Raines Falls Out With Electrical Problems at Michigan

Tony Raines picked up the 5th last-place finish of his career in Sunday’s LifeLock 400 at the Michigan International Speedway when his #37 Long John Silver’s Dodge fell out with electrical problems after completing 17 of the race’s 200 laps.

Bob Jenkins’ Front Row Motorsports team has achieved modest success in 2009 with driver John Andretti keeping the team’s #34 in the top 35 in owner’s points. Journeyman Tony Raines has been the driver of Jenkins’ second car, the #37. On Friday, Raines qualified for his sixth race of 2009, his third behind the wheel of car #37, and started 41st with a speed of 184.535 mph. Andretti, in the other Jenkins car, qualified 10th to give the team its first top-10 start. On Sunday, Raines pulled behind the wall under green on lap 17 with electrical problems. Three other small teams pulled their cars behind the wall by lap 24.

The finish was Raines’ second last-place finish of the season, his first since the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix two months ago. It is the first last-place finish for owner Bob Jenkins in nearly a year, dating back to when Brian Simo’s #34 SoBe No Fear Ford fell out with transmission problems early in the 2008 Toyota / Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway.

It is also the first last-place finish for the #37 since Mike Skinner’s Patron Tequila / BoSPOKER.net Dodge fell out with a rear end failure in the 2005 Dickies 500 at Texas and the first time the last-place finisher has fallen out with electrical problems since Aric Almirola’s #01 U.S. Army Chevrolet in the 2007 Subway 500 at Martinsville.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #37-Tony Raines / 17 laps / electrical
42) #87-Joe Nemechek / 20 laps / electrical
41) #09-Sterling Marlin / 23 laps / electrical
40) #66-Dave Blaney / 23 laps / engine
39) #44-A.J. Allmendinger / 144 laps / running

2009 RANKINGS
1st) Dave Blaney (3)
2nd) Mike Bliss, David Gilliland, Tony Raines (2)
3rd) Todd Bodine, Patrick Carpentier, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Joe Nemechek (1)

Carpentier Calls It A Day After Vibration at Pocono

Patrick Carpentier picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his career in Sunday’s Pocono 500 at the Pocono Raceway when his unsponsored #36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Toyota fell out with a vibration problem after completing 32 of the race’s 200 laps.

The Tommy Baldwin Racing team was one of the surprising stories of SpeedWeeks 2009 at Daytona when driver Scott Riggs raced the start-up team’s #36 into the Daytona 500. However, four DNQ’s in the eleven races after, combined with a lack of sponsorship, led to Riggs leaving the team after the Coca-Cola 600. After Mike Skinner raced the car at Dover, Patrick Carpentier was tabbed to drive for Baldwin at Pocono.

One of last year’s Rookie of the Year candidates, Carpentier had not made a NASCAR Sprint Cup start since last fall’s Camping World RV 400 at Kansas. He was released from the team after failing to qualify for the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega the following week. Qualifying was rained out at Pocono on Friday, and since Baldwin’s team had attempted all the races, Carpentier secured the 40th starting spot. Unfortunately, on lap 32, Carpentier went behind the wall with a vibration.

The finish was Carpentier’s first last-place finish since he crashed out in the big lap 230 pileup during the Crown Royal presents the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond last May. It is the first last-place finish for Tommy Baldwin’s team and the first for #36 since Johnny Benson, Jr. lost the engine while driving Bill Davis Racing’s 360 OTC Toyota in the 2007 season finale, the Ford 400 at Homestead. Carpentier is the second last-place finisher to fall out with a vibration problem, the last being Mike Bliss in last month’s Coca-Cola 600.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #36-Patrick Carpentier / 32 laps / vibration
42) #71-David Gilliland / 34 laps / ignition
41) #87-Joe Nemechek / 36 laps / vibration
40) #66-Dave Blaney / 37 laps / vibration
39) #09-Sterling Marlin / 56 laps / fuel pump

2009 RANKINGS
1st) Dave Blaney (3)
2nd) Mike Bliss, David Gilliland (2)
3rd) Todd Bodine, Patrick Carpentier, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Joe Nemechek, Tony Raines (1)

Gilliland’s Power Steering Fails Early at Dover

David Gilliland picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his career in Sunday’s Autism Speaks 400 presented by Heluva Good! at the Dover International Speedway when his #71 CompUSA Chevrolet fell out with an engine failure after completing 38 of the race’s 400 laps.

Gilliland was the second-fastest go-or-go-homer in Friday’s qualifying session, good enough for 24th with a speed of 154.593 mph. On race day, Gilliland stayed out an extra lap during the first yellow flag, a competition caution on lap 30, allowing him to lead lap 33. Gilliland would eventually pit, then go behind the wall not long after the restart on lap 38. Gilliland became the first driver to finish last in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race due to a power steering failure.

The finish was the second last-place finish for both driver, team, and number in three NASCAR Sprint Cup points races, the previous being Gilliland’s early exit from the Southern 500 at Darlington three weeks ago. Gilliland also became the first last-place finisher to lead a lap since A.J. Allmendinger’s single start for Michael Waltrip Racing in last fall’s Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s. Gilliland is now tied with Mike Bliss for second in the 2009 last-place rankings, both drivers one finish behind leader Dave Blaney. Blaney and Bliss also fell out early at Dover and finished 39th and 40th, respectively.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #71-David Gilliland / 38 laps / power steering
42) #37-Tony Raines / 42 laps / accident
41) #36-Mike Skinner / 51 laps / engine
40) #09-Mike Bliss / 56 laps / electrical
39) #66-Dave Blaney / 66 laps / transmission

2009 RANKINGS
1st) Dave Blaney (3)
2nd) Mike Bliss, David Gilliland (2)
3rd) Todd Bodine, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Joe Nemechek, Tony Raines (1)

Bliss Felled By Vibration In 600 at Lowe’s, Moves To 2nd In 2009 Rankings

Mike Bliss picked up the 4th last-place finish of his career in Monday’s rain-delayed and rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway when his #09 Miccosukee Indian Gaming and Resorts Dodge fell out with a vibration after completing 42 of the race’s 227 laps.

Bliss’ tumultuous weekend in Charlotte began on Thursday with a surprising 7th-fastest qualifying run for the 600 at a speed of 187.422 mph. The run was his second top-10 start in as many Cup races; he started 6th at Richmond three weeks earlier. In Saturday night’s Nationwide Series race, Bliss was the benefactor of a wild finish. A late-race caution during green-flag stops trapped leaders Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers a lap down, moving Bliss and Brendan Gaughan into the lead. Bliss took the lead from Gaughan just before the rains came, ultimately ending the race with 30 laps to go and giving Bliss his first Nationwide Series victory in five years.

Despite the victory and a determination to run the entire 600-miler the next day, Bliss fell back on Monday and went behind the wall under the third caution on lap 40, a scheduled competition caution, with a bad vibration. Bliss did not return to the race and was credited with completing 42 laps.

The finish was both Bliss and owner James Finch’s second last-place finish of 2009, the previous being the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta. For Bliss, it is also his second last-place finish at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the previous one being the fall race in 2000, then called the UAW-GM Quality 500. It is the first time a last-place finisher fell out with a vibration since Derrike Cope fell out of the 2006 Crown Royal 400 at Richmond en route to scoring a record six last-place finishes in a single year.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #09-Mike Bliss / 42 laps / vibration
42) #13-Max Papis / 219 laps / running
41) #29-Kevin Harvick / 224 laps / running
40) #88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. / 225 laps / running
39) #34-Tony Raines / 225 laps / running

2009 RANKINGS
1st) Dave Blaney (3)
2nd) Mike Bliss (2)
3rd) Todd Bodine, David Gilliland, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Joe Nemechek, Tony Raines (1)

Biffle Body-Slammed Out Of All-Star Race at Lowe’s

Greg Biffle finished last in Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway when his #16 3M Ford was involved in a two-car crash on lap 71 of the 100-lap race.

Biffle scored the 11th starting spot in Friday’s qualifying session, having incurred a five-second penalty for a lugnut that was left loose during his pit stop. Biffle ran a quiet race through the first two 50 and 20-lap segments, but found trouble at the start of the third 20-lap segment. Just one lap into the segment, while running the high groove in turns one and two, Biffle had nowhere to go when Sam Hornish, Jr.’s Dodge broke loose under him, pinning Biffle into the outside wall. The car’s passenger-side sheetmetal was knocked flat as a result, and the right-front corner of his Ford was damaged the most severely. Biffle went behind the wall and did not return to the track.

The race is Biffle’s first last-place finish in the All-Star Race. He has four last-place finishes in NASCAR Sprint Cup points races, most recently in last summer’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
21) #16-Greg Biffle / 71 laps / crash
20) #31-Jeff Burton / 85 laps / engine
19) #24-Jeff Gordon / 92 laps / crash
18) #39-Ryan Newman / 93 laps / crash
17) #09-Brad Keselowski / 100 laps / running