CUP: Skinner Is Inaugural Last-Place Finisher Of Kentucky Cup Race

Mike Skinner picked up the 12th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Saturday’s inaugural Quaker State 400 at the Kentucky Speedway when his #60 Big Red Toyota fell out with electrical problems after completing 17 of the race’s 267 laps.

Kentucky, scene of NASCAR’s first new Sprint Cup venue since 2001, was also the home track of Big Red Soda, who sponsored three teams entered into the race. Skinner, the only Big Red car among the “go-or-go-homers,” was locked-in based on the #60's attempting all 18 races in 2011 after qualifying was cut short by rain. Joining Skinner in the Big Red contingent were Dave Blaney, whose #36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet started 32nd, and Mike Bliss, who rolled out 42nd in the FAS Lane Racing Ford #32.

Blaney changed transmissions before Saturday’s race, sending him to the back of the field along with Denny Hamlin, who changed engines in Happy Hour. During the pace laps, the two were joined by Joe Nemechek and Michael McDowell, who surrendered their starting spots in anticipation of an early exit. McDowell’s #66 was carrying an eye-catching new paint job, officially listed under sponsors “Standard Publishing” and “Relentless Hope.”

In the early laps, Scott Riggs, in Dusty Whitney’s unsponsored red #81, slipped from the 40th starting spot to 43rd, but it was Skinner, still on “start-and-park” duty, who exited the race first during the opening green-flag run. Riggs followed eleven laps later followed by McDowell, who pulled out right after getting the Lucky Dog during the first competition caution on Lap 31.

Fellow Big Red Soda drivers Blaney and Bliss finished 33rd and 34th, respectively, each three laps down to race winner Kyle Busch.

LASTCAR STATISTIC: INAUGURAL CUP RACES
*The last time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series added a new track to its schedule was in 2001, when Casey Atwood’s #19 Dodge / UAW-sponsored Dodge was involved in a crash during the opening lap of the inaugural Protection One 400 at Kansas. 

*Here are the last-place finishers of the ten most recent inaugural Cup races:
KANSAS - #19-Casey Atwood (crash on the opening lap) in 2001
CHICAGO - #96-Andy Houston (engine failure after 3 laps) in 2001
HOMESTEAD - #66-Darrell Waltrip (handling problems after 85 laps) in 1999
LAS VEGAS - #8-Hut Stricklin (electrical problems after 150 laps) in 1998
TEXAS - #17-Darrell Waltrip (crash on the opening lap) in 1997
FONTANA - #8-Hut Stricklin (crash after 28 laps) in 1997
INDIANAPOLIS - #27-Jimmy Spencer (crash after 9 laps) in 1994
LOUDON - #65-Jerry O’Neil (crash after 9 laps) in 1993
SONOMA - #29-Dale Jarrett (transmission problems after 8 laps) in 1989
PHOENIX - #15-Brett Bodine (engine problems after 13 laps) in 1988

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #60-Mike Skinner / 17 laps / electrical
42) #81-Scott Riggs / 28 laps / brakes
41) #66-Michael McDowell / 32 laps / electrical
40) #46-J.J. Yeley / 35 laps / transmission / led 1 lap
39) #87-Joe Nemechek / 37 laps / brakes

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell (5)
2nd) Joe Nemechek, Mike Skinner (3)
3rd) Kevin Conway, J.J. Yeley (2)
4th) Landon Cassill, P.J. Jones, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #66-HP Racing LLC (5)
2nd) #60-Germain Racing (4)
3rd) #87-NEMCO Motorsports (3)
4th) #46-Whitney Motorsports, #97-NEMCO Motorsports (2)
5th) #81-Whitney Motorsports, #77-Robby Gordon Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (14)
2nd) Chevrolet (3)
3rd) Dodge (1)

N’WIDE: Setzer Third In LASTCAR Nationwide Rankings After Second-Straight 43rd at Kentucky

Dennis Setzer picked up the 14th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Friday’s Feed The Children 300 at the Kentucky Speedway when his unsponsored #49 Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet fell out with brake problems after 2 of the race’s 200 laps.

With the finish, Setzer now stands in sole possession of third in the all-time LASTCAR Nationwide Series standings, trailing only Jeff Fuller and current 2011 series leader Jeff Green.

Setzer qualified 31st for the race at a speed of 166.605 mph, ranking him eighth among the fifteen “go-or-go-homers” who attempted to qualify for the race. His lap was more than enough to beat Danny Efland and Carl Long, who missed the race.

After two laps of the race, Setzer pulled behind the wall under green, followed the next lap by both John Jackson and Chase Miller. Jeff Green came home 37th, retiring after 18 laps.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The race marked Setzer’s second-consecutive last-place finish in a Nationwide race at Kentucky. Last summer, while driving K-Automotive’s #92 Dodge, he fell out after six laps with electrical problems.
*Setzer’s other last-place finish in 2011 came last month at Michigan, where his #49 fell out after the opening lap with a vibration.
*The #49 had never before finished last in a Nationwide Series race at Kentucky.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #49-Dennis Setzer / 2 laps / brakes
42) #72-John Jackson / 3 laps / electrical
41) #46-Chase Miller / 3 laps / ignition
40) #74-Mike Harmon / 7 laps / brakes
39) #75-Johnny Chapman / 10 laps / ignition

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (4)
2nd) Brett Rowe (3)
3rd) Kelly Bires, Dennis Setzer (2)
4th) 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 (4)
2nd) #55-Faith Motorsports (3)
3rd) #25-Ed Rensi, #49-Jay Robinson Racing (2)
4th) #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 (13)
2nd) Ford (4)
3rd) Dodge (1)

TRUCKS: Early Crash Shortens Johanna Long’s Night at Kentucky

Johanna Long picked up the 3rd last-place finish of her NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Thursday’s UNOH 225 at the Kentucky Speedway when her #20 Panhandle Grading and Paving Toyota was involved in a two-truck accident on Lap 6 of the 152-lap race.

Long qualified 21st for the race at a speed of 168.755 mph, ranking her second behind 19th-fastest John King among the session’s “go-or-go-homers.” Coming off the team’s season-best finish of 11th at Texas last month, hopes were high that the Long’s speed would lead to another good finish.

Unfortunately, an accident sparked by Timothy Peters on Lap 6 sent Long’s truck spinning backwards into the turn two wall along with Justin Marks, taking both her and Marks out of the race. Long was credited with the last-place finish.

King, the fastest “go-or-go-homer,” was also involved in a multi-truck crash late in the race that left him 28th. It was King’s first start of the 2011 season.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*It was Long and the #20's first last-place finish since 2010, when she scored the other two finishes of her career. Her most recent came last fall at Texas, where she crashed after the opening lap.
*Neither Long, the #20, nor a Toyota had ever finished last in a Truck Series race at Kentucky.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #20-Johanna Long / 5 laps / crash
35) #66-Justin Marks / 6 laps / crash
34) #38-Mike Garvey / 9 laps / transmission
33) #84-Chris Fontaine / 10 laps / electrical
32) #88-Matt Crafton / 18 laps / engine

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Norm Benning, Mike Garvey (2)
2nd) James Buescher, Travis Kvapil, Chris Lafferty, Johanna Long, 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, #20-Panhandle Motorsports, #31-Turner Motorsports, #32-Turner Motorsports, #07-SS Green Light Racing (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (7)
2nd) Toyota (3)

CUP: Conway Last In The 400, But NEMCO Turns Heads At Daytona

Kevin Conway picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career in Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 at the Daytona International Speedway when his #97 ExtenZe Toyota fell out with rear gear problems after completing one of the race’s 170 laps.

Conway’s weekend began on a high note with a surprising run in Friday’s Nationwide Series race. Three months after team owner Joe Nemechek nearly pulled off the victory in the wild Aaron’s 312 at Talladega, NEMCO Motorsports fielded two blue ExtenZe Toyotas in the race, putting Conway in the #87 and Nemechek in the #97. Locked nose-to-tail in a two-car draft, the duo rocketed into the Top 10 early, then remained there for much of the race.

However, with just 10 laps remaining, Conway nudged Nemechek loose in turn four, causing a crash that took both cars out of contention. They held onto the lead lap and came home 25th and 26th.

Conway and Nemechek both qualified for the Cup race, apparently set to work together once again. Conway had a fleet #97 in qualifying, putting up the 22nd-fastest time at a speed of 180.310 mph, third-fastest among the “go-or-go-homers.” Nemechek snared the 43rd and final starting spot, but edged Tony Raines and J.J. Yeley - the race’s two DNQs - by more than two tenths of a second.

However, when the race began, Conway was quickly behind the wall, back in his “start-and-park” role from Talladega, scene of his first Cup last-place finish. Conway had also left the Talladega race after the opening lap. Current LASTCAR Cup Series leader Michael McDowell fell out of the race one lap later, just before Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne’s race ended with a very hard crash in turn two. Bayne came home 41st.

Joe Nemechek, whose #87 carried sufficient sponsorship from ExtenZe and AM FM Energy to run the entire race, was one of many underfunded drivers who contended for the lead during the middle stages of the race. Holding 20th by Lap 37, Nemechek hooked up with Travis Kvapil’s #38, who shoved the #87 into 11th by Lap 66, 7th by Lap 74, and to the lead by Lap 77.

Though other pairs of drivers would join the battle for the lead, Nemechek was still in touch with the Top 10 all the way up to the first green-white-checkered finish, when he was swept up in the grinding 15-car crash that took place in turn two. Nemechek came home one lap down in 30th, his best run of the year and the first Cup race he’s finished under power in 2011.

David Ragan went on to win his first Cup Series race in an electrifying finish. Curiously, Daytona was the scene of Ragan’s only last-place finish in any of NASCAR’s top three divisions: a crash after four laps of the 2007 Koolerz 300 at Daytona, the season opener for the Nationwide Series. Ragan has yet to finish last in any of his 163 Cup Series starts.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The #97 had not finished last in a Cup race at Daytona since 1997, when Chad Little’s John Deere Pontiac was involved in a multi-car crash after completing 32 laps of the 1997 Pepsi 400 at Daytona.
*NEMCO’s #97 has now finished last in three of the last four Cup restrictor-plate points races, including Jeff Fuller’s 43rd-place showing in last fall’s AMP Energy Juice 500 at Talladega. Fuller also finished last in his Gatorade Duel that season.
*Conway’s 22nd-place starting spot is the best of this year’s Cup last-place finishers, beating the previous record of 32nd set by both Nemechek at Phoenix and matched by Conway himself at Talladega.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #97-Kevin Conway / 1 lap / rear gear
42) #66-Michael McDowell / 2 laps / electrical
41) #21-Trevor Bayne / 4 laps / crash
40) #60-Mike Skinner / 5 laps / wheel
39) #36-Dave Blaney / 47 laps / crash

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell (5)
2nd) Joe Nemechek (3)
3rd) Kevin Conway, Mike Skinner, J.J. Yeley (2)
4th) Landon Cassill, P.J. Jones, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #66-HP Racing LLC (5)
2nd) #60-Germain Racing, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (3)
3rd) #46-Whitney Motorsports, #97-NEMCO Motorsports (2)
4th) #81-Whitney Motorsports, #77-Robby Gordon Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (13)
2nd) Chevrolet (3)
3rd) Dodge (1)

N’WIDE: Jeff Green Tied For Fifth In All-Time LASTCAR Standings

Jeff Green picked up the 20th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Friday’s Subway Jalapeno 250 at the Daytona International Speedway when his #44 East Central Florida View / HURT Chevrolet fell out with a vibration after 3 of the race’s 100 laps.

Green now has 23 last-place finishes across NASCAR’s top-three divisions, tying him with Dave Blaney for fifth-most all-time. He remains second in the Nationwide Series standings, four finishes behind all-time series leader Jeff Fuller’s mark of 24.

Green qualified 28th for the race at a speed of 176.374 mph, besting five “go-or-go-homers” including Chase Miller, whose Key Motorsports #46 was the only team that failed to qualify. Soon after the green flag dropped, Green pulled behind the wall along with Fontana last-placer Mike Harmon and his #74.

Harmon held 43rd for much of the race, but returned to the track in the closing stages to complete a total of 29 laps. This shuffled Harmon up to 41st, moving Green down to last and Carl Long to 42nd.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is Green’s first-ever last-place finish in a Nationwide Series race at Daytona.
*The #44 had never before finished last in a Nationwide Series race at Daytona.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #44-Jeff Green / 3 laps / vibration
42) #68-Carl Long / 4 laps / overheating
41) #74-Mike Harmon / 29 laps / running
40) #40-Charles Lewandoski / 29 laps / engine
39) #30-Ricky Carmichael / 34 laps / crash

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
The finish in Saturday’s race moved Green back into the 2011 LASTCAR Nationwide Series lead, breaking a tie with Brett Rowe, who came home last in the previous race at Road America.
1st) Jeff Green (4)
2nd) Brett Rowe (3)
3rd) Kelly Bires (2)
4th) Matt Carter, Johnny Chapman, Kevin Conway, Mike Harmon, James Hylton, Blake Koch, Justin Marks, Dennis Setzer (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #44-TriStar Motorsports (4)
2nd) #55-Faith Motorsports (3)
3rd) #25-Ed Rensi (2)
4th) #0-JD Motorsports, #27-Baker Curb Racing, #49-Jay Robinson 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 (12)
2nd) Ford (4)
3rd) Dodge (1)