CUP: Timmy Hill Trails Dover Field In Team XTREME Racing’s Return

SOURCE: @Teamxtreme44

Timmy Hill picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s AAA 400 at the Dover International Speedway when his #44 Phoenix Warehouses Chevrolet fell out with a vibration after he completed 11 of the race’s 400 laps.

The finish was Hill’s second of the 2014 season and his first since the spring race at Bristol, 25 races ago.  With seven races to go, Hill now takes sole possession of second in he 2014 LASTCAR Cup Series Championship, one finish behind co-leaders Dave Blaney and Mike Bliss.  If the season ended today, Bliss would win the title on a bottom-ten tiebreaker 6-4.  However, Hill now equals Bliss and Blaney with 4 bottom-fives of his own and already has 7 Bottom Tens.  This means that with one more last-place finish in any of the next few races, Hill could take the lead in the championship.

Team XTREME Racing, formerly known as Xxxtreme Motorsport, made its most recent appearance at late June, when J.J. Yeley gave the team a season-best 34th in the Toyota / Save Mart 350 at the Sonoma Raceway.  The team then withdrew from the following race at Kentucky to reorganize, including a move to a new shop.

Plans for XTREME to return to the track at Indianapolis were pushed back two months to this past weekend, when they brought out the red-white-and-blue Chevrolet the team had unsuccessfully tried to qualify at Charlotte.  With Yeley already committed to run the #32 Corvetteparts.com Ford for FAS Lane Racing, journeyman Timmy Hill was tabbed as the team’s driver.

Hill, making his seventh start of the season for a fourth different team, was guaranteed a starting spot in Sunday’s race as only 43 cars showed up to qualify.  After trailing the opening practice, he settled for the 43rd starting spot with an average speed of 152.355 mph, more than a second and a half off the pole lap set by Kevin Harvick.  On Saturday, Hill improved to 42nd in the morning, passing Travis Kvapil in his second-straight run in the #83 Burger King Toyota, then did not participate in Happy Hour.

On Sunday, Hill never relinquished the 43rd spot.  He pulled behind the wall on Lap 12 and was soon listed as the race’s first retiree.  For much of the distance, the 41st and 42nd spots belonged to Yeley, who brushed the wall on Lap 172, and Mike Wallace, who was making his first Dover start since 2005.

No other drivers fell out of the race until the halfway point, when the lapped #98 Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet of Josh Wise pulled out with suspension issues.  It was just Wise’s second 42nd-place finish of the year and his first since Las Vegas.  After winning the last three LASTCAR Cup Series Championships, Phil Parsons Racing has yet to finish last once and is virtually out of contention for the 2014 title.

Finishing 41st was Michael Annett, who is officially listed as out due to crash damage despite his late-race wreck not bringing out a caution.  Wallace and Yeley rounded out the Bottom Five.

UPDATE (Oct. 1): The updated standings now indicate Annett fell out with a broken axle.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is Team XTREME’s second last-place finish in a Cup race at Dover.  On June 2, 2013, Scott Riggs lost the transmission on his #44 No Label Watches Ford after 16 laps of the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks.  That race was also the #44's most recent last-place finish at this track.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #44-Timmy Hill / 11 laps / vibration
42) #98-Josh Wise / 197 laps / suspension
41) #7-Michael Annett / 361 laps / axle
40) #66-Mike Wallace / 384 laps / running
39) #32-J.J. Yeley / 387 laps / running

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Dave Blaney, Mike Bliss (3)
2nd) Timmy Hill (2)
3rd) A.J. Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Trevor Bayne, Clint Bowyer, Landon Cassill, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., David Gilliland, Denny Hamlin, Travis Kvapil, Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, Joe Nemechek, Clay Rogers, Johnny Sauter, Morgan Shepherd, Tony Stewart, Martin Truex, Jr., Ryan Truex, Brian Vickers, Cole Whitt, J.J. Yeley (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #93-BK Racing (4)
2nd) #37-Tommy Baldwin Racing (3)
3rd) #77-Randy Humphrey Racing (2)
4th) #11-Joe Gibbs Racing, #14-Stewart-Haas Racing, #15-Michael Waltrip Racing, #21-Wood Brothers Racing, #26-BK Racing, #32-Go FAS Racing, #33-Circle Sport, #38-Front Row Motorsports, #40-Hillman Racing, #42-Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, #43-Richard Petty Motorsports, #44-Team XTREME Racing, #47-JTG-Daugherty Racing, #55-Michael Waltrip Racing, #66-Michael Waltrip Racing / Identity Ventures Racing, #78-Furniture Row Racing, #83-BK Racing, #87-Identity Ventures Racing, #88-Hendrick Motorsports, #95-Leavine Family Racing (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet, Toyota (11)
2nd) Ford (7)

N’WIDE: Ryan Ellis Last At Dover, LASTCAR Battle Down To Koch and Green

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin' Forums

Ryan Ellis picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s Dover 200 at the Dover International Speedway when his unsponsored #46 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet fell out with a vibration after he completed 2 of the race’s 200 laps.

The finish was Ellis’ second of the 2014 season and his first since the spring race at Iowa, eighteen races ago.

With five races to go, TMG’s #46 team can only tie TriStar Motorsports’ #10 for the most last-place finishes in 2014, and only if they trail all five of the year’s remaining races.  If that happens, whether one team or the other fails to finish in the bottom five could determine the tiebreaker - the #46 leads the #10 by a single bottom-five: 23-22.  A last-place finish by any car other than the #46 will give TriStar its fourth-straight LASTCAR Owner’s Title.

In the LASTCAR driver’s championship, only two drivers are now mathematically eligible - Blake Koch and Jeff Green.  While third-place Kevin Lepage does have a chance to tie Koch for the most last-place finishes in 2014, he will only do so if he becomes the first NASCAR driver to trail five consecutive races.  Even if he does, and if Koch doesn’t finish in the bottom-five in any of those races, Lepage would lose the bottom-five tiebreaker 15-12 as Lepage has only 7 bottom-five runs so far.  Koch currently leads Green in bottom-fives 15-12, a slim lead which could evaporate if Green catches Koch.

Ellis was making his eleventh Nationwide Series start of the season and his third in a row driving TMG’s #46.  In those two previous starts, Ellis had come home 39th, edged for last by Koch and Green in both races.  For Dover, TriStar’s dominant #10 Toyota would be driven by third-ranked Kevin Lepage.  Koch and Yeley would drive TriStar’s fully-funded #44 and #14, respectively.  All were among the 42 entries who showed up at The Monster Mile to make the 40-car field.

Ellis put up the 32nd-fastest lap of the 39 who participated in Friday’s opening practice session and stayed 32nd in Happy Hour.  Saturday, he dropped just one spot to qualify 33rd at an average speed of 146.080 mph - more than enough to bump Mike Harmon and Milka Duno from the field.  During that qualifying session, Josh Reaume crashed Rick Ware’s #87 Chevrolet without completing a lap.  When Ware didn’t have a backup car, reports indicate Harmon was given the spot.  Harmon’s #74 was re-numbered 87 and he would start Saturday’s race at the back, joining Ellis, who had surrendered his starting spot during the pace laps.

Ellis edged Harmon for last when he pulled behind the wall one lap before him.  Both avoided disaster on Lap 8 when Jamie Dick and Derrike Cope crossed paths coming off Turn 4, sending both hard into the inside wall.  Done for the day, Dick and Cope took the next two spots in the Bottom Five, followed by Harrison Rhodes and the #72 James Carter entry during the ensuing caution.

Lepage, who was briefly credited with 40th when Ellis retired, exited the race after 50 laps.  The high attrition rate in the early laps left the #10 TriStar team 31st, barely inside the Bottom Ten.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is TMG’s first last-place finish in a Nationwide Series race at Dover.  Curtis Key’s team had previously finished next-to-last in five of its previous 31 combined starts.
*This marks the first time the #46 has finished last in Nationwide race at Dover.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #46-Ryan Ellis / 2 laps / vibration
39) #87-Mike Harmon / 3 laps / ignition
38) #55-Jamie Dick / 8 laps / crash
37) #70-Derrike Cope / 8 laps / crash
36) #72-Harrison Rhodes / 14 laps / vibration

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Blake Koch (8)
2nd) Jeff Green (6)
3rd) Kevin Lepage (3)
4th) Matt DiBenedetto, Ryan Ellis (2)
5th) Tanner Berryhill, Matt Frahm, Roger Reuse, Robert Richardson, Jr., Tim Schendel, Jimmy Weller, Josh Wise (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (11)
2nd) #46-The Motorsports Group (6)
3rd) #91-TriStar Motorsports (3)
4th) #74-Mike Harmon Racing (2)
5th) #17-Vision Racing, #23-R3 Motorsports, #55-VIVA Motorsports / SS Green Light Racing, #77-Mike Harmon Racing, #87-Rick Ware Racing, #93-JGL Racing (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (14)
2nd) Chevrolet (9)
3rd) Dodge (5)

TRUCKS: Replacement Driver Charles Lewandoski Last In Vegas

SOURCE: MasonMingusRacing.com

Charles Lewandoski picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Saturday’s Rhino Linings 350 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #35 Win-Tron Racing Toyota fell out with a vibration after he completed 5 of the race’s 146 laps.

The finish was Lewandoski’s second of the 2014 season and his first since Charlotte, thirteen races ago.  He is now tied with Ryan Ellis, Justin Jennings, and Caleb Roark for the most last-place finishes in the 2014 Truck Series season.  If the season ended today, Roark would win a close tiebreaker with 8 bottom-five finishes over Lewandoski’s 7, Jennings’ 6, and Ellis’ 4.  With five races to go, however, the 2014 LASTCAR Truck Series Driver’s title is still very much anyone’s to win.

Lewandoski’s ride for Win-Tron Racing, owned by series veteran Kevin Cywinski, had for all of this season been driven by 2013 ARCA Series runner-up Mason Mingus.  The full-season effort was to be Cywinski’s first as an owner - his last full season as a driver came driving for Bob Brevak in 1999.

Heading into Las Vegas, Mingus stood 11th in points, 85 points out of 10th, and 2nd to Ben Kennedy in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings.  Mingus earned a career-best 10th-place finish at Kansas and just two early-season DNFs.  However, Mingus and his sponsorship from the 811 service moved to Billy Boat’s #15 team for Vegas, leaving Cywinski without a sponsor and driver.  It wasn’t until Thursday that Lewandoski was tabbed as Mingus’ replacement in a flat black Toyota.

Just 30 trucks showed up to run at Las Vegas, so both Lewandoski and Mingus would be guaranteed starting spots on Saturday.  Lewandoski did not participate in the opening session, then timed in 25th of the 28 drivers in Happy Hour.  He qualified 26th for the race, putting up a lap of 167.551 mph.

Curiously, it was during a caution for a spin by Mingus in Turn 4 that Lewandoski pulled the #35 behind the wall, following Roark to the garage.  Two laps later, Kansas last-placer Scott Stenzel pulled Mike Mittler’s #36 Mittler Bros. Machine & Tool Chevrolet out of the race, followed by B.J. McLeod’s #07 ThunderExhaust.com Chevrolet on the following circuit.  Rounding out the Bottom Five was McLeod’s teammate Jimmy Weller III, who started 11th but fell out with crash damage after 28 laps in the #08 Geneva-Liberty Steel /Engine Parts Plus Chevrolet.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for a Toyota in a Truck Series race since last fall’s season finale at Homestead, when J.J. Yeley’s #07 BYF.org / nccer.org Toyota broke a fuel pump after 2 laps of the Ford EcoBoost 200.  Toyota hadn’t finished last in a Truck race at Las Vegas since 2010, when Johanna Long’s #20 Panhandle Grading & Paving Toyota lost the transmission on the first lap.
*This is the first last-place finish for the #35 in a Truck Series race since Mason Mingus’ series debut at Talladega last fall.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
30) #35-Charles Lewandoski / 5 laps / vibration
29) #0-Caleb Roark / 5 laps / electrical
28) #36-Scott Stenzel / 7 laps / electrical
27) #07-B.J. McLeod / 8 laps / electrical
26) #08-Jimmy Weller III / 28 laps / crash

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ryan Ellis, Justin Jennings, Charles Lewandoski, Caleb Roark (2)
2nd) Mike Affarano, Bryan Dauzat, Alex Guenette, Mike Harmon, Blake Koch, Ted Minor, Tommy Regan, Scott Stenzel, Jason White (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #0-Jennifer Jo Cobb (4)
2nd) #36-Mike Mittler, #63-Mike Mittler / Randy Young (2)
3rd) #28-FDNY Racing, #35-Win-Tron Racing, #42-Randy Young, #45-Regan Motorsports, #57-Norm Benning, #74-Mario Gosselin, #74-Mike Harmon, #93-RSS Racing, #03-Mike Affarano Motorsports (1)

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

9/15/85: Maurice Randall Scores Chrysler’s Final NASCAR Last-Place Finish

SOURCE: Howie Hodge - www.thechromehorn.com

On September 15, 1985, during the Delaware 500 at the Dover Downs International Speedway, Maurice Randall picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Winston Cup Series career when his #93 MRE Racing Chrysler fell out with overheating problems after he completed 1 of the race’s 500 laps.

The finish was Randall’s second of the 1985 season and his first since Michigan, eight races ago.

Randall, a 32-year-old owner-driver from Charlotte, Michigan, made his fourth Cup Series start at Dover.  Just like in the other three, he ran a long-bodied Chrysler Imperial, a car that by 1985 was fielded only by him and fellow independent drivers Buddy Arrington (#67) and Phil Good (#76).  Randall’s best Cup finish was a 30th-place finish in his Cup debut at Nashville - ironically, it was also his first last-place finish.  The only race where Randall did not finish last was at Rockingham in early 1985, when he came home 35th in a field of 40.

Randall, Good, and Arrington all made the field for the Delaware 500, though Arrington did so in a Ford Thunderbird, a change he made after the season’s fifth race at Bristol (save for one last run in the Chrysler at Riverside).  Arrington timed in 27th, Good in 34th, and Randall trailed the field in the 39th spot.

After just one lap, Randall slowed in Turns 3 and 4 and was passed by polesitter Bill Elliott.  He pulled behind the wall, ending his race.  Phil Good, now the only Chrysler in the field, finished under power in 18th while Arrington’s Ford finished 11th.  Both were laps down to Harry Gant, who led 216 laps on his way to a dominating victory in the Hal Needham-owned #33 Skoal Bandit Chevrolet.

Behind Randall in the Bottom Five was 38th-place Chuck Walton, who made his first and only Cup Series start driving an unsponsored black #63 Chevrolet fielded by his own team.  In 37th was Roanoke, Virginia driver Tommie Crozier, whose fourth of eight career Cup starts ended when his Pontiac also overheated.  36th-place Earle Canavan had been racing in Cup since 1969, but the Dover race was to be the next-to-last of his 68 starts - the 46-year-old from Fort Johnson, New York was the 1977 LASTCAR Cup Series Champion.

Rounding out the Bottom Five was 44-year-old Buddy Baker, who was in the closing stages of his first season as both owner and driver.  Partnered with Danny Schiff, Baker was still searching for his first Cup victory since 1983.  His #88 Bull Frog Knits Oldsmobile slammed the Turn 4 wall after 85 laps, ending his race.  Although Baker did not win another race by his retirement in 1994, he became a well-known broadcaster for CBS in the years that followed.

Neither Maurice Randall nor Chrysler competed in another Cup Series race after Dover, but it was not the end of the line for both driver and car.  With the ARCA Racing Series accepting entries from Cup underdogs, Randall made 46 starts from 1986 through 1993.  Surprisingly, Randall drove a Chrysler in all but three of those events, using not only the Imperial, but also a Cordoba and a LeBaron coupe.  In fact, Randall’s Chryslers carried him to his best career finishes in the series - a pair of 14th-place runs at Owosso Speedway in 1986 and Perry County Speedway in 1988.

In the spring of 2012, Randall participated in this thread at Randy Ayers’ NASCAR Modeling Forum, providing details on the Mopar products he ran.  Among them are some excellent pictures of his old stock cars sitting in his garage - including his Imperial.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for the #93 in a Cup race at Dover since September 14, 1975, when Dick May quit after 8 laps while driving his 1973 Ford, a second Truxmore-sponsored entry fielded by the late Junie Donlavey.  Dick Brooks, driving Donlavey’s primary #90, finished 2nd that day to race winner Richard Petty after Petty passed Brooks for the lead with nine laps to go.
*This was the 29th and final last-place finish for Chrysler in NASCAR competition and its first last-place run at Dover.  Chrysler’s first last-place finish in Cup competition took place on at North Wilkesboro Speedway on March 30, 1952 when Harold Mays’ 1951 Chrysler was involved in a crash after the opening lap of the Wilkes County 200.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
39) #93-Maurice Randall / 1 lap / overheating
38) #63-Chuck Walton / 5 laps / handling
37) #85-Tommie Crozier / 30 laps / overheating
36) #01-Earle Canavan / 53 laps / brakes
35) #88-Buddy Baker / 83 laps / crash

1985 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) J.D. McDuffie, Maurice Randall, Tim Richmond, Ronnie Thomas (2)
2nd) Buddy Baker, Eddie Bierschwale, Trevor Boys, Delma Cowart, Cecil Gordon, Jeff Hooker, Jimmy Means, Benny Parsons, Phil Parsons, David Pearson, Mike Potter, Ken Schrader, Morgan Shepherd, Rusty Wallace (1)

1985 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #27-Blue Max Racing, #41-Thomas Racing, #70-McDuffie Racing, #93-Randall Racing (2)
2nd) #0-H.L. Waters, #2-Cliff Stewart, #6-U.S. Racing, #21-David Pearson, #51-Arnie Sacks, #52-Means Racing, #53-Jeff Hooker, #55-Jackson Brothers, #66-Jackson Brothers, #68-Jimmy Walker, #88-Baker-Schiff Racing, #90-Donlavey Racing, #98-McCaig Racing, #00-Helen Rae Smith (1)

1985 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (9)
2nd) Pontiac (6)
3rd) Ford (3)
4th) Chrysler, Oldsmobile (2)

CUP: Clay Rogers’ Cup Debut Ends Early At Loudon

SOURCE: NASCAR

Clay Rogers picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway when his #93 Iowa City Capital Partners Toyota fell out with overheating problems after he completed 45 of the race’s 303 laps.  The finish came in Rogers’ series debut.

Rogers is the fourth different driver this season to trail a Cup field in the #93 BK Racing entry, joining Mike Bliss (Loudon in July), Johnny Sauter (Pocono in August), and J.J. Yeley (Richmond in September).  The team now takes a one-finish lead in the LASTCAR Cup Series Owner’s Championship over the #37 Tommy Baldwin Racing entry, which did not compete Sunday.

Sunday was Rogers’ first Cup start, but not his first in NASCAR.  The 33-year-old from Mooresville, North Carolina excels at the short tracks.  He’s competed in the X-1R Pro Cup Series since the age of 18, scoring 36 wins and five championships in 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2013.  He’s also the 2006 winner of the Snowball Derby.

At Rockingham in 2001, Rogers finished 18th in his first NASCAR start - the Nationwide Series race at Rockingham - driving the Robbie Reiser-owned car previously driven by Matt Kenseth.  Late that season, he’d improve to a career-best 12th at Memphis.

When Reiser turned his attention to Kenseth’s Cup career, Rogers branched out into ARCA and the Camping World Truck Series.  In 36 Truck starts, he’s scored two top-fives and three top-tens, including a career-best 3rd in the 2011 race at Daytona.  And in just thirteen ARCA starts, Rogers has scored two top-five finishes and four top-tens, including a career-best 4th at Iowa in his most recent start in 2012.

More than half of Rogers’ ARCA starts have come driving for longtime car owner Mark Beard, who had also entered a handful of Nationwide Series races from 1982 through 1991.  This year, Rogers and Beard teamed up once more with designs on entering a white #75 Beard Oil Chevrolet the Sprint Cup Series.  The team’s first race was supposed to be Loudon in July, but the team withdrew before qualifying.  They returned to the track at Richmond earlier this month, but came just three spots shy of bumping their way into the field.

Surprisingly, neither Rogers nor the #75 team were on the preliminary entry list for NASCAR’s return to Loudon.  However, by Tuesday, a shake-up at BK Racing presented another opportunity.  Struggling rookie Ryan Truex, the original driver of BK’s #83 Burger King Toyota, was replaced by Travis Kvapil, originally slated to run BK’s “start-and-park” #93.  With the #93 ride freed-up, Rogers was announced as the replacement.  And with only 43 cars showing up for 43 spots, Rogers would this time be guaranteed his first Sprint Cup start.

Rogers turned in the 37th-fastest time in the opening practice, then timed in 33rd with an average speed of 136.560 mph.  He was the only driver to not participate in Saturday’s opening practice, but returned to the track in Happy Hour to put up the 38th-fastest time.

On Sunday, Timmy Hill started last in Frankie Stoddard’s #32 U.S. Chrome Ford, and was making his first Cup start since the July race at the New Hampshire track.  Two laps later, Hill was passed by the flat white #66 Royal Teak Collection Toyota of Mike Wallace, who was making his first Cup start since this same race in 2009.  On the 16th circuit, Wallace was the first driver to be lapped.

Hill again took the last spot when the competition caution on Lap 36, then after pit stops lost it to Corey LaJoie.  LaJoie, son of two-time Nationwide champion Randy LaJoie, was also making his Cup debut.  He drove the #77 Fochler Veterans Law Ford owned by Randy Humphrey, whose team was making just its third start since suspending operations in June.  Hill briefly retook 43rd on the restart before Rogers pulled behind the wall on Lap 44.

The remainder of the Bottom Five shuffled for much of the remainder of the race.  On Lap 94, LaJoie’s Ford pulled behind the wall after trailing smoke in Turn 3.  Around twenty laps later, David Stremme’s black #33 Little Joe’s Autos Chevrolet had a similar problem and crept onto the access road entering the same corner.  Both returned to the track 102 and 74 laps down, respectively - just in time for a series of late-race wrecks involving Chase contenders.

Finishing 42nd was David Ragan, who snared the spot from LaJoie with just twenty laps to go.  On Lap 181, Ragan was involved in a four-car accident that steered his #34 Taco Bell Ford head-on into the outside wall before being tagged by the lapped machine of Denny Hamlin.  Hamlin, himself as low as 41st after a broken fuel probe, had clawed his way to 36th before slipping back to 39th.  Hamlin ended up 37th at the checkers, passing Cole Whitt, damaged in the Ragan wreck, and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., involved in two tangles in the final 100 laps, the last being a hard shot to the Turn 1 wall after a cut right-front tire.  LaJoie and Stremme finished between Stenhouse and Ragan, completing the Bottom Five.  LaJoie brought out the eleventh caution on Lap 258 when he spun in Turn 2, but still finished under power.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The BK Racing #93 team swept both last-place finishes at Loudon in 2014 - the first team to sweep a track this season.  This has not happened since 2011, when Jeff Green and Travis Kvapil finished last at Loudon driving Front Row Motorsports’ #55 Ford.
*Rogers is the first driver to finish last at Loudon due to overheating problems since September 20, 2009, when Tony Raines’ #37 Long John Silvers Dodge fell out after 8 laps.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #93-Clay Rogers / 45 laps / overheating
42) #34-David Ragan / 177 laps / crash
41) #77-Corey LaJoie / 201 laps / running
40) #33-David Stremme / 228 laps / running
39) #17-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. / 263 laps / crash

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Dave Blaney, Mike Bliss (3)
2nd) A.J. Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Trevor Bayne, Clint Bowyer, Landon Cassill, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., David Gilliland, Denny Hamlin, Timmy Hill, Travis Kvapil, Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, Joe Nemechek, Clay Rogers, Johnny Sauter, Morgan Shepherd, Tony Stewart, Martin Truex, Jr., Ryan Truex, Brian Vickers, Cole Whitt, J.J. Yeley (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #93-BK Racing (4)
2nd) #37-Tommy Baldwin Racing (3)
3rd) #77-Randy Humphrey Racing (2)
4th) #11-Joe Gibbs Racing, #14-Stewart-Haas Racing, #15-Michael Waltrip Racing, #21-Wood Brothers Racing, #26-BK Racing, #32-Go FAS Racing, #33-Circle Sport, #38-Front Row Motorsports, #40-Hillman Racing, #42-Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, #43-Richard Petty Motorsports, #47-JTG-Daugherty Racing, #55-Michael Waltrip Racing, #66-Michael Waltrip Racing / Identity Ventures Racing, #78-Furniture Row Racing, #83-BK Racing, #87-Identity Ventures Racing, #88-Hendrick Motorsports, #95-Leavine Family Racing (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (11)
2nd) Chevrolet (10)
3rd) Ford (7)

N’WIDE: Jeff Green Scores Third Last-Place Finish In Four Kentucky Races

SOURCE: @KPokrefky

Jeff Green picked up the 59th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at the Kentucky Speedway when his #10 Heroes Behind the Camo / SupportMilitary.org Toyota fell out with a vibration after he completed 3 of the race’s 200 laps.

The finish was Green’s sixth of the 2014 season, his first since Atlanta, two races ago, and his third in five races.  With six races to go, Green now stands two finishes behind teammate Blake Koch for the LASTCAR Nationwide Series title.

Green was one of three drivers who did not participate in Friday’s opening practice at the Kentucky Speedway, but he ran a solid 30th in final practice, more than enough to best the one team that was going to miss the race.  In qualifying, Green backed up his run by timing in 32nd at an average speed of 166.857 mph.  Missing the race by a half-second was Carl Long, whose #13 OCR Gaz Bar Dodge ended up with its third DNQ in the last five races.

Starting in last on Saturday was Mike Harmon, who after his crash at Richmond now drove a white #74 WCIParts.com Dodge in place of his typical black.  After the first lap, Harmon was passed by Josh Reaume, whose #87 Lilly Trucking of Virginia Chevrolet started 39th.  On Lap 3, Green pulled behind the wall, just two laps before the first caution fell for Harrison Rhodes’ Turn 4 spin in James Carter’s #72 Chevrolet.  Under the caution, Ryan Ellis pulled out of the race in The Motorsports Group’s #46 Chevrolet.

One lap after the restart, both Harmon and Reaume pulled out, followed eight laps later by Morgan Shepherd in his #89 Racing With Jesus / Courtney Construction Chevrolet, his second bottom-five finish in the last three races.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is Green’s third last-place finish in the last four Nationwide Series races at Kentucky, a track he swept last season.  It is also the fourth in five races for TriStar’s #10 team, which includes Charles Lewandoski’s finish in the 2012 running.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #10-Jeff Green / 3 laps / vibration
39) #46-Ryan Ellis / 6 laps / vibration
38) #74-Mike Harmon / 9 laps / transmission
37) #87-Josh Reaume / 9 laps / rear gear
36) #89-Morgan Shepherd / 17 laps / vibration

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Blake Koch (8)
2nd) Jeff Green (6)
3rd) Kevin Lepage (3)
4th) Matt DiBenedetto (2)
5th) Tanner Berryhill, Ryan Ellis, Matt Frahm, Roger Reuse, Robert Richardson, Jr., Tim Schendel, Jimmy Weller, Josh Wise (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (11)
2nd) #46-The Motorsports Group (5)
3rd) #91-TriStar Motorsports (3)
4th) #74-Mike Harmon Racing (2)
5th) #17-Vision Racing, #23-R3 Motorsports, #55-VIVA Motorsports / SS Green Light Racing, #77-Mike Harmon Racing, #87-Rick Ware Racing, #93-JGL Racing (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (14)
2nd) Chevrolet (8)
3rd) Dodge (5)

TRUCKS: Ted Minor Trails Loudon Field In Benning’s Second Truck

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin' Forums

Ted Minor picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Saturday’s UNOH 175 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #57 Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet fell out with a broken clutch without completing a lap of the 175-lap race.  The finish came in Minor’s third series start.

A 40-year-old businessman from Weatherford, Texas, Minor has had his sights set on becoming a NASCAR driver since his first short track race in 2001.  After nine years of persistence, Minor made his ARCA debut in 2010 at Indiana’s half-mile Salem Speedway, where he drove Truck Series owner-driver Chris Lafferty’s #89 Chevrolet to a 25th-place finish in the 33-car field.  It took another four years for Minor to secure his first NASCAR ride - the #12 Chevrolet owned by Joey Cefalia.

Minor and Cefalia were to make their first attempt at Martinsville this past March, but after struggling in the opening pactice, the team withdrew before qualifying.  Five races later, team and driver rebounded at Gateway, where Minor finished a career-best 25th in his first-ever NASCAR start.  The duo made their next race last week at Chicagoland, where he fell out on the first lap due to electrical issues.

At Loudon, Minor climbed aboard the bright red #57 Chevrolet once fielded by Norm Benning and subsequently run by Benning’s part-time teammate Adam Edwards.  Minor’s truck was one of the 30 entered in the race, an entry list shortened by one after the withdrawal of Mike Harmon, who edged Minor for last at Chicagoland.  Minor was the slowest of the 27 trucks in the first practice, then did not participate in the other two sessions.  He qualified 29th at an average speed fo 94.168 mph, besting Matt Crafton, who failed to complete a timed lap.

Seconds after the start of Saturday’s race, Minor and the #57 were behind the wall.  Three laps later came Mike Mittler’s #36 Chevrolet, driven for the second time in three races by Justin Jennings.  Jennings, the team’s primary driver, stepped into the team’s second truck as J.R. Heffner took the controls of the #63 ad came home 23rd after a late crash.

Finishing 28th was Caleb Roark, another two-time last-place finisher in 2014, making his third-straight start in Jennifer Jo Cobb’s #0 Grimes Irrigation & Construction Chevrolet.  27th went to Minor’s car owner Norm Benning, whose #6 Crossey Plumbing Chevrolet exited the same lap as Roark with rear gear issues.  Rounding out the Bottom Five was B.J. McLeod, his first start since Bowmanville ending with rear gear issues on the #07 Geneva-Liberty Steel / ThunderExhaust.com Chevrolet.

For more about Ted Minor, including a videotaped feature on a local news station, check out his website at http://www.tedminor.com/

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first last-place finish for the #57 in a Truck Series race since June 10, 2011, when Norm Benning lost the engine on his Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet after 3 laps of the Winstar World Casino 400k at the Texas Motor Speedway.  It is also the number’s first last-place run in a Truck race at Loudon since September 13, 2008, when Benning’s Chevrolet lost the rear end after 1 lap of the Camping World RV Rental 200 Driven by Winnebago.
*For the third-consecutive Truck Series race, the last-place finisher failed to complete the opening lap.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
30) #57-Ted Minor / 0 laps / clutch
29) #36-Justin Jennings / 3 laps / vibration
28) #0-Caleb Roark / 4 laps / brakes
27) #6-Norm Benning / 4 laps / rear gear
26) #07-B.J. McLeod / 8 laps / rear gear

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ryan Ellis, Justin Jennings, Caleb Roark (2)
2nd) Mike Affarano, Bryan Dauzat, Alex Guenette, Mike Harmon, Blake Koch, Charles Lewandoski, Ted Minor, Tommy Regan, Scott Stenzel, Jason White (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #0-Jennifer Jo Cobb (4)
2nd) #36-Mike Mittler, #63-Mike Mittler / Randy Young (2)
3rd) #28-FDNY Racing, #42-Randy Young, #45-Regan Motorsports, #57-Norm Benning, #74-Mario Gosselin, #74-Mike Harmon, #93-RSS Racing, #03-Mike Affarano Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (14)
2nd) RAM (2)

CUP: Bliss Ties Blaney, Ends McDowell’s Chicagoland Last-Place Streak At Three

SOURCE: @TBR_Racing

Mike Bliss picked up the 17th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s MyAFibStory.com 400 at the Chicagoland Speedway when his #37 Accell Construction, Inc. Chevrolet fell out with a vibration after he completed 13 of the race’s 267 laps.

The finish was Bliss’ third of the 2014 season and his first since Atlanta, two races ago.  With nine races to go, Bliss and Dave Blaney are now tied for the most last-place finishes this season.  However, since no other driver has finished last more than once, the 2014 LASTCAR Cup Series Championship is still anyone’s to claim.

At Chicagoland, 43 cars showed up for as many spots, and when qualifying was rained-out, Bliss’ practice speed secured him the 40th starting spot.  Bliss remained 40th in Saturday’s opening practice, then along with Joe Nemechek in the #66 Royal Teak Toyota, did not turn a lap in Happy Hour.

On Sunday, Joey Gase, who trailed all three of the weekend’s practice sessions, made his Cup debut from the 43rd spot in Frank Stoddard’s #32 Zimmer Ford.  He was joined before the start by Kyle Larson, who after securing the 10th spot on the grid wrecked his backup car on Saturday, sending him to the back.  Larson rocketed through the field early, and Gase lost 43rd to Bliss by Lap 4.  Ten laps later, Bliss pulled behind the wall, securing the 43rd spot.

Finishing 42nd on Sunday was Ryan Truex, whose #83 Burger King Toyota slowed in Turn 3 during the Lap 181 caution for loosened styrofoam blocks in the Turn 4 wall.  He returned to the track on the Lap 186 restart only to pull out soon after with brake issues.  In 41st was a very frustrated Aric Almirola, who was running 6th in the middle stages.  Just after taking the lead during pit stops on Lap 299, Almirola lost the engine on his #43 Eckrich Ford, leaving him the lowest-finishing Chase driver.

In 40th was Michael Annett, who slipped beneath Joe Nemechek and Joey Gase near the middle part of the race when mechanical woes sent his #7 TMC / Allstate Chevrolet behind the wall on Lap 148.  Annett returned to the track thirty laps later to climb past Truex and Almirola, but couldn’t catch 39th-place Clint Bowyer, who brought out the next-to-last yellow after his #15 Peak Radiator Guarantee Toyota smacked the wall in Turn 2.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Bliss’ first last-place finish in a Cup race at Chicagoland.
*This was the first last-place finish for the #37 in a Cup race at Chicagoland since July 11, 2004, when Chad Blount’s Carter’s Royal Dispos-All Dodge left the track with electrical issues after 3 laps of the Tropicana 400 Presented by Meijer.
*Bliss’ finish ends a streak of three-consecutive last-place finishes by Michael McDowell in this event - all three of which earned while driving for Phil Parsons.  On Sunday, McDowell ran the race for Leavine Family Racing in the #95 Thrivent Financial Ford and came home 32nd, five laps down.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #37-Mike Bliss / 13 laps / vibration
42) #83-Ryan Truex / 184 laps / brakes
41) #43-Aric Almirola / 230 laps / engine / led 2 laps
40) #7-Michael Annett / 233 laps / running
39) #15-Clint Bowyer / 244 laps / crash

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Dave Blaney, Mike Bliss (3)
2nd) A.J. Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Trevor Bayne, Clint Bowyer, Landon Cassill, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., David Gilliland, Denny Hamlin, Timmy Hill, Travis Kvapil, Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, Joe Nemechek, Johnny Sauter, Morgan Shepherd, Tony Stewart, Martin Truex, Jr., Ryan Truex, Brian Vickers, Cole Whitt, J.J. Yeley (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #37-Tommy Baldwin Racing, #93-BK Racing (3)
2nd) #77-Randy Humphrey Racing (2)
3rd) #11-Joe Gibbs Racing, #14-Stewart-Haas Racing, #15-Michael Waltrip Racing, #21-Wood Brothers Racing, #26-BK Racing, #32-Go FAS Racing, #33-Circle Sport, #38-Front Row Motorsports, #40-Hillman Racing, #42-Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, #43-Richard Petty Motorsports, #47-JTG-Daugherty Racing, #55-Michael Waltrip Racing, #66-Michael Waltrip Racing / Identity Ventures Racing, #78-Furniture Row Racing, #83-BK Racing, #87-Identity Ventures Racing, #88-Hendrick Motorsports, #95-Leavine Family Racing (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet, Toyota (10)
2nd) Ford (7)

N’WIDE: Blake Koch's LASTCAR Lead Increases With Seven Races To Go

SOURCE: @KPokrefky

Blake Koch picked up the 12th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s Jimmy John’s Freaky Fast 300 at the Chicagoland Speedway when his #10 Heroes Behind the Camo / SupportMilitary.org Toyota fell out with a vibration after he completed 5 of the race’s 200 laps.

The finish was Koch’s eighth of the season and his first since Indianapolis, seven races ago.  With seven races remaining, Koch now holds a three-finish lead over teammate and defending LASTCAR Nationwide Champion Jeff Green for the 2014 title.

Since Indianapolis, Koch had parked for TriStar Motorsports in four other races, finishing between 35th and 38th in each.  In the two other events, he finished 28th at Atlanta in TriStar’s #44 Wealth Without Borders / wwbworld.com Toyota and was 35th at Bristol in his first start of the year for Rick Ware in the #23 ABS Building Systems / JD Metals Chevrolet.  That same Bristol weekend, Koch made his first Truck Series start since Dover in the spring, coming home next-to-last in Mike Mittler’s #36 Mittler Bros. Machine & Tool RAM.

At Chicagoland, Koch put up the 39th-fastest speed in the opening practice, then despite a washout of Happy Hour, improved to 32nd in qualifying with a lap of 173.500 mph.  This was more than enough to best the four drivers who failed to qualify, including Carl Long in a post-entry for owner Derek White.

Before the start of the race, Cody Ware, named Friday as Rick Ware’s driver in place of Robert Richardson, Jr., was sent to the rear along with teammate Josh Reaume in the #87.  Six laps later, Koch followed the #46 The Motorsports Group entry of Ryan Ellis to the garage area, dropping the two to the rear.  NASCAR’s online leaderboard briefly credited Ellis with the spot, but it was later updated with Koch trailing the field.  Reaume finished 37th, felled by suspension issues.

Finishing between Reaume and Ellis was Canadian driver Martin Roy, whose first Nationwide start since Kentucky driving Mario Gosselin’s #90 Gamache Truck Center / Cote Chevrolet ended with engine troubles.  Rounding out the Bottom Five was 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope, whose #70 Youtheory Chevrolet was taken out in a single-car crash on Lap 65.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the third Chicagoland last-place finish for TriStar Motorsports’ #10 and its second in a row in this event.  Both finishes were earned by Jeff Green in July 2012 and September 2013.  It is Koch’s first Chicagoland last-place finish in any of NASCAR’s top three divisions.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #10-Blake Koch / 5 laps / vibration
39) #46-Ryan Ellis / 5 laps / vibration
38) #90-Martin Roy / 26 laps / engine
37) #87-Josh Reaume / 29 laps / suspension
36) #70-Derrike Cope / 61 laps / crash

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Blake Koch (8)
2nd) Jeff Green (5)
3rd) Kevin Lepage (3)
4th) Matt DiBenedetto (2)
5th) Tanner Berryhill, Ryan Ellis, Matt Frahm, Roger Reuse, Robert Richardson, Jr., Tim Schendel, Jimmy Weller, Josh Wise (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (10)
2nd) #46-The Motorsports Group (5)
3rd) #91-TriStar Motorsports (3)
4th) #74-Mike Harmon Racing (2)
5th) #17-Vision Racing, #23-R3 Motorsports, #55-VIVA Motorsports / SS Green Light Racing, #77-Mike Harmon Racing, #87-Rick Ware Racing, #93-JGL Racing (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (13)
2nd) Chevrolet (8)
3rd) Dodge (5)

TRUCKS: Mike Harmon’s Night At Chicagoland Ends On First Lap

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin' Forums

Mike Harmon picked up the 5th last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Saturday’s Lucas Oil 225 at the Chicagoland Speedway when his unsponsored #74 Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet fell out with a broken oil pump on the opening lap of the 150-lap race.

The finish was Harmon’s first of the 2014 season and his first in the Truck Series since April 14, 2013 at Rockingham, 34 races ago.

At the time of the Rockingham finish, Harmon was making his first Truck Series start since his team merged with that of fellow owner-driver Chris Fontaine.  Running Fontaine’s #84 in place of his usual #74, Harmon finished a season-best 22nd at Talladega, his third-best finish in the series behind a 15th at Darlington in 2010 and an 18th at Daytona in 2005.  It was a tumultuous 2013 for Harmon, who along with another man was charged with the theft of Jennifer Jo Cobb’s hauler - charges that were then dropped that October.

This season, Harmon has focused primarily on his Nationwide Series effort, which runs Dodges and Chevrolets with his more familiar #74.  Harmon drove in twelve in those starts with season-best finishes of 28th at Talladega and Michigan.

For Chicagoland, Harmon entered both the Nationwide and Truck Series races in identically-painted vehicles.  While Harmon failed to make the Nationwide field, all 32 who entered the Truck race made the show.  This included Thursday’s post-entries of Eldora last-placer Mike Affarano, whose #03 Won-N-Done Automotive Car Products Chevrolet had a new 2014 nose, and Adam Edwards in the red #57 Chevrolet out of Norm Benning’s stables.

Qualifying was rained-out, and as one of the five drivers who did not participate in Thursday’s opening practice session, Harmon secured the 31st spot on the grid.  He ran 26th-fastest of 27 trucks in Thursday’s Happy Hour.

Rain again pushed Friday’s race to Saturday evening.  During the pace laps, two-time last-place finisher Caleb Roark in Cobb’s #0 Grimes Irrigation & Construction Chevrolet and Kansas last-placer Scott Stenzel in Mike Mittler’s #36 Mittler Bros. Machine & Tool Chevrolet both volunteered to start at the back, surrendering the 26th and 30th starting spots, respectively.  They were joined by eventual race winner Kyle Busch, sent to the rear due to a driver change with Erik Jones after practice.

However, when the green flag dropped, two other trucks pulled off on the very first lap.  The first was Ted Minor, making his first start since Gateway in the #12 FindIT.net Chevrolet for owner Joey Cefalia.  The second truck was Harmon, who by virtue of his starting spot secured the last-place finish.  Within four laps, Edwards, Stenzel, and Roark rounded out the Bottom Five.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first last-place finish at Chicagoland for both Harmon and the #74 since this same race in 2011, when his #74 @hrmn8ter Ford lost the transmission after 3 laps of the Fast Five 225.
*This is the first last-place finish for the #74 since earlier this year at Martinsville, when another #74 Chevrolet - this one owned by Mario Gosselin - trailed the field with Canadian driver Alex Guenette behind the wheel.
*Harmon is the first Truck Series driver with “oil pump” as the listed reason for retiring since May 16, 2004, when Chris Wimmer’s #63 Race Fans for a Cure Ford fell out after 26 laps of the UAW-GM Ohio 250 at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
32) #74-Mike Harmon / 0 laps / oil pump
31) #12-Ted Minor / 0 laps / electrical
30) #57-Adam Edwards / 3 laps / engine
29) #36-Scott Stenzel / 3 laps / vibration
28) #0-Caleb Roark / 4 laps / vibration

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ryan Ellis, Justin Jennings, Caleb Roark (2)
2nd) Mike Affarano, Bryan Dauzat, Alex Guenette, Mike Harmon, Blake Koch, Charles Lewandoski, Tommy Regan, Scott Stenzel, Jason White (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #0-Jennifer Jo Cobb (4)
2nd) #36-Mike Mittler, #63-Mike Mittler / Randy Young (2)
3rd) #28-FDNY Racing, #42-Randy Young, #45-Regan Motorsports, #74-Mario Gosselin, #74-Mike Harmon, #93-RSS Racing, #03-Mike Affarano Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (13)
2nd) RAM (2)

OPINION: As Chase begins, NASCAR’s police work not yet over

Jimmy Insolo's backup car he drove for Bobby Allison, 1983
SOURCE: Scott Baker, www.bakerracingpix.com

When the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship begins next Sunday in Joliet, I am concerned that Chase teams will be tempted to manipulate the outcome through their technical alliances.  And I believe that manipulation will be evident in who finishes at the bottom of the field - and when they fall out of the race.

In NASCAR’s past, championship-eligible teams have entered backup cars in the season finale in order to make sure their driver had a car that would start on race day.  One of the earliest examples I’ve found was in 1983.  That year, Bobby Allison was gunning for his first-ever Winston Cup, having come close several times before.  At the mechanically-demanding road course in Riverside, California, his DiGard Racing team entered a second car to be driven by west coast driver Jimmy Insolo.  If Allison’s #22 Buick didn’t start, he was to jump into Insolo’s car with a “1” decal hastily applied to resemble a “12.”  Fortunately, Allison’s car did start, and he went on to claim his only season title.  Insolo, meanwhile, parked after just one lap, ending his 29th and final series start.

Richard Childress used the same strategy in 1993, having the late Neil Bonnett qualify a #31 Chevrolet for his close friend Dale Earnhardt.  Two years later, Rick Hendrick did the same to help Jeff Gordon win his first title, putting Jeff Purvis in a car that ended up actually finishing better than Gordon did that day.  And, more infamously, it was used by Jim Smith in the Truck Series finale at Homestead in 2003, much to the disgust of Brendan Gaughan.

This year, there’s a new championship format, and with it the chance that backup cars will again play a role.

I believe this strategy is all but certain to be used in the season finale at Homestead.  With the finishing order of one race determining which of four drivers will win the championship, it only makes sense that each team would ensure their backup car was in the field as well.  This is because the three alternatives are equally undesirable: (1) lose laps working on the car and any chance of racing the other three contenders, (2) frantically buy someone else’s ride in an unproven or underperforming car at the last minute, or (3) rely on NASCAR to make an “except in rare instances” waiver like in the 2001 All-Star Race.  Instead, like Allison, Gordon and Earnhardt, all four drivers can control their destiny, knowing they have another car they can run in case theirs doesn’t start.

It would be very easy for any of these teams to qualify backups.  First, NASCAR’s cap on the number of cars a team can enter has increased the number and depth of technical alliances, meaning that a single Chase team can potentially control several satellite teams.  Second, in 10 of the 26 Cup races run so far, 43 or fewer cars attempted to qualify.  This means that a backup Chase car has few backmarkers to contest for qualifying spots.  Third, a number of teams at the back of the field lack speed in qualifying and finish laps down in the race.  Again, this will work to the Chase teams’ advantage as their cars are more likely to run consistently-fast laps in NASCAR’s new qualifying format.

Whether or not these backup cars will continue to run after the primaries start up is unclear, and in reality, irrelevant.  The finishing position at Homestead - not the number of DNFs - will control who wins the title.  Once the primary car starts, the backup has served its purpose.

However, in the other nine Chase races, fans and officials alike should be very wary of teams using this exact same strategy to avoid elimination in the first three rounds.

NASCAR’s new bracket system has created four championship races in place of one, meaning that the sanctioning body will have to be even more vigilant than usual.  In each of these races, all of the Chase teams will be in the same position as Earnhardt in 1993, always keeping one eye on the back of the field to make sure they’re safe.  This is because, unlike Homestead, the number of DNFs will play a factor in how many points the title contenders can earn - or lose - in each race.  And that number can be easily manipulated.

Since 2009, the worst a Chase driver could finish was around the 39th spot as a handful of “start-and-park” teams left races early on a weekly basis, regularly filling spots 40th-43rd.  However, this year, few teams are employing the “start-and-park” model, and those that do only do so part-time.  This has resulted in 23 different drivers finishing last in the first 26 races for 22 different teams.  Chase drivers A.J. Allmendinger, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Denny Hamlin have all finished last in 2014, earning the fewest points possible.  A similar result in the Chase with, at most, two races to make it up, could prove disastrous.

Because of this, Chase teams may be tempted to enter backup cars in the other nine races and choose the moment they park - if at all - to score additional points.  This can be done defensively, such as parking a backup car at the very beginning before trouble strikes, or right when the Chase driver has an issue to keep the driver falling that one extra spot.  It can also be done offensively, holding off the parking of the car until after a Chase rival falls out, creating a 2-point gap in case disaster strikes their own car.  Using this strategy would also raise the points floor back to 2009 levels by populating the final few positions with “start-and-park” teams, keeping the Chase team from ever being in a position where they would finish last.

And, when it is done, it will be noticeable.  But only if NASCAR is willing to police it.

Using this strategy before Homestead flies in the face of the “100% rule” and all else that occurred in the aftermath of Michael Waltrip Racing’s alleged manipulation at Richmond last year.  It reduces the chance of sudden reversals of fortune that distinguish auto racing from other sports.  It also creates the possibility of a bidding war between teams who are essentially buying points by entering additional cars.  Some may be able to afford to enter more cars than others, giving them more influence in determining the final finishing order.  Others may resort to manipulating their technical alliances, working out arrangements with satellite teams to park their cars at opportune moments.  And underfunded teams bumped out of Chase race fields by backup cars could lose the valuable purse money they need to survive.

So, when the Chase begins, take a moment to glance down at the bottom of the running order.  Not just because there’s a good LASTCAR championship battle - but because that will be where the battle for the real trophy is being waged.

CUP: J.J. Yeley Gives #93 Its First Richmond Last-Place Finish Since 1966

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin' Forums

J.J. Yeley picked up the 13th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Saturday’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at the Richmond International Raceway when his #93 Burger King Toyota fell out with brake problems after he completed 31 of the race’s 400 laps.

The finish was Yeley’s first of the 2014 season and his first in a Cup Series race since last fall at Charlotte, 31 races ago.  The #93 BK Racing team now has sole possession of the lead in the 2014 LASTCAR Cup Series Owner’s Championship, having earned three last-place runs with three different drivers (the other two being Mike Bliss at New Hampshire and Johnny Sauter at Pocono).

Last year, the journeyman Yeley was driving for Tommy Baldwin Racing, taking over for Dave Blaney in the #36 Golden Corral Chevrolet.  The season began on a high note with a 10th in the season-opening Daytona 500 - his first top-ten finish in nearly five years.  However, after only one other finish better than 24th and two last-place runs, Yeley was released at season’s end.

This year, Yeley found his way to the Xxxtreme Motorsports, a single-car operation that made its first Cup start at Phoenix in late 2012 with David Reutimann behind the wheel, then ran six more races with Scott Riggs in 2013.  Like many other start-up teams, Cohen’s distinctive-looking #44 No Label Watches Fords left the track early in each of those seven starts with no finishes outside the Bottom Five, including three last-place runs.

For 2014, the team looked to run longer distances, and in more races.  To that end, Yeley was hired and the team switched to Chevrolet.  Their first attempt of the season came at Las Vegas, where Yeley made his first of 22 Nationwide Series starts for JGL Racing.  Though he finished 21st in Nationwide, in Cup, Yeley wound up the slowest of five DNQs.  Xxxtreme withdrew from Bristol, then headed to Texas, where they were again the slowest of the four who didn’t make the show.  After withdrawing from the next race at Darlington, the team again looked to reorganize when they were awarded a new opportunity.

Swan Racing’s two-car operation closed its doors after the race at Darlington.  In the aftermath, rookie teammates Cole Whitt and Parker Kligerman were sent in different directions.  Whitt and Swan’s #26 became a third team out of the BK Racing stables.  Kligerman lost his ride with the #30, and Xxxtreme bought up the owner points to lock their team into its first race of the season at Richmond.  Running the #30 for that night only, Yeley ran all but 20 of the night’s 400 laps before an engine failure left him 40th.

Over the next ten races after switching the car number back to #44, Yeley and Xxxtreme continued to struggle for consistency.  Two more engine failures at Kansas and Dover left him 41st and 39th, respectively, and in between came two more DNQs at Talladega and Charlotte.  Two races later at Pocono, Yeley gave the team its first finish under power, coming home 38th.  He continued to improve for the next two races, coming home 36th at Michigan and 34th at Sonoma.  But after back-to-back withdrawals from Kentucky and Loudon, Xxxtreme suspended operations once more to move into a new shop.  

Yeley’s next race came last month at Michigan, when he drove the #83 Burger King Toyota in relief of Ryan Truex, injured in hard practice crash.  Yeley came home 30th that day - a season-best - and after two races in FAS Lane Racing’s #32 Ford, he was invited back by BK Racing to drive the team’s “start-and-park” #93 at Richmond.  In three previous starts, the #93 had been one of BK Racing driver Alex Bowman’s backup #23 cars sponsored by Dr. Pepper.  For Richmond, the car was black with Burger King graphics, indicating it was likely one of Ryan Truex’s backup #83 cars instead.

44 cars showed up to try and make the field for Saturday’s race.  In Friday’s opening practice, Yeley timed in 42nd, then ended up the slowest of the field in Happy Hour.  This put Yeley in danger of missing the show to Clay Rogers, a 33-year-old short tracker that was looking to make his Sprint Cup debut.  Rogers drove the #75 Beard Oil Chevrolet, which was fielded by longtime Nationwide Series owner Mark Beard.  After withdrawing from July’s race at New Hampshire, Rogers put up surprising numbers, jumping from 43rd in the first practice to 39th in Happy Hour.

However, in qualifying, Rogers remained 39th, just three spots away from making the field.  Yeley was thus able to fall back on Owner’s Points and score the 38th spot with an average speed of 123.164 mph.

Ryan Truex started last in Saturday’s race, but after just one lap, he was passed by the trio of Yeley, Joe Nemechek in the #66 Friedman Law Firm Toyota, and Mike Bliss in the #37 Accell Construction Chevrolet.  Nemechek took 43rd on Lap 2, fell a half-second behind the field, and was the first car to be lapped on Lap 20.  Nemechek and Yeley traded the spot briefly with the former retaking it on Lap 23, then the latter on Lap 31.  At that point, Yeley had pulled behind the wall.

Despite stifling temperatures and long green-flag runs, Yeley was the night’s only retiree.  This left open the possibility that Chase contenders could plummet as far as 42nd in the final running order.  The only one to fall was Matt Kenseth, whose #20 Dollar General Toyota made contact with the outside wall around Lap 123.  Damage to the right-front suspension cost him 67 laps, leaving him 42nd for much of the night.  He gained only one spot by the checkered flag, passing Ryan Truex’s ill-handling car with just 84 laps left.  Nemechek, just 12 laps in arrears, came home 40th with Travis Kvapil, nine laps down, rounding out the Bottom Five.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for the #93 in a Cup race at Richmond since May 15, 1966, when Bill Seifert’s 1964 Ford lost oil pressure after 1 lap of the Richmond 250.
*This was Yeley’s first last-place finish in a Cup race at Richmond since April 30, 2011, when his #46 Red Line Oil Chevrolet had electrical problems after he completed 38 laps of the Crown Royal presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #93-J.J. Yeley / 31 laps / brakes
42) #83-Ryan Truex / 313 laps / running
41) #20-Matt Kenseth / 330 laps / running
40) #66-Joe Nemechek / 388 laps / running
39) #32-Travis Kvapil / 391 laps / running

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Dave Blaney (3)
2nd) Mike Bliss (2)
3rd) A.J. Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Trevor Bayne, Clint Bowyer, Landon Cassill, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., David Gilliland, Denny Hamlin, Timmy Hill, Travis Kvapil, Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, Joe Nemechek, Johnny Sauter, Morgan Shepherd, Tony Stewart, Martin Truex, Jr., Ryan Truex, Brian Vickers, Cole Whitt, J.J. Yeley (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #93-BK Racing (3)
2nd) #37-Tommy Baldwin Racing, #77-Randy Humphrey Racing (2)
3rd) #11-Joe Gibbs Racing, #14-Stewart-Haas Racing, #15-Michael Waltrip Racing, #21-Wood Brothers Racing, #26-BK Racing, #32-Go FAS Racing, #33-Circle Sport, #38-Front Row Motorsports, #40-Hillman Racing, #42-Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, #43-Richard Petty Motorsports, #47-JTG-Daugherty Racing, #55-Michael Waltrip Racing, #66-Michael Waltrip Racing / Identity Ventures Racing, #78-Furniture Row Racing, #83-BK Racing, #87-Identity Ventures Racing, #88-Hendrick Motorsports, #95-Leavine Family Racing (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (10)
2nd) Chevrolet (9)
3rd) Ford (7)

N’WIDE: Crash Leaves Lepage With Fourth Last-Place Finish at Richmond

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin' Forums

Kevin Lepage picked up the 15th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Friday’s Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at the Richmond International Raceway when his #74 Kengor Metals Dodge was involved in a two-car accident that ended his night after he’d completed 2 of the race’s 250 laps.

The finish was Lepage’s third of the 2014 season and his first since Chicagoland, seven races ago.  With eight races to go, Lepage now sits two and four finishes behind TriStar Motorsports teammates Jeff Green and Blake Koch, respectively, in the 2014 LASTCAR Nationwide Series standings.

The preliminary entry list for Richmond had 43 cars for 40 spots, but by Tuesday the number dropped by one after the withdrawal of the #86 RaceTrac Convenience Stores Chevrolet to be fielded by Rick Ware.  The withdrawal may have had something to do with the lack of an assigned driver for the Richmond race.  The next day, Lepage was announced as the weekend’s driver of Mike Harmon’s #74.

Lepage did not participate in Thursday’s opening practice session, then put up the 40th-fastest time of the 41 who ran during Happy Hour.  On Friday, he qualified 31st for the race at an average speed of 116.974 mph, bumping out the #17 NationalCashLeners.com Dodge of Tanner Berryhill and the #70 Youtheory Chevrolet of former LASTCAR record holder Derrike Cope.

Though listed as an unsponsored entry during practice, by Friday, Lepage’s Dodge carried decals on the quarter-panels from Kengor Metals, a machine shop which had previously sponsored Lepage in his most recent start at Bristol last month as well as at Charlotte in the fall of 2012.

On Lap 3 of Friday’s race, a three-wide mid-pack battle between J.J. Yeley, Jamie Dick, and Jeff Green entering Turn 1 resulted in Yeley making contact with Dick, sending his #55 Viva Chevrolet sliding sideways down the track.  Lepage, running several positions behind at the time, tried to find a way through on the inside of the stopped car of Joey Gase.  However, Dick’s car stopped in Lepage’s path, and the two collided.  Gase and Yeley drove away unscathed.

Lepage’s Dodge suffered severe damage to the right-front that ruptured the radiator and sent him behind the wall.  Dick’s rear end housing came loose in the wreck, and after trying to return to competition under the ensuing caution, his car trailed smoke, forcing him to retire as well.  In between, both Matt Frahm in the #46 and Blake Koch in the #91 pulled their cars behind the wall, filling four of the bottom-five positions in the first five laps.

Rounding out the Bottom Five was Morgan Shepherd, whose #89 Racing With Jesus / Courtney Construction Chevrolet slowed on the backstretch after 19 laps, then pulled out soon after with transmission issues.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Lepage’s fourth last-place finish in a Nationwide Series race at Richmond.
*This was the first last-place finish for Dodge in a Nationwide Series race at Richmond since April 30, 2010, when Brian Keselowski’s #92 DoubleTree Hotel / K-Automotive Motorsports Dodge lost the brakes after 5 laps of the BUBBA Burger 250.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #74-Kevin Lepage / 2 laps / crash
39) #46-Matt Frahm / 3 laps / rear gear
38) #91-Blake Koch / 4 laps / vibration
37) #55-Jamie Dick / 5 laps / crash
36) #89-Morgan Shepherd / 19 laps / transmission

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Blake Koch (7)
2nd) Jeff Green (5)
3rd) Kevin Lepage (3)
4th) Matt DiBenedetto (2)
5th) Tanner Berryhill, Ryan Ellis, Matt Frahm, Roger Reuse, Robert Richardson, Jr., Tim Schendel, Jimmy Weller, Josh Wise (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (9)
2nd) #46-The Motorsports Group (5)
3rd) #91-TriStar Motorsports (3)
4th) #74-Mike Harmon Racing (2)
5th) #17-Vision Racing, #23-R3 Motorsports, #55-VIVA Motorsports / SS Green Light Racing, #77-Mike Harmon Racing, #87-Rick Ware Racing, #93-JGL Racing (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (12)
2nd) Chevrolet (8)
3rd) Dodge (5)