TRUCKS: Bryan Dauzat makes first race of 2023, but electrical issues make it a short day

PHOTO: Steven Taranto, @STaranto92

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Bryan Dauzat picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Saturday’s Love’s RV Stop 250 at the Talladega Superspeedway when his #28 FDNY Racing Chevrolet fell out with handling problems after 5 of 99 laps.

The finish, which came in Dauzat’s 20th series start, was his first of the season and first in a Truck Series race since July 25, 2020 at Kansas, 79 races ago. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 6th for the #28, the 19th for handling issues, and the 439th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 43rd for the #28, the 128th from handling, and the 1,918th for Chevrolet.

In their continuing efforts to raise funds for the FDNY Widows’ and Children’s Fund founded after the 9/11 attacks, Jim Rosenblum’s single-truck effort continues to maintain a presence in the Truck Series. Since they were last featured here, the team has entered and often qualified for the races at Daytona, Pocono, and Talladega. During that stretch, the team’s highlights included a 21st in the 2020 race at Talladega, then a 19th and 23rd in their last two Daytona starts. But coming into this year’s Talladega race, the team failed to qualify for both Daytona and Pocono, joining DNQ lists of six and three drivers, respectively.

Both Dauzat and the FDNY Racing team faced another stiff challenge in this year’s Talladega race, where they were among the 40 entrants attempting to make the 36-truck field, and had no practice to shake down their Chevrolet. But in qualifying, Dauzat secured 30th on the grid with a lap of 174.735mmph (54.803 seconds). The four drivers sent home were Spencer Boyd in the #12 Alabama Roofing Professionals Chevrolet, Jennifer Jo Cobb in the #10 Concierge Motorsports Chevrolet, Keith McGee in the #33 More Core Ford, and Clay Greenfield whose electrical issues kept him from taking a lap in GK Racing’s #95 Backyard Blues Pools Chevrolet. This was Greenfield’s first attempt since GK Racing debuted at Gateway, where they wrecked on the first lap.

Securing the 36th and final starting spot was Jason M. White of Canada, whose AM Racing team added several decals to his #22 Powder Ventures Excavations Ford. There was originally just one driver with a pre-race penalty – Dean Thompson for unapproved adjustments on his #5 ST Industrial Toyota, which qualified a strong 4th. By race time, 26th-place qualifier Greg Van Alst also received an unapproved adjustments penalty on his #20 CB Fabricating Chevrolet, and Dauzat had to surrender 30th as he missed driver introductions. 

Before any of these drivers could fall to the rear, 3rd-place qualifier Jake Garcia was in his pit stall reporting either a clutch or transmission issue on the #35 Quanta Services Chevrolet. The truck was in its stall, hood up with the right side jacked up as the first pace vehicles returned to pit road. This would have sent Garcia to the tail end of the field for the start, but he was still in his stall at that moment. Timing and scoring still showed him 5.538 seconds back of the lead with White in 35th, just over two seconds ahead and 3.298 back of first place. By the end of the first lap, Garcia cycled back to last place and had yet to complete a single trip around the track.

Still another front-runner had trouble as, on the initial start, 6th-place Jack Wood was handed a pass-through penalty for jumping the start in his #51 TrueTimber Chevrolet. Wood didn’t immediately serve this penalty as trucks further back started to lose touch with the field. On Lap 3, White’s #22 fell 8.211 seconds back of the field, a gap that increased to 21.7 seconds the next time by, 17.492 behind 34th-place Dauzat. On Lap 6, Wood finally served his pass-through and returned to the track completely by himself. This same lap saw Dauzat come down pit road for an unscheduled stop. The next time by on Lap 7, Garcia’s crew pushed the #35 behind the wall, still yet to complete a single lap. And as the leaders rocketed past White’s 35th-place truck that held the high lane down the backstretch, NASCAR called White to pit road for repairs so he could meet minimum speed.

On Lap 10, Dauzat’s crew pushed him behind the wall. They didn’t push him all the way to the garage stall and instead continued repairs just behind the entrance. There, the driver believed the battery was dead, but the crew said it should still have a full charge. By this point, 34h-place White made his stop for repairs to meet minimum speed, which the crew completed without pushing the #22 to the garage. And so, on Lap 11, Garcia remained in last place, the crew continuing their work behind the haulers. Dauzat was five laps down in 35th, also in the garage, while White remained 34th on pit road, one lap ahead of Dauzat. 

On Lap 15, Jack Wood in 33rd lost a lap as he was caught by the leaders down the backstretch, then pulled into the inside line around seventh place. Jason White was still on pit road in 34th, though the crew discussed which entrance to the garage area they should use to continue repairs. The 16th lap saw Garcia re-fire the engine in the garage, and on Lap 17 was seen running the low lane entering Turn 1. With the end of Stage 1 coming up, Garcia remained below the line and finally completed his first lap of the race on the 19th circuit. When the Stage 1 caution fell on Lap 21, White finally left pit road to rejoin the race in 34th, but was told by NASCAR to stay below the yellow line as he was now leaking fuel. The next time by on Lap 24, Garcia finally dropped Dauzat to last place, 18 laps down, and the driver soon climbed out of the #28. On Lap 30, Dauzat was the first driver declared out of the race. While listed as a handling issue in the results, the team indicated this was an electrical issue.

White made at least two more stops, now addressing a possible voltage issue, but continued to race, keeping him ahead of Garcia. The pair ultimately finished 27th and 29th as the Bottom Five was filled. Playoff contender Zane Smith lost control of his #38 Speedco / Peak Ford entering pit road, causing his tire carrier Charles Plank to ditch the two wheels he was holding and jump for his life. Plank bounced off Smith’s left-rear, leaving a dent on the tailgate. Miraculously, Plank walked away with only a busted lip and continued to service Smith’s truck. But a slipping transmission sent Smith behind the wall, dropping him to the 35th spot. He returned to action with 21 laps remaining in regulation, ultimately completing the Bottom Five in 32nd. 

The three trucks Smith passed were all involved in wrecks. Both David Gilliland in the #1 Serial 1 Premium E-Bikes Toyota and Stewart Friesen in the #52 Gearwrench Chevrolet were involved in a grinding pileup off Turn 3. Friesen climbed from his truck in pain and was transported to a local hospital for further examination. Gilliland attempted to drive away, but needed a tow truck as he stalled short of the entrance. Tyler Ankrum took 33rd after a separate incident on the backstretch sent his #16 LiUNA! Toyota to veer into the outside wall.

Moffitt takes spectacular win in last-minute FRM deal

Taking the win on Saturday was Brett Moffitt, who was back in the Truck Series for the first time since September 9, 2022 at Kansas. Moffitt was entered in a new second Truck Series entry for Front Row Motorsports, a deal that came together barely a month before the race. The #34 Fr8Auctions.com Ford was teammate Zane Smith’s backup for this year’s Daytona event, and was the very truck Smith drove to victory in the 2022 race at Daytona. It also happened to be decorated in a black-and-red paint scheme reminiscent of Moffitt’s Ford he drove for Front Row in 2015, when he ran part-time along with Michael Waltrip Racing en route to Rookie of the Year. In the frantic final laps, Moffitt made the right move at the right time to take and defend his lead, passing Christian Eckes to lead his 22nd and final lap of the day. It was Moffitt’s 13th series win, his first since October 17, 2020 at Kansas, when he contended for the championship with GMS Racing.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*Dauzat is the first Truck Series driver to finish last due to handling issues since February 21, 2020, when Josh Bilicki fell out after three laps around Las Vegas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

36) #28-Bryan Dauzat / 5 laps / handling

35) #1-David Gilliland / 38 laps / crash

34) #52-Stewart Friesen / 38 laps / crash

33) #16-Tyler Ankrum / 50 laps / crash

32) #38-Zane Smith / 55 laps / running

2023 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Reaume Brothers Racing, Young’s Motorsports (4)

2nd) G2G Racing (3)

3rd) AM Racing, Niece Motorsports, Roper Racing, TRICON Garage (2)

4th) CR7 Motorsports, FDNY Racing, GK Racing, Kyle Busch Motorsports (1)

2023 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (9)

2nd) Ford (7)

3rd) Toyota (5)

2023 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: Several drivers and teams return from absences to take on Talladega

PHOTO: @BeastUnleashed

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Saturday, September 30, 2023 (1:00 P.M. ET, FS1)

TRUCKS Race 21 of 23

Round of 8: Race 2 of 3

Love’s RV Stop 250 at Talladega

2022 Last-Place Finisher: Jordan Anderson

ENTRY LIST

There are 40 drivers entered for 36 spots, meaning four will fail to qualify.

DRIVER CHANGE: #1-TRICON Garage

While the preliminary entry list showed “TBA” for TRICON’s #1 entry, it was later announced that team co-owner David Gilliland would drive for the first time since his 14th-place showing at Charlotte earlier this year. Gilliland takes the place of William Sawalich, who finished 30th in the most recent Truck Series event at Bristol.

MISSING: #7-Spire Motorsports

In a big week that has seen the Spire team acquire Kyle Busch Motorsports for 2024, the team is nevertheless not entered this week following Carson Kvapil’s 12th-place performance in Bristol.

RETURNING: #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing

Jennifer Jo Cobb makes her second attempt of the 2023 season, following her 34th-place run in her home track at Kansas. Cobb seeks her 12th series start at Talladega, where she earned a track-best 11th in 2018. Concierge Motorsports is her listed sponsor.

DRIVER CHANGE: #22-AM Racing

Jason M. White – the Canadian, not the series veteran who also ran at Daytona earlier this year – returns to attempt his 11th career Truck Series start and first since he ran 21st in the opener. He takes the place of Stephen Mallozzi, who closed out his 2023 campaign with a 32nd-place finish in his Outback Steak House entry at Bristol.

DRIVER CHANGE: #25-Rackley-W.A.R.

The last month has seen both Matt DiBenedetto’s announcement that he would not drive for Rackley-W.A.R. next season, then the team’s decision to release DiBenedetto before the year is over – putting him out of the race he won just last year. Stepping aboard is upstart Chandler Smith, who will now go double-duty on this off-weekend for the XFINITY Series.

RETURNING: #28-FDNY Racing

Jim Rosenblum’s effort with FDNY Racing is back in action with driver Bryan Dauzat, who seeks his 20th series start. Driver and team came up just short of making the opener in Daytona, and also missed the cut in their most recent attempt in Pocono.

RETURNING: #30-On Point Motorsports

After pulling off a pair of top-ten finishes during a thrilling weekend of NASCAR Euro Series action in Germany for 3 Friends Racing, Ryan Vargas is back stateside with the same Critical Path Security sponsorship, once again with On Point Motorsports. Vargas seeks his seventh Truck Series start of the year, his first since a 30th-place run in Richmond.

DRIVER CHANGE: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing

After stepping away from the sport to return to his family in Alaska, Keith McGee is back with the Reaume team once more, taking the place of 33rd-place Bristol finisher Memphis Villarreal. McGee’s last series start at Charlotte resulted in his second last-place finish of the year, just days before his planned exit from the series. He now returns to the flagship #33 entry with More Core as sponsor.

NEW TEAM: #34-Front Row Motorsports

As Zane Smith continues his push toward defending his series championship, Front Row Motorsports has this week entered a second truck, a Fr8Auctions.com Ford which is itself a “throwback” to Brett Moffitt’s part-time Cup Series run for the team in 2015. Moffitt himself will also drive in what would be his first series start since Kansas last year.

MISSING: #44-Niece Motorsports

The Niece team has not entered their part-time entry after Danny Bohn failed to qualify in Bristol.

DRIVER CHANGE: #56-Hill Motorsports

So close to victory lane here in 2021, when he a Tate Fogleman tangled as they slid across the finish line, Tyler Hill is back for more in the #56, taking the place of brother Timmy who earned 26th in Bristol. Buffalo Wild Wings joins a returning sponsor in UNITS as the team’s backer for what would be Tyler’s first start since a 29th-place showing in Milwaukee. 

MISSING: #66-ThorSport Racing

The part-time #66 entry from ThorSport is not entered this week following Conner Jones’ 15th-place finish in Bristol.

MISSING: #90-Terry Carroll Motorsports

Also not making the trip this week is Justin S. Carroll, who failed to qualify last time out in Bristol.

RETURNING: #95-GK Racing

Back in action for the first time since Gateway, where the team qualified in their first attempt, only to crash out on the opening lap, Clay Greenfield and the GK Racing effort are back in action. This time, they’ve swapped manufacturers from a Toyota to a Chevrolet, though they retain sponsorship from Backyard Blues Pools.

DRIVER CHANGE: #02-Young’s Motorsports

With Kaden Honeycutt set to compete in this Saturday’s ARCA Menards Series West race in Roseville following his 25th-place Truck Series effort in Bristol, the Young’s team didn’t originally have a driver listed. That has since changed as Garrett Smithley comes aboard with sponsors Trophy Tractor and Celsius, seeking Smithley’s first series start since a 36th-place finish for Al Niece on May 26, 2020.

RETURNING: #04-Roper Racing

Cory Roper returns to action in his own #04, which most recently finished last in Kansas after the team scrambled to complete repairs following Spencer Davis’ practice crash. Roper, who last ran at Pocono, taking 23rd, has just one previous Truck start at Talladega – but on that day in 2021, he finished 6th.

CUP INVADERS: None

Sunday, October 1, 2023 (2:00 P.M. ET, NBC)

CUP Race 31 of 36

Round of 12: Race 2 of 3

YellaWood 500 at Talladega

2022 Last-Place Finisher: Ty Gibbs

ENTRY LIST

There are 38 drivers entered for 40 spots, marking still another short field for a 30th-straight event.

RETURNING: #13-Kaulig Racing

Chandler Smith completes a full weekend after running Trucks for Rackley-W.A.R. on Saturday, this time piloting Kaulig Racing’s part-time third entry. Smith most recently ran Cup in Daytona last month, where he finished a series-best 15th.

PAINT SCHEME: #14-Stewart-Haas Racing

PAINT SCHEME: #41-Stewart-Haas Racing

Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece will run the iconic paint schemes of characters Ricky Bobby and Cal Naughton, Jr. from the 2006 film “Talladega Nights.”

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #38-Front Row Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #51-Rick Ware Racing

Brennan Poole returns to the Cup Series for the first time since Daytona in August, where he was holding the Lucky Dog spot ahead of both Denny Hamlin and Riley Herbst when the leaders wrecked in front of all three, putting Poole in last place. Poole again pilots the #15 with the same Finance Pro Plus sponsor from that night, taking the place of 32nd-place Texas finisher J.J. Yeley. Yeley will also run this week in the #51, taking the place of Todd Gilliland, 35th in Texas, who returns to his familiar #38 as Zane Smith – 24th in Texas – focuses on his Truck Series effort on Saturday.

RETURNING: #36-Front Row Motorsports

The aforementioned Riley Herbst returns to the Cup garage since that same accident also ended his night in Daytona, and this time runs a special paint scheme for another of Monster Energy’s drinks. As revealed in a fun promotional video earlier this week, Herbst trades the traditional black-and-green for a white-and-black scheme, representing Beast Unleashed White Haze.

Saturday, October 7, 2023

XFINITY Race 29 of 33

Round of 12: Race 3 of 3

Drive for the Cure 250 at Charlotte “Roval”

2022 Last-Place Finisher: Kris Wright

The XFINITY Series takes the week off and returns next week for the infield road course in Charlotte.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (September 29, 1985): Bobby Allison picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Winston Cup Series career in the Holly Farms 400 at North Wilkesboro when his #22 Miller American Buick lost the engine after 36 laps. This marked the first time Allison finished last in a Cup race since 1977.

CUP: Loose wheel nut sends Austin Dillon into the wall early at Texas

SCREENSHOT: USA Network

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Austin Dillon picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet crashed after 40 of 267 laps.

The finish, which came in Dillon’s 366th series start, was his second of the season and first since Talladega, 20 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 19th for the #3, the 659th from a crash, and the 848th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 31st for the #3, the 1,356th from a crash, and the 1,917th for Chevrolet.

While Dillon fell short of defending his 2022 spot in the Playoffs, he earned a few solid finishes through the regular season. He ran 10th in Kansas, 9th in the Coca-Cola 600, then led 12 laps on his way to a 9th-place run in Loudon, followed another 9th in Richmond. The Loudon weekend also saw him make his second XFINITY start of the year for Kaulig Racing, securing a 16th-place run and leading another four laps. The first three rounds of the Playoffs have resembled much of his races in between, taking 20th in Darlington, 33rd in Kansas, then 17th at Bristol.

At Texas, Dillon began the week with a 26th-fastest car in practice, then qualified 8th-fastest in Qualifying Round 1B, securing 13th on the grid with a lap of 187.520mph (28.797 seconds).

Securing the 36th and final starting spot for Sunday was Todd Gilliland, who due to his pre-season ride sharing deal with Truck Series regular Zane Smith was swapped back into Rick Ware Racing’s #51 Biohaven / Jacob Companies Ford. He’d be joined at the tail end by B.J. McLeod, the 34th-place qualifier in the #78 Gunk Chevrolet, for unapproved adjustments following work on both the fuel pump and cool box. Coming to the green, McLeod lined up behind Gilliland as the last car on the outside line. But the final two cars on the inside line were slow coming through the gears, dropping Zane Smith to 35th in the #38 Ambetter Health Ford ahead of new 36th-place runner J.J. Yeley in the #15 Patriot Mobile / Folds of Honor Ford, 3.91 seconds back of the lead.

By the end of Lap 1, Yeley dropped McLeod back to the 36th spot, 0.103 second behind the #15. McLeod’s spotter told him to stay on the inside in the corners, saying “there’s a little grip up there, just not enough to do anything with right now.” On Lap 5, 32nd-place starter Austin Cindric fell to 35th in his #2 Discount Tire Ford, which now ran just 0.199 ahead of McLeod. McLeod said he was “really free on entry,” and one lap later USA reported that McLeod’s cool suit had failed. McLeod made no mention of this on his radio’s primary channel, but did begin to lose touch with the 35th place. By Lap 13, the gap grew to 0.853 second, 1.063 on Lap 15, and 1.752 on Lap 17. Cindric dropped Gilliland back to 35th on Lap 18, which pulled McLeod within 1.364 behind the #51, then 1.064 on Lap 20.

On the 22nd circuit, McLeod reported his car was “super free,” and his 0.293 second gap to new 35th-place runner J.J. Yeley grew again, increasing to 0.719 on Lap 23, 1.120 on Lap 24, and 1.590 on Lap 25. The gap closed to just over a half-second the next time by, but once again the #78 lost ground, increasing to 2.189 seconds on Lap 30. The next time by, the leaders caught McLeod and put him the first car one lap down, moving past to his outside. Though he planned to short-pit during the opening run, McLeod instead came in on Lap 37 along with the first of the leaders. He was now two laps down as the pit cycle continued until the caution flew on Lap 42.

Austin Dillon had just made his green-flag stop around a lap earlier when his car snapped loose entering Turn 3. His right-rear wheel was improperly secured, causing the wheel nut to fly off, then the rim to carve itself free from the hub, separating from the tire. The separation sent Dillon’s car sliding driver’s side first into the outside wall directly in the path of Playoff contender Martin Truex, Jr. Truex somehow avoided contact, but Dillon climbed from his car on the apron, done for the day. He took over last on Lap 44, then the next time by the #3 was towed into the infield through a nearby opening on the apron of Turn 4. The car arrived at the team’s hauler by Lap 46, and was declared out by NASCAR on Lap 60.

Austin Dillon's car towed behind the wall at Turn 4.
SCREENSHOT: NASCAR Drive

Declared out along with Dillon was Todd Gilliland, who likewise lost a wheel heading down the backstretch and made slight contact with the left-front corner. While the car was pointed forward without significant damage, Gilliland was told by track officials to climb from his car, ending his race. The car was also towed to the garage, done for the afternoon. The team discussed the matter and were told that cars on the “Damaged Vehicle Policy” would not be towed to pit road. 

The next spots in the Bottom Five filled quickly. Kyle Busch felt an issue in the right-front of his #8 3CHI Chevrolet. The team suggested he nurse the car to the end of Stage 1, believing he ran over debris. But on Lap 74, the car lost control in Turn 1 and backed into the outside wall. Busch managed to drive backwards onto pit road while losing just one lap, but was done for the day. Soon after, Ty Gibbs was eliminated when his #54 Interstate Batteries Toyota collided with teammate Denny Hamlin’s #11 FedEx Toyota coming off pit road. Hamlin recovered to finish 5th. Yeley rounded out the group when his #15 snapped loose in the closing stages and backed into the Turn 2 wall. Yeley had led Laps 115 and 212 by staying out during caution flag pit stops.

B.J. McLeod, who was running last before Dillon’s wreck, managed to complete the entire 400-mile distance, finishing on the lead lap in the 22nd spot – his best run since a 20th in Atlanta this past July. 

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #3 in a Cup Series race at Texas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

36) #3-Austin Dillon / 40 laps / crash

35) #51-Todd Gilliland / 52 laps / crash

34) #8-Kyle Busch / 73 laps / dvp

33) #54-Ty Gibbs / 77 laps / crash

32) #15-J.J. Yeley / 241 laps / crash / led 2 laps

2023 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Live Fast Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Rick Ware Racing, Spire Motorsports (4)

2nd) Joe Gibbs Racing, Penske Racing (3)

3rd) Legacy Motor Club (2)

4th) Front Row Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, Kaulig Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Trackhouse Racing (1)

2023 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (17)

2nd) Ford (9)

3rd) Toyota (3)

2023 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

XFINITY: First lap, first turn crash may have significant Playoff implications for Sam Mayer

SCREENSHOT: @NASCARONFOX, from USA

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Sam Mayer picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet crashed without completing any of the race’s 200 laps.

The finish, which came in Mayer’s 79th series start, was the second of his career and first since June 4, 2022 at Portland, 47 races ago. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place standings, it was the 19th for the #1, the 386th from a crash, and the 631st for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 74th for the #1, the 1,355th from a crash, and the 1,916th for Chevrolet.

Since he was last featured here, Mayer finally broke through with his first two XFINITY Series victories. Each occurred on the road courses, beginning with his home track at Road America, then three rounds later at Watkins Glen, firmly locking himself into the Playoffs. But in the Round of 12 opener last Friday night in Bristol, Mayer was collected in a multi-car pileup with two of his JR Motorsports teammates, handing him a disappointing 35th-place finish. Still, his two wins kept him within 14 points of moving back above the cut line.

At Texas, Mayer ran 13th in practice, then qualified 6th with a lap of 183.911mph (29.362 seconds), part of a sweep of the top seven positions by Playoff drivers. With 40 drivers entered for 38 spots, the two teams missing the cut were Garrett Smithley in JD Motorsports’ #4 Trophy Tractor Chevrolet and Blaine Perkins, in Our Motorsports’ #02. For Smithley, it was his sixth DNQ of 2023 and first since Darlington in May. For Perkins, it was the first of 2023 for both himself and the #02 team.

Securing the 38th and final starting spot was Layne Riggs, who along with Daniel Dye were Truck Series drivers making their XFINITY Series debuts. Riggs took the wheel of Kaulig Racing’s #11 Infinity Communications Group Chevrolet. In practice, Riggs spun on the backstretch, resulting in damage to the left-rear of his car and requiring minor repairs. He would incur a redundant tail-end penalty as a result, joined by the unapproved adjustment penalties for 9th-place Chandler Smith in the #16 Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet, 22nd-place Brett Moffitt in the #25 AM Technical Solutions Ford, and 35th-place Joe Graf, Jr. in the #38 Tarpon River Brewing / Honey Love Ford.

During Saturday’s pace laps, NASCAR instructed the four penalized drivers to complete both rows with Chandler Smith and Joe Graf, Jr. to the inside while Brett Moffitt and Layne Riggs rounded out the outside. Over the radio, the Kaulig team told Riggs to “go ahead enjoy it,” and to not worry if he lost a lap. As the green flag dropped, the spotter soon cleared him to move into the low lane as trouble broke out in Turn 1. Heading into the corner, Sam Mayer was running the high lane when his car started to push just past the apex, steering him directly into the fence at corner exit. As Mayer slowed down the backstretch, NASCAR held off the caution as spotters cleared the track, allowing Mayer to come down pit road. But moments later, Riley Herbst struck the wall off Turn 4 in his #98 Monster Energy Ford, ultimately drawing the yellow for debris.

On Lap 4, Herbst was the first to go behind the wall, his right-front wheel pushed in beneath the fender. Mayer’s crew planned to go to the garage as well, then called for a wheel spacer, but by Lap 5 also rolled into the garage as the wheel was rubbing the shock. Just like that, both drivers were done for the day. While Herbst managed to complete two laps by the time he came down pit road, Mayer came up just short of reaching the line, crediting him with zero completed circuits. With the wreck, Mayer finds himself 34 points below the cut line - a must-win scenario at the Charlotte “Roval” to avoid a first-round elimination.

The Bottom Five was soon filled as record high temperatures made a treacherous track even more so. Taking 36th was Joe Graf, Jr., whose #38 slid into Patrick Emerling’s #53 Space Beans Chevrolet coming off Turn 4. Both cars bounced off the outside wall, chasing Layne Riggs’ #11 into the grass and tearing the rear bumper from his own car. While Graf’s day was done, Emerling returned to the track 29 laps down at the end of Stage 1, only to pull out of the race soon after, unable to climb out of 35th. Completing the Bottom Five was Brennan Poole, who after contact from Ryan Sieg entering the quad-oval slammed head-on into the pit road wall at Stall 2, where Jeffrey Earnhardt’s crew stayed clear. The impact ended the race for Poole’s #6 GJ Boring RW3 Services Chevrolet.

Cram and CHK Racing battle on the lead lap for most of Texas race

The biggest surprise from Saturday’s race had to be Dawson Cram, who qualified CHK Racing’s #74 5000Chevrolet.com Chevrolet into only its fifth start of the year, their first attempt since Watkins Glen, in a season that’s seen them DNQ 14 times. On top of this, Cram secured 25th on the grid, the team’s best run of the year. In the race itself, Cram stayed on the lead lap for most of the day. He was 23rd on Lap 80, and at the end of Stage 2 finished just a couple carlengths ahead of stage winner Justin Allgaier. On Lap 109, he climbed to 17th, then saved his car in a Turn 4 spin that left him 21st. He didn’t lose a lap until the 147th circuit and came home 21st, two laps down – a season-best finish for the CHK group. He even got some screentime when he completed the cooldown lap on the frontstretch, putting him just behind race winner John Hunter Nemechek as he did his burnouts.

Among the race’s 12 cautions was a yellow during late-stage green-flag pit stops, which brought into the Top 10 such drivers as J.J. Yeley in the #08 MPV Express Ford, Ryan Ellis in the #43 Limetree / Classic Collision Chevrolet, Anthony Alfredo in the #78 Andy’s Frozen Custard Chevrolet, and Kyle Sieg in the #29 Pathway Homes Ford. Yeley ran as high as 4th before he was collected in a wreck with Kaz Grala, leaving him 28th. But Kyle Sieg finished best of this group in 12th with Ellis 13th and Alfredo 14th. Sage Karam also followed up his Michigan performance for Motorsports Business Management by taking home 23rd in the #66 AmeriDream / Coble Enterprises Ford.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This was the first last-place run for the #1 in a XFINITY race at Texas since April 16, 2005, when Johnny Sauter’s #1 Fleet Pride / Yellow Dodge finished 14th, but was disqualified for an oversized carburetor.

*This was the first last-place finish for JR Motorsports in 2023.

*This marked the first time the #1 failed to complete a lap of a XFINITY Series race.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #1-Sam Mayer / 0 laps / crash

37) #98-Riley Herbst / 2 laps / crash

36) #38-Joe Graf, Jr. / 11 laps / dvp

35) #53-Patrick Emerling / 24 laps / suspension

34) #6-Brennan Poole / 55 laps / crash

2023 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) SS-Green Light Racing (4)

2nd) Alpha Prime Racing (3)

3rd) Big Machine Racing, CHK Racing, DGM Racing, Emerling-Gase Motorsports, JD Motorsports, Motorsports Business Management (2)

4th) B.J. McLeod Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Jordan Anderson Racing, JR Motorsports, Kaulig Racing, Our Motorsports, Sam Hunt Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2023 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (22)

2nd) Toyota (4)

3rd) Ford (2)

2023 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: Two Truck Series upstarts look to make XFINITY debut in Texas

IMAGE: Daniel Dye Racing

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Saturday, September 23, 2023 (3:30 P.M. ET, USA)

XFINITY Race 28 of 33

Round of 12: Race 2 of 3

Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas

2022 Last-Place Finisher: Jeffrey Earnhardt

ENTRY LIST

There are 40 drivers entered for 38 spots, meaning two will fail to qualify.

DRIVER CHANGE: #4-JD Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #91-DGM Racing

Garrett Smithley rejoins the Johnny Davis team with his Trophy Tractor sponsorship, his first XFINITY start since he ran 25th in Kansas. Smithley takes the place of Kyle Weatherman, who returns to DGM Racing in the #91 with DriveSmartWarranty.com. One week after taking 23rd in Bristol, Weatherman takes the place of 27th-place finisher Josh Bilicki.

DRIVER CHANGE: #11-Kaulig Racing

The first of two Truck Series drivers making their XFINITY Series debuts this weekend is Layne Riggs, announced as the latest driver of the team’s renumbered “all-star” entry, the #11. Riggs arrives after six Truck Series starts, most recently his career-best 3rd-place finish at IRP for Spire Motorsports. Carrying sponsorship from Infinity Communications Group, the second-generation racer takes the place of 12th-place Bristol finisher Derek Kraus.

DRIVER CHANGE: #28-RSS Racing

RETURNING / DRIVER SWAP: #29-RSS Racing

The Sieg team brings back their part-time fourth entry, the #29, which goes to 21st-place finisher Kyle Sieg and sponsor Pathway Homes. Sieg’s team switch leaves open the #28 for a returning C.J. McLaughlin, back in action for the first time since he finished 22nd at Kansas, his second-best run of 2023.

DRIVER CHANGE: #35-Emerling-Gase Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #35-Emerling-Gase Motorsports

It was a difficult weekend in Bristol for the Emerling-Gase effort, which following Patrick Emerling’s practice crash in the #35 withdrew their #53 to serve as its backup, only for B.J. McLeod to drop out with a persistent power steering issue for a 37th-place finish. Emerling will this week pilot the #53, joined by team co-owner Joey Gase in the #35. Gase’s most recent start in Kansas yielded a 24th-place finish.

DRIVER CHANGE: #44-Alpha Prime Racing

The other Truck Series driver seeking a debut on Saturday is Daniel Dye, who this week pilots Alpha Prime’s struggling #44 entry. Just like his current Truck Series entry at GMS Racing, Dye’s car carries car numbers in the style of Petty Enterprises, bringing with him sponsor Champion Container. Dye takes the place of Rajah Caruth, who earned a solid 17th-place finish in Bristol. For Dye, the challenge will be in qualifying as the #44 has failed to qualify for four of its last seven attempts. Dye is also entered in the upcoming races at Las Vegas and Phoenix.

DRIVER CHANGE: #66-Motorsports Business Management

Sage Karam makes his 11th XFINITY start of the year and first since he scored back-to-back 15th-place runs in Alpha Prime’s #45 at Indianapolis and Watkins Glen. This time, he reunites with Carl Long for the first time since Michigan, where he led a lap during late-race pit stops and finished 25th. AmeriDream Mortgage Group, LLC joins as primary sponsor with PRS Stormwater Management and Coble Enterprises. Karam replaces Timmy Hill, whose rear gear issues at the start resulted in a last-place finish.

RETURNING: #74-CHK Racing

The Harmon team returns to action for the first time since the team’s season-best 28th at Michigan, and again enlists the aid of Dawson Cram, who got the CHK effort into its first race since Charlotte in May. The team is also preparing to run at the upcoming Charlotte “Roval” with the car Casey Carden DNQ’d in their most recent attempt at Watkins Glen, but will this time bring in sports car racer Devin Jones for his first XFINITY attempt since 2017.

MISSING: #88-JR Motorsports

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is not entered along with the team’s part-time #88 entry after Junior’s top-five run at Bristol was spoiled late by an electrical fire, leaving him 30th.

DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing

Two veteran drivers will pilot Bobby Dotter’s Fords this weekend, starting with Texas native David Starr, who makes only his fifth series start of the ear and first since his 22nd-place run for Emerling-Gase in Atlanta this past July. Starr’s only previous attempt this year for SS-Green Light came at Talladega, where he had his only DNQ of 2023. He takes the place of Stefan Parsons, who ran 19th in Bristol.

DRIVER CHANGE: #08-SS-Green Light Racing

The other veteran is J.J. Yeley, who will pull double-duty with the Cup Series this weekend. Yeley pilots the #08 in place of 29th-place Bristol finisher Chad Finchum, and MPV Express is the listed sponsor. This will be only the second XFINITY start of Yeley’s season, following his 30th-place showing in Dotter’s #07 last month in Daytona.

CUP INVADERS: None

Sunday, September 24, 2023 (3:30 P.M. ET, USA)

CUP Race 30 of 36

Round of 12: Race 1 of 3

Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas

2022 Last-Place Finisher: Kyle Busch

ENTRY LIST

For the 29th straight Cup race, there are not 40 entrants for this week’s action, and for the 19th time and fourth in a row, only the 36 Chartered teams will occupy the Cup garage.

DRIVER CHANGE: #38-Front Row Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #51-Rick Ware Racing

Just days after it was announced Zane Smith will drive for Trackhouse in 2024, Smith will again pilot Front Row’s #38 in place of 6th-place Bristol finisher Todd Gilliland, who goes to the #51 in place of Ryan Newman, last that night. Ambetter Health is the listed sponsor for Smith’s eighth Cup Series start, his first since a 34th-place showing at Sears Point in June.

Saturday, September 30, 2023

TRUCKS Race 21 of 23

Round of 8: Race 2 of 3

Talladega 250 at Talladega

2022 Last-Place Finisher: Jordan Anderson

The Truck Series takes the week off and returns to action on the superspeedway in Talladega.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (September 22, 1985): Buddy Baker picked up the 14th last-place finish of his NASCAR Winston Cup Series career when his #88 Bull Frog Knits Oldsmobile had brake issues after 24 laps of the Goody’s 500 at Martinsville. Baker made just two more Cup starts at Martinsville, finishing last a second time on September 27, 1987, then 7th in his 39th and last race there on April 24, 1988.

ARCA: Basham claims last, Moeller claims tiebreaker for East Series title

Mike Basham's #69 in the garage area at IRP last month.
PHOTO: Colby Evans, @StartAndParkCar

by Ben Schneider

LASTCAR.info Staff Writer

Mike Basham finished last for the 6th time in his ARCA Menards Series career (and 3rd time in his ARCA Menards Series East career) in last Thursday’s Bush’s Beans 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway when his #69 Copraya.com Ford fell out with mechanical issues after completing 9 of 200 laps.

The finish came in Basham’s 87th career ARCA Menards Series start and 5th ARCA Menards Series East start.

The final ARCA combination race of the 2023 season, Thursday night’s race at Bristol also marked the season finale for the ARCA Menards Series East. Going into the event, Nate Moeller, who was absent from the Bristol entry list, led the LASTCAR ARCA Menards Series East Drivers’ Championship by one last-place finish over Tim Monroe, Brayton Laster, Alex Clubb, Jeff Smith, and Mike Basham. With Laster also missing from the entry list, the bottom-five tiebreaker left Monroe as the only driver with a chance to dethrone Moeller, as a last-place finish would have given Monroe five bottom-five finishes to Moeller’s four.

In total, 32 cars appeared on the entry list. Of these, 31 ran at least one lap in practice, while 29 were able to take to the track in qualifying. Monroe was the only driver absent from the timing and scoring charts during practice, while Chuck Buchanan Jr., Rita Goulet, and Frankie Muniz were all unable to set a qualifying time. A.J. Moyer was the slowest of the 29 cars that took part in the session, while Basham’s entry rounded out the Bottom Five in the starting lineup.

Rita Goulet waves to the camera as her husband Tim brings their No. 31 Chevrolet
to the garage shortly before the green flag.
SCREENSHOT: FS1

As the race began, it looked as if only 31 cars would be classified as having started the race. Goulet’s #31 entry, now being run by her husband Tim following a driver change, was seen on the FS1 broadcast being pushed back to the garage area as the field was warming up on the pace laps. He was eventually able to return to the track, meaning all 32 entries would be classified in the official results. He would ultimately complete 43 laps before spinning out and collecting Monroe in the crash. Goulet and Monroe would finish 28th and 25th with 43 and 54 laps completed respectively. Crucially, this meant Monroe avoided a last-place finish, eliminating him from LASTCAR title contention.

Alex Clubb spins on the front straightway coming to complete his first lap of the race.
At left, Basham has just entered the frame in his red #69.
SCREENSHOT: FS1

On Lap 2, Alex Clubb looked as if he might end up claiming last-place as his #03 Ford spun out and hit the inside frontstretch wall. However, Clubb’s team was able to repair the damage, allowing him to finish 22nd as the final car running at the finish with 104 laps completed. With Goulet and Clubb both recovering from their initial problems, Basham’s 9 laps completed secured him last place.

While Basham equaled Moeller’s total of two last-place finishes, because this was only his second start of the ARCA East season, Basham’s season total of Bottom Fives also tallies up to two. Moeller, meanwhile, finished the season with four bottom-five finishes, giving him the tiebreaker over Basham for the title.

A few laps after Basham’s retirement from the race, Matthew Gould pulled his #42 Chevrolet off the track, finishing with just 12 laps completed due to overheating issues. Brad Smith was the next to pull behind the wall as mechanical issues ended his day after 24 circuits. Luke Fenhaus, the only driver with an outside shot at preventing William Sawalich from claiming the ARCA East championship, suffered two incidents in the opening 40 laps, the combined damage from which ultimately proved terminal. Fenhaus was credited with completing 30 laps and a 29th-place finish just behind Goulet, who rounded out the Bottom Five.

Up front, Sawalich clinched the ARCA East championship in style by passing current ARCA national championship leader Jesse Love with nine laps to go to take the race win. Love hung onto a runner-up finish ahead of Andres Perez de Lara in third, allowing Love to inch even further ahead in his own championship points battle.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

32) #69-Mike Basham / 9 laps / mechanical

31) #42-Matthew Gould / 12 laps / overheating

30) #48-Brad Smith / 24 laps / mechanical

29) #28-Luke Fenhaus / 30 laps / crash

28) #31-Tim Goulet / 43 laps / crash

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Click HERE to view the full standings for both the main ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East and West divisions. You can also find the full manufacturers’ and owners’ standings HERE.

2023 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet, Ford (8)

2nd) Toyota (2)

2023 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Fast Track Racing (5) 

2nd) Smith Brothers Racing (4)

3rd) Clubb Racing, Kimmel Racing (2)

4th) Coughlin Brothers Racing, KLAS Motorsports, Our Motorsports, Spraker Racing Enterprises, Tamayo-Cosentino Racing (1)

2023 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

2023 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Wayne Peterson Racing, Fast Track Racing, Kimmel Racing (2)

2nd) Brad Smith Motorsports, Clubb Racing (1)

2023 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Ford (5)

2nd) Toyota (2) 

3rd) Chevrolet (1)

2023 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

CUP: Ryan Newman collected in multi-car Bristol pileup

PHOTO: Steven Taranto, @STaranto92

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Ryan Newman picked up the 14th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway when his #51 Biohaven / Jacob Companies Ford was involved in a multi-car accident after 260 of 500 laps.

The finish, which came in Newman’s 730th start, was his first of the season and first in a Cup Series race since October 10, 2021 at the Charlotte “Roval,” 69 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 31st for the #51, the 658th from a crash, and the 735th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 45th for the #51, the 1,020th for Ford, and the 1,354th from a crash.

An overshadowed storyline in the 2023 season has been the return of Newman, whose last Cup start came in the 2021 Phoenix finale. This was just before both NASCAR’s introduction of the NextGen car and Brad Keselowski’s investment in Roush-Fenway Racing. Newman returned at Darlington this spring, where he ran a “throwback” to the Penske Racing entry with which he won his first Cup race at New Hampshire in 2002. He this time drove for Rick Ware Racing, and came home 28th, four laps down. This allowed him to run the All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro, where he finished 12th in the 16-car field. Bristol marked his fifth Cup start of the year, fresh off a season-best 27th in his return to Darlington for the Southern 500. 

While the preliminary entry list showed Cole Custer as the #51’s driver for Saturday, that changed back to Newman by mid-week. With only the 36 Chartered entries arriving for a 40-car starting grid, that would secure Newman his 40th career Cup start at Bristol. He turned the slowest lap in practice, but found speed in qualifying, jumping to 27th on the grid with a lap of 124.484mph (15.414 seconds). Ironically, that was Newman’s worst starting spot at Bristol since 2018.

Surprisingly, the 36th and final starting spot fell to Kyle Larson, whose #5 Valvoline Chevrolet broke loose in the corner and nearly wrecked. Even so, Larson ranked just 0.017 second behind 35th-ranked J.J. Yeley, Newman’s teammate, in the #15 Steakhouse Elite Burgers Ford. After several delays due to rain, Larson moved up a row for the start, taking the green in 33rd, 3.482 seconds back of the lead ahead of Ty Dillon’s #77 Gainbridge Chevrolet (3.466), B.J. McLeod’s #78 FreedomWorksHere.com Chevrolet (3.754), and Yeley (3.91).

Kyle Larson running 36th during the rainy pace laps.
SCREENSHOT: NASCAR Drive

Yeley remained in last at the start, but on Lap 3 had pulled alongside McLeod by 0.084 second at the stripe. McLeod held off the charge, and soon dropped Harrison Burton to 35th in the #21 Motorcraft / Quick Lane Ford. Yeley then dropped Burton to last on Lap 6, opening a gap of 0.219, and McLeod fell to last again on Lap 8. By Lap 12, McLeod was now following Daniel Suarez, whose #99 Aerial Recovery Chevrolet had slipped back from 24th on the grid. “Really bad,” said McLeod on the radio, remarking that his car was “porpoising” around the track. McLeod was first to lose a lap on the 19th circuit, and was losing a second lap when the first caution fell on Lap 70.

The caution came out for debris resulting from a two-car incident off Turn 4. Seconds after he also lost a lap, A.J. Allmendinger bounced off the Turn 4 wall and slowed, his #16 Barger Precast Chevrolet directly in the path of a fast-closing Austin Cindric in the #2 Menards / Monster Ford. Cindric collided with Allmendinger’s left-rear, briefly ramping Cindric’s car off the ground before landing on all four wheels. Both made it to pit road for repairs. Allmendinger took last from McLeod on Lap 71, followed by Cindric on Lap 74. Cindric also incurred a pit road penalty for his stop, so after Allmendinger retook last on Lap 75, Cindric was there on Lap 77. 

The field pulls away from Cindric's damaged Ford.
SCREENSHOT: NASCAR Drive

With the race back under green, Cindric lost touch with the rest of the field. The team planned to make further repairs under the next caution, which came for rain on Lap 105. The rain was light, keeping the field on the track, so Cindric pitted on Lap 109 and stayed there as other cars joined him. A two-tire stop became a four-tire change, and Cindric returned to the race four laps down. Back under way, Cindric pitted under the second rain caution on Lap 130 for a round out of the left-rear and air pressure adjustments, but again was penalized, this time for speeding in Section 4. The rain intensified, and the crew covered his car under the Lap 137 red flag.

“All right now, we are not done fighting tonight,” said Cindric’s crew as the caution came back out. On the Lap 140 restart, Cindric was three laps down, and this time was able to catch the tail end of the field, starting on Lap 149 with 35th-place McLeod, who was two laps ahead. But by Lap 190, Cindric’s spotter was frantically calling faster traffic past the #2, which found itself on the inside of several three-wide battles in a row. By Lap 237, Cindric was six laps down, where he remained when Stage 2 ended on Lap 251. At that point, 35th-place McLeod was still two laps ahead of him, and all the starters were still running.

Logano pulls his damaged #22 behind the wall. Note the image on the big screen at left.
SCREENSHOT: NASCAR Drive

The turning point came on the Lap 261 restart to begin the third and final stage. Just two laps later, contact back in the pack between Erik Jones’ #43 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet and Corey LaJoie’s #8 NEGU Chevrolet sent LaJoie spinning down the backstretch, spoiling a race where the #7 led 48 laps and finished 2nd in Stage 1. LaJoie bounced off the inside wall and slid up the banking, colliding with the left-rear of a passing Joey Logano. Logano’s #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford was then piled into by Justin Haley’s #31 Mountain Dew Chevrolet, Ty Dillon’s #77, and Ryan Newman. Logano pulled into his pit stall, only for the crew to discover the left-rear wheel had been wrenched backward in the impact. Logano drove behind the wall on Lap 266 as Newman’s car was towed in, soon to be joined by Haley and Dillon. 

Newman's car towed into the garage.
SCREENSHOT: NASCAR Drive

Newman, already laps down at the time of the crash, was lowest-classified of the four drivers eliminated in the wreck, and took over last from Cindric on Lap 267. Haley, Logano, and Dillon filled the next spots in the Bottom Five, which was completed by Cindric. Cindric reached the finish under power, 12 laps down at the checkered flag.

Carson Hocevar continues incredible run for Legacy Motor Club

Carson Hocevar’s fourth and latest Cup Series start was his best yet. After qualifying 16th in the #42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet, Hocevar charged through the field in Stage 2. He reached 10th on Lap 185, passed William Byron for 7th on Lap 211, then on Lap 244 took over the 5th spot, where he soon finished in Stage 2. After losing a few spots, he remained on the lead lap until just 11 laps to go, when he was running 11th, where he finished as the first car one lap down. This marked the best finish of the year for LMC’s #42, besting the 12th-place run by Noah Gragson in the spring Atlanta race.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #51 in a Cup Series race at Bristol. As for Newman, it was his second – the other occurred on September 18, 2021 – two days short of two years to the date – when his #6 Kohler Generators Ford was eliminated under the “Damaged Vehicle Policy.”

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #51-Ryan Newman / 260 laps / crash

37) #31-Justin Haley / 261 laps / crash

36) #22-Joey Logano / 262 laps / crash

35) #77-Ty Dillon / 263 laps / crash

34) #2-Austin Cindric / 488 laps / running

2023 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Live Fast Motorsports, Rick Ware Racing, Spire Motorsports (4)

2nd) Joe Gibbs Racing, Penske Racing, Richard Childress Racing (3)

3rd) Legacy Motor Club (2)

4th) Front Row Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, Kaulig Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Trackhouse Racing (1)

2023 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (16)

2nd) Ford (9)

3rd) Toyota (3)

2023 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

XFINITY: Smoking rear gear spoils Timmy Hill’s strong run at Bristol

ALL PHOTO: Steven Taranto, @STaranto92

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Timmy Hill picked up the 7th last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Friday’s Food City 300 at the Bristol Motor Speedway when his #66 Coble Enterprises Toyota fell out with rear gear trouble after 81 of 300 laps.

The finish, which came in Hill’s 242nd series start, was his first of the season and first in a XFINITY Series race since May 28, 2022 at Charlotte, 47 races ago. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 16th for the #66, the 18th for rear gear trouble, and the 161st for Toyota. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 50th for the rear gear, the 86th for the #66, and the 400th for Toyota.

When he was last featured here, Timmy Hill was on the verge of the best run of his career. Under Daytona’s lights last August, only a late-race caution kept him from challenging Jeremy Clements for the lead, ultimately settling on a runner-up finish. It was also the best run yet for Carl Long’s team Motorsports Business Management, which this year has faced even stiffer challenges. Coming into Bristol, MBM’s flagship #66 qualified for exactly as many races as it had missed – 11 each – and were unable to return to Daytona in August after a deal on a leased engine fell through. 

Hill had only made three previous XFINITY starts with MBM this year, taking 32nd in Fontana, 30th at Dover, and 32nd in Darlington. He was slated to run last week in Kansas, where he again qualified on speed. But after a deal with Tommy Joe Martins, Hill handed the wheel to Alpha Prime’s driver Leland Honeyman. After failing to qualify earlier in the day, Honeyman came home to finish a solid 26th. Hill’s focus has been on his Truck Series effort at Hill Motorsports, where he ran a “throwback” scheme to honor his and brother Tyler's father Jerry at North Wilkesboro, and ran 8th in the spring race at Atlanta.

Hill again ran double-duty at Bristol, starting with a 26th-place finish in Thursday’s Truck Series race. On Friday’s XFINITY portion, Hill ranked 35th of the 39 entrants in practice, then qualified 34th with a lap of 118.364mph (16.211 seconds). The run came after a single team withdrew earlier in the afternoon. The Emerling-Gase Motorsports team entered two near-identical black Chevrolets, putting Patrick Emerling in the #35 and B.J. McLeod in the #53. During practice, Emerling cut a right-front tire and slammed the outside wall. With no backup car, Emerling withdrew, and McLeod’s orange-numbered #53 was hastily re-decaled with the white numbers of the #35. The car kept McLeod’s sponsorship from the Meredith Haga Foundation on the hood. Because of the number change, NASCAR would still count McLeod’s car as Emerling’s backup, incurring him a redundant tail-end penalty from 37th on the grid.

Jeb Burton also wrecked in practice, though his Jordan Anderson Racing team had a backup #27. There was one catch: Burton’s primary carried sponsorship from Alsco Uniforms while this backup carried a full wrap for Celsius beverages. Steven Taranto reported that, since the team had no time to change the wrap for the race, Alsco would be run on the car for a makeup race, either at Homestead or Phoenix. Burton secured the 38th and final spot on the grid next to 37th-place McLeod, the two the only drivers who didn’t turn a lap in qualifying. Three other teams were sent to the back for unapproved adjustments: 16th-place Riley Herbst in the #98 Monster Energy Ford, 18th-place Derek Kraus in the #11 Crav’n Flavor / Hardscape Construction Chevrolet, and 32nd-place Anthony Alfredo in the #78 Dude Wipes “Dumpkin Spice” Chevrolet. Of these drivers, Burton recovered nicely, taking 13th at the finish.

Prior to the start, NASCAR reminded Alfredo to drop behind Kraus’ #11, which put him at the tail end of the field. When the green flag dropped, Alfredo was last across the line, already trailing Kraus by over three carlengths. By Lap 3, as Alfredo had dropped McLeod to last, NASCAR was already watching Hill’s #66 for smoke. The race stayed green, and McLeod maintained his position. By Lap 5, he was now tracking down Blaine Perkins in the #02 Gratis Chevrolet, a car that by Lap 10 had passed Stefan Parsons’ #07 Sokal Chevrolet. That time by, McLeod pulled to within 0.154 of Parsons, and on Lap 13, the two were side-by-side at the stripe, just 0.046 apart. Parsons held off the charge and dropped Perkins back to 37th, leaving McLeod another 0.674 behind on Lap 15. Two circuits later, McLeod’s was the first car to be lapped, and he was nearly two down by the 32nd go-round.

It was on Lap 32 that Jeremy Clements made an unscheduled stop in his #51 All South Electric Chevrolet, which had qualified a strong 9th. The stop dropped Clements to last by Lap 35, and he returned to the track three laps down. From there, Clements set after McLeod for the 37th spot, and on Lap 44 turned a 16.494-second lap to McLeod’s 17.819. Six laps later, Clements caught and passed McLeod, putting the #35 to last once more. 

McLeod's #35 joins Hill's #66 (background) in the garage.

Nearing the end of Stage 1 on Lap 76, McLeod was running between four and five laps down. Meanwhile, Timmy Hill had managed to climb to 24th. But on Lap 83, Hill pulled behind the wall, his car smelling strongly of gear oil, and the right side showing visible damage. On Lap 87, when the caution fell to end Stage 1, McLeod reported he was having a power steering issue, and talked with the team about coming behind the wall to bleed the system. He joined Hill in the garage on Lap 89, at which point the two were two laps apart. McLeod returned to the track on Lap 98, his previous lap clocked at 392.361 seconds, and gradually increased his gap over last-place Hill. But on Lap 103, NASCAR was still having its spotters watch McLeod, who apparently was still not up to speed. This was followed on Lap 112 by NASCAR confirming Hill – still in the garage – was the first car out of the race. McLeod returned to the garage a second time on Lap 134, and was likewise declared out of the race.

Completing the Bottom Five were no less than three of the five entered JR Motorsports cars. A Lap 168 tangle between Josh Berry’s #8 Bas Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet, Sam Mayer’s #1 Huck’s Market Chevrolet, and Brandon Jones’ #9 Menards / Patriot Lighting Chevrolet. Berry and Mayer were done for the night – Berry’s car after briefly catching on fire – while Jones managed to turn 12 more laps before suspension issues ended his night in 34th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #66 in a XFINITY Series race at Bristol since September 18, 2020, when Stephen Leicht had clutch issues after 11 laps.

*The 81 laps Hill completed came just four short of breaking the record for most laps complete by a last-place finisher of a XFINITY Series race at Bristol. The record of 84 laps was set by Derrike Cope, whose #28 AMD / FOX Sports en Espanol Ford lost the engine on April 4, 2005.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #66-Timmy Hill / 81 laps / rear gear

37) #35-B.J. McLeod / 117 laps / power steering

36) #8-Josh Berry / 166 laps / crash

35) #1-Sam Mayer / 166 laps / crash

34) #9-Brandon Jones / 178 lap / suspension

2023 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) SS-Green Light Racing (4)

2nd) Alpha Prime Racing (3)

3rd) Big Machine Racing, CHK Racing, DGM Racing, Emerling-Gase Motorsports, JD Motorsports, Motorsports Business Management (2)

4th) B.J. McLeod Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Jordan Anderson Racing, Kaulig Racing, Our Motorsports, Sam Hunt Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2023 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (21)

2nd) Toyota (4)

3rd) Ford (2)

2023 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

TRUCKS: Jack Wood scores first last-place run for the #51 truck since 2003

PHOTO: Thank you Nick Brown, @NickBro57062889, picture taken by his father

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Jack Wood picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Thursday’s UNOH 200 Presented by Ohio Logistics at the Bristol Motor Speedway when his #51 Rowdy Manufacturing Chevrolet was involved in a two-truck accident after 13 of 200 laps.

The finish, which came in Wood’s 45th series start, was his first of the season and first in a Truck Series race since October 2, 2021 at Talladega, 45 races ago. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 6th for the #51, the 188th from a crash, and the 438th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 44th for the #51, the 1,353rd for a crash, and the 1,915th for Chevrolet.

You may recall Wood as the 2021 LASTCAR Truck Series Champion, the bizarre result of him being the only Truck Series driver to finish last more than once all season, and with fewer bottom-five finishes than any of the four drivers ranked below him. Wood did so despite running just 12 of the season’s 22 races with GMS Racing, and also earned his first career Top Ten at Gateway. The results were about the same in his first full-time campaign in 2022, but a big opportunity soon followed – sharing Kyle Busch Motorsports’ flagship #51 entry with XFINITY underdog Matt Mills, plus Cup regulars William Byron and, as always, Kyle Busch himself.

With KBM now a Chevrolet team following Busch’s landmark departure from Joe Gibbs Racing, the season has seen Busch score KBM’s 100th win at Pocono, and Mills earn recognition for a strong 5th-place finish during the long green-flag runs at Richmond. But coming into Bristol, Wood’s nine previous starts in the #51 have yielded inconsistent results. Five times, he’d qualified inside the Top 10, but his best runs came back in the spring – a 10th in Atlanta followed by a 9th in Texas. But, coming into Bristol, where Wood finished 21st with GMS Racing last year, the #51 had finished under power in every race in 2023.

At Bristol, Wood ran 10th-fastest in practice, then improved in qualifying to secure 7th on the grid with a lap of 126.054mph (15.222 seconds). After all 38 of the entrants took time, the two DNQs were Danny Bohn, who attempted his first stat of the season in Niece Motorsports’ part-time #44 Rust-Oleum Chevrolet. Bohn put up the slowest lap in qualifying, nearly a tenth off fellow DNQ Justin S. Carroll, who fought a loose-handling #90 Carroll’s Automotive / Duratrain Toyota.

Three other drivers who had issues all secured spots in the starting lineup, including 36th and last-place qualifier Bayley Currey. Currey was unable to qualify his #41 Unishippers Chevrolet after his truck caught fire in practice. The fire was extinguished quick enough that the team was able to run the same truck in the race. Nick Sanchez also didn’t take a timed lap due to an upper control arm issue on his #2 Gainbridge Chevrolet. Kaden Honeycutt put up the fifth-fastest lap in practice in the #02 Randco Industries Chevrolet, qualified 17th on his first lap in time trials, then suffered minor right-rear damage when he spun into the wall off Turn 4. 

As the field formed up for the start, Currey, Sanchez, and Honeycutt were three of the five drivers with tail-end penalties. Both were joined by 24th-place Stewart Friesen in the #52 Halmar International Toyota and 28th-place Parker Kligerman in the #75 Jack Kite Company Chevrolet. NASCAR instructed Honeycutt and Sanchez to line up the final two trucks on the inside line with Friesen, Kligerman, and Currey trailing the outside line. By the one-to-go signal, still another driver dropped back from 34th. This was Stephen Mallozzi, who after this spring’s Martinsville race tweeted about his day job as a server at Outback Steakhouse. A grassroots effort led to Outback sponsoring Mallozzi for the first time, complete with a new driver’s uniform, as he returned to AM Racing’s #22 Ford. Mallozzi addressed the starter’s stand to Honeycutt’s outside in the final row.

Damage to Thompson's #5 after the Wood wreck.
PHOTO: J.L. Steele, @JL_Steele

When the green flag dropped, Mallozzi was last across the stripe, 4.041 back of the lead and a half-second back of Honeycutt’s 3.575. The gap between the two grew to 0.719 second at the end of the first lap, but Mallozzi gained a tenth by Lap 4. On Lap 5, the 35th spot fell to Memphis Villarreal, a late substitute for Mason Maggio in the Reaume Brothers’ #33 Laredo Trailer Supply Ford. Villarreal had been muscled out of line further ahead, dropping him back behind Honeycutt and ahead of Mallozzi. By Lap 8, Mallozzi’s deficit to Villarreal then increased to 1.046 second. The leaders put Mallozzi a lap down on the 12th circuit, followed seconds later by Villarreal. But before the two could battle for the Lucky Dog, the caution came out.

Replays on FS1 showed Jack Wood was still among the leaders, but holding up a pack of traffic led by Playoff contender Corey Heim. Coming through Turns 3 and 4, Heim’s #11 Safelite Toyota bumped Wood into a spin, sending him backwards into the outside wall. As the rest of the field scattered, Dean Thompson arrived on the scene running the middle lane. Thompson tried to slow his #5 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota, which skated sideways and struck the rear of Wood’s truck with Thompson’s right-rear. Wood was left stranded on the apron while Thompson made it to pit road, the right-rear of his truck torn open with visible suspension damage to the exposed wheel. Around Lap 15, Thompson was first credited with last place and Wood in 35th, but by Lap 17, the spot fell to Wood. With Wood’s truck brought to the garage nose-first, Thompson’s crew called for a tow truck to pull his #5 backwards behind the wall. Heim cleared the “Crash Clock” on the Lap 25 restart, and both Thompson and Wood were declared out on Lap 51.

Finishing 34th was Greg Van Alst, who after spinning his #20 CB Fabricating Chevrolet developed brake problems which caused him to run on the apron, then 14 laps down pulled behind the wall. Villarreal and Mallozzi completed the Bottom Five in 33rd and 32nd, both finishing under power with the rest of the field, each one lap apart.

Kvapil and Jones among the youth movement at Bristol

A pair of newcomers quietly earned solid finishes on Thursday night. After dominating in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour, second-generation racer Carson Kvapil came home 12th in his NASCAR national series debut, piloting Spire Motorsports’ #7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. Three spots behind came Conner Jones, who in ThorSport’s #66 America’s Quarter Horse Congress / TSport Ford earned a career-best 15th-place finish that bested his previous mark of 18th in only his eighth career start. In between came last-place qualifier Bayley Currey, who clawed his way to 13th by the checkered flag. Currey has now finished 18th or better in seven of his eight starts this year – his worst of the season came last week in Kansas, where he still ran 21st.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #51 in a Truck Series race since September 13, 2003 – exactly 20 years and one day ago. On that day, Carl Long had rear end trouble on Rick Ware’s unsponsored #51 Dodge after four laps of the New Hampshire 200 in Loudon. At the time, Ware’s team was called “Ware Racing Enterprises.” 

*The #51 had never before finished last in a Truck Series race at Bristol.

*This was also only the fourth time in Truck Series history the 7th-place qualifier finished last in the race. It last happened on May 22, 2021, when Cameron Lawrence’s #33 Impact Health Chevrolet was sitting on pit road at the end of the inaugural race at COTA.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

36) #51-Jack Wood / 13 laps / crash 

35) #5-Dean Thompson / 14 laps / crash

34) #20-Greg Van Alst / 140 laps / brakes

33) #33-Memphis Villarreal / 191 laps / running

32) #22-Stephen Mallozzi / 192 laps / running

2023 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Reaume Brothers Racing, Young’s Motorsports (4)

2nd) G2G Racing (3)

3rd) AM Racing, Niece Motorsports, Roper Racing, TRICON Garage (2)

4th) CR7 Motorsports, GK Racing, Kyle Busch Motorsports (1)

2023 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (8)

2nd) Ford (7)

3rd) Toyota (5)

2023 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP