CUP: Michael “Driver Out” McDowell Scores Third Last-Place Finish In Five Races

SOURCE: TheHotLap.com

Michael McDowell picked up the 22nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Saturday’s NRA 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #98 Phil Parsons Racing Ford overheated after 44 of the race’s 334 laps.

The finish was McDowell’s third of 2013 and his second in a row, giving him the lead in the 2013 NASCAR Cup Series standings.

McDowell qualified 37th for the race at an average speed of 190.698 mph, making his the fastest car to have to rely on Owner Points in order to start the race.  He was still able to bump out Scott Speed and Scott Riggs, who both failed to qualify.

In Saturday’s race, McDowell lost a lap early when he pitted for an overheating problem.  It was speculated that he would fall out of the race to aid an ailing Bobby Labonte, who was suffering from a bad case of stomach flu.  Labonte’s #47 Bush’s Beans / Kingsford / Scott Toyota team had originally made an arrangement with Mike Bliss, driver of the unsponsored #19 Humphrey-Smith Motorsports Toyota, to park and relieve Labonte.  However, since Scott Riggs failed to qualify his #44, Bliss was ordered to stay out for nearly half the race in order to pad his advantage over Riggs in Owner Points in hopes of securing a provisional starting spot in a later race.  Thus, when McDowell returned to the track after his unscheduled stop, Labonte had no choice but to pull behind the wall and fall to 43rd.

McDowell finally parked after 44 laps, and was now tabbed to relieve Labonte.  There, the #47 faced another challenge as McDowell was too big for Labonte’s custom-made seat.  Somehow, the team managed to get McDowell into the car, and he returned to the track long enough to shuffle his own #98 back to 43rd.  While McDowell was in Labonte’s car, FOX’s crawl of the running order updated with McDowell’s name in the #47, and the #98's driver name changed to “Driver Out.”  The names were switched back after Lap 185, when the engine let go on Labonte’s #47, taking McDowell out of the race once more. Labonte was credited with a 42nd place finish, two laps behind Mike Bliss, who finally exited after 140 laps.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish in a Cup race at Texas for the #98 since 2004, when Todd Bodine’s #98 Lucas Oil Products Ford lost the engine after 5 laps of the Samsung / Radio Shack 500.
*This was McDowell’s first last-place finish in a Cup Series race at Texas.  Team co-owner Phil Parsons, however, finished last twice in this race with Dave Blaney in 2009 and 2010 as co-owner of PRISM Motorsports.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #98-Michael McDowell / 44 laps / overheating
42) #47-Bobby Labonte / 138 laps / engine
41) #19-Mike Bliss / 140 laps / brakes
40) #17-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. / 290 laps / running
39) #36-J.J. Yeley / 293 laps / rear axle

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell (3)
2nd) Mike Bliss (2)
3rd) Joe Nemechek, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #98-Phil Parsons Racing (3)
2nd) #19-Humphrey-Smith Motorsports (2)
3rd) #44-Xxxtreme Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (1)

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

N’WIDE: Jeff Green Takes 2013 Lead With 40th Nationwide Last-Place Finish

SOURCE: NASCAR Media

Jeff Green picked up the 40th 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 he completed 3 of the race’s 200 laps.

The finish was Green’s second of 2013, his first since the season opener at Daytona, giving him the two-time and defending LASTCAR Nationwide Series Champion the early lead in the season standings.

Green qualified 29th for the race at an average speed of 178.071 mph, ranking him eighth among the fifteen “go-or-go-home” drivers who attempted to make the field. Among the race’s five DNQs were two entries from The Motorsports Group driven by Scott Riggs (#47) and Chase Miller (#46), plus LASTCAR Cup Series leader Michael McDowell in the #00 and Fontana last-placer Joey Gase in the #52.  Jason White was the fifth member of that group, driving the #27 McDowell finished last with in the Nationwide race at Bristol last month.

Green pulled behind the wall early in the opening green-flag run, followed seven laps later by J.J. Yeley in another The Motorsport Group’s #42.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Green’s third-consecutive last-place finish in this event, and all three have come while driving for TriStar Motorsports.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #10-Jeff Green / 3 laps / vibration
39) #42-J.J. Yeley / 10 laps / electrical
38) #44-Hal Martin / 53 laps / transmission
37) #40-Josh Wise / 96 laps / electrical
36) #4-Landon Cassill / 10 laps / engine / led 1 lap

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (2)
2nd) Joey Gase, Johanna Long, Eric McClure, Michael McDowell (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (2)
2nd) #14-TriStar Motorsports, #27-SR2 Motorsports, #52-Jimmy Means Racing, #70-ML Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (5)
2nd) Chevrolet (1)

TRUCKS: Mike Harmon’s Late Exit Gives Ford 100th Truck Series Last-Place Finish

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin'

Mike Harmon picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Sunday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at the Rockingham Speedway when his #84 Dave Novak Ford fell out with crash damage after 131 of the race’s 205 laps.

The finish was Harmon’s first of 2013 and his first in a Truck Series race since Chicagoland in 2011, thirty-two races ago.  It was also the 100th last-place finish for Ford in Truck Series history, dating back to World of Outlaws champion Sammy Swindell’s run in the #38 Channellock Tools Ford at Saugus exactly eighteen years ago on April 15, 1995.

After fellow owner-driver Chris Fontaine finished 34th in the season opener at Daytona, Fontaine’s #84 team merged with Harmon’s #74, resulting in a single Ford team running #84 trucks.  The union debuted last week at Martinsville, where Robert Bruce drove their flat black machine to a 28th-place finish.  At Rockingham, Harmon would take over the ride.

Harmon qualified 33rd in Sunday’s field with a lap of 134.665 mph, making him the fastest of three trucks to have to fall back on Owner Points in order to make the field, joining Jennifer Jo Cobb and Norm Benning.  Three more drivers, including ARCA racer Spencer Gallagher, attempting to make his Truck Series debut in the #21 Allegiant Air Chevrolet, missed the show despite running faster laps than Harmon, Cobb, and Benning.

Early in the race, Cobb looked set to score her second-consecutive last-place finish as her Dodge RAM was the first to be lapped.  However, there were no early exits from the race, although several trucks spent many laps behind the wall.  Tops among these was Jeff Agnew, whose unsponsored #27 Chevrolet owned by Mike Hillman took 36th from Cobb after spending more than twenty laps in the garage.  On Lap 144, Mike Harmon suffered damage in a two-truck accident with James Buescher, and he became the race’s first retiree.  Agnew returned to the track around that time, and with six laps to go, bumped Harmon to last place.

Agnew has yet to finish last in 17 Truck Series starts.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first Truck Series last-place finish for the #84 since last fall at Martinsville, when Chris Fontaine’s #84 Stingray Chevrolet / Glenden Enterprises Chevrolet burned the clutch after 5 laps of the Kroger 200.
*The 131 laps completed by Harmon were the most by a Truck Series last-place finisher since early 2011, when defending NASCAR Truck Series Champion James Buescher’s #31 Wolfpack Rentals Chevrolet completed 134 laps of the Kroger 250.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #84-Mike Harmon / 131 laps / crash
35) #27-Jeff Agnew / 141 laps / handling
34) #93-Chris Jones / 167 laps / crash
33) #57-Norm Benning / 175 laps / running
32) #13-Todd Bodine / 180 laps / crash

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Harmon, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #84-Chris Fontaine, #92-Ricky Benton (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet, Ford, RAM (1)

CUP: McDowell Gives #98 First Cup Series Last-Place Run At Martinsville Since 1990

SOURCE: motorsport.com

Michael McDowell picked up the 21st last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s STP Gas Booster 500 at the Martinsville Speedway when his unsponsored #98 Phil Parsons Racing Ford fell out with brake problems after he completed 26 of the race’s 500 laps.

The finish was McDowell’s second of 2013 and his first since Las Vegas, three races ago.  He is now tied with Mike Bliss for the most last-place runs this season and improves to sole possession of 4th in the all-time Cup Series rankings, breaking a tie with former teammate Dave Blaney.

McDowell qualified 27th for Sunday’s race at a speed of 97.177 mph.  The lap was more than enough to bump 39th-fastest Mike Bliss from the field, preventing Bliss from going for his third consecutive last-place finish.

In the race itself, Scott Riggs and the #44 No Label Watches Ford fell to 43rd, followed by Danica Patrick, who spun on Lap 16 to bring out the first caution of the day.  Patrick, who’d been sent to the back due to an engine change in practice, rallied a second time to finish 12th, her best run since Daytona.  McDowell, however, pulled out ten laps after the caution, followed 21 laps later by Riggs, who also finished next-to-last in the Truck Series race the previous day.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was McDowell’s first last-place finish in a Cup race at Martinsville since 2010, when his #55 PRISM Motorsports Toyota fell out with brake problems after 24 laps of the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500.
*This was the first last-place finish for the #98 in a Cup race at Martinsville since 1990, when Rick Mast’s #98 IGA Chevrolet was involved in a single-car crash after 36 laps of the Goody’s 500.
*This was the fourth straight year where the last-place finisher of this event fell out due to brake trouble.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #98-Michael McDowell / 26 laps / brakes
42) #44-Scott Riggs / 47 laps / brakes
41) #95-Scott Speed / 64 laps / rear gear
40) #56-Martin Truex, Jr. / 385 laps / running
39) #93-Travis Kvapil / 436 laps / running / led 1 lap

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Bliss, Michael McDowell (2)
2nd) Joe Nemechek, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #19-Humphrey-Smith Motorsports, #98-Phil Parsons Racing (2)
2nd) #44-Xxxtreme Motorsports, #87-NEMCO Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford, Toyota (3)

I am also pleased to announce that a second LASTCAR Book is already in production and should be available sometime this summer.  This second book will contain a year-by-year last-place championship review for both the Nationwide and Truck Series.

TRUCKS: Cobb’s RAM Trails Truck Field at Martinsville

SOURCE: The Malay Mail

Jennifer Jo Cobb picked up the 4th last-place finish of her NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Saturday’s Kroger 250 at the Martinsville Speedway when her #10 Driven2Honor.org RAM fell out with clutch problems after she completed 22 of the race’s 250 laps.

The finish was Cobb’s first of 2013 and her first in the series since last summer at Pocono, thirteen races ago.  Part-time teammate Blake Koch scored her team’s most recent last-place finish while driving the #0 Ford in the finale at Homestead last fall.

Cobb qualified 35th in the 36-truck field.  She failed to complete a qualifying lap, but was locked-in on Owner Points along with Robert Bruce and Norm Benning.  All three were slower than Jonathan Davenport and Clay Greenfield, who didn’t make the field for Saturday’s race.

Cobb pulled behind the wall during the opening green-flag run, followed fourteen laps later by Daytona last-placer Scott Riggs.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for a RAM in a Truck Series race at Martinsville since 2006, when Damon Lusk’s #25 Woodard Racing Dodge was involved in a two-truck crash after 63 laps of the Kroger 200.
*This was the first last-place finish for both Cobb and the #10 in a Truck Series race at Martinsville.
*This was the second-straight race at Martinsville where the last-place finisher fell out with clutch problems.  Last fall in the Kroger 200, Chris Fontaine’s Stingray Chevrolet / Glenden Enterprises Chevrolet had the same problem after five laps of the Kroger 200.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #10-Jennier Jo Cobb / 22 laps / clutch
35) #92-Scott Riggs / 36 laps / ignition
34) #99-Bryan Silas / 109 laps / drive shaft
33) 57-Norm Benning / 135 laps / rear gear
32) #7-John Wes Townley / 205 laps / crash

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #92-Ricky Benton (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet, RAM (1)