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LASTCAR NEWS

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ZANE SMITH'S COLLISION WITH REDDICK BEGINS LONG DAY IN BRISTOL

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EMERLING COLLECTED IN STACK-UP ON PHOENIX BACKSTRETCH

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JUSTIN S. CARROLL GIVES NO. 90 FIRST LAST-PLACE FINISH SINCE 2002

. . . LASTCAR NEWS . . . ZANE SMITH'S COLLISION WITH REDDICK BEGINS LONG DAY IN BRISTOL . . . EMERLING COLLECTED IN STACK-UP ON PHOENIX BACKSTRETCH . . . JUSTIN S. CARROLL GIVES NO. 90 FIRST LAST-PLACE FINISH SINCE 2002

“Bringing Up The Rear Since 2009”

40 drivers start a NASCAR Cup Series race.

38 fill the grid in the XFINITY Series.

36 take the green in Trucks.

Yet, even when the field is short, only a handful of these stories are ever told.

The mission of LASTCAR.info is to fill in these missing pieces one week at a time, especially regarding the least-covered racers in motorsports - the last-place finishers.

Since 2009, LASTCAR.info has covered the untold "race" for the most last-place finishes in NASCAR history - and, in doing so, continues to chronicle the trials and triumphs of those who race for something as meaningful as victory: survival.

New NASCAR articles and statistical updates are added following each NASCAR Cup, XFINITY, and Truck Series race weekend, plus driver features, historical retrospectives, editorials, and more.

PHOTO: Luis Torres, @TheLTFiles

LASTCAR Films on YouTube

PLUS be sure to tune in to “Behind The Wall,” my weekly post-race livestream, which starts approximately 15 minutes after the conclusion of each Cup Series race!

AVAILABLE IN PRINT, EBOOK, & AUDIOBOOK

On August 11, 1991, 52-year-old John Delphus “J.D.” McDuffie lost his life when he crashed during the opening moments of a race in Watkins Glen, New York. But there was much more to the man than that moment, and more to that moment than is widely known.

On February 18, 1990, Derrike Cope scored perhaps the greatest upset in NASCAR history when he took the lead on the final lap of the Daytona 500 after then-leader Dale Earnhardt blew a tire. Some considered his win a fluke, but few knew how much it had taken him to reach Earnhardt’s bumper that day.

Want your copy signed? Stay tuned for details on my next book signing, OR send me an e-mail at brockbeard@gmail.com for details.

Dig deeper into LASTCAR History!

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CONSIDER JOINING OUR PATREON

Get advance access to new videos I post on my YouTube channel, plus those I narrate for NASCARMAN History, and also receive members-only benefits, including your name on our popular door magnets that are awarded to one lucky Patron after each race!

  • Brock Beard

    FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

    Born and raised in Northern California, Brock has been following NASCAR since 1991. From the outset, he’s enjoyed the sport’s smaller teams and lesser-known drivers, beginning with the road course specialists at his home track at Sears Point. He founded LASTCAR.info in 2009 with statistics he compiled on NASCAR’s last-place finishers, and has since updated them weekly. He’s now a twice-published author, completing the biographies of both J.D. McDuffie and Derrike Cope, and also compiles NASCAR history videos on YouTube.

  • William Soquet

    STAFF WRITER

    The 2024 season marks William Soquet's seventh as part of LASTCAR.info. During that time, he has covered everything from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series to the ARCA Menards Series to IndyCar. William is finishing up his communication major at UW-Green Bay with emphasis in public relations and organizational communication. He is a former contributing writer to The Press Times newspaper in Green Bay and serves as editor of HomeRoom Show Choir.

  • Ben Schneider

    STAFF WRITER

    Originally from Delaware and now living in Massachusetts, Ben joined LASTCAR.info in 2021 as a guest contributor covering the ARCA Menards Series West. He was promoted to Staff Writer in 2023 and has since expanded his coverage to all three ARCA divisions. Ben is also a contributor to GRID Network, a motorsports media outlet where he hosts the GRID Live Encore podcast every Monday night, and is a frequent panelist on other GRID programming.

LASTCAR ARTICLE ARCHIVE

LASTCAR’S DEFINITION OF A LAST-PLACE FINISH (LPF)

For LASTCAR purposes, including rankings and statistics, a “last-place finisher” (LPF) shall be defined as any single NASCAR driver who, after earning a starting spot in the field for a NASCAR-sanctioned points-paying race against other NASCAR Cup, XFINITY, or Truck Series drivers, was at race’s conclusion classified as the last-ranked qualified driver in the field for said race. This classification must be recognized on official NASCAR results, or failing this, by a preponderance of unofficial sources. Only one driver can be classified as the LPF for any single NASCAR-sanctioned race.

So long as the above is met, the LPF can be any one driver classified as such for any reason, including but not limited to (1) a “did not start,” that is, an entrant who qualifies for a starting spot in the race, but for any reason is subsequently unable to start the event, including a post-qualifying driver switch if it is still recognized as the LPF in the results (2) an entrant who encounters an event once the race has started which prevents the driver from finishing ahead of any other qualified entrants, including both DNFs and a driver who finishes under power but laps down, (3) a decision to “start and park” the driver’s entry, (4) a disqualification handed down by NASCAR and/or track officials that subsequently classifies the driver in the final position behind the unofficial LPF.

LASTCAR shall not consider the LPF as anything else, including but not limited to (1) the lowest-ranked driver who finishes the race under power, (2) the fastest driver who does not qualify for the event in question, (3) a driver who was originally the LPF, but sometime after the race was usurped for the spot by a disqualified entrant NASCAR and/or track officials classified as the official LPF, (4) a driver who may be categorized as finishing last for exhibition events (these entrants shall be ranked only in the rankings for that event, and not commingled with LPFs).

In the rare event where official results or a preponderance of unofficial results are later updated with more accurate information about who was the LPF for that event, LASTCAR rankings and statistics shall be updated to reflect that change.