N’WIDE: Yeley, TMG Snag Another Last-Place Finish From TriStar

SOURCE: motorsport.com

J.J. Yeley picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Friday’s Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at the Richmond International Raceway when his unsponsored #46 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet fell out with engine trouble after he completed 4 of the race’s 250 laps.

The finish was Yeley’s first of 2013, but the second in three races for The Motorsports Group.  Teammate Josh Wise trailed the field at Bristol.  It is Yeley’s first last-place finish in the Nationwide Series since Kansas in the fall of 2011, sixty-three races ago.  In doing so, Yeley has become the last-place finisher of the 1,000th NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

Yeley qualified in the final starting spot for the 40-car field with an average lap speed of 119.069 mph.  He edged Danny Efland for the spot by just five hundredths of a second.  Efland was one of five drivers who failed to qualify, including Carl Long in Mike Harmon’s #74, Daytona last-placer Morgan Shepherd, three-time LASTCAR Cup Champion Derrike Cope, and Brett Butler in the SR2 Motorsports #00.

During the opening green-flag run, Yeley edged Chase Miller for last place by a single lap.  Miller, again in the TriStar Motorsports #10, finished 39th after qualifying 24th.  Rounding out the Bottom Five were Josh Wise, Yeley’s TMG teammate in the #42, Matt DiBenedetto with his fourth Bottom Five in five starts for Vision Racing, and current 10th-place points man Parker Kligerman with his first Bottom Five of the year.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first last-place finish for the #46 in Nationwide Series competition since 2012 at Kansas, when Chase Miller’s The Motorsports Group Chevrolet lost the ignition after four laps of the Kansas Lottery 300.
*Neither Yeley nor the #46 had ever before finished last in a Nationwide race at Richmond.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #46-J.J. Yeley / 4 laps / engine
39) #10-Chase Miller / 5 laps / vibration
38) #42-Josh Wise / 8 laps / rear gear
37) #37-Matt DiBenedetto / 56 laps / brakes
36) #77-Parker Kligerman / 210 laps / electrical

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (10)
2nd) Blake Koch (3)
3rd) Joey Gase (2)
4th) Tanner Berryhill, Johanna Long, Eric McClure, Michael McDowell, Robert Richardson, Jr., Morgan Shepherd, Dexter Stacey, Mike Wallace, Josh Wise, J.J. Yeley (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (10)
2nd) #00-SR2 Motorsports (3)
3rd) #52-Jimmy Means Racing (2)
4th) #14-TriStar Motorsports, #17-Vision Racing, #23-R3 Motorsports, #27-SR2 Motorsports, #42-The Motorsports Group, #46-The Motorsports Group, #70-ML Motorsports, #89-Shepherd Racing Ventures, #92-KH Motorsports, #01-JD Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (18)
2nd) Chevrolet (5)
3rd) Dodge, Ford (1)

TRUCKS: Lafferty Finishes Last For Third Different Manufacturer In 2013

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin' Forums

CORRECTION (July 12, 2020): Thank you to LASTCAR reader Lucas G. who provided updated information on this finish. Photographic evidence proves that Lafferty ran a Chevrolet, not a RAM, and that Cobb ran the RAM instead. The season statistics and overall manufacturer rankings have now been updated to reflect this update.

Chris Lafferty picked up the 7th last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Sunday’s Fan Appreciation 200 at the Iowa Speedway when his #0 Horejsi Graphics RAM Chevrolet fell out with handling woes after he completed 5 of the races 212 laps.

The finish was Lafferty’s fourth of 2013 and his second in a row.  He now holds a two-finish lead in the 2013 LASTCAR Truck Series Driver’s Championship.

Lafferty qualified last in the 36-truck field with an average speed of 123.466 mph.  While he drove a Chevrolet to the inaugural last-place finish at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park last week, both he and team owner Jennifer Jo Cobb drove Dodges with new sponsor Horejsi Graphics aboard.  While Cobb finished 26th, Lafferty exited the race first to score the 36th spot.

Lafferty has now finished last for three different manufacturers in 2013: Dodge (Iowa II), Chevrolet (Canadian Tire), and Ford (Kentucky, Iowa I).  There is no word as of yet if Lafferty will run Toyotas before season’s end.

Lafferty edged Jimmy Weller for last place, the Ohio driver falling out three laps later in his second career series start.  Mike Harmon turned in the slowest time in qualifying, then pulled out of the race after 15 laps, followed by Bryan Silas with his worst finish since Martinsville and two-time 2013 last-placer Chris Jones in the #93 RSS Racing Chevrolet.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Lafferty has swept both Truck Series last-place finishes at Iowa in 2013.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #0-Chris Lafferty / 5 laps / handling
35) #07-Jimmy Weller / 8 laps / clutch
34) #84-Mike Harmon / 15 laps / overheating
33) #99-Bryan Silas / 16 laps / rear gear
32) #93-Chris Jones / 20 laps / rear gear

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chris Lafferty (4)
2nd) Johnny Chapman, Chris Jones (2)
3rd) Jeff Babcock, Ryan Blaney, Ricky Ehrgott, Mike Harmon, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Scott Riggs, Scott Saunders (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #0-Jennifer Jo Cobb (5)
2nd) #38-RSS Racing, #84-Chris Fontaine, #93-RSS Racing (2)
3rd) #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #29-Brad Keselowski, #81-Bobby Dotter, #92-Ricky Benton (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (8)
2nd) Ford (4)
3rd) RAM (2)
4th) Toyota (1)

CUP: Scott Speed’s #95 The First Ford To Finish Last In Atlanta Cup Race Since 2000

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin Forums

Scott Speed picked up the 7th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s AdvoCare 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #95 Leavine Family Racing Ford fell out with a vibration after he completed 22 of the race’s 325 laps.

The finish was Speed’s second of the 2013 season and his first since Charlotte, thirteen races ago.

Since Charlotte, Speed and the Leavine Family team have made just four starts, finishing under power just once - a 28th-place run in the night race at Daytona.  Atlanta was Speed’s third consecutive start in as many races, following a 41st-place run at Michigan and a 40th in Bristol, the latter just shy of the race’s halfway point.

Following the injury of Bobby Labonte, slated to run the #51 Phoenix Racing entry in Atlanta, Mike Bliss drove the car in relief.  Bliss’ #19 Humphrey-Smith Motorsports entry, a team which failed to qualify for the last two races, withdrew from the Atlanta event, so the forty-three cars that remained all made the race.  Speed qualified 35th at an average speed of 182.747 mph.  Bliss timed in 38th at 181.932 mph.  Unable to take a qualifying time was Michael McDowell, who as a result started 43rd in his #98 Phil Parsons Racing Ford.

In the race, Joe Nemechek fell to the rear first, but Speed prevented Nemechek from scoring his record-setting 33rd Cup Series last-place finish.  Martin Truex, Jr. had qualified 7th, but his bid for a Wild Card spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship faced an obstacle when Truex fractured his wrist in a late-race wreck at Bristol.  Though Truex was confident he could run the full race, Speed pulled his car behind the wall so he could stand by as a relief driver.

Truex never got out.  Even as his cast melted and came apart, Truex contended for the lead in the sprint to the finish before he came home 3rd.  Heading to Richmond, Truex remains 13th in points, holding the second of the two Wild Card slots.

The other Wild Card slot is currently held by Kasey Kahne, who fell out of the Top Ten in points following a collision with his Hendrick Motorsports teammates on an early restart.  Kahne’s damage kept him 42nd in the early stages, but he eventually returned to the track and finished 36th.  The final Bottom Five included McDowell, the MDS Transport Ford of Josh Wise, Nemechek, and Clint Bowyer, who briefly held the Cup Series point lead before an engine failure took him out of the race while leading.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for both Speed and the #95 in a Cup Series race at Atlanta.
*Ford had not finished last in a Cup race at Atlanta since March 12, 2000, when Jeff Burton’s #99 Exide Batteries Ford led five of the first 68 laps before he crashed out on Lap 70 of the Cracker Barrel 500.  This race is better known for its finish where the late Dale Earnhardt edged Bobby Labonte in a photo finish by 0.010 second - a finish Kevin Harvick re-enacted almost exactly in Earnhardt’s car in the 2001 running.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #95-Scott Speed / 22 laps / vibration
42) #98-Michael McDowell / 92 laps / vibration / led 1 lap
41) #35-Josh Wise / 94 laps / vibration
40) #87-Joe Nemechek / 114 laps / vibration
39) #15-Clint Bowyer / 192 laps / engine / led 48 laps

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Bliss (5)
2nd) Michael McDowell, Scott Riggs (3)
3rd) Bobby Labonte, Joe Nemechek, Scott Speed (2)
4th) Trevor Bayne, Dave Blaney, Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Jason Leffler, Paul Menard, David Reutimann, J.J. Yeley (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #19-Humphrey-Smith Racing (6)
2nd) #44-Xxxtreme Motorsports, #98-Phil Parsons Racing (3)
3rd) #87-NEMCO Motorsports, #95-Leavine Family Racing (2)
4th) #7-Tommy Baldwin Racing, #11-Joe Gibbs Racing, #21-Wood Brothers Racing, #27-Richard Childress Racing, #31-Richard Childress Racing, #36-Tommy Baldwin Racing, #47-JTG Daugherty Racing, #51-Phoenix Racing, #83-BK Racing (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (11)
2nd) Ford (9)
3rd) Chevrolet (5)

N’WIDE: Blake Koch Scores Second Last-Place Finish In Three Races

SOURCE: CM2 Concepts

Blake Koch picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s Great Clips / Grit Chips 300 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway when his #00 M&W Transportation /SupportMilitary.org Toyota fell out with ignition trouble after he completed 5 of the race’s 195 laps.

The finish was Koch’s third of the 2013 season and his first since Mid-Ohio, two races ago.  Koch now holds sole possession of second in the 2013 LASTCAR Nationwide Series Driver’s Championship, seven finishes behind leader Jeff Green.  Green, still driving in relief of Eric McClure in the #14 Hefty / Reynolds Wrap Toyota, finished 29th when he was involved in a grinding crash exiting the quad-oval with thirteen laps to go.

Koch qualified 32nd at an average speed of 170.763 mph, ranking him fourth among the ten “go-or-go-homers” who attempted to qualify.  Following the withdrawals of both Ryan Sieg and Darlington last-placer Tanner Berryhill, forty cars qualified for as many spots, so no one else missed the show.

During the opening green-flag run, Koch was the first driver behind the wall, followed two laps later by Josh Wise, the last-place finisher of the most recent race in Bristol.  Rounding out the Bottom Five were Chase Miller, once again behind the wheel of the 2013 leading #10 TriStar Motorsports Toyota, Mike Harmon in his unsponsored #74 Chevrolet, and fellow owner-driver Morgan Shepherd, the 40th-place finisher in the July race at Daytona.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first Nationwide last-place finish at Atlanta for both Koch and the #00.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #00-Blake Koch / 5 laps / ignition
39) #42-Josh Wise / 7 laps / transmission
38) #10-Chase Miller / 8 laps / vibration
37) #74-Mike Harmon / 8 laps / rear gear
36) #89-Morgan Shepherd / 18 laps / overheating

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (10)
2nd) Blake Koch (3)
3rd) Joey Gase (2)
4th) Tanner Berryhill, Johanna Long, Eric McClure, Michael McDowell, Robert Richardson, Jr., Morgan Shepherd, Dexter Stacey, Mike Wallace, Josh Wise (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (10)
2nd) #00-SR2 Motorsports (3)
3rd) #52-Jimmy Means Racing (2)
4th) #14-TriStar Motorsports, #17-Vision Racing, #23-R3 Motorsports, #27-SR2 Motorsports, #42-The Motorsports Group, #70-ML Motorsports, #89-Shepherd Racing Ventures, #92-KH Motorsports, #01-JD Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (18)
2nd) Chevrolet (4)
3rd) Dodge, Ford (1)

TRUCKS: Chris Lafferty Takes 2013 LASTCAR Truck Series Lead In Canada

SOURCE: motorsport.com

Chris Lafferty picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in Sunday’s inaugural Chevrolet Silverado 250 at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park when his #0 Koma Unwind Chevrolet fell out with clutch problems after he completed 3 of the race’s 64 laps.

The finish was Lafferty’s third of the 2013 season and his first since Iowa, five races ago.  Lafferty now leads the 2013 LASTCAR Truck Series Driver’s Championship by a single finish, breaking a tie with RSS Racing teammates Johnny Chapman and Chris Jones.  RSS entered just one truck in Sunday’s race - the #39 of Quebec native Alex Guenette.

Lafferty qualified 29th in the 30-truck field at an average speed of 94.160 mph, placing him directly behind team owner Jennifer Jo Cobb and her 28th-fastest #10 Koma Unwind Dodge.  Although the Ken Smith-owned #07 of Carl Long was the first truck to fall to the rear after an early spin, it was Lafferty who snagged last place when he edged Long by a single lap.

Rounding out the Bottom Five were Johnny Sauter, whose mechanical struggles culminated with a stall on Lap 58 that brought out the third yellow of the day, Brennan Newberry in his family-prepared #24 Chevrolet, and the Kyle Busch Motorsports #18 Monster Energy Toyota of Joey Coulter, who finished under power despite stuffing his truck into the tires.

After finishes of 6th or better in all five of his previous starts this year, Chase Elliott took the victory in a thrilling last-lap pass on Ty Dillon, who wrecked off the final corner while trying to save fuel.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Lafferty is the first Truck Series driver to finish last in a road course race since June 24, 2000, when Ryan McGlynn’s #00 Buyers Choice / Howes Chevrolet fell out with brake problems after the opening lap of the Bully Hill Vineyards 150.  The race was won by current Sprint Cup Chase contender Greg Biffle.  Finishing three spots in front of McGlynn was current Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
30) #0-Chris Lafferty / 3 laps / clutch
29) #07-Carl Long / 4 laps / brakes
28) #98-Johnny Sauter / 34 laps / gas line
27) #24-Brennan Newberry / 38 laps / transmission
26) #18-Joey Coulter / 41 laps / running

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chris Lafferty (3)
2nd) Johnny Chapman, Chris Jones (2)
3rd) Jeff Babcock, Ryan Blaney, Ricky Ehrgott, Mike Harmon, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Scott Riggs, Scott Saunders (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #0-Jennifer Jo Cobb (4)
2nd) #38-RSS Racing, #84-Chris Fontaine, #93-RSS Racing (2)
3rd) #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #29-Brad Keselowski, #81-Bobby Dotter, #92-Ricky Benton (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (7)
2nd) Ford (4)
3rd) RAM (2)
4th) Toyota (1)