75-Rick Ware Racing, #82-MacDonald Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports, #03-R3 Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (15)
2nd) Ford (5)
3rd) Dodge (1)

TRUCKS: Garvey Last For Second Consecutive Truck Race

Mike Garvey picked up the 9th last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s AAA Insurance 200 at the Lucas Oil Raceway when his #38 S&W Services Chevrolet fell out with rear gear problems after 7 of the race’s 200 laps.

With 36 trucks qualifying for as many starting spots, Garvey timed in 31st at a speed of 104.128 mph. After narrowly avoiding a Lap 1 melee in turn one that damaged teammate Ryan Sieg’s #39, Garvey remained on track for the restart, raced for a couple laps, then pulled behind the wall.

Sieg finished 29th, seven laps down to race winner Timothy Peters. Team owner Shane Sieg, driving the third S&W truck - #93 - finished 35th after a vibration ended his run at 127 laps.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Neither Garvey nor the #38 had ever before finished last in a Truck Series race at Lucas Oil Raceway.
*This was the first time a Truck Series driver has finished last in a race at Lucas Oil Raceway with rear gear problems.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #38-Mike Garvey / 7 laps / rear gear
35) #93-Shane Sieg / 127 laps / vibration
34) #00-Brad Queen / 133 laps / engine
33) #42-Tommy Joe Martins / 181 laps / running
32) #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb / 183 laps / running

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Garvey (4)
2nd) Norm Benning (2)
3rd) James Buescher, Travis Kvapil, Chris Lafferty, Johanna Long, Scott Riggs, Greg Seevers, Brad Sweet (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #38-Shane Sieg (4)
2nd) #57-Norm Benning Racing (2)
3rd) #5-Randy Moss, #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #20-Panhandle Motorsports, #31-Turner Motorsports, #32-Turner Motorsports, #75-Norm Benning Racing, #07-SS Green Light Racing (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (10)
2nd) Toyota (3)

N’WIDE: Marc Davis Scores First NASCAR Last-Place Finish In Nationwide Series Return

Marc Davis picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s Federated Auto Parts 300 at the Nashville Superspeedway when his unsponsored #03 R3 Motorsports Chevrolet fell out with alternator problems after completing the first of the race’s 225 laps. The finish came in Davis’ 10th series start.

Davis, a former development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, was tabbed to be the driver of R3 Motorsports’ part-time “start-and-park” team for the Nashville event. The #03 team Davis joined had competed in five previous races in 2011 with four different drivers, most recently at Kentucky, where Scott Riggs came home 36th. Ironically, Riggs also gave R3 its best finish of the season driving the team’s primary car, #23, at Darlington, where he came home 13th.

Nashville would see the #23 continue its streak of making every Nationwide Series race this season, this time with its fifth different driver, defending LASTCAR Nationwide Series leader Dennis Setzer. Setzer had difficulty finding speed in qualifying and had to rely on Owner Points to make the field in the 41st spot. Davis’ #03 timed in two spots ahead of Setzer in 39th at a speed of 148.971 mph, more than enough to bump three-time 2011 last-placer Brett Rowe out of the field in Key Motorsports’ #46.

Saturday’s race was not only Davis’ first start of the 2011 campaign, but his first NASCAR start since driving R3's primary #23 to a 23rd-place finish at Dover last September. Unfortunately, he did not get to enjoy his return for long as he pulled behind the wall after the opening lap. Teammate Setzer came home 34th, felled by a vibration after just 28 laps.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #03-Marc Davis / 1 lap / alternator
42) #04-Danny O’Quinn, Jr. / 3 laps / brakes
41) #47-Charles Lewandoski / 6 laps / brakes
40) #49-Mark Green / 7 laps / handling
39) #42-Tim Andrews / 8 laps / transmission

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The #03 had not finished last in a Nationwide Series race since 2005, when David Gilliland’s Rich’s Motorsports / HYPE Chevrolet lost its engine 12 laps into the 2005 Arizona 200 presented by “Walk the Line” at Phoenix. Gilliland was making his series debut with owner Clay Andrews that day, the owner he took to victory lane in a stunning upset at Kentucky the following year.
*This was the first time in NASCAR Nationwide Series history that a driver finished last due to alternator problems.
*This was the first-ever last-place finish for owner Robert Richardson, Sr. and R3 Motorsports. The R3 team’s best-ever finish in the series remains road course specialist Jean Francois Dumoulin’s lone series start at Montreal in 2009, where he came home 7th.

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (4)
2nd) Brett Rowe (3)
3rd) Kelly Bires, Dennis Setzer (2)
4th) Matt Carter, Johnny Chapman, Kevin Conway, Marc Davis, Mike Harmon, James Hylton, Blake Koch, Justin Marks, Scott Wimmer (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #44-TriStar Motorsports (4)
2nd) #55-Faith Motorsports (3)
3rd) #25-Ed Rensi, #49-Jay Robinson Racing (2)
4th) #0-JD Motorsports, #27-Baker Curb Racing, #47-Key Motorsports, #68-Fleur-De-Lis Motorsports, #74-Mike Harmon, #75-Rick Ware Racing, #82-MacDonald Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports, #03-R3 Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (15)
2nd) Ford (4)
3rd) Dodge (1)

TRUCKS: Mike Garvey Ties Loni Richardson For 4th In All-Time Truck Series Rankings

Mike Garvey picked up the 8th last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s Lucas Deep Clean 200 at the Nashville Superspeedway when his #38 S&W Services Chevrolet fell out with a vibration after 3 of the race’s 150 laps.

Garvey has now tied Loni Richardson for fourth in the all-time LASTCAR Camping World Truck Series rankings. Both drivers stand five finishes from tying all-time series leader Wayne Edwards.

After he and the #38 team skipped last week’s race at Iowa, Garvey qualified 30th in Nashville’s 34-truck field at a speed of 143.316 mph. The speed ranked him fifth among the nine “go-or-go-homers” in the field. With three laps completed under green, Garvey pulled behind the wall, followed by Mike Harmon, who was driving the second Norm Benning truck that debuted with Iowa last-placer Greg Seevers.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Garvey has swept both last-place finishes at Nashville this season, with both finishes coming in the #38. Driver and number have never before finished last in a Truck race at this track, but owner Shane Sieg trailed the field in his #93 back in the 2009 Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
34) #38-Mike Garvey / 3 laps / vibration
33) #75-Mike Harmon / 6 laps / overheating
32) #07-Johnny Chapman / 12 laps / clutch
31) #89-Chris Lafferty / 16 laps / rear gear
30) #73-Clay Greenfield / 44 laps / handling

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Garvey (3)
2nd) Norm Benning (2)
3rd) James Buescher, Travis Kvapil, Chris Lafferty, Johanna Long, Scott Riggs, Greg Seevers, Brad Sweet (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #38-Shane Sieg (3)
2nd) #57-Norm Benning Racing (2)
3rd) #5-Randy Moss, #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #20-Panhandle Motorsports, #31-Turner Motorsports, #32-Turner Motorsports, #75-Norm Benning Racing, #07-SS Green Light Racing (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (9)
2nd) Toyota (3)

CUP: Jeff Green Finishes 43rd In Debut of Front Row Motorsports’ New #55 Team

Special Thanks to Rob Dostie, a LASTCAR fan who provided his photos of Jeff Green's #55 and the rest of the Bottom Five in today's post!

Jeff Green picked up the 5th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #55 Front Row Motorsports Ford fell out with brake problems after completing 11 of the race’s 301 laps.


Bob Jenkins’ Front Row Motorsports (FRM) began 2011 with three teams: the #34 of David Gilliland and the #37 of Robert Richardson, Jr., both locked into the first five races on their 2010 Owner Points rankings, and the #38 of Travis Kvapil, which fell outside the Top 35 following a costly penalty for bleeder valves on his tires at Pocono.

The start of the year saw Gilliland turn in a stunning 3rd-place finish in the Daytona 500 while Richardson and Kvapil were both taken out in separate accidents. As both the #38 and #37 fell outside the Top 35 in this year’s Owner Points, single-car owner Larry Gunselman acquired the #37 at Bristol, still using Fords out of the FRM shop with Tony Raines as driver. Since then, both Raines’ #37 and Kvapil’s #38 teams have struggled with each suffering DNQs while Gilliland’s #34 has made every race this year and remained inside the Top 35.

Earlier this month, FRM was set to enter a new third team, an unsponsored #55 Ford, at Kentucky, but withdrew it before the preliminary entry list for the race could be published. Instead, the team looked to make its first attempt at Loudon the following week, putting Jeff Green behind the wheel. Green, a former Nationwide Series champ, was looking to make his first Cup race since driving for Larry Gunselman’s old #64 team at Charlotte last October. Green may have been selected to drive the #55 into the show for scoring his career-best Cup finish, a 2nd, in the 2002 running of the July race.

Sure enough, Green qualified for Sunday’s race at a speed of 131.175 mph, putting him 36th on the grid and fourth-ranked among the day’s eleven “go-or-go-homers.” It was a tremendous accomplishment for the team, which had to knock three current teams out of the field after David Stremme and Dennis Setzer joined as last-minute entries. Setzer, driving K-Automotive’s #92, was one of the three who missed the race, joining Scott Riggs in Dusty Whitney’s #81 and Raines in the Gunselman #37.

On race day, Green fell to the rear early, followed soon after by current 2011 LASTCAR Cup leader Michael McDowell, fighting an ill-handling #66 Toyota. During the opening green-flag stretch, Green was the first to go behind the wall, followed six laps later by three-time last-placer Mike Skinner.

Green’s FRM teammates both finished inside the Top 25 with Gilliland’s #34 coming home 25th and J.J. Yeley driving Kvapil’s #38 home 23rd. Yeley had filled-in for Kvapil in anticipation of Kvapil’s running the Truck Series race at Iowa, but some last-minute team changes put Todd Bodine in Kvapil’s ride, leaving him on the sidelines. Truck Series competitor Erik Darnell took over for Yeley in his #46, which has twice finished last in 2011.

In two weeks at Indianapolis, Yeley will take over as driver of the #55 FRM team Green raced for on Sunday, parting ways with Whitney Motorsports, whose #46 and #81 will switch from Chevrolet to Ford starting that weekend.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Jeff Green had not finished last in a Cup race since 2007, when his #66 HAAS Automation Chevrolet was involved in a single-car crash after 13 laps of the 2007 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
*This was the first last-place finish for FRM since 2009, when Tony Raines’ #37 Long John Silver’s Dodge fell out with electrical problems after 6 laps of the 2009 Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix.
*The #55 had not finished last in a Cup race since last August, when Michael McDowell’s #55 PRISM Motorsports Toyota fell out with engine failure 16 laps into the 2010 Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol.
*The #55 had not finished last in a Cup race at New Hampshire since 2000, when the engine on Kenny Wallace’s Square D Chevrolet blew 39 laps into the 2000 Dura Lube 300 Sponsored by K-Mart at New Hampshire. That race is better-known for being the day outside-polesitter Jeff Burton led all 300 laps after NASCAR instituted restrictor plates at Loudon following the fatal crashes that took the lives of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin, Jr. earlier that year.
*This was not only Ford’s first last-place finish of 2011, but the manufacturer’s first since 2009, when Bobby Labonte’s #96 DLP Ford fell out with engine trouble after 18 laps of the 2009 CARFAX 400 at Michigan.

UNVERIFIED LASTCAR STATISTIC
*This weekend, three teams that made their series debut in Cup (#55), Nationwide (#47), and Trucks (#75) all finished last in the same weekend. As of this moment, I cannot confirm if this is the first time this has ever happened.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
(click the links to see a photo of their exit)
43) #55-Jeff Green / 11 laps / brakes
42) #60-Mike Skinner / 17 laps / electrical
41) #87-Joe Nemechek / 37 laps / brakes
40) #66-Michael McDowell / 46 laps / brakes
39) #46-Erik Darnell / 72 laps / brakes

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell (5)
2nd) Joe Nemechek, Mike Skinner (3)
3rd) Kevin Conway, J.J. Yeley (2)
4th) Landon Cassill, Jeff Green, P.J. Jones, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #66-HP Racing LLC (5)
2nd) #60-Germain Racing (4)
3rd) #87-NEMCO Motorsports (3)
4th) #46-Whitney Motorsports, #97-NEMCO Motorsports (2)
5th) #55-Front Row Motorsports, #81-Whitney Motorsports, #77-Robby Gordon Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (14)
2nd) Chevrolet (3)
3rd) Dodge, Ford (1)

N’WIDE: Wimmer’s One Of Three Key Motorsports Chevrolets In Nationwide "Bottom Five" at Loudon

Scott Wimmer picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s New England 200 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #47 Key Motorsports Chevrolet fell out with engine problems after 5 of the race’s 206 laps.

Team owner Curtis Key has fielded cars in the Nationwide Series since 1993, when Rodger Sawyer made his lone series start at his home track of Martinsville with a 14th-place run driving a #05 Moen Faucets Chevrolet. In the eighteen years since, Key Motorsports gradually worked its way from a part-time team to running the full schedule in 2010 with Mike Bliss driving the team’s flagship #40 for most of the races that season.

2011 began with Wimmer as Key’s new driver of the #40. Although Wimmer gave the team a season-best finish of 12th at Talladega, three engine failures and struggles to find sponsorship resulted in a driver change with Charles Lewandoski, known by his crew as “The Polish Rocket,” taking over driving duties of the #40 at Iowa in May.

Unfortunately, Iowa also saw Key Motorsports have to bring “start-and-park” teams to the track in order to keep the #40 team going. Tim Andrews debuted Key’s #46 at Iowa with a 39th-place finish, then after the team acquired Chase Miller to help in the effort, Miller took over the #46 and Andrews debuted the #42 at Michigan.

Saturday’s race would see a team record four of Key’s unsponsored white Chevrolets in the starting field, which was still one car short of a full 43 entrants. Fastest of Key’s group was 28th-ranked Lewandoski in the #40, followed by 32nd-place Andrews in the #42 and Miller’s #46 in 33rd. Driving the team’s new #47 “start-and-park” team was Wimmer, slowest of the group in 37th at a speed of 120.972 mph.

Five laps into the race, still under green at that point, Wimmer pulled behind the wall, followed two laps later by Andrews and another two laps by Miller. Lewandoski came home 22nd, which is Key Motorsports’ best finish since Wimmer’s Talladega run.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Wimmer had not finished last in a Nationwide Series race since 2002, when his unsponsored #23 Bill Davis Racing Pontiac fell out with engine failure 20 laps into the 2002 Little Trees 300 at Charlotte.
*Owner Curtis Key’s Nationwide team had not finished last in a Nationwide race since 1995, when Chuck Bown’s #05 Key Motorsports Ford fell out with engine failure 12 laps into the 1995 Autolite 250 at Richmond.
*The #47 had not finished last in a Nationwide Series race since 2009, when Chris Cook’s #47 ConstructionJobs.com Toyota fell out with overheating problems after the opening lap of the 2009 Able Body Labor 200 at Phoenix. This was the first time the #47 has finished last in a Nationwide Series race at New Hampshire.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
42) #47-Scott Wimmer / 5 laps / engine
41) #42-Tim Andrews / 7 laps / rear gear
40) #04-Danny Efland / 7 laps / rear gear
39) #46-Chase Miller / 9 laps / ignition
38) #75-Johnny Chapman / 12 laps / brakes

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (4)
2nd) Brett Rowe (3)
3rd) Kelly Bires, Dennis Setzer (2)
4th) Matt Carter, Johnny Chapman, Kevin Conway, Mike Harmon, James Hylton, Blake Koch, Justin Marks, Scott Wimmer (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #44-TriStar Motorsports (4)
2nd) #55-Faith Motorsports (3)
3rd) #25-Ed Rensi, #49-Jay Robinson Racing (2)
4th) #0-JD Motorsports, #27-Baker Curb Racing, #47-Key Motorsports, #68-Fleur-De-Lis Motorsports, #74-Mike Harmon, #75-Rick Ware Racing, #82-MacDonald Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (14)
2nd) Ford (4)
3rd) Dodge (1)

TRUCKS: Greg Seevers Parks For Benning In Truck Series Debut

Greg Seevers picked up the first last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Saturday’s Coca-Cola 200 presented by Hy-Vee at the Iowa Speedway when his unsponsored #75 Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet fell out with overheating problems after 3 of the race’s 200 laps. The finish came in Seevers’ series debut.

Seevers, a 45-year-old Ohio driver, was enlisted by fellow ARCA competitor Norm Benning to field a second truck, #75, to help fund Benning’s still-unsponsored #57 Chevrolet. Though new to the Truck Series, Seevers had helped Benning raise money in ARCA for years. From 2004 through 2009, Seevers drove Benning’s backup ARCA cars in 20 races, never completing more than two laps of a race with the exception of his most recent start at Kentucky in 2009, where he finished 35th after 13 laps.

Seevers was guaranteed to make his Truck Series debut in this capacity as only 32 trucks were on the entry list at Iowa, even when he joined the field as a late entry. This allowed him to time in 31st at a speed of 97.866 mph, nearly 40 mph slower than polesitter David Mayhew’s lap of 136.482 mph. Benning timed in 30th at 124.104 mph.

Three laps into the race, with the green flag still out, Seevers pulled behind the wall. Benning, who has two ast-place finishes in 2011, went on to finish 26th, seventeen laps down to race winner Matt Crafton.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #75 had finished last in a Truck Series race since 2006, when Aric Almirola picked up his first Truck Series last-place finish in the 2006 Con-Way Freight 200 at Michigan. Almirola, whose Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet was involved in a single-truck accident on Lap 12, finished the race under power 33 laps down to race winner Johnny Benson, Jr.
*Seevers is the fourth first-time last-place finisher in the Truck Series this season, joining Travis Kvapil, Brad Sweet, James Buescher, and, most recently at Kansas, Scott Riggs.
*A Truck Series driver had not finished last due to overheating problems since 2010, when Tim Andrews’ #95 Team Gill Racing Dodge fell out after two laps of last year’s EnjoyIllinois.com 225 at Chicagoland.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
32) #75-Greg Seevers / 3 laps / overheating
31) #96-Todd Peck / 34 laps / brakes
30) #93-Mike Garvey / 46 laps / brakes
29) #63-Jack Smith / 86 laps / crash
28) #66-Justin Marks / 101 laps / crash

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Norm Benning, Mike Garvey (2)
2nd) James Buescher, Travis Kvapil, Chris Lafferty, Johanna Long, Scott Riggs, Greg Seevers, Brad Sweet (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #38-Shane Sieg, #57-Norm Benning Racing (2)
2nd) #5-Randy Moss, #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #20-Panhandle Motorsports, #31-Turner Motorsports, #32-Turner Motorsports, #75-Norm Benning Racing, #07-SS Green Light Racing (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (8)
2nd) Toyota (3)

CUP: Skinner Is Inaugural Last-Place Finisher Of Kentucky Cup Race

Mike Skinner picked up the 12th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Saturday’s inaugural Quaker State 400 at the Kentucky Speedway when his #60 Big Red Toyota fell out with electrical problems after completing 17 of the race’s 267 laps.

Kentucky, scene of NASCAR’s first new Sprint Cup venue since 2001, was also the home track of Big Red Soda, who sponsored three teams entered into the race. Skinner, the only Big Red car among the “go-or-go-homers,” was locked-in based on the #60's attempting all 18 races in 2011 after qualifying was cut short by rain. Joining Skinner in the Big Red contingent were Dave Blaney, whose #36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet started 32nd, and Mike Bliss, who rolled out 42nd in the FAS Lane Racing Ford #32.

Blaney changed transmissions before Saturday’s race, sending him to the back of the field along with Denny Hamlin, who changed engines in Happy Hour. During the pace laps, the two were joined by Joe Nemechek and Michael McDowell, who surrendered their starting spots in anticipation of an early exit. McDowell’s #66 was carrying an eye-catching new paint job, officially listed under sponsors “Standard Publishing” and “Relentless Hope.”

In the early laps, Scott Riggs, in Dusty Whitney’s unsponsored red #81, slipped from the 40th starting spot to 43rd, but it was Skinner, still on “start-and-park” duty, who exited the race first during the opening green-flag run. Riggs followed eleven laps later followed by McDowell, who pulled out right after getting the Lucky Dog during the first competition caution on Lap 31.

Fellow Big Red Soda drivers Blaney and Bliss finished 33rd and 34th, respectively, each three laps down to race winner Kyle Busch.

LASTCAR STATISTIC: INAUGURAL CUP RACES
*The last time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series added a new track to its schedule was in 2001, when Casey Atwood’s #19 Dodge / UAW-sponsored Dodge was involved in a crash during the opening lap of the inaugural Protection One 400 at Kansas. 

*Here are the last-place finishers of the ten most recent inaugural Cup races:
KANSAS - #19-Casey Atwood (crash on the opening lap) in 2001
CHICAGO - #96-Andy Houston (engine failure after 3 laps) in 2001
HOMESTEAD - #66-Darrell Waltrip (handling problems after 85 laps) in 1999
LAS VEGAS - #8-Hut Stricklin (electrical problems after 150 laps) in 1998
TEXAS - #17-Darrell Waltrip (crash on the opening lap) in 1997
FONTANA - #8-Hut Stricklin (crash after 28 laps) in 1997
INDIANAPOLIS - #27-Jimmy Spencer (crash after 9 laps) in 1994
LOUDON - #65-Jerry O’Neil (crash after 9 laps) in 1993
SONOMA - #29-Dale Jarrett (transmission problems after 8 laps) in 1989
PHOENIX - #15-Brett Bodine (engine problems after 13 laps) in 1988

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #60-Mike Skinner / 17 laps / electrical
42) #81-Scott Riggs / 28 laps / brakes
41) #66-Michael McDowell / 32 laps / electrical
40) #46-J.J. Yeley / 35 laps / transmission / led 1 lap
39) #87-Joe Nemechek / 37 laps / brakes

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell (5)
2nd) Joe Nemechek, Mike Skinner (3)
3rd) Kevin Conway, J.J. Yeley (2)
4th) Landon Cassill, P.J. Jones, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #66-HP Racing LLC (5)
2nd) #60-Germain Racing (4)
3rd) #87-NEMCO Motorsports (3)
4th) #46-Whitney Motorsports, #97-NEMCO Motorsports (2)
5th) #81-Whitney Motorsports, #77-Robby Gordon Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (14)
2nd) Chevrolet (3)
3rd) Dodge (1)

N’WIDE: Setzer Third In LASTCAR Nationwide Rankings After Second-Straight 43rd at Kentucky

Dennis Setzer picked up the 14th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Friday’s Feed The Children 300 at the Kentucky Speedway when his unsponsored #49 Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet fell out with brake problems after 2 of the race’s 200 laps.

With the finish, Setzer now stands in sole possession of third in the all-time LASTCAR Nationwide Series standings, trailing only Jeff Fuller and current 2011 series leader Jeff Green.

Setzer qualified 31st for the race at a speed of 166.605 mph, ranking him eighth among the fifteen “go-or-go-homers” who attempted to qualify for the race. His lap was more than enough to beat Danny Efland and Carl Long, who missed the race.

After two laps of the race, Setzer pulled behind the wall under green, followed the next lap by both John Jackson and Chase Miller. Jeff Green came home 37th, retiring after 18 laps.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The race marked Setzer’s second-consecutive last-place finish in a Nationwide race at Kentucky. Last summer, while driving K-Automotive’s #92 Dodge, he fell out after six laps with electrical problems.
*Setzer’s other last-place finish in 2011 came last month at Michigan, where his #49 fell out after the opening lap with a vibration.
*The #49 had never before finished last in a Nationwide Series race at Kentucky.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #49-Dennis Setzer / 2 laps / brakes
42) #72-John Jackson / 3 laps / electrical
41) #46-Chase Miller / 3 laps / ignition
40) #74-Mike Harmon / 7 laps / brakes
39) #75-Johnny Chapman / 10 laps / ignition

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (4)
2nd) Brett Rowe (3)
3rd) Kelly Bires, Dennis Setzer (2)
4th) Matt Carter, Johnny Chapman, Kevin Conway, Mike Harmon, James Hylton, Blake Koch, Justin Marks, (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #44-TriStar Motorsports (4)
2nd) #55-Faith Motorsports (3)
3rd) #25-Ed Rensi, #49-Jay Robinson Racing (2)
4th) #0-JD Motorsports, #27-Baker Curb Racing, #68-Fleur-De-Lis Motorsports, #74-Mike Harmon, #75-Rick Ware Racing, #82-MacDonald Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (13)
2nd) Ford (4)
3rd) Dodge (1)

TRUCKS: Early Crash Shortens Johanna Long’s Night at Kentucky

Johanna Long picked up the 3rd last-place finish of her NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Thursday’s UNOH 225 at the Kentucky Speedway when her #20 Panhandle Grading and Paving Toyota was involved in a two-truck accident on Lap 6 of the 152-lap race.

Long qualified 21st for the race at a speed of 168.755 mph, ranking her second behind 19th-fastest John King among the session’s “go-or-go-homers.” Coming off the team’s season-best finish of 11th at Texas last month, hopes were high that the Long’s speed would lead to another good finish.

Unfortunately, an accident sparked by Timothy Peters on Lap 6 sent Long’s truck spinning backwards into the turn two wall along with Justin Marks, taking both her and Marks out of the race. Long was credited with the last-place finish.

King, the fastest “go-or-go-homer,” was also involved in a multi-truck crash late in the race that left him 28th. It was King’s first start of the 2011 season.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*It was Long and the #20's first last-place finish since 2010, when she scored the other two finishes of her career. Her most recent came last fall at Texas, where she crashed after the opening lap.
*Neither Long, the #20, nor a Toyota had ever finished last in a Truck Series race at Kentucky.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #20-Johanna Long / 5 laps / crash
35) #66-Justin Marks / 6 laps / crash
34) #38-Mike Garvey / 9 laps / transmission
33) #84-Chris Fontaine / 10 laps / electrical
32) #88-Matt Crafton / 18 laps / engine

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Norm Benning, Mike Garvey (2)
2nd) James Buescher, Travis Kvapil, Chris Lafferty, Johanna Long, Scott Riggs, Brad Sweet (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #38-Shane Sieg, #57-Norm Benning Racing (2)
2nd) #5-Randy Moss, #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #20-Panhandle Motorsports, #31-Turner Motorsports, #32-Turner Motorsports, #07-SS Green Light Racing (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (7)
2nd) Toyota (3)

CUP: Conway Last In The 400, But NEMCO Turns Heads At Daytona

Kevin Conway picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career in Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 at the Daytona International Speedway when his #97 ExtenZe Toyota fell out with rear gear problems after completing one of the race’s 170 laps.

Conway’s weekend began on a high note with a surprising run in Friday’s Nationwide Series race. Three months after team owner Joe Nemechek nearly pulled off the victory in the wild Aaron’s 312 at Talladega, NEMCO Motorsports fielded two blue ExtenZe Toyotas in the race, putting Conway in the #87 and Nemechek in the #97. Locked nose-to-tail in a two-car draft, the duo rocketed into the Top 10 early, then remained there for much of the race.

However, with just 10 laps remaining, Conway nudged Nemechek loose in turn four, causing a crash that took both cars out of contention. They held onto the lead lap and came home 25th and 26th.

Conway and Nemechek both qualified for the Cup race, apparently set to work together once again. Conway had a fleet #97 in qualifying, putting up the 22nd-fastest time at a speed of 180.310 mph, third-fastest among the “go-or-go-homers.” Nemechek snared the 43rd and final starting spot, but edged Tony Raines and J.J. Yeley - the race’s two DNQs - by more than two tenths of a second.

However, when the race began, Conway was quickly behind the wall, back in his “start-and-park” role from Talladega, scene of his first Cup last-place finish. Conway had also left the Talladega race after the opening lap. Current LASTCAR Cup Series leader Michael McDowell fell out of the race one lap later, just before Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne’s race ended with a very hard crash in turn two. Bayne came home 41st.

Joe Nemechek, whose #87 carried sufficient sponsorship from ExtenZe and AM FM Energy to run the entire race, was one of many underfunded drivers who contended for the lead during the middle stages of the race. Holding 20th by Lap 37, Nemechek hooked up with Travis Kvapil’s #38, who shoved the #87 into 11th by Lap 66, 7th by Lap 74, and to the lead by Lap 77.

Though other pairs of drivers would join the battle for the lead, Nemechek was still in touch with the Top 10 all the way up to the first green-white-checkered finish, when he was swept up in the grinding 15-car crash that took place in turn two. Nemechek came home one lap down in 30th, his best run of the year and the first Cup race he’s finished under power in 2011.

David Ragan went on to win his first Cup Series race in an electrifying finish. Curiously, Daytona was the scene of Ragan’s only last-place finish in any of NASCAR’s top three divisions: a crash after four laps of the 2007 Koolerz 300 at Daytona, the season opener for the Nationwide Series. Ragan has yet to finish last in any of his 163 Cup Series starts.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The #97 had not finished last in a Cup race at Daytona since 1997, when Chad Little’s John Deere Pontiac was involved in a multi-car crash after completing 32 laps of the 1997 Pepsi 400 at Daytona.
*NEMCO’s #97 has now finished last in three of the last four Cup restrictor-plate points races, including Jeff Fuller’s 43rd-place showing in last fall’s AMP Energy Juice 500 at Talladega. Fuller also finished last in his Gatorade Duel that season.
*Conway’s 22nd-place starting spot is the best of this year’s Cup last-place finishers, beating the previous record of 32nd set by both Nemechek at Phoenix and matched by Conway himself at Talladega.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #97-Kevin Conway / 1 lap / rear gear
42) #66-Michael McDowell / 2 laps / electrical
41) #21-Trevor Bayne / 4 laps / crash
40) #60-Mike Skinner / 5 laps / wheel
39) #36-Dave Blaney / 47 laps / crash

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell (5)
2nd) Joe Nemechek (3)
3rd) Kevin Conway, Mike Skinner, J.J. Yeley (2)
4th) Landon Cassill, P.J. Jones, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #66-HP Racing LLC (5)
2nd) #60-Germain Racing, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (3)
3rd) #46-Whitney Motorsports, #97-NEMCO Motorsports (2)
4th) #81-Whitney Motorsports, #77-Robby Gordon Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (13)
2nd) Chevrolet (3)
3rd) Dodge (1)

N’WIDE: Jeff Green Tied For Fifth In All-Time LASTCAR Standings

Jeff Green picked up the 20th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Friday’s Subway Jalapeno 250 at the Daytona International Speedway when his #44 East Central Florida View / HURT Chevrolet fell out with a vibration after 3 of the race’s 100 laps.

Green now has 23 last-place finishes across NASCAR’s top-three divisions, tying him with Dave Blaney for fifth-most all-time. He remains second in the Nationwide Series standings, four finishes behind all-time series leader Jeff Fuller’s mark of 24.

Green qualified 28th for the race at a speed of 176.374 mph, besting five “go-or-go-homers” including Chase Miller, whose Key Motorsports #46 was the only team that failed to qualify. Soon after the green flag dropped, Green pulled behind the wall along with Fontana last-placer Mike Harmon and his #74.

Harmon held 43rd for much of the race, but returned to the track in the closing stages to complete a total of 29 laps. This shuffled Harmon up to 41st, moving Green down to last and Carl Long to 42nd.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is Green’s first-ever last-place finish in a Nationwide Series race at Daytona.
*The #44 had never before finished last in a Nationwide Series race at Daytona.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #44-Jeff Green / 3 laps / vibration
42) #68-Carl Long / 4 laps / overheating
41) #74-Mike Harmon / 29 laps / running
40) #40-Charles Lewandoski / 29 laps / engine
39) #30-Ricky Carmichael / 34 laps / crash

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
The finish in Saturday’s race moved Green back into the 2011 LASTCAR Nationwide Series lead, breaking a tie with Brett Rowe, who came home last in the previous race at Road America.
1st) Jeff Green (4)
2nd) Brett Rowe (3)
3rd) Kelly Bires (2)
4th) Matt Carter, Johnny Chapman, Kevin Conway, Mike Harmon, James Hylton, Blake Koch, Justin Marks, Dennis Setzer (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #44-TriStar Motorsports (4)
2nd) #55-Faith Motorsports (3)
3rd) #25-Ed Rensi (2)
4th) #0-JD Motorsports, #27-Baker Curb Racing, #49-Jay Robinson Racing, #68-Fleur-De-Lis Motorsports, #74-Mike Harmon, #75-Rick Ware Racing, #82-MacDonald Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (12)
2nd) Ford (4)
3rd) Dodge (1)