CUP: Riggs Scores First Cup Last-Place Finish In Nearly Three Years

Scott Riggs picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s 5-Hour Energy 500 at the Pocono Raceway when his #81 WhitneysCollision.com Chevrolet fell out with brake problems after completing 17 of the race’s 200 laps.

Riggs returned to the Sprint Cup Series this season as the driver of Dusty Whitney’s second team, a “start-and-park” #81 car that would help fund Whitney’s primary #46 driven by J.J. Yeley. In his first attempt at Darlington, Riggs narrowly missed the field when the engine on his #81 blew after his first timed lap. Riggs missed the show the next race at Dover, withdrew from the Sprint Showdown, and ended up with his second DNQ of the year for the Coca-Cola 600.

Since then, Riggs has qualified for two straight races, including Sunday’s race at Pocono, where he qualified 39th at a speed of 167.264 mph. The run was more than enough to beat two-time last-placer Mike Skinner, who crashed hard in turn one after running the slowest qualifying lap of the day.

Just like at Kansas, where Riggs was forced to park and finished 42nd, the #81 was sent behind the wall early. When the first caution of the race fell for debris on Lap 18, Riggs headed to the garage and the team packed up for the day. It was Riggs’ second-consecutive last-place finish in NASCAR, joining his run in last week’s Truck Series race at Kansas.

By the restart, several other teams also pulled out, including the #37 of Tony Raines, the #66 of Michael McDowell, the #50 of T.J. Bell, and teammate Yeley’s #46. However, when Raines, McDowell, and Bell returned to run some more laps, Yeley was shuffled down to 42nd in the final running order.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time two Sprint Cup teammates have finished in the final two spots since PRISM Motorsports did in last August’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol. Riggs himself drove PRISM’s #66 to a 42nd-place finish ahead of teammate Michael McDowell, 43rd in the #55.
*It was Riggs’ first last-place finish in almost three years, dating back to when his #66 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet finished running, but 128 laps down, in the 2008 Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta.
*The #81 had not finished last in a Cup race since 2003, when John Andretti’s #81 Kraft 100th Anniversary Chevrolet was involved in a single-car crash after 46 laps of the 2003 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.
*It is the first time the #81 has ever finished last in a Cup race at Pocono.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #81-Scott Riggs / 17 laps / brakes
42) #46-J.J. Yeley / 23 laps / brakes
41) #66-Michael McDowell / 29 laps / electrical / led 1 lap
40) #87-Joe Nemechek / 29 laps / ignition
39) #50-T.J. Bell / 33 laps / electrical

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell (4)
2nd) Joe Nemechek (3)
3rd) Mike Skinner, J.J. Yeley (2)
4th) Landon Cassill, Kevin Conway, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #66-HP Racing LLC (4)
2nd) #60-Germain Racing, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (3)
3rd) #46-Whitney Motorsports (2)
4th) #81-Whitney Motorsports, #97-NEMCO Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (11)
2nd) Chevrolet (3)

TRUCKS: Benning Ties Garvey For LASTCAR Lead Following Texas Engine Trouble

Norm Benning picked up the 5th last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s WinStar World Casino 400k at the Texas Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #57 Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet fell out with engine problems after 3 of the race’s 168 laps.

Benning qualified 35th - last in the short-fielded race - at a speed of 155.070 mph, more than eight miles per hour slower than the next-fastest truck of Stephan McCurley. Both Benning and McCurley remained in the rear after making adjustments outside of impound and both exited the race within the first 30 laps. Between the two, previous LASTCAR Truck Series leader Mike Garvey fell out one lap after Benning, followed by Johnny Chapman.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Benning and the #57 had finished last in a Truck race at Texas on just one other occasion, the 2009 WinStar World Casino 400, when his Germane Tooling Group Chevrolet fell out with handling woes after three laps.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
35) #57-Norm Benning / 3 laps / engine
34) #38-Mike Garvey / 4 laps / brakes
33) #07-Johnny Chapman / 9 laps / transmission
32) #65-Stephan McCurley / 25 laps / clutch
31) #30-Todd Bodine / 66 laps / crash

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Norm Benning, Mike Garvey (2)
2nd) James Buescher, Travis Kvapil, Chris Lafferty, Scott Riggs, Brad Sweet (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #38-Shane Sieg, #57-Norm Benning Racing (2)
2nd) #5-Randy Moss, #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #31-Turner Motorsports, #32-Turner Motorsports, #07-SS Green Light Racing (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (7)
2nd) Toyota (2)

CUP: Nemechek Shuffled By Skinner Up To Second In Two LASTCAR Rankings

Joe Nemechek picked up the 27th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s STP 400 at the Kansas Speedway when his unsponsored #87 NEMCO Motorsports Toyota fell out with rear gear problems after completing 19 of the race’s 267 laps.

The finish moved Nemechek into 2nd in both the All-Time and Sprint Cup LASTCAR standings. His 27th Sprint Cup last-place finish breaks a tie for second with Derrike Cope, putting him five finishes away from tying the late J.D. McDuffie for the most-ever in the series. It’s also Nemechek’s 33rd last-place finish across all three divisions, moving him into a tie with Morgan Shepherd for second-most all-time, two finishes behind Cope’s all-time record of 35.

At Kansas, scene of Nemechek’s most recent Cup win in 2004, he ran 16th-fastest in the opening practice session, then qualified 34th at a speed of 171.445 mph, good enough to beat six other “go-or-go-home” drivers, including Tony Raines and T.J. Bell, who failed to qualify.

On race day, Mike Skinner looked like he was going to give Germain Racing’s #60 its fourth last-place finish of 2011 when he went behind the wall on Lap 8. As it turned out over the radio, Skinner’s team was fighting a tight condition on the car and would return to the track. Nemechek joined Skinner behind the wall just over ten circuits later, followed a lap later by Scott Riggs, who was making his first Cup race of the season after finishing last in the Truck Series race the previous day.

While both Nemechek and Riggs were done for the day, Skinner made at least four trips back and forth to the racetrack, continually chasing a setup he called “an aerodynamic nightmare.” As he did, several other drivers who had also parked their cars returned to the track, trying to keep Skinner behind them. By Lap 56, Skinner had completed enough laps to ease past Nemechek and Riggs, but was unable to catch drivers Michael McDowell, David Stremme, and Johnny Sauter (driving for Robby Gordon), who all parked earlier, then returned from the garage area to log more laps. McDowell was the first of this group to retire, allowing Skinner to edge him for 40th before he finally pulled the #60 out of the race for good. This allowed both Stremme and Sauter to hold him off and finish 39th and 36th, respectively.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*It was Nemechek’s third last-place finish of the 2011 season, the most recent coming at the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville where his brakes failed 25 laps into the race.
*Neither Nemechek nor the #87 had ever before finished last in a Cup race at Kansas.
*It’s the second-straight year that a Cup driver has finished last at Kansas because of a rear gear failure. Last October, Landon Cassill picked up his first career last-place finish in the Price Chopper 400 after his #64 Little Joe’s Autos Toyota fell out 33 laps into the event.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #87-Joe Nemechek / 19 laps / rear gear
42) #81-Scott Riggs / 20 laps / rear gear
41) #66-Michael McDowell / 33 laps / electrical
40) #60-Mike Skinner / 34 laps / ignition
39) #30-David Stremme / 37 laps / brakes

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell (4)
2nd) Joe Nemechek (3)
3rd) Mike Skinner, J.J. Yeley (2)
4th) Landon Cassill, Kevin Conway (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #66-HP Racing LLC (4)
2nd) #60-Germain Racing, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (3)
3rd) #46-Dusty Whitney (2)
4th) #97-NEMCO Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (11)
2nd) Chevrolet (2)

N’WIDE: Rowe Edges Miller And Green To Pit Road For Second Last-Place Finish of 2011

Brett Rowe picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s STP 300 at the Chicagoland Speedway when his #55 Imperial Bedding Company Chevrolet fell out with brake problems after 3 of the race’s 200 laps.

Qualifying was rained-out at Chicagoland, so since only 42 drivers were on the entry list, Rowe was one of the competitors. Starting 39th, Rowe remained in the rear of the field early on and, after three laps, followed Jeff Green and Chase Miller behind the wall. As the last of the three cars to cross the start / finish line, this credited Rowe with his second last-place finish of 2011.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Neither Rowe nor the #55 had ever before finished last in a Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland.
*This was the first time a Nationwide Series driver has ever finished last at Chicagoland due to brake failure.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
42) #55-Brett Rowe / 3 laps / brakes
41) #46-Chase Miller / 3 laps / handling
40) #44-Jeff Green / 3 laps / transmission
39) #74-Mike Harmon / 6 laps / clutch
38) #75-Johnny Chapman / 15 laps / overheating

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (3)
2nd) Kelly Bires, Brett Rowe (2)
3rd) Matt Carter, Johnny Chapman, Kevin Conway, Mike Harmon, James Hylton, Blake Koch, Justin Marks (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #44-TriStar Motorsports (3)
2nd) #25-Ed Rensi, #55-Faith Motorsports (2)
3rd) #0-JD Motorsports, #27-Baker Curb Racing, #68-Fleur-De-Lis Motorsports, #74-Mike Harmon, #75-Rick Ware Racing, #82-MacDonald Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (9)
2nd) Ford (4)
3rd) Dodge (1)

TRUCKS: Riggs Finishes 36th In Truck Series Return

Scott Riggs picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at the Kansas Speedway when his #07 SS Green Light Racing / www.Bobber.info Toyota fell out with a rear gear problem after running 4 of the race’s 167 laps. The finish came in Riggs’ 44th series start.

The Kansas race saw Riggs make his first Truck Series start since the end of his 2001 campaign, when he won five races and finished fifth in points for owner Jim Smith. This time around, Riggs would be driving SS Green Light Racing’s #07, a team that has made every race this season with drivers Donnie Neunberger, B.J. McLeod, Jamie Dick, Caleb Roark, Johnny Chapman, and J.J. Yeley. Roark gave the team its best finish of the season at Martinsville, where he rallied from 32nd to finish 19th. In the four races since, however, the team has finished no better than 31st and completed no more than 40 laps.

Riggs qualified 28th for the Kansas race at a speed of 162.308 mph, enough to beat seven other “go-or-go-homers,” including Stephan McCurley’s #65, the race’s lone DNQ. Unfortunately, Riggs did not get to run the race very long, sent behind the wall four laps into the race. Mike Garvey, a two-time last-placer in 2011, fell out three laps later, followed by Chris Jones three circuits after that.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The last time Riggs competed in a Truck Series race was the 2001 season finale, the Auto Club 200 at Fontana, where a crash left him 32nd after starting on the pole. Finishing last that day was Sammy Sanders, whose Ed Rensi-owned #61 Chevrolet lost the engine after eight laps. It was Sanders’ first and only last-place finish.
*The #07 had not finished last in a Truck Series race since last fall at Phoenix, when Butch Miller fell out 8 laps into the 2010 Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #07-Scott Riggs / 4 laps / rear gear
35) #38-Mike Garvey / 7 laps / transmission
34) #87-Chris Jones / 10 laps / vibration
33) #57-Norm Benning / 22 laps / suspension
32) #73-J.J. Yeley / 42 laps / power steering

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Garvey (2)
2nd) Norm Benning, James Buescher, Travis Kvapil, Chris Lafferty, Scott Riggs, Brad Sweet (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #38-Shane Sieg (2)
2nd) #5-Randy Moss, #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #31-Turner Motorsports, #32-Turner Motorsports, #57-Norm Benning Racing, #07-SS Green Light Racing (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (6)
2nd) Toyota (2)