CUP: Scott Speed Overheats In Leavine Family Racing’s Return

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin'

Scott Speed picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Saturday’s Samsung Mobile 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #95 Tommy Williams Drywall Ford fell out with overheating problems after 13 of the race’s 334 laps.

The finish was Speed’s first of 2012 and his first in Sprint Cup competition since he was involved in an early crash at Richmond while driving for Dusty Whitney, seventeen races ago.

Speed qualified 38th at a speed of 185.122 mph, ranking him sixth among the eleven “go-or-go-homers” who attempted to qualify. This put Speed’s team - Texas-based Leavine Family Racing - into their first race of 2012. It was also Speed’s first Cup race of the season, two weeks after he narrowly missed the show at Martinsville while driving the #52 for Hamilton-Means Racing.

In the race, Speed was one of many drivers to make at least one unscheduled pit stop during the opening 67-lap green-flag run. Of this group, Speed was the first to fall out of the race, taking 43rd from Mike Bliss’ #19 before the first caution fell.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The last time the #95 finished last in a Cup Series race was in the fall of 2005, when Stanton Barrett’s Stanton Barrett Racing Chevrolet fell out with an engine failure after 110 laps of the Subway 500 at Martinsville.
*Neither a car #95 nor Speed had ever before finished last in a Cup race at Texas.
*A Cup Series driver had never before finished last at Texas due to overheating problems.
*This was the first Cup Series last-place finish for the Leavine Family Racing team in its fifth series start.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #95-Scott Speed / 13 laps / overheating
42) #23-Scott Riggs / 25 laps / vibration
41) #98-Michael McDowell / 36 laps / vibration
40) #19-Mike Bliss / 38 laps / brakes
39) #26-Josh Wise / 66 laps / vibration

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Brendan Gaughan, Michael McDowell, David Ragan, Reed Sorenson, Scott Speed, Josh Wise, J.J. Yeley (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #26-Front Row Motorsports, #33-Richard Childress Racing, #34-Front Row Motorsports, #49-Robinson-Blakeney Racing, #74-Turn One Racing, #95-Leavine Family Racing, #98-Phil Parsons Racing (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (4)
2nd) Chevrolet (2)
3rd) Toyota (1)

N’WIDE: Jeff Green Ties Derrike Cope For Most Last-Place Finishes In NASCAR History

SOURCE: NASCAR Media

Jeff Green picked up the 30th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Friday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #10 TriStar Motorsports Toyota fell out with a vibration after completing 3 of the race’s 200 laps.

The finish was Green’s fourth of the 2012 Nationwide Series season, his second in a row, and his 35th across all three of NASCAR’s top divisions, thus tying him with Derrike Cope for the most last-place finishes in NASCAR history.

Green qualified 22nd at a speed of 175.177 mph, ranking him third behind Cup regulars Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. among the fifteen “go-or-go-homers” who attempted to qualify.

Early in the race, Chase Miller was the first car to go a lap down when his #46 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet made an unscheduled stop. Green followed soon after, apparently headed for a 42nd-place finish. However, when Miller returned to turn a few more laps, Green fell to 43rd in the final running order. Miller finished 39th.

Later in the evening, Green drove in relief of ailing TriStar Motorsports teammate Eric McClure and brought his #14 Hefty / Reynolds Wrap Chevrolet home in the 24th spot.

Morgan Shepherd and Joe Nemechek, who came into Texas tied with Green with 34 NASCAR last-place finishes apiece, both failed to qualify for a race last weekend. Nemechek missed his second Cup race of the year and finished 17th in the Nationwide race while Shepherd suffered his third DNQ of the 2012 Nationwide Series season.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Green’s second-straight last-place finish in the spring Nationwide Series race at Texas. Last spring, his #44 Chevrolet exited after two laps with a vibration.
*The #10 had never before finished last in a Nationwide Series race at Texas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #10-Jeff Green / 3 laps / vibration
42) #74-Kevin Lepage / 4 laps / ignition
41) #47-Scott Speed / 7 laps / fuel pump
40) #42-Josh Wise / 7 laps / electrical
39) #46-Chase Miller / 8 laps / vibration

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (4)
2nd) Mike Harmon, Josh Wise (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (4)
2nd) #42-The Motorsports Group, #74-Mike Harmon (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (4)
2nd) Chevrolet (2)

TRUCKS: Enfinger Scores First Last-Place Finish As NASCAR Returns To The Rock

SOURCE: TheHotLap.com

Grant Enfinger picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Sunday’s Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 at the Rockingham Speedway when his unsponsored #60 Turn One Racing Chevrolet fell out with transmission problems after completing 12 of the race’s 200 laps. The finish came in Enfinger’s fifth series start.

Enfinger, a standout in the ARCA series, qualified a strong 9th in Sunday’s field at a speed of 142.885 mph. He avoided disaster when point leader and Daytona winner John King crashed on the backstretch on Lap 4, but pulled behind the wall soon after the ensuing restart. King returned to complete a total of 56 laps, leaving Enfinger in the 36th and final finishing position. King finished 33rd.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first Truck Series last-place finish for Stacy Compton’s Turn One Racing team since Talladega last fall, when J.J. Yeley drove the team’s #66 until a transmission problem after the opening lap. Two days before Sunday’s race, Compton missed qualifying for his first Cup race since Daytona in 2003 when his #74 Cup car was too slow in time trials at Texas.
*The last time the #60 finished last in a Truck race was in 2010, when current Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan crashed his SafeAuto Insurance Chevrolet 7 laps into the O’Reilly Auto Parts 200 at Kansas. At the time, the #60 was owned by Jeff Wyler.
*Sunday’s race was the first for any of NASCAR’s top three divisions at Rockingham since February 22, 2004. In the Cup race held that day, Joe Ruttman finished last, his #09 Phoenix Racing Dodge parked after the opening lap because the team failed to bring a pit crew to the track.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #60-Grant Enfinger / 12 laps / transmission
35) #07-Johnny Chapman / 13 laps / clutch
34) #18-Jason Leffler / 19 laps / engine
33) #7-John King / 56 laps / crash
32) #99-Bryan Silas / 119 laps / crash

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Rick Crawford, Grant Enfinger, Jason Leffler (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #18-Kyle Busch Motorsports, #60-Turn One Racing, #74-Mike Harmon (1)

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

CUP: Sorenson Scores Turn One Racing’s First Last-Place Finish

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin'

Reed Sorenson picked up the 6th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at the Martinsville Speedway when his unsponsored #74 Turn One Racing Chevrolet fell out with brake problems after completing 25 of the race’s 515 laps.

The finish was Sorenson’s first of the 2012 season and his first in Sprint Cup competition since the 2010 Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington, when he drove the #32 for the now-defunct Braun Racing team.

Sorenson qualified 35th at a speed of 95.223 mph, ranking him fifth among the eleven “go-or-go-homers” who attempted to qualify for the race. This put Stacy Compton’s Turn One Racing team into its third consecutive race since its debut back at Bristol. After two 42nd-place finishes, this then became the team’s first-ever last-place finish.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Combined with Rick Crawford’s last-place run in the Truck Series race the previous day, the #74 finished last in both the weekend’s NASCAR events at Martinsville. The last time a number swept a weekend’s last-place finishes was at Watkins Glen in 2010, when Matt Carter (Nationwide) and Scott Speed (Cup) both fell out early in the #82.
*The #74 had not finished last in a Cup Series race since 2006, when all-time LASTCAR leader Derrike Cope scored his record 35th NASCAR last-place finish in the 2006 UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega. Cope fell out after 9 laps with overheating problems.
*The #74 had not finished last in a Cup Series race at Martinsville since September 24, 1972 when Bill Shirey’s 1970 Plymouth fell out of the Old Dominion 500 after 19 laps with overheating problems.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #74-Reed Sorenson / 25 laps / brakes
42) #23-Scott Riggs / 30 laps / brakes
41) #26-Josh Wise / 49 laps / brakes
40) #98-Michael McDowell / 60 laps / brakes
39) #87-Joe Nemechek / 74 laps / brakes

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Brendan Gaughan, Michael McDowell, David Ragan, Reed Sorenson, Josh Wise, J.J. Yeley (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #26-Front Row Motorsports, #33-Richard Childress Racing, #34-Front Row Motorsports, #49-Robinson-Blakeney Racing, #74-Turn One Racing, #98-Phil Parsons Racing (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (3)
2nd) Chevrolet (2)
3rd) Toyota (1)

TRUCKS: Crawford Scores First Truck Series Last-Place Finish In Seven Years

SOURCE: TheHotLap.com

Rick Crawford picked up the 6th last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Saturday’s Kroger 250 at the Martinsville Speedway when his #74 Koma Unwind Relaxation Drink Chevrolet fell out with brake problems after completing 6 of the race’s 250 laps.

The finish was Crawford’s first of the 2012 season and his first in Truck Series competition since the 2005 season opener at Daytona, when his #14 Circle Bar Motel & RV Park Ford was involved in this spectacular single-truck crash off turn four.

At Martinsville, Crawford gave team owner Mike Harmon his first start of 2012 by qualifying 23rd at a speed of 93.668 mph. The speed ranked Crawford fifth among the eighteen “go-or-go-homers” who attempted to qualify, more than enough to best the seven teams that missed the show.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the #74's first last-place finish since last fall at Chicagoland, nine races ago. Mike Harmon drove the @hrmn8ter Chevrolet that day and fell out after three laps with transmission troubles. Neither the number nor Crawford had ever before finished last in a Truck race at Martinsville.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #74-Rick Crawford / 6 laps / brakes
35) #70-Jeff Agnew / 90 laps / crash
34) #8-Jennifer Jo Cobb / 95 laps / suspension
33) #15-Dusty Davis / 104 laps / rear gear
32) #39-Ryan Sieg / 148 laps / oil line

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Rick Crawford, Jason Leffler (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #18-Kyle Busch Motorsports, #74-Mike Harmon (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet, Toyota (1)