Saturday, August 27, 2011

CUP: Robby Gordon Out Early In Sprint Cup Night Race at Bristol

SOURCE: SPEED
Robby Gordon picked up the 11th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway when his #7 SPEED Energy Dodge fell out with brake problems after 10 of the race’s 500 laps.

It was Robby’s second last-place finish of the 2011 season and his first since exiting five laps into the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, four races ago.

Robby had originally planned to enter two cars in the Bristol race, putting part-time driver Scott Wimmer into his #77. However, the #77 was withdrawn by the time the teams arrived trackside, so Robby turned his attention to his #7. One week after Wimmer narrowly missed getting the #7 into the field at Michigan, the owner-driver put his car into the 39th spot at a speed of 119.835 mph.

Although the car carried additional sponsorship from longtime Bristol sponsor Food City, Robby pulled behind the wall in the first ten laps, joining current LASTCAR Cup Series leader Michael McDowell in the #66. McDowell had been reporting electrical issues over the radio that were bad enough to cause his engine to shut off. The crew was able to make repairs, however, allowing McDowell to return to the track. Robby, with only enough sponsorship to run the distance in the upcoming Cup races at Chicagoland, Texas, and Phoenix, called it a night and fell to 43rd.

McDowell followed suit after completing 49 laps and came home 39th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The #7 had not finished last at Bristol since 1996, when Geoff Bodine’s #7 QVC Ford went out with an oil leak after completing 206 laps of the 1996 Goody’s Headache Powders 500.
*This was Robby Gordon’s first-ever last-place finish in a Cup race at Bristol.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #7-Robby Gordon / 10 laps / brakes
42) #46-Scott Speed / 28 laps / brakes
41) #60-Mike Skinner / 28 laps / brakes
40) #87-Joe Nemechek / 42 laps / brakes
39) #66-Michael McDowell / 49 laps / electrical

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

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

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (15)
2nd) Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford (3)

N’WIDE: Jeff Green Becomes The First NASCAR Driver To Score Four Straight Last-Place Finishes

SOURCE: TheHotLap.com
Jeff Green picked up the 24th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Friday’s Food City 250 at the Bristol Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #44 TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet fell out with vibration problems after 4 of the race’s 250 laps.

With the finish, Green became the first driver in the history of any of NASCAR’s top three divisions to finish last in four consecutive NASCAR-sanctioned points-scoring races. The previous three finishes came at Iowa, Watkins Glen, and Montreal. Green, now tied with Jeff Fuller for the fourth-most last-place finishes in NASCAR history, is also now tied with Fuller for the most last-place finishes in NASCAR Nationwide Series history.

In Nationwide Series qualifying, Green secured the 43rd and final starting spot at a speed of 115.236 mph, good enough to bump out of the field the cars of Johnny Chapman, J.J. Yeley, John Jackson, T.J. Bell, Jennifer Jo Cobb, and Carl Long. Green also attempted to qualify Larry Gunselman’s #37 Ford for the Sprint Cup race, but spun in Turn 4 and backed into the wall during his first timed lap. Although he was able to turn around and valiantly went through his second lap, Green still missed the race along with J.J. Yeley and T.J. Bell.

That night in the Nationwide race, Green pulled behind the wall, followed two laps later by Brian Keselowski in Key Motorsports’ #47 Chevrolet.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The race marked Jeff Green’s second-consecutive last-place finish in the Nationwide Series’ night race at Bristol. Last year, Green’s #36 Long John Silvers Chevrolet lost its brakes after four laps. Green was also the last-place finisher of this race in 1992, when his #16 31-W Insulation Chevrolet lost its engine after the opening lap.
*The #44 had not finished last at Bristol since this race in 2002, when Mike Harmon fell out with handling woes after two laps. As reported in an earlier article, Harmon was driving a backup car provided by Larry Gunselman following Harmon’s horrifying practice wreck into the unlocked crossover gate off Turn 2.

FOUR-RACE LAST-PLACE STREAKS IN NASCAR
Five times in the history of NASCAR, a driver has finished last in three consecutive points-paying races, only to have fallen short in the fourth. All five of the following streaks took place in the Cup Series and Nationwide Series; a driver has yet to finish last in three consecutive Truck Series races.
(1) 2010 Sprint Cup Series
#13-Max Papis at Michigan, Sonoma, and Loudon
Next Race: Papis Finishes 42nd at Daytona; #66-Dave Blaney Finishes Last by 2 Laps
(2) 2010 Nationwide Series
#36-Jeff Green at Dover, Kansas, and Fontana
Next Race: Green’s team doesn’t enter race at Charlotte; #26-Parker Kligerman Finishes Last
(3) 2009 Sprint Cup Series
#66-Dave Blaney at Bristol, Atlanta, and Richmond
Next Race: Blaney Finishes 42nd at Loudon; #37-Tony Raines Finishes Last by 15 Laps
(4) 2009 Nationwide Series
#90-Johnny Chapman at Milwaukee, Loudon, and Daytona
Next Race: Chapman DNQs at Chicagoland; #49-Mark Green Finishes Last
(5) 2004 Nationwide Series
#88-Jeff Fuller at Rockingham, Las Vegas, and Darlington
Next Race: Fuller Finishes 37th at Bristol; #77-Donnie Neuenberger Finishes Last

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #44-Jeff Green / 4 laps / vibration
42) #47-Brian Keselowski / 6 laps / brakes
41) #71-Matt Carter / 7 laps / brakes
40) #46-Chase Miller / 7 laps / brakes
39) #42-Tim Andrews / 11 laps / electrical

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (8)
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
1st) #44-TriStar Motorsports (8)
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 (19)
2nd) Ford (5)
3rd) Dodge (1)

TRUCKS: Brent Raymer Scores First Last-Place Finish In Two Years

SOURCE: SPEED, Rubbins-Racin Forums
Brent Raymer picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Series career in Wednesday’s O’Reilly 200 at the Bristol Motor Speedway when his #65 County Building Centers / Trans Pecos Trucking Chevrolet fell out with electrical problems after 3 of the race’s 200 laps.

Since the 2008 season, Raymer has made 43 Truck Series starts with his family-owned race team. His best finish in the series came last summer at Pocono, where he came home 16th. However, with manufacturer support scaling back and Raymer’s #85 trucks sponsored almost always by Ford, the team scaled back operations earlier this year following back-to-back DNQs at Daytona and Phoenix. Brent Raymer Racing is currently accepting donations for a return to the track at http://brentraymer.com/

Since then, Raymer has made one other start for owner Joey Sonntag, driving his #65 Chevrolet to a 29th-place finish at Nashville. Wednesday’s race at Bristol would be Raymer’s second start of the season for Sonntag.

Raymer qualified for the race at a speed of 117.862 mph, edging Jennifer Jo Cobb and Norm Benning for the 36th and final spot in the field. He pulled behind the wall after three laps of the race, followed a lap later by current 2011 LASTCAR Truck Series leader Mike Garvey in the #93.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The last time Raymer finished last in a Truck Series race was in the 2009 Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky, where the rear end on his #85 Car Truck & RV / BrentRaymer.com Ford failed after the opening lap. It was Raymer’s second consecutive last-place finish. It’s also his second consecutive last-place finish after starting in last place.
*The #65 has not finished last in a Truck Series race since 1999, when Milan Garrett’s Champion Wheel Ford lost its engine after 13 laps of the 1999 Dodge California Truck Stop 300 at Mesa Marin Raceway.
*The #65 has finished last in a Truck Race at Bristol one other time, when Kenny Allen’s Petroleum World Chevrolet was involved in a crash after 4 laps of the 1997 Loadhandler 200.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #65-Brent Raymer / 3 laps / electrical
35) #93-Mike Garvey / 4 laps / brakes
34) #87-Chris Jones / 54 laps / crash
33) #01-Jake Crum / 61 laps / crash
32) #07-John King / 62 laps / wheel

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Garvey (4)
2nd) Norm Benning, Chris Lafferty (2)
3rd) James Buescher, Chris Jones, Travis Kvapil, Johanna Long, Brent Raymer, 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, #65-Joey Sonntag, #75-Norm Benning Racing, #87-Rick Jones, #89-Chris Lafferty, #07-SS Green Light Racing (1)

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

Sunday, August 21, 2011

CUP: Yeley Keeps LASTCAR Cup Series Championship Battle Close With His Second 43rd In Last Three Races

SOURCE: ESPN2
J.J. Yeley picked up the 6th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 at the Michigan International Speedway when his unsponsored #55 Front Row Motorsports Ford fell out with electrical problems after 11 of the race’s 203 laps.

It was Yeley’s fourth last-place finish of 2011 and his first in two races, when he trailed the field at Pocono earlier this month.

Yeley qualified 31st for Sunday’s race at a speed of 186.287 mph, ranking him 3rd behind Casey Mears and teammate Travis Kvapil among the field’s “go-or-go-home” drivers. The run was more than enough to lock Yeley into the field ahead of Johnny Sauter in Robby Gordon’s #7, Erik Darnell in Dusty Whitney’s #46, and T.J. Bell’s Joe Falk-owned #50, who all failed to qualify.

Early in the race, it appeared that Mike Skinner, his #60 slowest in both the weekend’s practice sessions, would tie Michael McDowell for the 2011 LASTCAR Cup Series lead. With McDowell again replaced by Todd Bodine in the #66 following McDowell’s Nationwide run at Montreal, Skinner, the 43rd-place starter, maintained the last position early. However, it was Yeley who fell out first, beating Skinner to the garage by three laps. Bodine finished 39th, exiting the race 21 laps into the opening green-flag run.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The #55 had not finished last in a Cup race at Michigan since 1994, when Jimmy Hensley’s Petron Plus Ford lost its engine 2 laps into the 1994 Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Michigan.
*Ford had not finished last in a Cup race at Michigan since 2009, when Bobby Labonte’s #96 DLP Ford fell out with engine problems after 18 laps of the 2009 CARFAX 400 at Michigan.
*Yeley had never before finished last in a Cup race at Michigan.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #55-J.J. Yeley / 11 laps / electrical
42) #60-Mike Skinner / 14 laps / electrical
41) #87-Joe Nemechek / 18 laps / ignition
40) #30-David Stremme / 20 laps / clutch
39) #66-Todd Bodine / 21 laps / electrical

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

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

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (15)
2nd) Chevrolet, Ford (3)
3rd) Dodge (2)

N’WIDE: Jeff Green Set To Challenge Two LASTCAR Records at Bristol Following His Third-Consecutive Last-Place Finish

SOURCE: TheHotLap.com
Jeff Green picked up the 23rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal when his unsponsored #44 TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet fell out with brake problems after 1 of the race’s 74 laps.

The finish was Green’s seventh of 2011 and his third in a row, matching a three-race streak from the fall of 2010 during which he finished last at Dover, Kansas, and Fontana in TriStar’s #36.

Green qualified 30th for Saturday’s event at a speed of 92.752 mph, putting him solidly into the 300th NASCAR Nationwide Series race of his 21-year career. Unfortunately, his run did not last long as he “start-and-parked” for Tri-Star after the opening lap. At first, it appeared Eric McClure, who also went to the garage that lap, had edged Green for his first last-place finish since Kentucky in 2006. However, McClure returned to finish 20 laps down in 36th, shuffling Green back to 43rd.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Only two other drivers have ever finished last in three consecutive Nationwide Series races. In 2009, Johnny Chapman, driving MSRP Motorsports’ #90, finished last at Milwaukee, New Hampshire, and Daytona before the streak ended with a DNQ at Chicagoland. In 2004, LASTCAR Nationwide Series leader Jeff Fuller and NEMCO’s #88 teamed up to finish last at Rockingham, Las Vegas, and Darlington before coming home 37th the next week at Bristol. If Green finishes last this Friday at Bristol, he will not only set a new consecutive last-place record, but also equal Fuller’s all-time series leading total of 24 last-place finishes.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #44-Jeff Green / 1 lap / brakes
42) #89-Morgan Shepherd / 5 laps / engine
41) #53-Andrew Ranger / 23 laps / engine
40) #13-D.J. Kennington / 28 laps / suspension
39) #51-Jeremy Clements / 45 laps / rear gear

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (7)
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
1st) #44-TriStar Motorsports (7)
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 (18)
2nd) Ford (5)
3rd) Dodge (1)

TRUCKS: Chris Jones The 28th Truck Driver To Finish Last Without Completing The First Lap

SOURCE: Chris Jones Fans Facebook Page
Chris Jones picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Saturday’s VFW 200 at the Michigan International Speedway when his #87 Garbee’s Truck and Trailer Chevrolet fell out with an engine failure without completing a lap of the 102-lap race.

Just 33 trucks showed up to the 2-mile Michigan track for qualifying, allowing Jones to make his third Truck Series start of 2011 without taking a qualifying lap. In his two previous starts at Dover and Kansas, his #87 has come home 32nd and 34th, exiting both races in the early laps.

This time, Jones failed to complete the opening lap, going behind the wall with engine trouble as the race began. Mike Harmon, driving in his own Truck Series ride for the first time since 2009, fell out two laps later with handling woes.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Jones’ first last-place finish in 28 races, dating back to an early-race crash his #87 Copy Wizard Chevrolet suffered 6 laps into the 2010 AAA Insurance 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway.
*It is only the third time in Truck Series history that the #87 has finished last. The first time came when the late John Nemechek lost the engine on his Chevrolet 3 laps into the 1995 Pizza Plus 150 at Bristol.
*This was the 30th time in Truck Series history that a driver finished last without completing a single lap. The last time it happened was 20 races ago when Johanna Long’s #20 Panhandle Grading and Paving Toyota lost its transmission at the start of the 2010 Smith’s 350 at Las Vegas. Jones is the 28th driver to have done so as Chris Horn failed to complete a single lap of three races from 1999-2000.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
33) #87-Chris Jones / 0 laps / engine
32) #74-Mike Harmon / 2 laps / handling
31) #75-J.J. Yeley / 4 laps / rear gear
30) #38-Mike Garvey / 4 laps / transmission
29) #93-Casey Roderick / 6 laps / clutch

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Garvey (4)
2nd) Norm Benning, Chris Lafferty (2)
3rd) James Buescher, Chris Jones, Travis Kvapil, 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, #87-Rick Jones, #89-Chris Lafferty, #07-SS Green Light Racing (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (12)
2nd) Toyota (3)

Monday, August 15, 2011

CUP: Skinner 43rd In First Watkins Glen Start Since 2002

SOURCE: Rob Dostie
Mike Skinner picked up the 13th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Monday’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen when his #60 Big Red Toyota fell out with brake problems after 4 of the race’s 92 laps.

It was Skinner’s fourth Cup last-place finish of 2011 and his first since the inaugural Quaker State 400 at Kentucky, four races ago.

On Saturday, Skinner qualified 37th at a speed of 122.130 mph, putting him into his first start at Watkins Glen since 2002, when he finished 40th in Morgan-McClure’s iconic #4 Kodak Chevrolet. Germain Racing, Skinner’s present team, was already struggling at The Glen after teammate Casey Mears’ #13 blew an engine in spectacular fashion on the frontstretch during Friday’s first practice session. However, when qualifying was over, both Mears and Skinner were in the field with Mears a respectable 26th.

In the race itself, Skinner and defending LASTCAR Cup Champion Joe Nemechek exchanged the 43rd position along with Kurt Busch, who spun in the Inner Loop on Lap 5. By then, however, Skinner was already behind the wall with brake troubles, followed the next lap by J.J. Yeley in Front Row Motorsports’ “start-and-park” #55. Current LASTCAR leader Michael McDowell fell out two circuits after that with Nemechek exiting after 12 laps.

Casey Mears finished on the lead lap in 20th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*A Cup driver had not finished last at Watkins Glen with “brakes” listed as the official cause in the results since way back in 1964, when Pete Boland’s 1963 #01 Mercury lost its brakes two laps into the 1964 The Glen 151.8, leaving Boland with his second-consecutive last-place finish. Billy Wade went on to win the race from the pole in what was then a 66-lap event around a 2.3-mile course.
*This is the first time Skinner and the #60 have both finished last in a Cup race at Watkins Glen.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #60-Mike Skinner / 4 laps / brakes
42) #55-J.J. Yeley / 5 laps / brakes
41) #66-Michael McDowell / 7 laps / engine
40) #87-Joe Nemechek / 12 laps / brakes
39) #37-Scott Speed / 45 laps / suspension

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

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
When combined with Landon Cassill’s last-place performance for the team at Phoenix in February, the #60 Germain Racing Team is now in a tie with HP Racing’s #66 for the LASTCAR Owner’s Championship lead.
1st) #60-Germain Racing, #66-HP Racing LLC (5)
2nd) #87-NEMCO Motorsports (3)
3rd) #46-Whitney Motorsports, #55-Front Row Motorsports, #97-NEMCO Motorsports (2)
4th) #7-Robby Gordon Motorsports, #81-Whitney Motorsports, #77-Robby Gordon Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (15)
2nd) Chevrolet (3)
3rd) Dodge, Ford (2)

N’WIDE: Jeff Green’s Brakes Result in Second-Straight Last-Place Finish

SOURCE: Rob Dostie

Jeff Green picked up the 22nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International when his unsponsored #44 TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet fell out with brake problems after completing one of the race’s 85 laps.


It was Green’s series-leading sixth Nationwide last-place finish in 2011 and second in a row, following his Lap 3 exit at Iowa last week. Green is also two finishes away from tying Jeff Fuller for the all-time LASTCAR Nationwide Series lead.

In qualifying, Green turned in a lap of 116.767 mph, the 38th-fastest speed, but rolled off 43rd as five teams locked into the field ran slower than him in qualifying. Still, Green was assured his twentieth start of the year as he ran fast enough to bump five other “go-or-go-homers” out of the field. Among those who failed to qualify were Key Motorsports’ three “start-and-park” Chevrolets driven by Chase Miller, Brian Keselowski, and Tim Andrews.

After the start of the race, Green’s car was the first to pull behind the wall, followed three laps later by T.J. Bell, who complained that the brakes had gone soft on his Jennifer Jo Cobb-owned #13.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Neither Jeff Green nor the #44 had ever before finished last in a Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen.
*Ever since he joined TriStar Motorsports in late 2009 for what was then the #36 team, Green has finished last in 14 of the last 38 races - nearly two last-place finishes for every five Nationwide Series races.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #44-Jeff Green / 1 lap / brakes
42) #13-T.J. Bell / 4 laps / brakes
41) #82-J.J. Yeley / 4 laps / brakes
40) #49-Mark Green / 6 laps / brakes
39) #52-Dan Clarke / 21 laps / engine

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (6)
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
1st) #44-TriStar Motorsports (6)
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 (17)
2nd) Ford (5)
3rd) Dodge (1)

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Twenty Years Later, Former #70 Crewman Marty Burke Remembers J.D. McDuffie

J.D. McDuffie, circa 1991
(SOURCE: McDuffie Collection; "Forty Years of Stock Car Racing"
by Greg Fielden)
Twenty years ago Thursday, under heavy overcast skies, a young Marty Burke walked out onto pit road at Watkins Glen International. He stopped at the driver’s side of a Pontiac that sat 35th on the grid for the 1991 Budweiser at the Glen. The car was burgundy and black with a sharp white racing stripe around the middle, a distinctive paint scheme the driver came up with after spotting a sharp-looking new Cadillac outside a restaurant earlier that year. Peering through the window of car #70, Burke met eyes with the fifty-two-year-old driver, who was still smiling from beneath his open-faced helmet about his win in a celebrity race the night before.

The driver was J.D. McDuffie.

Over the rumble of idling engines, Burke talked with J.D. about their plan for the 90-lap race. They would run in the middle of the pack early on, then make a bid for the Top 20, maybe even a Top 15 if things shook out right. J.D. was winless in 652 previous starts and hadn’t finished any better than 22nd since late 1987, but driver and team had many reasons to be excited.

Thanks to shocks rebuilt by Bilstein, a brand-new transmission purchased on auction from the defunct Blue Max Racing team, and a powerful motor built by fellow team member Gerry Glenn, the oldest car in J.D.’s fleet could now run flat-out down The Glen’s 2600-foot backstretch. In Happy Hour, J.D. even pulled up on polesitter Terry Labonte, who broke the track record in qualifying, before both braked for treacherous Turn 5.

Consistently, J.D. negotiated the hard downhill right-hander safely, even as nearly a half-dozen of his fellow competitors - including defending winner Ricky Rudd - left practice with cars damaged or destroyed by the unforgiving tire barriers at the edge of Turn 5's grassy runoff.

Even a new sponsor took notice of J.D.’s performance as local New York construction firm L.C. Whitford Co., Inc. signed-on for a one-race deal, putting their logo on the quarter-panels.

“We went all over the car,” Burke recalls. “It was the most prepared we ever were for a race.”

But nothing could prepare Burke - and everyone else in attendance - for what happened on the fifth lap.

For Burke, the crash that claimed the life of veteran NASCAR driver J.D. McDuffie that day took with it not only a boss, but a business partner, a mentor, and a close friend. In an interview I conducted with Burke in May, I invited him to share some of these memories.


THE BLUE-COLLAR RACER

Four years after he got his start in NASCAR by working as a crewman for Elmo Langley’s Cup team, Burke began working for J.D. in 1985. At the time, the Sanford, North Carolina driver was competing in his 21st season on what was then the Winston Cup Series. Burke recalls J.D. was a quiet man who spent most of his time working on his race cars, but was very much a fixture in the garage area. Recent NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Ned Jarrett often came by to chat with J.D. during his work with ESPN, as did any fan who stopped by:

“Since J.D. was not a super star,” Burke recalls, “the fans must have found him very approachable, and he never disappointed them. We would be out to dinner and they would come up and ask for his autograph and he would always oblige. The fans always wanted to talk with him as I really believe they thought of him as a blue-collar racer, and many fans related to that.”

Still, as a southern owner-driver at a time when multi-car teams and northerners like Geoff Bodine were gaining popularity, J.D. could use all the help he could get. Burke recalls the youth movement in today’s NASCAR was already changing the sport in the late 1980s, as shown by the difference in age of the fans who came by:

“The kids really were more attracted to the stars of the day. J.D.'s fan base was much more of the true racer and race fan.”

While other drivers in the garage area were friendly with J.D. as well, the increasing demands of big-name sponsors on their drivers started to restrict how much assistance he received from his fellow drivers. A working relationship like the one fellow owner-driver Dave Marcis had with Richard Childress Racing at the time was nonexistent at McDuffie Racing:

“[M]ost teams would loan us something if we needed it. But nobody ‘supported’ J.D. I think a lot of it had to do with the pressure of your own team’s performance. Even back then, the sponsors paid you to perform and that pressure was certainly there for the more well-financed teams.”
J.D. McDuffie's final car, co-owned by Marty Burke,
carrying Burke's Classic Trophies logos at Pocono, 1991
(SOURCE: Jack Kromer, Stock Car Racing Magazine)

As a result, as with crewmen for many other single-car teams at the time, Burke’s work for J.D. required he fill a number of roles for the organization - so many, in fact, that by 1991 he’d worked every position but jackman. As J.D.’s rear tire changer, for example, Burke hustled-up tires from other teams, most often Melling Racing, and calibrated stagger on pit road. Also, as one of J.D.’s sponsors, Burke’s Pennsylvania company Classic Trophies, one of a number of businesses he owned at the time, was on the #70 when money was tighter than usual. And it often was.

Working for J.D. also brought Burke into the fold with a small group of teammates, sponsors, and supporters who often accompanied the veteran driver at the race. The elder statesman of the group was Tom Rumple, whose Elkin, North Carolina company Rumple Furniture funded the team for nearly a decade. Mike Demers, whose company Son’s Auto Supply also sponsored J.D., assumed the role as crew chief “due to his booming voice,” Burke recalls, and worked with his wife at J.D.’s fan club. Gerry Glenn, of the New Jersey-based Medford Speed Shop, was J.D.’s engine guy, working alongside his son, Gerry Jr. AC Spark Plugs, J.D.’s only mainstream sponsor during the twilight of his career, remained with the team over his final six seasons, provided spark plugs and air filters at the track, and read the plugs for the team. Even though he was an independent, J.D. also received a lot of assistance from Pontiac with Morgan-McClure’s team acting as distributor:

“We got all the sheet metal we needed [from Pontiac],” says Burke, “and they sent a couple of blocks and cylinder heads every year. Yes, J.D. would change brands if he could get a better deal as he had to do what was best for him. But deep down he was a Chevy guy!”

Even as his fellow independent drivers were gradually squeezed out of the sport, J.D. and his rag-tag group continued to plug away, at times turning heads with surprising success. One of Burke’s fondest memories came during SpeedWeeks 1989.

One year earlier, a fiery crash in the 1988 Twin 125-mile qualifiers resulted in severe burns to both J.D.’s hands, putting him on the sidelines for much of the season. By 1989, J.D.’s crew had managed to successfully rebuild the car for another run at the Daytona 500 field. This time in the qualifiers, J.D. dodged a tremendous pile-up in the tri-oval and came home 15th, locking him into what was to be his 15th and final Daytona 500 start. And, as many drivers will tell you, J.D. refused to put a price on a chance to start “The Great American Race:”

“In 1989 we made the Daytona 500 and Kyle Petty didn't. They stopped by and talked to J.D. about buying him out of his spot. J.D. wouldn't sell. He told me, ‘he came here to race.’ Me, I would have taken the [money]!. . .I know he was really happy about getting in the race. We missed the jetting on the carb on race day, so we were not really very fast. I think we finished 25th. But we finished!”

Though it is true that J.D. has 32 last-place finishes, the most of any NASCAR Sprint Cup driver as of this writing, Burke also pointed out that, while start-and-park teams did exist at the time, J.D. never used this strategy - even when it was more economical to do so.

“We never did start-and-park, that I can say with certainty! We would try to stay in the race and wait for others to drop out and move up that way. . .There were some start-and-parks during our days and NASCAR really frowned upon it.”


THE PROTÉGÉ

But what Burke remembers best about those seven seasons was working alongside J.D. himself and the lessons he learned from him as an aspiring race car driver.

“[J.D.] took me under his wing. We normally bunked together at the races and we would talk about the racetracks and how to drive them before we went to sleep.”

After J.D.’s son Jeff McDuffie left the team in the mid-1980s, the veteran turned his attention to Burke, who was looking to cut his teeth as a driver in ARCA. J.D. found an eager student in Burke and, by early 1991, the two had worked out a plan to both secure sponsorship for J.D. and get Burke’s career started:

“My plans that I did discuss with him was to try to get a sponsor and race. . .I was young and could speak clearly and thought I might have some appeal to a potential sponsor. . .So my desire was to get a sponsor for the #70 and J.D., and for me to get experience in ARCA and in a couple of years move up into Cup, hoping to have J.D. as my mentor & crew chief using his race shop (obviously the sponsorship money would go directly to him).”

“That was my plan, he knew that I wanted to race and was doing everything he could to help me. We talked about how to drive the tracks that ARCA raced on (Michigan, Pocono, Talladega & Daytona). I would never have asked him to step out of the car, that would have to be his decision.”

The first phase of the plan commenced in March of 1991, when Burke purchased the oldest of J.D.’s three Winston Cup cars. J.D. acquired this particular car five years earlier from Tom Winkle, a Defiance, Ohio car salesman who invested in the #70 team in 1986. Winkle, looking to follow in the footsteps of an already-successful Rick Hendrick, purchased the car from Richard Childress, converting it from one of Dale Earnhardt’s old Wrangler Chevrolets into a 2+2-bodied Pontiac sponsored by AC Spark Plugs. Winkle, impatient with the team’s progress, parted ways with J.D. early in the 1986 season, but J.D. kept the car. Since J.D. still had two newer Hutcherson-Pagan chasses with fresh 1991 Pontiac sheetmetal, one dark-blue (J.D.’s customary paint scheme, carried on the car that made the 1989 Daytona 500 field) and the other cherry-red, this oldest #70 was now Burke’s.

But racing luck was not on J.D.’s side. Though he and his blue Pontiac qualified for the spring race at Darlington and finished under power in 30th, he failed to qualify for eight of the 1991 season’s first ten races and skipped the 500-miler at Atlanta.

After he missed the show at Talladega that April in his Darlington car, J.D. was allowed to compete as a late entry in the ARCA race, the Poulan Pro 500k, back when Cup backmarkers were allowed to compete in the series. Unfortunately, the day ended with J.D.’s car destroyed following a tragic late-race accident. After he ran as high as 9th, J.D. cut low entering turn one to avoid the flipping Oldsmobile of young Chris Gehrke. Just as he hit the grass, Gehrke’s car collided with Carl Miskotten’s Buick, sending a huge chunk of debris into J.D.’s path. J.D. drove away uninjured from the resulting crash to finish 25th, but Gehrke was fatally wounded.

Then, just under a month later, J.D. qualified for his 2nd Cup race of the season at Dover only to leave with his second red Pontiac annihilated after Kenny Wallace sent him spinning into the inside wall on the backstretch. Again, J.D. was uninjured, but now both his cars were destroyed, waiting to be repaired back in his garage.

Less than two weeks later, Burke was slated to make his ARCA debut at Pocono. But with both of J.D.’s cars now weeks from being repaired, he insisted that J.D. run his old burgundy car in the Cup race instead. It’s a conversation Burke has relived many times:

“Pocono was coming up and I was already entered in the ARCA race. I really had a tough time convincing J.D. that I wanted him to run in the Cup race and I could wait. He said he made a commitment to me to have my car ready for the ARCA race and I was to race at Pocono. We didn't get into an argument but I had to do a lot of ‘convincing’ that we needed to stay in the Cup Series. J.D. was a man of his word, I know that he knew the smartest thing was for him to race my car in Cup, but he knew how badly I wanted to drive. Part of me is glad I convinced him, part of me is not, who knows what would have happened?”

Thus, while the two Hutcherson-Pagan Pontiacs were being rebuilt back in Sanford, Burke assumed yet another role for J.D.: as car owner.

J.D. qualified Burke’s car for both Cup races at Pocono that summer, finishing 34th in June and a season-best 25th in July. The car also made an appearance in ARCA, finishing 13th at Michigan in June. With neither of the damaged cars ready in time for Talladega, the team then looked toward preparing Burke’s car for Watkins Glen.

With work completed, J.D. strapped that Pontiac to the rear of “Ol’ Blue,” the team’s aging open-topped hauler, and headed out for the long drive north.


“WINNERS BUY”

As J.D. McDuffie neared New York, “Ol’ Blue’s” brakes failed.

Somehow, he was able to bring the hauler to a safe stop, but was unable to afford any lost time getting to the track, knowing he would have to qualify on speed as three teams would be sent home. So, J.D. put a pop-rivet in the brake line, climbed back in, and brought both car and driver safely to the 2.428-mile road course. Burke met J.D. when he arrived at the track for signing day on Thursday, August 8, 1991.

The next day, J.D. had qualified for his sixth consecutive start at The Glen, one of his favorite racetracks. Another obstacle had been overcome. The risk had paid off. Now, it was time to have fun.

Looking back on the Watkins Glen weekend, the events leading up to the race feel surreal to Burke. In a season plagued with tremendous difficulty for a team struggling to survive, an unexpected trip to victory lane gave J.D. and his team a boost of confidence right when they needed it most - no one knowing how short-lived their joy would be.

On the night of August 10, hours before the start of Sunday’s 90-lapper, J.D. McDuffie participated in a one-hour autograph session with Dale Earnhardt, then headed out with Burke and his crew to compete in a celebrity race at Shangri-La Speedway in nearby Owego, New York. The race would be between J.D. and members of Earnhardt’s pit crew. Burke recalls the moment that would become the veteran’s on-air eulogy during the ESPN broadcast the next day:

“It was a lot of fun for J.D. He was given a car and there was no question he was the class of the field. He pulled out into the lead and tried to keep the rest of the field close so they could put on a good show for the fans. He knew that he was the class of the field, he was more happy for us than he was for himself.”

The excitement of that victory - and its importance to the team as whole - cannot be overstated. The most vivid of Burke’s memories came when J.D. and the rest of the team went to breakfast on the morning of Sunday, August 11, 1991, all of them still savoring the win:

“Sunday morning we all went to breakfast and J.D. bought with the money he got night before. When J.D. was with me, Mike Demers or Gerry Glenn, we took care of all the expenses. . .J.D. grabbed the breakfast check and said, ‘Winners Buy’ and that really stuck in my mind all these years.”

“As humble as J.D. was (and he truly was a humble man) that morning he was beaming with pride, not because he won the race, but because he wanted to buy us breakfast.”

J.D. paid the check. Then the team drove back to Watkins Glen.


TODAY

In the years since the crash, Marty Burke has continued to carry on the legacy of J.D. McDuffie. In 1991, he licensed the likeness of J.D.’s #70 - complete with Burke’s Classic Trophies logos - to die cast manufacturer Racing Champions, arranging it so the profits would go toward helping J.D.’s widow Jean raise their grandson.

Though the events of August 11, 1991 put Burke’s racing career on hold, he soon discovered that he had more in common with J.D. than he thought: no matter what the adversity, Burke was determined to not give up his dream of racing.

He sold Classic Trophies in 1997 and moved from Pennsylvania to Texas, where he resides today as an owner-driver of his own drag racing team and custom race part business. Today, Marty Burke Motorsports has held NHRA national records from 2000 to 2004 and continues to compete today. On the front page of his website is a photo of his modified Mustang - painted the same shade of burgundy as the car he shared with J.D. - rearing-up at the starting line. And, with every flash of the green lights and the roar of his engine, Burke continues to pay tribute to his mentor and the friendship they shared.

But, most of all, Burke is protective of J.D.’s legacy and determined to dispel the misconceptions of the competitor who made him the man he is today.

“When you write your article about J.D.,” he told me, “just know that he was a true racer and an outstanding gentleman. A lot of negative things have been written about him in the past about ‘running junk.’ He never ran ‘junk.’ The parts might have been used, but they were not wore out! He had to run to conserve his equipment, yes he would have loved to run up front, but he had to make a living.”

“J.D. could do more with less (money, parts etc.) than anyone I know, but mostly he was a fine man and my friend.”

J.D. McDuffie (waving at the camera) and crew at Watkins Glen, circa 1990
(SOURCE: Claychamp123 at the NewYorkRacing Forums)

Sunday, August 7, 2011

CUP: Yeley’s Is The Third #55 To Finish 43rd In Last Four August Pocono Races

SOURCE: ESPN2
J.J. Yeley picked up the 5th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at the Pocono Raceway when his unsponsored #55 Front Row Motorsports Ford fell out with overheating problems after 7 of the race’s 200 laps.


Yeley was competing in his second race as driver of Front Row’s new third team that debuted last month at New Hampshire when Jeff Green finished last in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. Though he failed to qualify in his team debut at Indianapolis, he came back to time in 34th at a speed of 168.909 mph. It was a solid effort for driver and team as Yeley outranked all “go-or-go-homers” in Friday’s opening practice session and was ranked second of that group in qualifying. Todd Bodine, taking a turn in the HP Racing #66 while Michael McDowell competed in the Nationwide event at Iowa, qualified 30th.

In the race itself, the 43rd spot changed hands several times between Bodine, Jason White (making his Cup debut in the #32), and David Stremme in the Inception Motorsports #30. However, Yeley’s #55 was the first to go behind the wall on Lap 7, followed the next lap by Erik Darnell in Dusty Whitney’s unsponsored #46 Ford. Pocono was the first race for Whitney’s Ford as Darnell failed to qualify along with Yeley at Indianapolis.

Yeley, who started the season driving for Whitney, will race for Front Row Motorsports for the rest of 2011, splitting time between “start-and-parking” the #55 and running the full race in the #38 currently occupied by Travis Kvapil. Yeley drove the #38 to a 23rd-place finish at New Hampshire last month.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the third time in the last four years that the #55 has finished last in the second Cup race at Pocono. Each time, the number was run by a different team. Last year, Michael McDowell’s unsponsored PRISM Motorsports Toyota fell out with a vibration 23 laps into the race and, in 2008, Michael Waltrip’s NAPA Toyota fell out with an engine failure after 24 laps.
*Yeley is the only Cup driver to finish last for more than one team in 2011. Prior to Sunday, he finished last in the Daytona 500 and at Richmond in Dusty Whitney’s #46, back when they ran Chevrolets.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #55-J.J. Yeley / 7 laps / overheating
42) #46-Erik Darnell / 8 laps / brakes
41) #87-Joe Nemechek / 14 laps / transmission
40) #37-Scott Speed / 16 laps / electrical
39) #83-Brian Vickers / 18 laps / engine

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell (5)
2nd) Joe Nemechek, Mike Skinner, J.J. Yeley (3)
3rd) Kevin Conway (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, #55-Front Row Motorsports, #97-NEMCO Motorsports (2)
5th) #7-Robby Gordon Motorsports, #81-Whitney Motorsports, #77-Robby Gordon Motorsports (1)

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

N’WIDE: Jeff Green Extends 2011 LASTCAR Nationwide Lead At Iowa

SOURCE: TheHotLap.com

Jeff Green picked up the 21st last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s U.S. Cellular 250 at the Iowa Speedway when his unsponsored #44 TriStar Motorsports fell out with a vibration after 3 of the race’s 250 laps.

Green timed in 25th for the race at a speed of 128.054 mph, ranking him a solid third among the thirteen “go-or-go-homers” that filled the 43-car field. Still, with the effort of supporting TriStar teammates Mike Bliss and Eric McClure in mind, Green pulled behind the wall after three laps. Bliss and McClure came home 18th and 26th, respectively.

Iowa saw Brian Keselowski make his first start with Key Motorsports, running the team’s #47. Keselowski pulled behind the wall one lap after Green, then served as a spotter for the remainder of the event. Charles Lewandoski, running Key’s primary #40, finished 22nd.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Green’s fifth last-place finish of 2011 and his first since the Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona, where he also exited after 3 laps with a vibration in the #44.
*This is the second-consecutive year that Green has finished last in the July race at Iowa. Last year, his 43rd-place showing in TriStar’s #36 was the first of eight last-place finishes he scored in the 2010 Nationwide Series season.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #44-Jeff Green / 3 laps / vibration
42) #47-Brian Keselowski / 4 laps / overheating
41) #42-Tim Andrews / 5 laps / brakes
40) #71-Carl Long / 7 laps / brakes
39) #46-Chase Miller / 8 laps / brakes

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (5)
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
1st) #44-TriStar Motorsports (5)
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 (16)
2nd) Ford (5)
3rd) Dodge (1)

TRUCKS: Lafferty Last Before the Rain At Pocono


Special Thanks to Aaron Creed for this week's photo!


Chris Lafferty picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Saturday’s Good Sam RV Emergency Road Service 125 at the Pocono Raceway when his #89 Lafferty Performance / Blue Ox Chevrolet fell out with handling problems after 2 of the race’s 53 laps.

Only 31 trucks showed up at the unique Pennsylvania track, allowing Lafferty to make the field with a lap of just 127.520 mph - more than 15 seconds off the pace of polesitter Kevin Harvick. It would be just the second time his family-owned #89 team qualified for a Truck Series race and his first since he came home 31st at Nashville. After a DNQ at Darlington, Lafferty also parked Jennifer Jo Cobb’s #10 at Dover in May, scene of his most recent last-place finish.

Two laps after the green flag, Lafferty was the first to pull behind the wall. Five laps later, he was followed to the garage by 76-year-old James Hylton, making his Truck Series debut in Norm Benning’s second truck. By doing so, Hylton bested his own record of oldest driver to start a NASCAR-sanctioned race set when he finished last in the Nationwide race at Darlington.

Neither truck returned to the track when the race was postponed by rain to Sunday.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Lafferty and the #89 most recently finished last in a Truck Series race in 2010, when Lafferty scored his first career last-place finish in the 2010 Dover 200 at Dover, leaving the race after the opening lap.
*This is only the second time in NASCAR history that the #89 has finished last in any NASCAR-sanctioned race at Pocono. The other time was in the Sprint Cup Series when Morgan Shepherd’s #89 Racing With Jesus / Red Line Oil Ford fell out with handling woes 44 laps into the 2003 Pennsylvania 500.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
31) #89-Chris Lafferty / 2 laps / handling
30) #75-James Hylton / 7 laps / engine
29) #93-Shane Sieg / 9 laps / brakes
28) #38-Mike Garvey / 11 laps / vibration
27) #84-Chris Fontaine / 17 laps / ignition

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Garvey (4)
2nd) Norm Benning, Chris Lafferty (2)
3rd) James Buescher, Travis Kvapil, 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, #89-Chris Lafferty, #07-SS Green Light Racing (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (11)
2nd) Toyota (3)