CUP: Mike Bliss Scores Toyota’s 100th Cup Series Last-Place Finish

SOURCE: Getty Images

Mike Bliss picked up the 11th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at the Auto Club Speedway of Southern California when his #19 G-Oil Toyota fell out with a broken fuel pump after he completed 44 of the race’s 200 laps.

The finish was Bliss’ second of the 2013 season and his second in a row.  He is the first repeat last-place finisher this Sprint Cup season.  It is also Toyota’s 100th last-place finish in the series since its debut in 2007.  Toyota’s first Cup Series last-place finish was scored on May 13, 2007 by Brian Vickers, whose #83 Red Bull Toyota fell out with crash damage after 122 laps of the Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington.

Only 43 cars showed up to qualify for Sunday’s race, so Bliss locked himself into the field with a lap of 178.355 mph, good enough for the 41st spot.  Absent this week was Scott Speed and the Leavine Family Racing Team, following three finishes of 40th or worse since the Daytona 500.  Sunday would see the first points race appearance of Bliss’ G-Oil sponsored #19 Toyota since it missed the field for the 500 last month.

In the early stages of the race, Bliss’ car was easily confused with the black-and-white Interstate Batteries Toyota of race leader Kyle Busch.  While Busch led, Bliss exchanged the 43rd spot with Joe Nemechek and, later, Scott Riggs.  Riggs made Sunday’s field as a result of Speed’s withdrawal, allowing the #44 Xxxtreme Motorsports team to bounce back from their DNQ at Bristol.  However, the second caution put young Nationwide regular Timmy Hill and his #32 OXY Water Ford back to the 43rd spot.

On Lap 37, Hill, making his season debut and his sixth career start, lost an oil line in turns one and two, causing several front runners to smack the outside wall.  Hill spent more than seventy laps behind the wall for repairs while Bliss, Riggs, and defending LASTCAR Cup Champion Michael McDowell pulled out of the race.  After Hill returned to the track near the halfway point, Bliss slipped to 43rd.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Bliss’ second last-place finish at Fontana and his first since 2009, when his #09 Miccosukee Resorts & Gaming Dodge fell out with engine trouble after 11 laps of the Pepsi 500.
*This was the first last-place finish by a Cup driver due to fuel pump issues since 2009, when David Gilliland’s unsponsored #71 TRG Motorsports Chevrolet fell out after 27 laps of the Southern 500 at Darlington.
*This was the first last-place finish for the #19 in a Cup race at Fontana.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #19-Mike Bliss / 44 laps / fuel pump
42) #98-Michael McDowell / 60 laps / vibration
41) #44-Scott Riggs / 66 laps / vibration
40) #35-Josh Wise / 103 laps / overheating
39) #32-Timmy Hill / 108 laps / rear gear

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Bliss (2)
2nd) Michael McDowell, Joe Nemechek, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #19-Humphrey-Smith Motorsports (2)
2nd) #44-Xxxtreme Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports, #98-Phil Parsons Racing (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (3)
2nd) Ford (2)

N’WIDE: Joey Gase’s Tough Season Continues With Early Fontana Exit

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin'

Joey Gase picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s Royal Purple 300 at the Auto Club Speedway of Southern California when his unsponsored #52 Jimmy Means Racing Toyota fell out with engine problems after he completed four of the race’s 150 laps.

The finish was Gase’s first of the 2013 season and his first in a Nationwide Series race since last fall at Atlanta, fourteen races ago.

Gase and the Jimmy Means team have had more than their share of adversity this season. After failing to qualify at Daytona, Gase scored back-to-back DNFs at Phoenix and Las Vegas, finishing 30th and 33rd.  The following week, the team’s short-course car was destroyed in a freak accident at Bristol when he lost control and was struck by the #5 Chevrolet of Brad Sweet.  Without a backup car, Means withdrew Gase from the Bristol race and prepared for Fontana.

At Fontana, Gase drove what appeared to be the same #52 Toyota that missed the field for the Daytona race, though with many of its decals removed.  This time, Gase made the field, bumping Tony Raines and Chase Miller from the field with a lap of 169.839 mph, good enough for 32nd in the 40-car field.

Gase’s car was the first out of the race, and for the second-straight week, two cars from The Motorsports Group quickly followed to finish 38th and 39th.  Defending LASTCAR Nationwide Series Champion Jeff Green finished 37th while last week’s Bristol last-placer Michael McDowell rounded out the Bottom Five.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the last-place finisher of a Nationwide race at Fontana fell out due to engine trouble since 2007, when Johnny Borneman III’s #44 Super Series Chevrolet fell out two laps into the Camping World 300.
*This was the first last-place finish for both Gase and the #52 in a Nationwide Series race at Fontana.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #52-Joey Gase / 4 laps / engine
39) #47-Scott Riggs / 5 laps / rear gear
38) #42-J.J. Yeley / 7 laps / vibration
37) #10-Jeff Green / 18 laps / vibration
36) #27-Michael McDowell / 19 laps / handling

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Joey Gase, Jeff Green, Johanna Long, Eric McClure, Michael McDowell (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports, #14-TriStar Motorsports, #27-SR2 Motorsports, #52-Jimmy Means Racing, #70-ML Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (4)
2nd) Chevrolet (1)

CUP: Bliss Scores Second-Straight Bristol Last-Place Finish

SOURCE: SPEED / Rubbin's Racin'

Mike Bliss picked up the 10th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s Food City 500 at the Bristol Motor Speedway when his #19 Plinker Tactical Toyota fell out with engine problems after completing three of the race’s 500 laps.

The finish was Bliss’ first of the 2013 season and his first in a Cup Series race since last fall’s finale at Homestead, four races ago.

Bliss was making just his second start of 2013.  At Daytona, a slow qualifying lap and a loose window net during his Budweiser Duel kept his G-Oil Toyota out of the Daytona 500 and a rained-out qualifying session at Las Vegas resulted in his second DNQ.  Bliss made the show at Phoenix, where only 43 cars showed up to compete, but he fell out after 34 laps with brake problems and finished 42nd.

At Bristol, Bliss showed up with a flat black Toyota and secured the 36th starting spot.  Bliss’ lap of 125.708 mph knocked out Scott Riggs, the Phoenix last-placer, in the #44 No Label Watches Ford.

In Sunday’s race, Bliss pulled behind the wall just seven laps before Tony Stewart cut a tire and crashed in turn one.  Stewart returned to the track several laps down, but Bliss did not.

Michael McDowell came one spot shy of becoming the second-straight driver to sweep both Bristol last-place finishes in the same weekend, joining Josh Wise in 2012.  After spinning to avoid Stewart, McDowell pulled his #98 out with crash damage as the listed cause of his 42nd-place finish.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the second-consecutive last-place finish at Bristol for both Bliss and the #19 Humphrey-Smith Motorsports Toyota.  Last August, Bliss fell out after six laps of the Irwin Tools Night Race due to power steering issues.  It is, however, the first last-place finish for the #19 in the spring Cup race at Bristol since March 14, 1976, when Henley Gray’s Belden Asphalt Chevrolet fell out with brake failure after 40 laps of the Southeastern 400.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #19-Mike Bliss / 3 laps / engine
42) #98-Michael McDowell / 26 laps / crash
41) #47-Bobby Labonte / 159 laps / engine
40) #95-Scott Speed / 184 laps / electrical
39) #83-David Reutimann / 184 laps / engine

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Bliss, Michael McDowell, Joe Nemechek, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #19-Humphrey-Smith Motorsports, #44-Xxxtreme Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports, #98-Phil Parsons Racing (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford, Toyota (2)

N’WIDE: McDowell Scores First Nationwide Series Last-Place Finish

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin'

Michael McDowell picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 300 at the Bristol Motor Speedway when his #27 Team Boom Toyota fell out with handling problems after he completed two of the race’s 200 laps.  The finish came in McDowell’s 84th series start.

McDowell came into last weekend with twenty last-place finishes in the Cup Series, most of them coming with current owner Phil Parsons.  McDowell was also tabbed as driver of the #27 over the offseason, a third Nationwide Series team fielded by the Jason Sciavicco-owned SR2 Motorsports.  McDowell and the #27 were entered in the season-opening races at Daytona and Phoenix, but withdrew from both.

The team made its first attempt of the season at Bristol, and joined teamates Blake Koch and Jason White in the starting lineup.  McDowell started last in the 40-car field with a lap of 118.730 mph.  The lap was 35th-fastest among the 43 entrants, but was more than 2 mph faster than both Morgan Shepherd and Danny Efland, who failed to qualify.  Joey Gase and the Jimmy Means team also missed the show.  They withdrew after their only car was destroyed in a hard crash with Brad Sweet during Happy Hour on Friday.

When the race started, McDowell’s was the first car behind the wall, edging The Motorsports Group’s J.J. Yeley and Chase Miller by five laps each.  Jeff Green ran low on the apron during the first ten laps, but returned to complete thirty-eight laps to come home 37th.

Blake Koch finished highest among the SR2 cars, finishing eight laps down in 25th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first last-place finish for the #27 in a Nationwide Series race since 2011, when J.J. Yeley’s 31-W Insulation Ford fell out with electrical problems after two laps of the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas.  It’s the first Nationwide last-place finish for the number at Bristol since 1994, when Roy Payne’s Motorsports Designs Chevrolet was involved in a multi-car crash 24 laps into the Food City 250.
*This is the first last-place finish for SR2 Motorsports in eight races, dating back to Charlotte last October when Angela Cope’s #00 Highland Wealth Advisors / Highway 55 Toyota crashed on the opening lap of the Dollar General 300.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #27-Michael McDowell / 2 laps / handling
39) #46-Chase Miller / 7 laps / ignition
38) #42-J.J. Yeley / 7 laps / vibration
37) #10-Jeff Green / 38 laps / vibration
36) #11-Elliott Sadler / 85 laps / engine

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green, Johanna Long, Eric McClure, Michael McDowell (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports, #14-TriStar Motorsports, #27-SR2 Motorsports, #70-ML Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (3)
2nd) Chevrolet (1)

CUP: McDowell Returns To Track, But Comes Home 43rd At Las Vegas

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin'

Michael McDowell scored the 20th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his #98 Ambient Edge HVAC Ford fell out with a vibration after completing 21 of the race’s 267 laps.

The finish was McDowell’s first of 2013 and his first in a Cup Series race since Kansas, seven races ago.  He has now finished last at least once for six consecutive seasons.  McDowell also holds sole possession of 10th in the all-time LASTCAR rankings, and ten drivers now hold those ten spots.

One week after withdrawing from the race at Phoenix when the team didn’t have their intermediate track car ready to go, McDowell returned to the track for the first time since his sterling 9th-place finish in the Daytona 500.  At Las Vegas, McDowell carried new sponsorship from air conditioning company Ambient Edge.  He secured the 39th starting spot in the field based on Owner Points after rain cancelled qualifying.  Only Mike Bliss and the #19 Humphrey-Smith team missed the show.

Early in the race, Landon Cassill and Joe Nemechek exchanged 43rd place before Clint Bowyer made an unscheduled green-flag stop to fix his ill-handling car.  Bowyer lost two laps during the stop and held the 43rd spot until McDowell exited the race.  Cassill fell out soon after while Nemechek finished fifty-one laps down due to several trips to the garage.  Bowyer finished 27th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for both McDowell and the #98 in a Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas.
*This was the first last-place finish for a Ford in a Cup Series race at Las Vegas since 2009, when Matt Kenseth’s #17 USG Sheetrock Ford lost the engine after six laps of the Shelby 427.  Kenseth won Sunday’s race, his first since leaving the #17 team after thirteen full seasons.
*This was the first time a last-place finisher of a Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas fell out due to a vibration since 2010, when Aric Almirola’s #09 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet fell out after 23 laps of the Shelby American.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #98-Michael McDowell / 21 laps / vibration
42) #33-Landon Cassill / 66 laps / vibration
41) #95-Scott Speed / 143 laps / transmission
40) #87-Joe Nemechek / 216 laps / running
39) #93-Travis Kvapil / 217 laps / engine

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell, Joe Nemechek, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #44-Xxxtreme Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports, #98-Phil Parsons Racing (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (2)
2nd) Toyota (1)

N’WIDE: Broken Oil Pump Gives McClure, #14 First Last-Place Finishes Since 2006

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin'

Eric McClure scored the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s Sam’s Town 300 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his #14 Hefty / Reynolds Wrap Toyota fell out with a broken oil pump after completing 2 of the race’s 200 laps.

The finish was McClure’s first of the 2013 season and his first in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race since Kentucky Speedway on June 17, 2006.  That night in the Meijer 300, McClure’s #72 MacDonald Motorsports Chevrolet fell out with engine problems after five laps.  Then-unknown racer David Gilliland pulled off an upset victory later that night, ultimately landing him a Cup Series ride with Yates Racing.

McClure entered Saturday’s race 13th in points following an 8th-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona and a 29th-place showing at Phoenix.  The Daytona finish was McClure’s best in 202 series starts dating back to 2003, and a welcome relief following a terrifying crash at Talladega last year that kept him out of the car for five races.

Qualifying for Saturday’s race was cancelled due to rain, and McClure earned the 24th starting spot in the field.  In the race, McClure was running toward the back in the opening laps when smoke poured from the right side of his car in Turns 1 and 2, bringing out the first caution of the day.  The busted oil pump put him out of the race for the day.

Chase Miller parked his #42 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet under the ensuing caution, but McClure edged him for the 40th finishing position.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for the #14 in a Nationwide Series race since 2006, when Tracy Hines’ #14 Fitz-Bradshaw Racing Dodge fell out with a vibration after 24 laps of the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix.  The number had never before finished last in a Nationwide race at Las Vegas.
*McClure is the first Nationwide driver to finish last due to a broken oil pump since 2010, when Dennis Setzer’s #92 K-Automotive Motorsports Dodge fell out after 9 laps of the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix.  It’s the first time this has happened at Las Vegas since 2003, when the oil pump on Mike Harmon’s #44 Global Industrial Contractors Chevrolet broke four laps into the Sam’s Town 300.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #14-Eric McClure / 2 laps / oil pump
39) #42-Chase Miller / 5 laps / vibration
38) #10-Jeff Green / 16 laps / vibration
37) #22-Brad Keselowski / 144 laps / running
36) #74-Kevin Lepage / 153 laps / engine

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green, Johanna Long, Eric McClure (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports, #14-TriStar Motorsports, #70-ML Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (2)
2nd) Chevrolet (1)

CUP: Scott Riggs Gives #44 Its First Last-Place Finish In Cup Since 2007

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin'

Scott Riggs picked up the 7th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway when his #44 No Label Watches Ford was involved in a single-car crash after completing 19 of the race’s 316 laps.

The finish was Riggs’ first of the 2013 season and his first in a Cup Series race since last summer at Pocono, seventeen races ago.  Riggs also finished last in the Truck Series race at Daytona a week ago Friday.

Riggs was making his season debut as driver of the #44 Xxxtreme Motorsports entry.  A new start-up team owned by Johnathan Cohen, Xxxtreme made its debut at the Phoenix track last November, where David Reutimann got the car into the show, then finished 40th after a vibration ended their 28-lap run in the AdvoCare 500.  Riggs himself had not started a Cup race since the following week’s season finale at Homestead, his twentieth start of 2012 in R3 Motorsports’ start-and-park #23 North Texas Pipe Chevrolet.  R3 turned its focus back to the Nationwide Series in 2013, and Riggs was free to jump in the #44.

Forty-three cars arrived for as many spots, so Riggs locked himself into the field by arriving at the track and locking-up the 39th starting spot with an average speed of 132.920 mph.  Michael McDowell, last week’s surprise 9th-place finisher of the Daytona 500, was forced to withdraw earlier in the week as Phil Parsons Racing did not have a #98 ready for the race at their driver’s home track.

At the start of Sunday’s race, it appeared Mike Bliss was set to finish last in his own first start of 2013 as he fell to the back of the field during the opening green-flag run.  However, Riggs ended that run with a cut tire entering Turn 4, sending him hard into the outside wall.  Riggs was uninjured, but the #44 sustained heavy right-front damage and was unable to return to the race.  Bliss went behind the wall soon after the restart and came home 42nd.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for the #44 in a Cup Series race since 2007, when Dale Jarrett’s UPS Toyota lost the engine after 241 laps of the Autism Speaks 400 Presented by Visa at Dover.  That race marked the first Cup Series victory of Martin Truex, Jr., who has not won a race since.  Truex finished 36th Sunday when a broken axle left him several laps down.
*The number #44 had never before finished last in a Cup Series race at Phoenix.
*This was Riggs’ first Cup Series last-place finish at Phoenix.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #44-Scott Riggs / 19 laps / crash
42) #19-Mike Bliss / 34 laps / brakes
41) #95-Scott Speed / 88 laps / brakes
40) #39-Ryan Newman / 137 laps / crash
39) #10-Danica Patrick / 184 laps / crash

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Joe Nemechek, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #44-Xxxtreme Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford, Toyota (1)

N’WIDE: Johanna Long’s Early Crash Results In First Last-Place Finish

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin'

Johanna Long picked up the 1st last-place finish of her NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s Dollar General 200 at the Phoenix International Raceway when her #70 Foretravel Motorcoach Chevrolet was taken out in a six-car accident after two of the race’s 200 laps.  The finish came in Long’s 23rd series start.

Long is starting her second season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, making the move after a two-year stint in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.  In twenty-two previous starts, Long’s best Nationwide finish was a pair of 12th-place runs last year at Daytona and Kentucky.  2013 saw her return to the ML Motorsports team, but her return to Daytona resulted in a late-race crash with five laps to go and a 27th-place finish.

At Phoenix, Long qualified a solid 16th in her Camaro, putting up a lap of 130.251 mph.  Right after the start of the race, however, she rear-ended Sam Hornish, Jr. entering Turn 3, then slammed the Turn 4 wall soon after.  Her slowing car was rear-ended by several behind her, triggering a six-car melee with Hornish, Alex Bowman, Travis Pastrana, Jamie Dick, and Juan Carlos Blum.  Long’s was the only car to not return to the track.

One week after Reed Sorenson drove the only Curtis Key-owned Chevrolet at Daytona, the team’s start-and-park drivers Josh Wise and Chase Miller returned Saturday to finish 38th and 39th, respectively.  Last week’s last-place finisher Jeff Green came home 37th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for the #70 in a Nationwide Series race since 2012, when Tony Raines’ Black Cat Fireworks Chevrolet did not start the 5-Hour Energy 200 at Dover.
*Long’s is the first Chevrolet to finish last in a Nationwide Series race at Phoenix since 2010, when Jeff Green’s #36 TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet fell out after two laps of the Wypall 200.
*Long’s 16th-place starting spot is the best by a Nationwide Series last-place finisher at Phoenix since 2000, when Jay Sauter started 11th, then lost the engine on his #43 Quality Farm & Country Chevrolet after seven laps of the Outback Steakhouse 200.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #70-Johanna Long / 2 laps / crash
39) #46-Chase Miller / 8 laps / vibration
38) #42-Josh Wise / 10 laps / brakes
37) #10-Jeff Green / 17 laps / handling
36) #87-Joe Nemechek / 50 laps / crash

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green, Johanna Long (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports, #70-ML Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet, Toyota (1)