CUP: Kvapil’s Qualifying Face-Off Followed By His First Last-Place Finish Since 2009

SOURCE: Rob Dostie

Travis Kvapil picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #50 Front Row Motorsports Ford fell out with brake problems after completing 10 of the race’s 300 laps.

Loudon marked Kvapil’s third attempt at getting Front Row’s “start-and-park” #55 team into a Cup Series race while new teammate J.J. Yeley raced his #38. The #38 team has been on the cusp of the Top 35 in Owner Points for much of the season due to three DNQs and a season-best finish of only 23rd at Loudon’s July race. That Loudon event saw the debut of Front Row’s #55 team, which Jeff Green drove to a last-place finish.

Once again, rain threatened track activities, this time during Friday’s qualifying day. Thanks to the #38 team’s 36th-place points ranking and attempts in every race in 2011, the NASCAR rulebook guaranteed Yeley a spot in the field if qualifying were rained out. However, since Kvapil’s #55 has made fewer attempts than newcomer T.J. Bell’s #50, Kvapil needed to not only qualify on time, but also needed the entire qualifying session to be completed. If rain cut qualifying short, Bell would edge Kvapil for the final starting spot.

These conflicting contingencies came into play when rain delayed the closing stages of qualifying. With five cars left to qualify, a light rain began to fall. At the time, Kvapil was locked-into the field in the #55 despite locking his brakes in turn three. Bell’s #50, on the other hand, was the slowest “go-or-go-homer” on the speed charts. If the session were canceled, Bell would still make the race on attempts, while Kvapil needed the session completed in order to make the show.

Steve Park's #35 Len Boehler Tribute / LASTCAR Chevrolet
SOURCE: Tommy Baldwin Racing Facebook

In the end, the final five cars were able to qualify, so Kvapil secured the 38th starting spot with his lap of 131.058 mph. Bell was sent home along with Steve Park, running one of Tommy Baldwin’s two paint scheme tributes to legends of NASCAR’s modified division. Park’s #35, honoring Len Boehler’s “Ol’ Blue,” was funded in part by fans since early spring. I was one of the 91 sponsors who signed on, giving this website a spot on the left-rear panel of his Chevrolet.

On Sunday, Kvapil pulled behind the wall during the opening green-flag run, scoring his first last-place finish of 2011 and the fourth for Front Row’s #55.  Yeley's #38 came home 27th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Kvapil’s first Cup Series last-place finish since 2009, when his #37 Long John Silver’s Dodge fell out with brake failure after completing 30 laps of the Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville.  At the time, Kvapil’s #37 was another “start-and-park” team for Front Row Motorsports - originally, a single-car operation - which was used to build toward their full-season run in 2010.
*The #55 Front Row Motorsports team swept both Loudon last-place finishes in 2011. Jeff Green’s above-mentioned run in July’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 ended after 11 laps. Whitney Motorsports’ #46 is the only other team to have swept a track this season, racking up both finishes at Richmond with drivers J.J. Yeley and Scott Speed.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #55-Travis Kvapil / 10 laps / brakes
42) #13-Casey Mears / 19 laps / electrical
41) #46-Scott Speed / 23 laps / brakes
40) #7-Robby Gordon / 28 laps / brakes
39) #37-Josh Wise / 29 laps / brakes

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell (6)
2nd) Mike Skinner, J.J. Yeley (4)
3rd) Joe Nemechek (3)
4th) Kevin Conway, Robby Gordon (2)
5th) Dave Blaney, Landon Cassill, Jeff Green, P.J. Jones, Travis Kvapil, Scott Riggs, Scott Speed (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #60-Germain Racing, #66-HP Racing LLC (6)
2nd) #55-Front Row Motorsports (4)
3rd) #46-Whitney Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (3)
4th) #7-Robby Gordon Motorsports, #97-NEMCO Motorsports (2)
5th) #81-Whitney Motorsports, #77-Robby Gordon Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (16)
2nd) Ford (5)
3rd) Chevrolet (4)
4th) Dodge (3)

TRUCKS: Engine Woes Keep Jo Cobb’s Truck From Completing A Lap At Loudon

SOURCE: SPEED, Rubbins-Racin

Jennifer Jo Cobb picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Saturday’s F.W. Webb 175 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway when her #10 hipchixfundraisers.com Ford fell out with engine trouble without completing any of the race’s 175 laps.

It’s Jo Cobb’s first last-place finish of the 2011 Truck Series season, but the second for her team. Chris Lafferty, driving in the only race this season where Jo Cobb’s truck was a Chevrolet, fell out after two laps at Dover in May.

With a short field of 35 competitors, Jo Cobb made her eighth Truck Series start of 2011 and the twelfth for her team. She, Brennan Newberry, and Jason White all failed to complete a timed lap in qualifying, giving Jo Cobb and White the final two starting spots following Newberry’s withdrawal. Following a pit stop just prior to the start of the race, Jo Cobb pulled her #10 behind the wall with engine trouble.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is Jo Cobb’s first Truck Series last-place finish since 2009, when her #50 Boys Racing Dodge fell out with engine problems after the opening lap of the Mountain Dew 250 Fueled by Fred’s at Talladega.
*Jo Cobb is the second Truck Series last-placer to fall out first without completing a single lap, joining Chris Jones’ run at last month’s VFW 200 at Michigan. Jones finished 32nd at Loudon, just ahead of last week’s last-placer Mike Harmon in his #74.
*This is the first time a Truck Series competitor has failed to complete the opening lap at Loudon since 1996, when Mike Hurlbert’s #11 RPM Racing Ford lost the engine in that year’s Pennzoil / VIP Tripleheader.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
35) #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb / 0 laps / engine
34) #75-Bobby Santos / 1 lap / brakes
33) #74-Mike Harmon / 2 laps / overheating
32) #87-Chris Jones / 4 laps / transmission
31) #96-Todd Peck / 10 laps / overheating

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Garvey (4)
2nd) Norm Benning, Chris Lafferty (2)
3rd) James Buescher, Chris Jones, Mike Harmon, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Travis Kvapil, Johanna Long, Brent Raymer, Scott Riggs, Greg Seevers, Dennis Setzer, Brad Sweet (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #38-Shane Sieg (4)
2nd) #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #57-Norm Benning Racing (2)
3rd) #5-Randy Moss, #20-Panhandle Motorsports, #31-Turner Motorsports, #32-Turner Motorsports, #65-Joey Sonntag, #74-Mike Harmon, #75-Norm Benning Racing, #87-Rick Jones, #89-Chris Lafferty, #93-Shane Sieg, #07-SS Green Light Racing (1)

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

CUP: McDowell Scores Toyota’s 100th NASCAR Last-Place Finish

SOURCE: SPEED

Michael McDowell picked up the 13th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career in Monday’s GEICO 400 at the Chicagoland Speedway when his #66 James Fund Toyota fell out with brake problems after 25 of the race’s 267 laps.

The finish was McDowell’s series-leading sixth last-place finish of the 2011 season and his first since the Heluva Good! 400 at Michigan, twelve races ago. His finish is also the 100th for Toyota across all three of NASCAR’s top divisions. Toyota’s first NASCAR last-place finish came in 2004, when Robert Huffman’s #12 Toyota Tundra crashed 25 laps into the Truck Series season opener, the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at Daytona.

McDowell, carrying decals for adoption assistance program The James Fund on a paint scheme that debuted at Richmond, qualified 33rd for Monday’s race at a speed of 180.060 mph. Just before the start of the race, McDowell fell to the rear along with Robby Gordon, who changed engines prior to the event.

When the race began, Josh Wise, driving for Larry Gunselman, fell to the back, followed on Lap 9 by David Stremme, who made an unscheduled stop in his Inception Motorsports #30. However, McDowell was the first to pull behind the wall on Lap 25, saying his car was running too tight. Once behind the wall, crew chief Gene Nead reported that there was a hole in the nose of his Toyota.

Wise and Stremme were the next two cars to fall out of the race, ending a pair of promising weekends. Wise’s hair-raising qualifying run ended the Gunselman team’s streak of three consecutive DNQs and also gave Wise his first Cup start after three unsuccessful attempts since late 2009. Nearby Bradley University had its decals on Wise’s #37 as eight of its students were interning with the team. Stremme lacked sponsorship, but ran in the Top 10 in both Chicagoland practices, running 7th in the first session and 9th in Happy Hour. The Inception team has had other flashes of brilliance in practice, running 2nd-fastest in Bristol’s Happy Hour last month and topping the speed charts during Happy Hour at Michigan in June.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The last time the #66 finished last at Chicagoland was in 2009, when Dave Blaney’s PRISM Motorsports Toyota fell out with an engine failure after 10 laps of the 2009 Lifelock.com 400. The year before, McDowell scored his first Cup Series last-place finish in the same event, finishing eight laps down, but still running, in his #00 Champion Mortgage Toyota.
*This was the first time a Cup driver finished last at Chicagoland due to brake failure.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #66-Michael McDowell / 25 laps / brakes
42) #37-Josh Wise / 41 laps / brakes
41) #30-David Stremme / 44 laps / vibration
40) #87-Joe Nemechek / 45 laps / electrical
39) #7-Robby Gordon / 77 laps / vibration

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell (6)
2nd) Mike Skinner, J.J. Yeley (4)
3rd) Joe Nemechek (3)
4th) Kevin Conway, Robby Gordon (2)
5th) Dave Blaney, Landon Cassill, Jeff Green, P.J. Jones, Scott Riggs, Scott Speed (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #60-Germain Racing, #66-HP Racing LLC (6)
2nd) #46-Whitney Motorsports, #55-Front Row Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (3)
3rd) #7-Robby Gordon Motorsports, #97-NEMCO Motorsports (2)
4th) #81-Whitney Motorsports, #77-Robby Gordon Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (16)
2nd) Chevrolet, Ford (4)
3rd) Dodge (3)

N’WIDE: Bell Is First Nationwide Last-Placer To Fall Out With Power Steering Problems



SOURCE: Rubbins-Racin

T.J. Bell picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s Dollar General 300 at the Chicagoland Speedway when his #50 Liberty Tire Recycle / Pinnacle Rubber Mulch Chevrolet fell out with power steering problems after 2 of the race’s 200 laps.

The finish, Bell’s first in any of NASCAR’s top three divisions, came in Bell’s 11th Nationwide Series start.

Bell, a Truck Series competitor since 2003, has raced in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions this year. He began the 2011 season by making three Truck Series starts for owner Mark Beaver, scoring a season-best finish of 22nd at Darlington. Two months after that finish, Darlington saw Bell make his first Cup Series start, bringing team owner Joe Falk back into the series with assistance from Germain Racing. Since that race, Bell has made three other Cup starts, but has failed to qualify for another eight.

At the same time, Bell has also made three Nationwide Series starts. Following a start-and-park effort for Jennifer Jo Cobb at Watkins Glen, Bell and Beaver expanded their truck effort to the Nationwide Series. Following a DNQ at Bristol, Bell put the team into its first race at Atlanta, coming home a respectable 22nd. Bell failed to qualify for both the Cup and Nationwide races at Richmond, then turned his attention to Chicago.

Although Bell’s Cup team withdrew from Sunday’s 400-miler, Bell was able to make the Nationwide race by timing in 37th 168.940 mph. He was fast enough to beat seven other “go-or-go-homers,” including Richmond’s last-placer Brian Keselowski in Raymond Key’s #47.

Two laps into the race, Bell pulled behind the wall, followed two laps later by J.J. Yeley in the Go Canada Racing #27. Current 2011 LASTCAR leader Jeff Green did not enter the race.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The #50 has not finished last in a Nationwide race since 2004, when Jennifer Jo Cobb picked up her first last-place finish after her Vassarette Chevrolet was involved in a single-car crash after 2 of the race’s 203 laps.
*Bell is the first Nationwide Series driver to ever finish last due to power steering problems.
*Bell is the fourth first-time Nationwide last-placer in 2011, joining Kelly Bires (Daytona February), Blake Koch (Dover), and Marc Davis (Nashville July).

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #50-T.J. Bell / 2 laps / power steering
42) #27-J.J. Yeley / 4 laps / vibration
41) #48-Dennis Setzer / 9 laps / vibration
40) #46-Chase Miller / 10 laps / ignition
39) #04-Danny O’Quinn, Jr. / 13 laps / electrical

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (8)
2nd) Brett Rowe (3)
3rd) Kelly Bires, Johnny Chapman, Dennis Setzer (2)
4th) T.J. Bell, Matt Carter, Kevin Conway, Marc Davis, Mike Harmon, James Hylton, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Brian Keselowski, 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, #47-Key Motorsports, #49-Jay Robinson Racing (2)
4th) #0-JD Motorsports, #13-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #27-Baker Curb Racing, #41-Rick Ware Racing, #50-Mark Beaver, #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 (22)
2nd) Ford (5)
3rd) Dodge (1)

TRUCKS: Mike “hrmn8ter” Harmon Trails Truck Field at Chicago

SOURCE: Rubbins-Racin

Mike Harmon picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s Fast Five 225 at the Chicagoland Speedway when his #74 @hrmn8ter Ford fell out with transmission problems after 3 of the race’s 150 laps.

This year, the 53-year-old Birmingport, Alabama competitor became an owner-driver, first fielding his #74 in the Nationwide Series at Fontana, where he finished last with a vibration. Last month at Michigan saw Harmon expand his operation into the Truck Series, his black Fords carrying the web address to his Twitter account. Following a 32nd-place run in the Michigan race, Harmon’s next truck race would be Friday’s race at Chicago.

Harmon qualified 33rd for the race at a speed of 163.117 mph. His speed was good enough to beat four other “go-or-go-homers,” including Wayne Edwards and Charlie Vest, who both failed to qualify. Three laps into the opening run, Harmon went behind the wall, followed on the next lap by Chris Jones and David Stremme. Stremme was making his first Truck Series start since 2008, debuting Rob Winfield’s #27 Chevrolet.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Harmon had not finished last in the Truck Series since 2010, when his Chris Lafferty-owned #89 Marriott / Shula’s 347 Grill Ford fell out with transmission trouble after 9 of the race’s 130 laps. That run was also Ford’s most recent last-place finish; Harmon’s is the first for Ford in 2011.
*This was Ford's 850th last-place finish across NASCAR's top three divisions.
*This last time the #74 finished last in a Truck Series race was in 2008, when Larry Gunselman’s #74 DCI / RMR Dodge left the race with electrical problems after 2 of the race’s 172 laps. Gunselman’s truck was owned by all-time LASTCAR leader Derrike Cope.
*Harmon is the first driver to finish last in both a Truck Series race (Chicago) and a Nationwide race (Fontana) this season. The only other driver to finish last in two divisions this season is Jeff Green, who has one finish in Cup (Loudon) and eight in Nationwide.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #74-Mike Harmon / 3 laps / transmission
35) #87-Chris Jones / 4 laps / wheel
34) #27-David Stremme / 4 laps / engine
33) #93-Dennis Setzer / 5 laps / brakes
32) #65-Brent Raymer / 7 laps / electrical

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Garvey (4)
2nd) Norm Benning, Chris Lafferty (2)
3rd) James Buescher, Chris Jones, Mike Harmon, Travis Kvapil, Johanna Long, Brent Raymer, Scott Riggs, Greg Seevers, Dennis Setzer, 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, #74-Mike Harmon, #75-Norm Benning Racing, #87-Rick Jones, #89-Chris Lafferty, #93-Shane Sieg, #07-SS Green Light Racing (1)

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

CUP: Early Wreck Destroys Scott Speed’s Fast Richmond Car

SOURCE: ESPN2

Scott Speed picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Saturday’s Wonderful Pistachios 400 at the Richmond International Raceway when his #46 T&T Performance Ford was involved in a 13-car crash on Lap 8 of the 400-lap race.

After two difficult years on the Sprint Cup tour, Speed was released from Team Red Bull’s #82 team at the end of 2010 to make way for Kasey Kahne, set to drive for the team until his move in 2012 to Hendrick Motorsports. Speed was absent for much of the 2011 season and was unsuccessful in his return to open wheel racing when he failed to make the Indianapolis 500 field.

However, in July, Speed earned redemption at Indianapolis and, with it, a return to NASCAR. Team owner Larry Gunselman tabbed Speed to qualify his #37 Ford at the fabled speedway, where Speed successfully timed in 39th. He made the next two races at Pocono and Watkins Glen before switching teams once more to Dusty Whitney’s #46 team.

Since Whitney made the switch from Chevrolet to Ford at Indianapolis, the #46 team had only qualified for the August race at Pocono, leaving the team with a string of DNQs at Indianapolis, Watkins Glen, and Michigan. However, when Speed replaced driver Erik Darnell at Bristol, Speed timed the car in 42nd and was signed to run for the rest of 2011. Tuesday at Atlanta, Speed came home 32nd, scoring the team’s best finish since road racer Andy Pilgrim’s 26th-place run at Sonoma.

At Richmond, Speed turned heads by becoming the fastest “go-or-go-homer” in both Friday’s practice sessions, ranking 19th in the opening session and 18th in Happy Hour. In qualifying, Speed drove a conservative lap of 124.321 mph, good enough for only 41st in the field, but more importantly put Whitney’s team into its third-consecutive race.

At the start of the race, it first appeared Andy Lally was headed to the first last-place finish of his Sprint Cup career. Two laps into the race, the young road racer was sent spinning into the turn three wall, forcing him to the garage for extensive repairs. Speed avoided involvement, but was not so lucky on Lap 8.

After Clint Bowyer spun out of the Top 5 while racing David Reutimann, nearly a dozen cars in front of him piled into the mess, blocking the track. Following Robby Gordon’s #7 Dodge at the time, Speed was looking to the inside when he rammed Gordon’s car, resulting in extensive damage to the right-front of Speed’s Ford. Both cars were among those sent to the garage with Lally.

Lally returned to the track first, shifting Gordon to 43rd and Speed to 42nd. For much of the race, it appeared this would be how they would finish. However, even though he lacked funding to run the entire 400-lap race, Gordon returned to the track by Lap 293 to run 44 more laps, finally dropping Speed to 43rd. Speed’s team never returned to the track and remained in the last finishing position. Gordon came home 37th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Dusty Whitney’s #46 team has finished last in both Richmond races in 2011. In April’s Crown Royal Presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400, J.J. Yeley’s #46 Red Line Oil Chevrolet fell out with electrical woes after 38 laps. Until Saturday, Whitney’s team had not finished last since then.
*Scott Speed’s only other last-place finish came last year when his #82 Red Bull Toyota lost the engine after 28 laps of the 2010 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen.
*Speed is the first Sprint Cup driver in 2011 to finish last due to crash damage.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #46-Scott Speed / 7 laps / crash
42) #55-J.J. Yeley / 22 laps / overheating
41) #87-Joe Nemechek / 24 laps / ignition
40) #30-David Stremme / 42 laps / brakes
39) #66-Michael McDowell / 46 laps / brakes

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) Dave Blaney, Landon Cassill, Jeff Green, P.J. Jones, Scott Riggs, Scott Speed (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Whitney Motorsports’ two other last-place finishes this season came with current Front Row Motorsports driver J.J. Yeley, who finished 43rd in Whitney’s #46 in the Daytona 500 and, most recently, at Richmond back in the spring.
1st) #60-Germain Racing (6)
2nd) #66-HP Racing LLC (5)
3rd) #46-Whitney Motorsports, #55-Front Row Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (3)
4th) #7-Robby Gordon Motorsports, #97-NEMCO Motorsports (2)
5th) #81-Whitney Motorsports, #77-Robby Gordon Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (15)
2nd) Chevrolet, Ford (4)
3rd) Dodge (3)

N’WIDE: Brian Keselowski Shuffled to 43rd at Richmond

SOURCE: Brian Keselowski's Facebook Page

Brian Keselowski picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Friday’s Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at the Richmond International Raceway when his unsponsored #47 Key Motorsports Chevrolet fell out with an ignition problem after 2 of the race’s 250 laps.

The come-from-behind story of SpeedWeeks 2011, Keselowski and his #92 Sprint Cup team have faced an uphill struggle ever since. After several DNQs and withdrawals following their run in the Daytona 500, Keselowski and team made the shift to Chevrolet at Michigan, only to miss that race as well.

Following the team’s most recent attempt at Loudon, where Dennis Setzer was unable to get the car into the field, Keselowski was offered a job as spotter and “start-and-park” driver for Key Motorsports. Keselowski’s first start for Key’s #47 team came at Iowa, where he finished 42nd after four laps. Coming into Richmond, he had made the race at Bristol, but failed to qualify at Watkins Glen and Atlanta.

At Richmond, Keselowski qualified 29th at a speed of 119.437 mph, good enough to not only make the race, but rank him seventh among the nineteen “go-or-go-homers” who attempted to qualify.

After the first lap of Friday’s race, Dennis Setzer, driving the #48 of a new second team for Jay Robinson Racing, was the first to go behind the wall, followed by both Keselowski and Matt Carter’s Rick Ware-owned #71. Setzer and Carter both returned to run a handful more laps, but Keselowski’s car retired, leaving him with the 43rd place finish.

In addition to his Nationwide Series duties, Keselowski has also become the spotter for Front Row Motorsports’ #55 Sprint Cup team, driven Saturday by J.J. Yeley.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Keselowski’s first last-place finish of the 2011 season. His two other last-place finishes also came in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The most recent of the two also came at Richmond when his #92 DoubleTree Hotel / K-Automotive Motorsports Dodge fell out with brake problems after 5 laps of the 2010 BUBBA Burger 250. Keselowski’s only other last-place finish was back in 2006 when his Keith Coleman-owned #23 Ridley Motorcycles Chevrolet was involved in a single-car crash on Lap 25 of the Wypall 200 at Phoenix.
*The #47 had not finished last in a Nationwide Series race at Richmond since 1998, when Andy Santerre’s Monro Muffler Chevrolet fell out with a fuel pump failure after 15 laps of the Hardee’s 250.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #47-Brian Keselowski / 2 laps / ignition
42) #46-Chase Miller / 4 laps / transmission
41) #03-Scott Riggs / 7 laps / overheating
40) #49-Mark Green / 8 laps / brakes
39) #48-Dennis Setzer / 9 laps / brakes

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (8)
2nd) Brett Rowe (3)
3rd) Kelly Bires, Johnny Chapman, Dennis Setzer (2)
4th) Matt Carter, Kevin Conway, Marc Davis, Mike Harmon, James Hylton, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Brian Keselowski, 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, #47-Key Motorsports, #49-Jay Robinson Racing (2)
4th) #0-JD Motorsports, #13-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #27-Baker Curb Racing, #41-Rick Ware Racing, #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 (21)
2nd) Ford (5)
3rd) Dodge (1)

CUP: Blaney, Suffering From Kidney Stones, Exits Atlanta Race Early In Skinner’s #60

SOURCE: SPEED

Dave Blaney picked up the 19th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Tuesday’s AdvoCare 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway when his #60 Big Red Chevrolet exited the race with a vibration after two of the race’s 325 laps.

With the finish, Blaney is now tied for the fourth-most last-place finishes in Cup history with G.C. Spencer. He is also tied for the fourth-most all-time across all three top divisions of NASCAR with Jeff Fuller and Jeff Green.

Following last week’s race at Bristol, Germain Racing switched its #60 team from Toyota to Chevrolet, but Mike Skinner remained the driver of the car. On Saturday, Skinner put the car into the 39th spot at a speed of 180.012 mph, more than enough to bump out four other teams. Teammate Casey Mears, his #13 GEICO machine still a Toyota, qualified one position ahead of Skinner in 38th.

Dave Blaney, who has enjoyed some of his best runs at Atlanta, qualified 35th in Tommy Baldwin’s #36 Golden Corral / Collective Soul Chevrolet. However, by the time rain pushed the start of the race to Tuesday morning, Blaney was suddenly suffering from kidney stones. Knowing Skinner was going to park the #60 to help fund Mears’ team, Blaney and Skinner switched rides, allowing Blaney to exit the race after two laps in the #60.

Skinner and Mears went on to finish the race 27th and 28th, with Skinner leading two laps during a late round of green-flag pit stops.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Blaney’s first last-place finish of the season. The last time he came home 43rd was last fall in the AAA 400 at Dover, where his then-unsponsored #36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet exited the race after 29 laps with electrical problems.
*Blaney has one other last-place finish in a Cup race at Atlanta, which came in the 2009 running of this race. Back then in the 2009 Pep Boys Auto 500, Blaney’s #66 PRISM Motorsports Toyota left the race after 19 laps with electrical problems.
*This was the first time the #60 has ever finished last in a Cup race at Atlanta.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #60-Dave Blaney / 2 laps / vibration
42) #55-Travis Kvapil / 17 laps / electrical
41) #66-Michael McDowell / 23 laps / rear gear
40) #87-Joe Nemechek / 27 laps / ignition
39) #7-Robby Gordon / 34 laps / rear gear

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) Dave Blaney, Landon Cassill, Jeff Green, P.J. Jones, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Although this was Blaney’s first last-place finish of 2011, it was the sixth for the #60 Germain Racing team, breaking a tie with HP Racing’s #66 for the most last-place finishes so far this season. The team’s most recent last-place finish came with Mike Skinner at Watkins Glen, three races ago.
1st) #60-Germain Racing (6)
2nd) #66-HP Racing LLC (5)
3rd) #55-Front Row Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (3)
4th) #7-Robby Gordon Motorsports, #46-Whitney Motorsports, #97-NEMCO Motorsports (2)
5th) #81-Whitney Motorsports, #77-Robby Gordon Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (15)
2nd) Chevrolet (4)
3rd) Dodge, Ford (3)

N’WIDE: Chapman Ends Jeff Green’s Last-Place Streak at Four

SOURCE: Rubbins-Racin

Johnny Chapman picked up the 14th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s Great Clips 300 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #41 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet fell out with overheating problems after the first of the race’s 195 laps.

The finish was Chapman’s second of 2011 and his first since Nashville, 18 races ago, when he was driving Rick Ware’s unsponsored #75 Ford. Chapman’s run not only tied him with Dennis Setzer for the second-most last-place finishes in Nationwide Series history, but also ended Jeff Green’s record-breaking streak of four-consecutive last-place finishes.

Chapman qualified 25th at a speed of 171.976 mph, ranking him third among the “go-or-go-homers” behind Ryan Truex and Trevor Bayne. Jeff Green’s #44 timed in three spots behind Chapman in 28th. Both were more than fast enough to bump out of the field Brian Keselowski’s #47 and the #74 of Mike Harmon.

For the first time since Iowa last month, owner Rick Ware had four cars in the starting field with Chapman joined by Timmy Hill’s #15, Carl Long in the #75, and Clay Greenfield making his series debut in the #71. When the race started, Chapman and Long fell out in the first six laps, followed by Hill and Greenfield by Lap 94.

Jeff Green remained in the race until Lap 17, which put him 37th in the final running order.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Rick Ware’s #41 scored its most recent last-place finish in the 2010 DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona, when Chrissy Wallace’s Fuel Doctor Chevrolet was involved in a crash on the opening lap.
*The #41 had never before finished last in a Nationwide Series race at Atlanta.
*A Nationwide Series driver has not finished last due to overheating problems since Kevin Conway fell out after two laps of this spring’s Las Vegas race, the 2011 Sam’s Town 300, 23 races ago.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #41-Johnny Chapman / 1 lap / overheating
42) #49-Mark Green / 4 laps / handling
41) #75-Carl Long / 6 laps / transmission
40) #46-Chase Miller / 6 laps / overheating
39) #42-Tim Andrews / 10 laps / suspension

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (8)
2nd) Brett Rowe (3)
3rd) Kelly Bires, Johnny Chapman, Dennis Setzer (2)
4th) Matt Carter, 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, #41-Rick Ware 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 (20)
2nd) Ford (5)
3rd) Dodge (1)

TRUCKS: Setzer Scores First Truck Series Last-Place Finish Since 1999

SOURCE: Rubbins-Racin

Dennis Setzer picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s Good Sam Club 200 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway when his #93 S&W Services Chevrolet fell out with brake problems after 6 of the race’s 130 laps.

Setzer was making his first Truck Series start of the year and his first-ever for owner Shane Sieg. In 297 previous starts dating back to the inaugural 1995 season, Setzer has amassed 18 wins, but none since his emotional win for Bobby Hamilton Racing at Martinsville in 2008. Martinsville was the scene of Setzer’s most recent Truck Series start, where he came home 29th driving for owner Ricky Benton.

Setzer qualified 33rd for the race at a speed of 169.076 mph, continuing the streak of Sieg’s #93 making every race this season. For the first time this year, the #93 was the first to the garage, followed a lap later by teammate and current 2011 LASTCAR Truck Series leader Mike Garvey in the #38.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Setzer’s only other Truck Series last-place finish came in 1999, when the engine blew on his #1 Mopar Performance Dodge after the opening lap of the season-opening Florida Dodge Dealers 400k at Homestead.
*Sieg’s #93 most recently finished last at Homestead when Shane Sieg himself fell out with electrical problems after 8 laps of the 2010 Ford 200.
*The #93 had never before finished last in a Truck Series race at Atlanta.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #93-Dennis Setzer / 6 laps / brakes
35) #38-Mike Garvey / 7 laps / overheating
34) #07-Johnny Chapman / 8 laps / transmission
33) #09-Charlie Vest / 14 laps / overheating
32) #60-Cole Whitt / 19 laps / engine

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, Dennis Setzer, 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, #93-Shane Sieg, #07-SS Green Light Racing (1)

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