N’WIDE: Jeffrey Earnhardt’s Engine Unable To Complete First Lap At Phoenix

SOURCE: @JDMotorsports01

Jeffrey Earnhardt picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s DAV 200 Honoring America’s Veterans at the Phoenix International Raceway when his unsponsored #4 JD Motorsports Chevrolet lost the engine before he could complete any of the race’s 206 laps.

The finish was Earnhardt’s second of the season and his first since Charlotte, two races ago.

For the first time since Iowa in August, Earnhardt came to the race in an unsponsored #4 Chevrolet.  His was one of 41 entries for the race, a list twice extended from 39 earlier in the week.  Blake Koch, who last week at Texas clinched the 2014 LASTCAR Nationwide Series title, moved to TriStar’s #44 team to drive the fully-funded Ingersoll-Rand Toyota.  Koch’s #10 returned to four-time and defending LASTCAR champ Jeff Green, who seemed a favorite to score his seventh last-place finish of the season.

In the opening practice session, Earnhardt ran 28th-fastest of the 35 who ran, then was 33rd of the 41 in Happy Hour.  In qualifying, he improved to the 22nd-fastest time with an average speed of 131.014 mph.  The only DNQ was three-time 2014 last-placer Ryan Ellis, whose #46 The Motorsports Group entry missed its third race in four attempts.

At the start of the race, Earnhardt was sent to the back due to unapproved adjustments.  Just as at Charlotte, he did not complete the opening lap, though this time the official reason was engine trouble.

Finishing 39th, ten laps ahead of Earnhardt, was Carl Long, driving a flat black #87 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing - the sixth different car number Long has driven in his last six starts.  38th went to T.J. Bell, making his first Nationwide start of the year in JGL Racing’s #93 Texas 28 Spirits Stage Dodge.  Morgan Shepherd came home 37th in his #89 Racing With Jesus / Courtney Construction Chevrolet, his first start since Dover in September.  Rounding out the Bottom Five was 36th-place Brennan Newberry in Bobby Dotter’s #77 Qore-24 Chevrolet.  Newberry was uninjured after a fiery single-car crash on Lap 38.

Jeff Green finished 34th on Saturday, having not retired until after 51 laps.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Earnhardt is the first Nationwide Series driver to finish last in a race at Phoenix since November 12, 2011, when Matt Frahm’s #39 TSP Powder Coating Ford was involved in an eight-car accident on the opening lap of the Wypall 200.
*This is the first last-place finish for both Earnhardt and the #4 in a Nationwide Series race at Phoenix.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #4-Jeffrey Earnhardt / 0 laps / engine
39) #87-Carl Long / 10 laps / brakes
38) #93-T.J. Bell / 14 laps / vibration
37) #89-Morgan Shepherd / 20 laps / brakes
36) #77-Brennan Newberry / 34 laps / crash

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Blake Koch (8) - 2014 CHAMPION
2nd) Jeff Green (6)
3rd) Ryan Ellis, Kevin Lepage (3)
4th) Matt DiBenedetto, Jeffrey Earnhardt (2)
5th) Tanner Berryhill, Milka Duno, Matt Frahm, Roger Reuse, Robert Richardson, Jr., Tim Schendel, Jimmy Weller, Josh Wise (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (11)
2nd) #46-The Motorsports Group (7)
3rd) #91-TriStar Motorsports (3)
4th) #4-JD Motorsports, #74-Mike Harmon Racing (2)
5th) #17-Vision Racing, #23-R3 Motorsports, #29-RAB Racing, #55-VIVA Motorsports / SS Green Light Racing, #77-Mike Harmon Racing, #87-Rick Ware Racing, #93-JGL Racing (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (15)
2nd) Chevrolet (12)
3rd) Dodge (5)

TRUCKS: Justin Jennings Claims 2014 LASTCAR Truck Title After First-Lap Crash

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin' Forums

CORRECTION (November 14): Jennings has not claimed the 2014 LASTCAR Truck Series title.  Although he does lead Caleb Roark in bottom-ten finishes (11-10), Jennings is still tied with Roark for most bottom-fives (9 each), so Roark can claim the title with a last-place finish at Homestead if Jennings does not also finish in the Bottom Five.  If Roark finishes last and Jennings does finish inside the Bottom Five, or if Roark fails to finish last, Jennings will win the title.

Justin Jennings picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s Lucas Oil 150 at the Phoenix International Raceway when his #63 Mittler Bros. Machine & Tool Chevrolet was involved in a four-truck accident which prevented him from completing any of the race’s 126 laps.

The finish was Jennings’ third of the season and his first since Pocono, ten races ago.  And, with one race to go, Jennings has now clinched the 2014 LASTCAR Truck Series Championship.  Caleb Roark, who took the lead on bottom-five finishes last week, withdrew prior to Friday’s race, preventing him from challenging on a possible tiebreaker.  Even if Roark finishes last next week at Homestead and Jennings does not finish inside the Bottom Ten, Jennings would still prevail on a bottom-ten tiebreaker 11-10.

Roark’s withdrawal on Thursday shortened the Phoenix field further from 35 to 34, the fourteenth short field in twenty-one races.  Next season, Truck Series fields will be reduced further to 32 trucks - seven races this year have had fewer entries than that.  Jennings did not participate in the opening practice session, was 26th of 34 in Happy Hour, and kept the 26th starting spot at an average speed of 128.567 mph.

When the green flag flew on Friday night, however, the outside line checked-up, causing an accordion effect through the middle of the field.  Trouble broke out when 22nd-place starter John Wes Townley rear-ended 20th-place starter Bryan Silas, leaving 24th-place German Quiroga and 26th-place Jennings nowhere to go but to pile in.  Townley, Quiroga, and Jennings suffered the most severe damage to the noses of their trucks.  Jennings was the only driver who couldn’t complete the first lap - he pulled to the garage first and was credited with the last-place finish.

Behind Jennings and Townley were 32nd-place B.J. McLeod in the unsponsored #07 SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet, his first race since Las Vegas.  Rounding out the Bottom Five were both Gallagher Motorsports trucks, which each qualified in the third row.  31st-place Spencer Gallagher crashed out after 27 laps when Timothy Peters made contact with his #23 Kingman Chevy-Buick / Allegiant Travel Chevrolet entering Turn 3, sending him into the outside wall.  Teammate Joey Coulter followed on Lap 38 when his #21 Allegiant Travel Chevrolet lost control in the same corner shortly after the restart.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Jennings is the first Truck Series driver to fail to complete the opening lap at Phoenix since October 26, 2001, when Lance Hooper’s #23 National Wild Turkey Federation Chevrolet had brake issues at the start of the Chevy Silverado 150.
*This is the first last-place finish for both Jennings and the #63 in a Truck Series race at Phoenix.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
34) #63-Justin Jennings / 0 laps / crash
33) #05-John Wes Townley / 1 lap / crash
32) #07-B.J. McLeod / 21 laps / axle
31) #23-Spencer Gallagher / 27 laps / crash
30) #21-Joey Coulter / 38 laps / crash

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Justin Jennings (3)
2nd) Ryan Ellis, Mike Harmon, Blake Koch, Charles Lewandoski, Caleb Roark (2)
3rd) Mike Affarano, T.J. Bell, Bryan Dauzat, Alex Guenette, Ted Minor, Tommy Regan, Scott Stenzel, Jason White (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #0-Jennifer Jo Cobb (4)
2nd) #36-Mike Mittler, #63-Mike Mittler / Randy Young (3)
3rd) #74-Mike Harmon (2)
4th) #28-FDNY Racing, #35-Win-Tron Racing, #42-Randy Young, #45-Regan Motorsports, #50-MAKE Motorsports, #57-Norm Benning, #74-Mario Gosselin, #93-RSS Racing, #03-Mike Affarano Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (18)
2nd) RAM (2)
3rd) Toyota (1)

CUP: Landon Cassill One Of Five Drivers In Contention For 2014 LASTCAR Cup Title

SOURCE: Hillman Racing's Facebook

Landon Cassill picked up the 5th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #40 Hillman Racing Chevrolet lost the engine after he completed 134 of the race’s 441 laps.

The finish was Cassill’s second of the 2014 season and his first since Sonoma, eighteen races ago.  With two races remaining, Cassill is now one of five drivers still in contention for the 2014 LASTCAR Cup Series Championship.  Mike Bliss and Dave Blaney have each run just 7 races in 2014 and have not raced in Cup since Kansas in October and Bristol in August, respectively, but both still lead the standings.  Bliss leads Blaney in bottom-five finishes 5-4, but Blaney can only claim the title by finishing last in both the final two races as he trails Bliss in bottom-ten finishes 7-4.

If neither Bliss nor Blaney run another race, any of the two-time last-placers in 2014 can also claim the title on a tiebreaker by sweeping the 43rd spots at Phoenix and Homestead.  The top contender is Timmy Hill, who already has 5 bottom-fives, while Clint Bowyer and Cassill now have 4 apiece.  Clay Rogers, another driver with two last-place finishes, has now been eliminated with only 2 Bottom Fives.  Still, the only way Bliss can lose the title is if Blaney, Bowyer, Cassill, or Hill finish last in both of these final two races of the season, so there’s a good chance the title chase ends at Phoenix.

Cassill came into the Texas race on te heels of four straight finishes of 23rd or better, including a career-best 4th in the thrilling finish at Talladega.  Months after scoring a previous career mark of 11th in the spring race at the 2.66-mile track, Cassill remained with the leaders nearly all afternoon and was a threat to pull the upset before Brad Keselowski pulled away for the win.

After running eight different sponsors through the first part of the season, Cassill brought a flat white Chevrolet to the Texas track.  He timed in 39th of the 43-car entry list in the opening practice session, timed in 34th in qualifying at an average speed of 195.744 mph, then hovered in 38th and 35th in Saturday’s final two practices.

Starting last in Sunday’s race was Joey Gase, making his third start of the season in Frankie Stoddard’s #32 Ford.  Just before the green, however, Danica Patrick pulled her #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet to the back due to a pre-race transmission change.  As Patrick climbed through the field on the opening lap, 43rd went to Brett Moffitt in the unsponsored #66 Identity Ventures Racing entry, the Iowa driver’s sixth start of the season and first since Charlotte last month.

Moffitt was the first driver to lose a lap on Lap 16, and he lost another on Lap 34.  Four laps later, Patrick slowed on the backstretch and made an unscheduled stop, dropping her to 43rd for a handful of laps.  That changed on Lap 43, when the first caution of the race flew for Josh Wise and the #98 Provident Metals Chevrolet.  Wise’s car snapped loose off Turn 2 and smacked the outside wall hard, fracturing a brake rotor that required several laps of repairs.  With such low attrition for most of the race, it appeared the PPR team would have its first last-place finish since last year’s finale at Homestead.  However, Wise rolled back on track on Lap 125, 82 laps down, but with nearly 200 laps to gain spots.

Moments later, Cassill, who had completed 134 laps, pulled behind the wall with apparent engine issues.  The ESPN broadcast officially listed Cassill as out by Lap 190, and Wise dropped him to 42nd on Lap 222.  Wise ended up 41st in the final running order, passing the #23 Dr. Pepper Toyota of rookie Alex Bowman with four laps to go in regulation.  Rounding out the Bottom Five were Moffitt, whose rear clip fell apart after a late tire failure, and Trevor Bayne, whose second-straight Bottom Five of the weekend came after a late tangle with Kasey Kahne.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The 134 laps Cassill completed are the most by a Cup Series last-place finisher at Texas since November 2, 2008, when Juan Pablo Montoya’s #42 Texaco / Havoline Dodge completed 262 laps of the Dickies 500 before a late-race crash with David Gilliland.
*This marks the first season that Chevrolet has swept both Cup last-place finishes at Texas in the same season (the other being Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s run in the spring).
*This is the first last-place finish for both Cassill and the #40 in a Cup race at Texas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #40-Landon Cassill / 134 laps / engine
42) #23-Alex Bowman / 245 laps / engine
41) #98-Josh Wise / 256 laps / running
40) #66-Brett Moffitt / 283 laps / crash
39) #21-Trevor Bayne / 318 laps / crash

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Bliss (4)
2nd) Dave Blaney (3)
3rd) Clint Bowyer, Landon Cassill, Timmy Hill, Clay Rogers (2)
4th) A.J. Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Trevor Bayne, Alex Bowman, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., David Gilliland, Denny Hamlin, Travis Kvapil, Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, Joe Nemechek, Johnny Sauter, Morgan Shepherd, Tony Stewart, Martin Truex, Jr., Ryan Truex, Brian Vickers, Cole Whitt, J.J. Yeley (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #93-BK Racing (5)
2nd) #37-Tommy Baldwin Racing (4)
3rd) #15-Michael Waltrip Racing, #40-Hillman Racing, #77-Randy Humphrey Racing (2)
4th) #11-Joe Gibbs Racing, #14-Stewart-Haas Racing, #21-Wood Brothers Racing, #23-BK Racing, #26-BK Racing, #32-Go FAS Racing, #33-Circle Sport, #38-Front Row Motorsports, #42-Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, #43-Richard Petty Motorsports, #44-Team XTREME Racing, #47-JTG-Daugherty Racing, #55-Michael Waltrip Racing, #66-Michael Waltrip Racing / Identity Ventures Racing, #78-Furniture Row Racing, #83-BK Racing, #87-Identity Ventures Racing, #88-Hendrick Motorsports, #95-Leavine Family Racing (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (14)
2nd) Chevrolet (13)
3rd) Ford (7)

N’WIDE: Ryan Ellis Last at Texas; Blake Koch Ends Jeff Green’s Three-Year LASTCAR Reign

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin' Forums

Ryan Ellis picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at the Texas Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #46 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet fell out with a vibration after he completed 3 of the race’s 200 laps.

The finish was Ellis’ third of the season and his first since Dover, three races ago.  Already eliminated from championship contention, history was made before the race even started when Blake Koch locked-up his first-ever LASTCAR championship.  Koch’s teammate, four-time and defending LASTCAR champion Jeff Green, needed to finish last in all three of 2014's final races to defend his title.  When Green did not enter nor start the race, Koch’s two-finish lead secured him the championship.  Koch pulled out one lap after Ellis to come home 39th.

Hours before finishing next-to-last in the Truck Series race, Ellis timed in 31st of 40 drivers in the opening practice session and 37th of 42 in Happy Hour.  In total, 43 drivers - including the post-entry of Tanner Berryhill in Vision Racing’s rebuilt #17 Toyota - contended for the 40-car field.  Ellis secured the final spot with an average speed of 178.235 mph, narrowly edging former LASTCAR record holder Derrike Cope’s lap of 178.059.  Cope missed the race along with fellow owner-drivers Mike Harmon and Morgan Shepherd.

Three laps into Saturday’s race, Ellis pulled behind the wall, edging new LASTCAR champ Blake Koch and his #10 Heroes Behind the Camo / SupportMilitary.org Toyota by a single lap.  This ended a streak of three-consecutive last-place runs at Texas for the #10 TriStar team.  38th went to Carlos Contreras, whose #87 RaceTrac Convenience Stores Chevrolet fielded by Rick Ware was seen during the broadcast driving through the garage after the hard single-car wreck that took then-leader Trevor Bayne out of the running after 48 laps.  Finishing between Contreras and Bayne was Joey Gase in the #52 Better Business Bureau Chevrolet for Jimmy Means.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first last-place finish for both Ellis and the #46 in a Nationwide Series race at Texas.  However, The Motorsports Group most recently trailed a Texas field on November 5, 2011 when Scott Speed’s #47 Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet had electrical issues after 3 laps of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge.  It was Speed’s first last-place finish in Nationwide competition.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #46-Ryan Ellis / 3 laps / vibration
39) #10-Blake Koch / 4 laps / vibration
38) #87-Carlos Contreras / 33 laps / engine
37) #52-Joey Gase / 34 laps / axle
36) #6-Trevor Bayne / 48 laps / crash / led 15 laps

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Blake Koch (8) - 2014 CHAMPION
2nd) Jeff Green (6)
3rd) Ryan Ellis, Kevin Lepage (3)
4th) Matt DiBenedetto (2)
5th) Tanner Berryhill, Milka Duno, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Matt Frahm, Roger Reuse, Robert Richardson, Jr., Tim Schendel, Jimmy Weller, Josh Wise (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (11)
2nd) #46-The Motorsports Group (7)
3rd) #91-TriStar Motorsports (3)
4th) #74-Mike Harmon Racing (2)
5th) #4-JD Motorsports, #17-Vision Racing, #23-R3 Motorsports, #29-RAB Racing, #55-VIVA Motorsports / SS Green Light Racing, #77-Mike Harmon Racing, #87-Rick Ware Racing, #93-JGL Racing (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (15)
2nd) Chevrolet (11)
3rd) Dodge (5)

TRUCKS: Blake Koch In Position To Score Two LASTCAR Titles In Same Year

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin' Forums

Blake Koch picked up the 5th last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s WinStar World Casino & Resort 350 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #36 Mittler Bros. Machine & Tool Chevrolet fell out with a broken rear axle after he completed 3 of the race’s 152 laps.

The finish was Koch’s second of 2014 and his first since Dover, fifteen races ago.  With just two races remaining, Koch joins a six-way tie for the 2014 LASTCAR Truck Series Championship.  The lead, however, now belongs to Caleb Roark, whose 30th-place run broke a bottom-five tiebreaker with Justin Jennings, who came home 23rd.  Roark leads with 9 Bottom Fives over Jennings’ 8, Charles Lewandoski’s 7, Ryan Ellis’ 5, Blake Koch’s 4, and Mike Harmon’s 2.  Jennings and Roark are the only drivers who can win the title with a bottom-ten tiebreaker as Jennings leads Roark in that statistic 10-9 over Lewandoski’s 7.  The remaining four drivers can only claim the title by scoring more last-place finishes than Roark and Jennings.

If Koch claims the 2014 LASTCAR Truck Series title, he will become the first driver ever to claim two LASTCAR titles in the same season.  Koch secured the 2014 LASTCAR Nationwide Driver’s Championship on Saturday when four-time and defending LASTCAR champ Jeff Green did not enter the race.

Friday marked Koch’s fourth Truck Series start of the season, his first since a next-to-last-place run at Bristol in August, and his third in a row driving the second #36 entry fielded by Mike Mittler.  Just 32 trucks showed up to the Texas track, which in June saw a 27-truck field - the shortest starting grid since the series’ inaugural season in 1995.  Koch was the third-slowest of the 25 drivers who took laps in the opening practice session and did not participate in Happy Hour.  He timed in 29th-fastest for the race itself at an average speed of 164.459 mph.

At the start of Friday’s race, Koch pulled behind the wall first, followed a lap later by Ryan Ellis in the unsponsored #35 Win-Tron Racing Toyota.  30th went to Caleb Roark in Jennifer Jo Cobb’s #0 Grimes Irrigation & Construction Chevrolet, which exited the race after 5 laps with the #57 Watt’s Truck Center Chevrolet of Adam Edwards.  Norm Benning, the owner of the #57, rounded out the Bottom Five when his #6 Tom Corbett for PA Governor / Pro1 Automotive Chevrolet crashed in Turn 2 on Lap 23.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Koch is the first last-place finisher in Truck Series history to retire from the race due to a rear axle failure.
*This is the first last-place finish for both Koch and the #36 in a Truck Series race at Texas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
32) #36-Blake Koch / 3 laps / rear axle
31) #35-Ryan Ellis / 4 laps / vibration
30) #0-Caleb Roark / 5 laps / electrical
29) #57-Adam Edwards / 5 laps / rear gear
28) #6-Norm Benning / 19 laps / crash

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ryan Ellis, Mike Harmon, Justin Jennings, Blake Koch, Charles Lewandoski, Caleb Roark (2)
2nd) Mike Affarano, T.J. Bell, Bryan Dauzat, Alex Guenette, Ted Minor, Tommy Regan, Scott Stenzel, Jason White (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #0-Jennifer Jo Cobb (4)
2nd) #36-Mike Mittler (3)
3rd) #63-Mike Mittler / Randy Young, #74-Mike Harmon (2)
4th) #28-FDNY Racing, #35-Win-Tron Racing, #42-Randy Young, #45-Regan Motorsports, #50-MAKE Motorsports, #57-Norm Benning, #74-Mario Gosselin, #93-RSS Racing, #03-Mike Affarano Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (17)
2nd) RAM (2)
3rd) Toyota (1)