CUP: Yeley First Driver To Sweep Weekend’s Last-Place Finishes Since Blaney in 2009

SOURCE: ESPN2

J.J. Yeley picked up the 7th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at the Kansas Speedway when his unsponsored #55 Front Row Motorsports Ford fell out with ignition trouble after 12 of the race’s 272 laps.

It was Yeley’s fifth last-place finish of 2011, his first since the August race at Michigan, seven races ago, and his third in Front Row’s #55. The #55 team is now in a three-way tie with Germain Racing’s #60 and HP Racing LLC’s #66 for the 2011 LASTCAR Owner’s Championship - each with six finishes apiece with six races to go.

In addition, Yeley became the first driver to finish last in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races at the same track on the same weekend since Dave Blaney finished 43rd for both Phil Parsons’ teams at Atlanta in September of 2009.

After running four of the last five races in Front Row’s #38, scoring a best finish of 25th in that stretch, Yeley and Travis Kvapil switched rides once again, putting Yeley back in the “start-and-park” #55. Both Yeley and Kvapil put their cars into the race with Yeley putting up the 28th-fastest speed of 172.568 mph. Kvapil timed in 36th.

At the start of the race, A.J. Allmendinger, David Reutimann, and Reed Sorenson all fell to the rear of the field for missing driver’s introductions. While Allmendinger and Reutimann picked their way through the field in the early stages, Sorenson remained 43rd in Robby Gordon’s pink #7 SPEED Energy Dodge. Sorenson remained in that spot until Lap 13, when Yeley pulled behind the wall, followed by Casey Mears and Joe Nemechek before the first caution.

Kvapil finished 27th and led three laps when he stayed out for the ensuing Lap 24 restart.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The Front Row Motorsports #55 team is the first Cup Series organization to score three consecutive last-place finishes since last summer when Max Papis and the #13 Germain Racing team finished last at Michigan, Sonoma, and Loudon. Next week at Charlotte, the #55 has a chance to become the first Cup Series team to extend that streak to four.
*This was Ford’s first last-place finish in a Cup race at Kansas since 2004, when Kirk Shelmerdine’s #72 Vote For Bush Ford fell out with clutch problems three laps into the 2004 Banquet 400.
*Neither Yeley nor the #55 had ever before finished last in a Cup race at Kansas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #55-J.J. Yeley / 12 laps / ignition
42) #13-Casey Mears / 16 laps / brakes
41) #87-Joe Nemechek / 18 laps / clutch
40) #30-David Stremme / 27 laps / rear gear
39) #66-Michael McDowell / 30 laps / brakes

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
With the finish, Yeley pulls within one finish of tying Michael McDowell for the 2011 LASTCAR Driver’s Championship. With the possibility of a tie in the next six races, McDowell remains just ahead of Yeley with 22 bottom-five finishes to Yeley’s 18. Mike Skinner, the current driver for the #60 Germain Racing team, failed to qualify at Kansas and has now missed the last five consecutive races.
1st) Michael McDowell (6)
2nd) J.J. Yeley (5)
3rd) Mike Skinner (4)
4th) Joe Nemechek (3)
5th) Kevin Conway, Robby Gordon, Travis Kvapil (2)
6th) Dave Blaney, Landon Cassill, Jeff Green, P.J. Jones, Scott Riggs, Scott Speed (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
With three teams now tied for the lead in the Owner’s Championship, the tiebreaker will also revert to bottom-five finishes. There, again, the #66 team holds the advantage with 23 bottom-fives. The #60, due in part to their recent streak of DNQs, has 19 while the #55, which debuted at Loudon in July, has only 9.
1st) #55-Front Row Motorsports, #60-Germain Racing, #66-HP Racing LLC (6)
2nd) #46-Whitney Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (3)
3rd) #7-Robby Gordon Motorsports, #97-NEMCO Motorsports (2)
4th) #81-Whitney Motorsports, #77-Robby Gordon Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (16)
2nd) Ford (7)
3rd) Chevrolet (4)
4th) Dodge (3)

N’WIDE: Yeley’s First Nationwide 43rd In Six Years Comes In Curb Team’s Return

SOURCE: Rubbins Racin'

J.J. Yeley picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at the Kansas Speedway when his #27 31-W Insulation Ford fell out with electrical problems after completing 2 of the race’s 200 laps.

The finish was Yeley’s first of the 2011 season, but the second for the Baker-Curb Motorsports team. Their other finish came with Justin Marks at Phoenix, 28 races ago.

Kansas was the #27 team’s sixth start of the 2011 Nationwide Series campaign and its fourth with J.J. Yeley aboard. The car’s best finish came in its most recent start at Fontana in April, where Canadian J.R. Fitzpatrick turned in a 20th-place finish. Having struggled through the first five races of the season, however, Baker-Curb did not make another race until Saturday.

Yeley’s lap of 164.951 mph in qualifying was just good enough for the 43rd and final starting spot, edging Dennis Setzer for the position by less than five hundredths of a second. On race day, Yeley missed the driver’s meeting, then pulled behind the wall a lap before T.J. Bell and 2011 LASTCAR Nationwide Driver’s Champion Jeff Green.

While Mike Curb’s team made only a brief appearance in the Nationwide race, he also succeeded in making his 100th Sprint Cup start as an owner. Austin Dillon, grandson of Richard Childress and the current Camping World Truck Series point leader, made his Cup Series debut Sunday driving Curb’s #98 Childress-prepared Chevrolet. It was Curb’s first Cup start as an owner since Brad Noffsinger’s run in the season-ending 1988 Atlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Yeley’s first Nationwide Series last-place finish in more than six years. His only other 43rd came at Fontana, when his #18 Vigoro / The Home Depot Chevrolet lost the engine four laps into the 2005 Ameriquest 300.
*Yeley’s finish in a Ford ends an eight-race last-place streak by Chevrolet in the series which began after Jennifer Jo Cobb’s Ford finished last at Lucas Oil Raceway.
*The #27 has never before finished last in a Nationwide Series race at Kansas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #27-J.J. Yeley / 2 laps / electrical
42) #50-T.J. Bell / 3 laps / vibration
41) #44-Jeff Green / 3 laps / vibration
40) #47-Charles Lewandoski / 5 laps / vibration
39) #46-Chase Miller / 10 laps / ignition

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (9)
2nd) Brett Rowe (3)
3rd) Kelly Bires, Johnny Chapman, Dennis Setzer (2)
4th) T.J. Bell, Matt Carter, Kevin Conway, Marc Davis, Mike Harmon, James Hylton, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Brian Keselowski, Blake Koch, Justin Marks, Scott Wimmer, J.J. Yeley (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #44-TriStar Motorsports (9)
2nd) #55-Faith Motorsports (3)
3rd) #25-Ed Rensi, #27-Baker Curb Racing, #47-Key Motorsports, #49-Jay Robinson Racing (2)
4th) #0-JD Motorsports, #13-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #41-Rick Ware Racing, #50-Mark Beaver, #68-Fleur-De-Lis Motorsports, #74-Mike Harmon, #75-Rick Ware Racing, #82-MacDonald Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports, #03-R3 Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (23)
2nd) Ford (6)
3rd) Dodge (1)

CUP: Kvapil Scores Back-To-Back Cup Series Last-Place Finishes

SOURCE: ESPN2

Travis Kvapil picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s AAA 400 at the Dover International Speedway when his unsponsored #55 Front Row Motorsports Ford fell out with ignition problems after 12 of the race’s 400 laps.

It was Kvapil’s second last-place finish of 2011 and his second in a row, following his early exit last Sunday at Loudon.

Kvapil locked himself into the Dover field with a speed of 156.230 mph, placing him 32nd on the starting grid. While teammate J.J. Yeley in the Front Row #38 was forced to a backup car following an accident in Friday’s opening practice, Kvapil had an uneventful weekend. Dropping to the rear at the start, Kvapil pulled behind the wall between the first and second cautions, followed twelve laps later by Scott Speed in Dusty Whitney’s #46 Ford.

Yeley was involved in a single-car accident on Lap 300 and ended up finishing ten laps down in 34th. David Gilliland in Front Row’s top-ranked #34 finished three laps down in 28th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The #55 had not finished last in a Sprint Cup race at Dover since 1999, when Kenny Wallace’s Square D Chevrolet fell out with engine failure after 63 laps of the 1999 MBNA Gold 400 at Dover.
*This was Kvapil’s first-ever last-place finish in a Cup race at Dover.
*Kvapil joins current LASTCAR Cup leader Michael McDowell (Bristol and Fontana; Darlington and Dover) as the only two Cup drivers with consecutive last-place finishes in 2011. Kvapil had never before finished last in two consecutive races.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #55-Travis Kvapil / 12 laps / ignition
42) #46-Scott Speed / 24 laps / brakes
41) #30-David Stremme / 31 laps / vibration
40) #66-Michael McDowell / 44 laps / fuel pump / led 1 lap
39) #87-Joe Nemechek / 49 laps / clutch

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell (6)
2nd) Mike Skinner, J.J. Yeley (4)
3rd) Joe Nemechek (3)
4th) Kevin Conway, Robby Gordon, Travis Kvapil (2)
5th) Dave Blaney, Landon Cassill, Jeff Green, P.J. Jones, Scott Riggs, Scott Speed (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
The #60 Germain Racing team, still tied with HP Racing’s #66 for the Owner’s Championship, has now been absent from the last four consecutive races since Dave Blaney drove the car to its sixth last-place finish at Atlanta. In that time, Mike Skinner, the team’s regular driver, has scored three DNQs and the team withdrew back at Loudon. Although the #66 scored the tying last-place finish of at Chicagoland, the #55 Front Row Motorsports team’s streak could make it a three-car battle for the Owner’s Championship.
1st) #60-Germain Racing, #66-HP Racing LLC (6)
2nd) #55-Front Row Motorsports (5)
3rd) #46-Whitney Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (3)
4th) #7-Robby Gordon Motorsports, #97-NEMCO Motorsports (2)
5th) #81-Whitney Motorsports, #77-Robby Gordon Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (16)
2nd) Ford (6)
3rd) Chevrolet (4)
4th) Dodge (3)

N’WIDE: Dover Sees Jeff Green Score The Most Last-Place Finishes In Nationwide Series History

SOURCE: TheHotLap.com

Jeff Green picked up the 25th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s OneMain Financial 200 at the Dover International Speedway when his unsponsored #44 TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet fell out with a vibration after 1 of the race’s 200 laps.

With the finish, Green has now scored the most last-place finishes of any driver in NASCAR Nationwide Series history, breaking a tie with three-time LASTCAR Nationwide Series champion Jeff Fuller. Also, with a combined total of 30 finishes, Green also holds sole possession of fourth in the all-time LASTCAR standings, just five finishes behind all-time leader Derrike Cope.

Further, this finish was the series-leading ninth of Green’s 2011 season - his first since Bristol, four races ago (LINK) - and he has now locked-up his second LASTCAR Nationwide Series championship. Green’s first LASTCAR title came in 1996, when he scored three last-place finishes while driving for Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

At Dover, Green timed in 29th at a speed of 148.325 mph, ranking him sixth among the field’s “go-or-go-homers.” It was also Green’s third consecutive qualifying run inside the Top 30. However, still on “start-and-park” duty for TriStar, Green pulled behind the wall after the opening lap.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Jeff Green’s second-consecutive last-place finish in the fall Nationwide Series race at Dover. In last year’s Dover 200, while driving TriStar’s #36 Chevrolet, Green also left the race after the opening lap, that time with brake failure.
*This was the first time the #44 has ever finished last in a Nationwide Series race at Dover.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #44-Jeff Green / 1 lap / vibration
42) #50-T.J. Bell / 3 laps / brakes
41) #82-Scott Wimmer / 3 laps / ignition
40) #42-Tim Andrews / 4 laps / electrical
39) #46-Chase Miller / 5 laps / ignition

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
With a six-finish lead and just five races remaining, Jeff Green and the #44 TriStar Motorsports team have officially clinched the 2011 LASTCAR Nationwide Series Driver’s and Owner’s Championships. Second-ranked Brett Rowe and the #55 Faith Motorsports team have not raced since their most recent last-place run at Road America in June.
1st) Jeff Green (9)
2nd) Brett Rowe (3)
3rd) Kelly Bires, Johnny Chapman, Dennis Setzer (2)
4th) T.J. Bell, Matt Carter, Kevin Conway, Marc Davis, Mike Harmon, James Hylton, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Brian Keselowski, Blake Koch, Justin Marks, Scott Wimmer (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #44-TriStar Motorsports (9)
2nd) #55-Faith Motorsports (3)
3rd) #25-Ed Rensi, #47-Key Motorsports, #49-Jay Robinson Racing (2)
4th) #0-JD Motorsports, #13-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #27-Baker Curb Racing, #41-Rick Ware Racing, #50-Mark Beaver, #68-Fleur-De-Lis Motorsports, #74-Mike Harmon, #75-Rick Ware Racing, #82-MacDonald Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports, #03-R3 Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (23)
2nd) Ford (5)
3rd) Dodge (1)

TRUCKS: Raymer Scores Chevrolet’s 250th Truck Series Last-Place Finish

SOURCE: zimbio

Brent Raymer picked up the 5th last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s Kentucky 225 at the Kentucky Speedway when his #27 S&W Services Chevrolet fell out with a vibration after 2 of the race’s 150 laps.

The finish was Raymer’s second in 2011. The other came four races ago at Bristol while driving for Joey Sontaag.

With 36 trucks on the entry list, Raymer was able to put the #27, the Sieg team’s fourth truck, into its second race of the year with a 33rd-best lap of 167.463 mph. Prior to Kentucky, the truck was driven one other time by David Stremme, who turned in a 34th-place finish at Chicago last month with Rob Winfield listed as the owner. Two laps into the race, Raymer pulled behind the wall, followed less than twenty laps later by teammates Mike Garvey and Ryan Sieg. B.J. McLeod, driving the fourth Sieg truck #93, fell out with overheating problems and finished 26th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The #27 had not finished last in a Truck Series race since 2007, when Jacques Villeneuve’s UNICEF Toyota was involved in a single-truck crash during the 2007 Ford 200 at Homestead, ending his day after 80 laps. The number had never before finished last in a Truck Series race at Kentucky.
*The finish was Chevrolet’s 250th in Truck Series competition, the most among all the series’ manufacturers.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #27-Brent Raymer / 2 laps / vibration
35) #74-Mike Harmon / 4 laps / power steering
34) #51-Josh Richards / 4 laps / crash
33) #39-Ryan Sieg / 19 laps / crash
32) #38-Mike Garvey / 21 laps / clutch

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Garvey (4)
2nd) Norm Benning, Chris Lafferty, Brent Raymer (2)
3rd) James Buescher, Chris Jones, Mike Harmon, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Travis Kvapil, Johanna Long, Scott Riggs, Greg Seevers, Dennis Setzer, Brad Sweet (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #38-Shane Sieg (4)
2nd) #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #57-Norm Benning Racing (2)
3rd) #5-Randy Moss, #20-Panhandle Motorsports, #27-Shane Sieg, #31-Turner Motorsports, #32-Turner Motorsports, #65-Joey Sonntag, #74-Mike Harmon, #75-Norm Benning Racing, #87-Rick Jones, #89-Chris Lafferty, #93-Shane Sieg, #07-SS Green Light Racing (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (15)
2nd) Toyota (3)
3rd) Ford (2)