N’WIDE: Jeff Green Scores Fourth Consecutive Last-Place Finish At Daytona

SOURCE: NASCAR Media

Jeff Green picked up his 39th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s DRIVE4COPD 300 at the Daytona International Speedway when his unsponsored #10 TriStar Motorsports Toyota fell out with a vibration after he completed 4 of the race’s 200 laps.

The finish was Green’s first since last fall at Richmond, nine races ago, the race where he beat Jeff Fuller’s single-season record of twelve NASCAR Nationwide Series last-place finishes.

Green, the two-time and defending LASTCAR Nationwide Series Champion, began his fourth season as driver of TriStar Motorsports’ start-and-park entry with a strong 16th-fastest lap in qualifying at a speed of 175.915 mph.  The lap was sixth-fastest among the drivers not locked-into the field, trailing only Travis Pastrana, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Danica Patrick, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Green fell to the rear of the field at the start, then pulled behind the wall after four laps just moments before Scott Lagasse, Jr.’s crash brought out the first caution of the day.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for the #10 in a Nationwide Series race last fall at Dover, when Charles Lewandoski’s turn in the TriStar Motorsports Toyota during the OneMain Financial 200 ended with a vibration after three laps.
*This was the best starting spot for a Nationwide Series last-place finisher since 2010, when Dennis Setzer’s K-Automotive Motorsports Dodge started 15th, then fell out with a vibration after three laps of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas.
*This marks Green’s fourth-consecutive season with at least one last-place finish in the Nationwide Series.
*This was Green’s second-consecutive last-place finish in this event, and his fourth in a row at Daytona.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #10-Jeff Green / 4 laps / vibration
39) #8-Scott Lagasse, Jr. / 7 laps / crash
38) #24-Blake Koch / 14 laps / overheating
37) #15-Juan Carlos Blum / 30 laps / crash
36) #34-Danica Patrick / 31 laps / engine / led 5 laps

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N’WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (1)

TRUCKS: Riggs Edges Cobb For Daytona Last-Place Finish

SOURCE: NASCAR Media

Scott Riggs scored his 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at the Daytona International Speedway when his #92 FleetHQ.com / BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors Chevrolet fell out with engine problems after 25 of the race’s 100 laps.

The finish was Riggs’ first last-place finish since last year at Kentucky, fifteen races ago.

Riggs qualified 18th for the 36-truck field, turning in a lap of 174.517 mph.

In the race itself, Jennifer Jo Cobb’s #10 Chevrolet seemed to be the race’s first retiree as she started last, lost the draft early, then pulled behind the wall.  Riggs, meanwhile, was running in the Top 10, apparently headed for a strong run.  However, when Riggs’ engine expired on the backstretch, bringing out the first caution of the night, Cobb returned to the track briefly, putting Riggs in the last spot.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first Truck Series last-place finish for the #92.
*Riggs’ three last-place finishes in this series have come in consecutive years.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #92-Scott Riggs / 25 laps / engine
35) #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb / 37 laps / engine
34) #84-Chris Fontaine / 53 laps / crash
33) #14-Brennan Newberry / 54 laps / crash
32) #99-Bryan Silas / 54 laps / crash

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #92-Ricky Benton (1)

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

CUP: Dominant Bayne Crashes Out Of First Budweiser Duel

SOURCE: NASCAR Media

Trevor Bayne finished last in Thursday’s First Budweiser Duel at the Daytona International Speedway when his #21 Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford was involved in a four-car accident after 52 of the race’s 60 laps.

In eight previous restrictor-plate starts, Bayne, the surprise 2011 Daytona 500 winner, has started no worse than 15th in all but his two Daytona 500 starts.  The disparity has been due to his struggles in the qualifying races.  In 2011, Bayne started 2nd and was running with the leaders when he tangled with David Ragan and Jeff Gordon off the final corner, leaving him 19th.  In 2012, Bayne started 5th, but never led and finished 12th.

This time around, Bayne was again fast in qualifying, putting up a lap of 194.822 mph, third-fastest overall, giving him the outside-pole for the first Budweiser Duel.  With co-owner Leonard Wood joining brother Glenn in the NASCAR Hall of Fame earlier this year, Bayne’s car carried a special paint scheme commemorating the 50th anniversary of DeWayne “Tiny” Lund’s upset victory in the 1963 Daytona 500.

In Thursday’s race, Bayne’s car looked just as fast.  He passed polesitter Danica Patrick on the start and led the opening 36 laps virtually unopposed as fellow Ford driver Casey Mears held the second spot.  After briefly losing the lead to Kevin Harvick during green-flag stops, Bayne reassumed the lead on Lap 41 before Harvick passed him once more.  Back in traffic for the first time, Bayne was in exactly the wrong spot when Denny Hamlin lost control off turn two, hooking Carl Edwards into the outside wall.  Unable to check up in time, Bayne collided with Edwards, causing severe damage to the nose of his car.  Regan Smith spun to the apron in the ensuing chain-reaction.

Bayne and Edwards will go to backup cars for Sunday’s race.

Finishing two spots ahead of Bayne in Thursday’s race was Brian Keselowski in the #52 Wreaths Across America / Highland Wealth Advisors Toyota, a car fielded by his family’s team K-Automotive Motorsports and longtime owner-driver Jimmy Means.  The older brother of the defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion narrowly made a lap in qualifying after electrical problems, but ultimately missed the 500 field when he finished two laps down on Thursday.

LASTCAR was one of the contributing sponsors to the #52 effort and my name was on the block of text on the driver’s side of the car.  Although Keselowski will not be in Sunday’s race, this writer salutes the efforts of the team in its quest to return to the track.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Bayne is just the second driver to lead at least one lap in the Budweiser Duels and finish last.  The only other time it happened was in 1969, when polesitter Buddy Baker’s #3 1969 Dodge led the opening lap of Race 1, then parked after two laps.
*This was the first last-place finish in the Budweiser Duels for Bayne, the #21, and the Wood Brothers.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
23) #21-Trevor Bayne / 52 laps / crash / led 37 laps
22) #99-Carl Edwards / 52 laps / crash
21) #52-Brian Keselowski / 58 laps / running
20) #11-Denny Hamlin / 59 laps / running
19) #56-Martin Truex, Jr. / 60 laps / running

CUP: Bliss’ Loose Window Net Costly In Second Budweiser Duel

SOURCE: NASCAR Media

Mike Bliss finished last in Thursday’s Second Budweiser Duel at the Daytona International Speedway when his #19 G-Oil / Plinker Tactical Toyota finished running five laps down in the 60-lap race.

Bliss entered the 500 field driving for Humphrey-Smith Motorsports, the once start-and-park team for whom he made eighteen starts in the second half of the 2012 Cup Series season.  He picked up three last-place finishes in that run, including the most recent points race at Homestead last fall, and teammate Reed Sorenson in the #91 nearly unseated Michael McDowell as the 2012 LASTCAR Cup Series Champion.  Bliss also finished a strong 8th in points driving for TriStar Motorsports, co-owner Mark Smith’s Nationwide Series team, which also fielded the #10 team for defending LASTCAR Nationwide Series Champion and all-time last-place leader Jeff Green.

This year, Bliss’ efforts were rewarded with a fully-sponsored ride for the 500, a brand-new Toyota with full sponsorship from part-time Nationwide Series sponsor G-Oil and Cup Series sponsor Plinker Tactical.  Unfortunately, Bliss’ car was not as fast as it looked, and his lap of 189.438 mph was second-slowest overall ahead of Brian Keselowski.

Bliss started last in the 22-car field for the Second Budweiser Duel and, in the opening laps, managed to hang on to the lead draft.  However, during the middle stages of the race, Bliss’ window net came loose, forcing an unscheduled stop under green.  The race ran caution-free despite a late spin by Ryan Newman, and Bliss wound up trailing the field five laps down.  This caused Bliss to miss the field for the 500 along with Keselowski.

Bliss last made the 500 in 2010 when he raced a backup #36 Wave Energy Drink Chevrolet into the field, giving Tommy Baldwin Racing his second-straight start in the event.  This year, Baldwin’s team not only made the race for the fifth consecutive year, but for the first time put two cars into the show with drivers Dave Blaney and J.J.Yeley.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for the #19 in the Budweiser Duels since 1978, when Woody Fisher’s Belden Asphalt Chevrolet fell out after the opening lap of Race 2, following Earle Canavan to the garage area.
*Bliss is the first last-place finisher of the Budweiser Duels to finish under power since 2000, when both Bobby Gerhart’s Kewadin Casinos Chevrolet in Race 1 and Norm Benning’s SOBE Chevrolet in Race 2 finished three and two laps down, respectively.
*This was the first last-place finish in the Budweiser Duels for both Bliss and Humphrey-Smith Motorsports.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
22) #19-Mike Bliss / 55 laps / running
21) #39-Ryan Newman / 58 laps / running / led 1 lap
20) #36-J.J. Yeley / 59 laps / running
19) #98-Michael McDowell / 59 laps / running
18) #32-Terry Labonte / 59 laps / running

CUP: Terry Labonte Becomes All-Time Leader In Sprint Unlimited Last-Place Finishes

SOURCE: NASCAR Media

Terry Labonte finished last in Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited at the Daytona International Speedway when his #32 C&J Energy Services Ford fell out with a vibration after he completed two of the race’s 75 laps.

1989 and 1990 Sprint Unlimited winner Ken Schrader was originally listed as the driver of Frankie Stoddard’s #32 for the exhibition race.  However, prior to Friday’s practice, Terry Labonte, the 1985 Unlimited winner and the #32's driver for the Daytona 500, took over the ride.

Labonte’s run in the Unlimited did not last long as he pulled behind the wall during the opening green-flag run, twelve laps before an accident in turn one took out six other cars.

This marked Labonte’s third consecutive last-place finish in nineteen Sprint Unlimited starts.  His other two last-place runs were withdrawals from his last two Unlimited starts in 2005 and 2006, where he was set to run the #44 Kellogg’s Chevrolet in the former and the #96 DLP HDTV / Tweeter Chevrolet in the latter.  Prior to that, Labonte led a career-best 17 laps in the 2004 running and finished 8th behind winner Dale Jarrett.

Prior to this race, Labonte was one of seven drivers who had more than one last-place finish in the Unlimited, joining John Andretti, Geoffrey Bodine, Derrike Cope, Jeff Gordon, David Pearson, and Ricky Rudd.  With this third finish, Labonte now has more last-place finishes in this event than any other driver.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for the #32 in the Unlimited since 1995, when Chuck Bown withdrew his Active Trucking Chevrolet from the Busch Clash.  Bown was joined by Ernie Irvan, who was unable to run the #28 Texaco / Havoline Ford due to life-threatening injuries he suffered at Michigan the previous summer.
*Labonte is the first driver to finish last in the Unlimited due to a vibration.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
19) #32-Terry Labonte / 2 laps / vibration
18) #55-Mark Martin / 14 laps / crash
17) #24-Jeff Gordon / 14 laps / crash
16) #18-Kyle Busch / 14 laps / crash
15) #11-Deny Hamlin / 14 laps / crash