#JD70: J.D. McDuffie's Career at the Darlington Raceway

J.D. McDuffie's final No. 70 being painted in Sanford
during the Phoenix race weekend, November 1990
PHOTO: Charlie Berch

J.D. McDuffie never raced at Phoenix (now ISM Raceway), which hosted its first three Cup races toward the end of his career. According to Watkins Glen photographer Charlie Berch, who was staying with the McDuffie family in Sanford during the weekend of the 1990 Phoenix event, the driver was watching the race at home. That day, McDuffie was taking a break from painting what would turn out to be the final car he ever raced. Two weeks later, the burgundy and black #70 Pontiac hit the track for the first time in practice and qualifying for the season finale, the Atlanta Journal 500 in Atlanta. The car failed to qualify.

Instead, this week we’ll look at McDuffie’s career at the Darlington Raceway.

McDuffie made 39 starts at Harold Brasington’s egg-shaped oval, but didn’t qualify for a race there until September 2, 1968, during his fourth season on the circuit. Even then, McDuffie barely made the cut for the 19th Annual Southern 500, edging Paul Dean Holt for the final starting spot on the 44-car grid. His Buick lasted just 22 laps into the race, climbing past Bobby Johns and Bill Champion before the car lost oil pressure, leaving him 42nd.

McDuffie’s first of three Top Tens at Darlington came on May 2, 1971, during the Rebel 400. Driving a 1969 Mercury Cyclone, McDuffie lined up 34th on the 36-car grid and climbed his way up to 7th. It’s interesting to note that McDuffie finished this well despite coming home a full 28 laps behind race winner Buddy Baker. Back then, the gap between the fastest and slowest cars was much greater than it is today, and the rate of attrition was much higher. Baker himself took the lead after Donnie Allison’s dominant Wood Brothers Mercury blew an engine while leading with 11 laps to go. Despite the failure, Allison had lapped so much of the field that he only dropped to 4th. In the end, Baker took the checkered flag by more than seven full circuits over Dick Brooks.

McDuffie’s best finish at Darlington came on April 15, 1973, during a Rebel 500 dominated by polesitter David Pearson. On that day, McDuffie started 26th out of 40 drivers and made his way up to 5th in a 1972 Chevrolet, this time 21 laps down to Pearson. He was also just two laps from catching fellow owner-driver Richard Childress, who impressed in his very first Darlington start. Just like two years earlier, bad luck bit the Allisons in the final laps. This time, it was Bobby Allison whose #12 Coca-Cola Chevrolet lost an engine after leading 96 laps, but only slipped to 3rd in the finishing order.

The attrition snatched up McDuffie as well. In 19 of his 39 starts, he failed to finish, but only twice did he finish last at “The Lady In Black.” The first time came on September 6, 1971, just four months after his 7th-place performance. McDuffie had failed to qualify for that weekend’s Southern 500, but managed to pick up a ride in Junior Fields’ #91 1971 Chevrolet, making him the ninth different driver to run for Fields that season. Unfortunately, a steering failure ended his day after just two laps. The other run didn’t come until March 29, 1987, when the engine on his #70 Rumple Furniture Pontiac let go after just one lap of the TranSouth 500.

Much like Rockingham, Darlington was a relatively short drive from McDuffie’s home in Sanford. On race weeks there, he often stayed in Lumberton, North Carolina, located approximately halfway between his home and the track. As covered in this piece by nascarman, Maurice Leggett, journalist for The Robesonian, and the Ramada Inn at Lumberton played a role in supporting what turned out to be McDuffie’s final Darlington start on April 7, 1991. A fundraiser was held, allowing fans to get their names on the side of #70 that weekend. As in his first Darlington start, McDuffie needed to beat one car and did – this time edging Mark Stahl for the 40th and final starting spot. He finished 30th.

And, of course, it was at Darlington in 2016 that Landon Cassill and Front Row Motorsports ran a special “throwback” scheme honoring McDuffie, carrying both longtime sponsors Bailey Excavating and Rumple Furniture.

Today, Lumberton still has several hotels frequented by race teams. At least one crewman from King Autosport, Mario Gosselin’s XFINITY Series team, stayed in the same hotel I did during my trip east last year. The latest edition of The Robesonian still fills the newspaper racks.

CUP: Strong weekend for Michael McDowell ends with first last-place finish in four years

PHOTO: @RPMVisuals

Michael McDowell picked up the 29th last-place finish of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his #34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford fell out with engine problems after 100 of 267 laps.

The finish, which occurred in McDowell’s 252nd series start, was his first of the season and his first in a Cup race since this same event, four years ago, on March 9, 2014. In the LASTCAR Cup Series rankings, it’s the 30th for car #34, the 379th for Ford, and the 677th by reason of engine failure. Across the top three series, it’s the 42nd for the #34, the 936th for Ford, and the 1,051st by reason of engine failure.

Sunday’s run also moves McDowell into sole possession of 3rd on the all-time LASTCAR Cup Series rankings, breaking a tie with Derrike Cope. Only Joe Nemechek and the late J.D. McDuffie have more. He’s also tied with McDuffie for the fifth-most last-place runs all-time with 32 across the top three divisions.

McDowell’s most recent last-place finish came in his second start for Leavine Family Racing, having made the move from prolific “start-and-park” operation Phil Parsons Racing. For the next three seasons, driver and team would improve steadily with the driver turning in four of his next five top-ten finishes at Daytona (another 10th-place finish came at Homestead, when he was driving LFR’s second entry during a points swap). Through it all, McDowell climbed from 39th in the 2015 driver standings to 30th in 2016, then 26th just last year.

This year, McDowell drives Front Row Motorsports’ flagship #34 Ford, taking the place of Landon Cassill, who is still searching for a ride. Once again, McDowell excelled at Daytona, turning in a sterling 9th-place finish, his third season in a row with at least one Top 10 at the superspeedway. He finished just 24th last week in Atlanta, but still held a 14th-place ranking in points as NASCAR embarked on the “West Coast Swing.” In addition to returning sponsorship from Love’s Travel Stops, McDowell’s Ford for Las Vegas would carry a special decal on the A-post in memory of the late Wendell Scott, who campaigned the #34 all but 26 of the 495 Cup starts in his Hall of Fame career.

Among the 37 entrants for Sunday’s race, McDowell put up the 16th-best lap in Friday’s opening practice, besting the likes of Jimmie Johnson and Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon. In qualifying, he put up the 18th-best lap in Round 1, then jumped to 15th in Round 2, just a fraction behind Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, and Johnson for a spot in the final round. His official lap clocked in at 188.607mph (28.631 seconds). On Saturday, he continued to impress, running 9th in the second session before settling back to 29th in Happy Hour.

Starting last on Sunday was Joey Gase, who along with his #55 Nevada Donor Network Chevrolet from Premium Motorsports was making his season debut on the Cup side. During the pace laps, Gase was joined at the rear by both his teammate, Ross Chastain, in the #15 LowT Center Chevrolet, and the #48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson, both incurring penalties for multiple inspection failures. Gase backed up once more, allowing Chastain and Johnson to line up side by side for the start.

When the green flag dropped, Gase began to lose touch with the pack, as did 36th-place starter Jeffrey Earnhardt, who was shaken out of the pack in the early moments. Gase began to close on Earnhardt’s #00 VRX Simulators Chevrolet, but then lost touch with him, falling two seconds back of the #00 by Lap 10. Five circuits later, race leader Kevin Harvick caught Gase in Turn 4, moved low, and made the #55 the first of 28 cars he’d put at least one lap down on his way to victory.

On the 30th circuit, Gase lost a second lap, and was reporting his car was fighting a tight condition. If he stayed there at the checkered flag, it would be the first last-place run for the #55 at Las Vegas since 2002, when the late Bobby Hamilton wrecked an Andy Petree car in the early laps. As it turned out, he was passed for last on Lap 41 after Jeffrey Earnhardt went a third lap down during his green-flag stop. Next was Atlanta last-placer Gray Gaulding, whose #23 Earthwater Toyota took the spot on Lap 46 after his own pit stop. Gaulding eventually made his pit stop, and resumed hold of 36th on Lap 49, now four laps in arrears. He’d lose a fifth on Lap 74. The next round of stops also jumbled up the last-place battle with Gaulding taking it on Lap 84, then Gase back to the rear for the Lap 89 restart to begin Stage 2.

McDowell, meanwhile, was backing up his strong performance in practice and qualifying. Even when Harvick continued to dominate, McDowell held fast to one of the few remaining lead lap spots. On Lap 39, he stayed out longer than much of the rest of the field, putting him up front for 11 laps. The move singlehandedly bested the driver’s record for most laps led in a season (ten last year), and marked the first time he’d led more than four laps in any single event. Unfortunately, as the second stage began, McDowell was lagging back, reporting smoke in the cockpit. Not wanting to lose an engine on track, he pulled behind the wall on Lap 104 with smoke trailing from his car. He officially took last on Lap 107, at which point he was seven laps down. On Lap 121, someone on the crew said over the radio the team was done, making them the first retiree of the afternoon.

The rest of the Bottom Five contained the day’s only other DNFs. 36th-place Jamie McMurray fell out when his #1 Cessna / DC Solar Chevrolet slapped the outside wall in Turn 2 on Lap 177. 35th and 34th went to Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott, who tangled on Lap 184 when Busch broke loose under Elliott coming off Turn 4. Rounding out the group was Gray Gaulding, who pulled his #23 behind the wall 15 laps down on Lap 210.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*McDowell’s 11 laps led are the most by a Cup Series last-place finisher since September 5, 2010, when Denny Hamlin led 74 laps of the Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta. Hamlin’s run is one of only 18 recorded instances in Cup Series history where a driver led more laps than McDowell did Sunday, only to finish last.
*This was the first last-place finish for car #34 in a Cup Series race since September 9, 2017, when Landon Cassill’s #34 CSX “Play It Safe” Ford crashed out after 33 laps of the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond. The number had never before trailed a Cup race at Las Vegas.
*This marked McDowell’s third last-place finish in the previous six Cup races at Las Vegas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
37) #34-Michael McDowell / 100 laps / engine / led 11 laps
36) #1-Jamie McMurray / 176 laps / crash
35) #41-Kurt Busch / 183 laps / crash
34) #9-Chase Elliott / 183 laps / crash
33) #23-Gray Gaulding / 195 laps / engine

2018 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) BK Racing, Front Row Motorsports, TriStar Motorsports (1)

2018 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota (1)

2018 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

XFINITY: Savage crash leaves Dylan Lupton last in Vegas

PHOTO: FS1

Dylan Lupton picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Boyd Gaming 300 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his #28 thinQ Technology Partners Ford crashed out after 5 of 200 laps.

The finish came in Lupton’s 27th series start. In the LASTCAR XFINITY Series rankings, it’s the 16th for car #28, the 154th for Ford, and the 313th by reason of a crash. Across the top three divisions, it’s the 41st for the #28, the 935th for Ford, and the 1,130th by reason of a crash.

Lupton, a California native, has enjoyed a swift rise through the ranks of stock car racing. At age 16, he scored three wins in the Langers Juice S-2 Sportsman Series. Three years later, he scored his first K&N Pro Series West victory at the Evergreen (Washington) Speedway, edging series veteran Greg Pursley, and a year later came just 17 points short of besting Pursley for the title. His XFINITY Series odyssey began in 2015, driving in place of John Wes Townley in the #25 Zaxby’s Chevrolet. He finished 19th in his series debut at Phoenix, then 9th at Mid-Ohio. His Cup debut came two years ago at Sonoma, finishing 35th for BK Racing. And, more infamously, it was Lupton’s tire failure in the closing stages of that year’s Homestead finale that ultimately led to the wreck eliminating Carl Edwards from his final Cup Series start.

This year, Lupton is again focusing on XFINITY, continuing a relationship with JGL Racing. He joined James Whitener’s team last spring at Richmond, finishing 12th in the #24 Nut Up Toyota. It turned out to be his best finish in a season where he swapped rides with fellow young guns Corey LaJoie, Drew Herring, Jeb Burton, and Cale Conley, as well as pay driver Scott Lagasse, Jr. This year, he’s moved to JGL’s #28 with new sponsorship from thinQ Technology Partners. His season began on a rough note with a hard crash at Daytona leaving him 27th, then just a 21st-place run in Atlanta.

At Las Vegas, Lupton ran 21st of 28 drivers in Friday’s opening practice, then held serve as 22nd of 40 in Happy Hour. With exactly 40 drivers for as many spots following back-to-back withdrawals of B.J. McLeod’s #99 Toyota, Lupton would join all the entrants in Saturday’s race.

In qualifying, Lupton squeezed into Round 2 with the 24th-best lap in Round 1. He edged Timmy Hill for the spot by just over four-hundredths of a second. According to David PeQueen, Hill’s resulting 25th-fastest lap and teammate Chad Finchum’s 30th spot put both of Carl Long’s Motorsports Business Management cars inside the Top 30 for the first time in the team’s history.
In Round 2, Lupton picked up two more spots with a lap of 178.106mph (30.319 seconds), moving him past Joey Gase and Alex Labbe.

Starting last was Stephen Leicht, whose JP Motorsports teammate Josh Bilicki made his first start of the season after back-to-back DNQs in his #45 Prevagen Toyota. Bilicki ran two-tenths faster than Leicht’s #55 Jani-King Toyota, putting both teammates in the final row. The teammates would both finish under power with Bilicki 28th, 11 laps down, and Leicht 30th, 15 behind.

On Lap 5, Lupton was racing Ryan Sieg, who started alongside him in Row 11. Coming across the start / finish line, Sieg’s right-front made contact with Lutpon’s left-rear, sending the #28 spinning across the line. Lupton slid past the grassy infield and appeared to be headed straight again when the car cut left a second time, headed straight toward the inside wall. The right-front corner of Lupton’s Ford struck the very edge of the SAFER barrier, just before it gave way to a  tire barrier located several feet back. The impact bounced Lupton abruptly to the left into another spin before it finally stopped on the inside. Fortunately, Lupton was upset, but uninjured, walking from the wreck.

Finishing 39th was Atlanta last-placer Jeff Green, who turned 15 laps before citing brake issues. Three laps later came Green’s RSS Racing teammate J.J. Yeley in the #93, followed six laps later by owner-driver Morgan Shepherd in the #89 VisOne RV Chevrolet. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Spencer Boyd, who had suspension issues on his #76 Grunt Style Chevrolet.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for car #28 in an XFINITY Series race since July 29, 2006, when Josh Richeson’s #28 Speed Zone Energy Drink Chevrolet (fielded by Jay Robinson, today’s owner of Cup and Truck Series team Premium Motorsports), fell out with handling issues after 2 laps of the Busch Silver Celebration 250 presented by Shop ‘n Save at Gateway International Raceway. It was Richeson’s 24th and final series start.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #28-Dylan Lupton / 5 laps / crash
39) #38-Jeff Green / 15 laps / brakes
38) #93-J.J. Yeley / 18 laps / vibration
37) #89-Morgan Shepherd / 24 laps / oil leak
36) #76-Spencer Boyd / 70 laps / suspension

2018 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) JGL Racing, Roush-Fenway Racing, RSS Racing (1)

2018 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (2)
2nd) Chevrolet (1)

2018 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

TRUCKS: Scott Stenzel scores back-to-back lasts on a rough night for back half of the field

PHOTO: FS1, Screenshot by David PeQueen

Scott Stenzel picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s Stratosphere 200 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his #63 Copp Racing Chevrolet fell out with electrical problems after 5 of 134 laps.

The finish, which came in Stenzel’s 13th series start, was his second in a row, giving him an early lead in the 2018 LASTCAR Truck Series Championship. In the LASTCAR Truck Series rankings, it’s the 17th for truck #63, the 346th for Chevrolet, and the 32nd by reason of electrical issue. Among the top three series, it’s the 34th for the #63, the 1,579th for Chevrolet, and the 111th by reason of an electrical issue.

After his early exit at Atlanta, Stenzel moved to MB Motorsports’ #63 in Vegas, continuing the business partnership between D.J. Copp and MB’s owner Mike Mittler. The white Chevrolet wouldn’t carry any sponsorship, but would be listed with Mittler as the owner and “Copp Racing” in the sponsor’s position.

Stenzel didn’t participate in Thursday’s opening practice session, then ran 27th of 30 trucks in Happy Hour. He earned the 29th spot in qualifying with a lap of 149.072mph (36.224 seconds). This was actually the second-slowest lap turned in the session, besting Norm Benning’s lap of 142.646mph (37.856 seconds). Not turning laps in qualifying would be 31st-place starter B.J. McLeod, a late driver announcement for Beaver Motorsports in the #50 Motorsports Safety Group Chevrolet, and last-place starter Mike Senica.

Over the offseason, Mike Senica had made several tweets indicating he had attracted a number of sponsors, and would return to drive Norm Benning’s second truck, the #57. A source close to the team has indicated this is not the case, that Benning was not made aware of such a deal, and the #57 has yet to be entered this season.

Regardless, Senica has since tweeted that he had a new uniform and helmet. Both made their trackside debut at Las Vegas’ Neon Garage, where Senica had picked up a ride in Jennifer Jo Cobb’s #0 Chevrolet. The truck would carry hood and quarter-panel logos for Betty Lou’s, a brand which Senica mentioned over the offseason, as well as P3 Power Products, which backed him late last year.

At Vegas, Senica had been one of the slowest drivers in practice, his best of 11 laps clocking in at just 135.590mph (39.826 seconds), nearly ten full seconds slower than session leader Johnny Sauter. B.J. McLeod was even slower in the Beaver #50, running just 130.668mph (41.326 seconds), another second and a half off Senica’s speed.

On the night of the race, as Senica followed the rest of the field off pit road, Stenzel pulled to the left and stopped his #63 parallel to the opening to the garage entrance, causing at least one crew member to run up to the truck. Stenzel managed to join the race for the green flag, at which point he’d been moved up a handful of positions. Senica had incurred one of three unapproved adjustments penalties, joined by McLeod’s #50, Matt Crafton’s #88 Black Label Bacon / Menards Ford, and the #25 Performance Plus Motor Oil Chevrolet of Dalton Sargeant. Also sent to the rear was 28th-place starter Tommy Regan, a late entry in TJL Motorsports’ #1 Chevrolet, due to a tire change.

This was, admittedly, a challenging last-place battle to follow as multiple drivers lost laps in rapid succession. When the race started, Senica held down 32nd, 3.925 seconds back at the stripe. Just three laps into the race, he was already more than 18 seconds back, and was lapped so quickly that it didn’t register on NASCAR’s online leaderboard. On Lap 4, Tommy Regan took last, and he was lapped the next time by entering Turn 1. The next time by, Senica lost a second lap as the field roared by to his outside, the FS1 cameras showing the entire field move up the track.

By the time Senica appeared on camera, Scott Stenzel had pulled into the garage. Stenzel didn’t take last right away as both Senica and Regan continued to lose laps, perhaps from extended stops on pit road. On Lap 12, Regan, Stenzel, and Senica were all more than five laps down. Both Regan and Senica were still rolling on Lap 16, but Stenzel wasn’t. Stenzel quickly tied, then passed the number of laps down Regan was to the leaders, taking last. On Lap 17, Stenzel was 11 laps behind, 3 behind Regan and five behind Senica.

31st ended up going to Joe Nemechek, who ran on the lead lap for most of the early laps until he pulled into the garage around the 24th circuit. Nemechek’s #87 Fleetwing Corporation Chevrolet fell slowly down the rankings among the other lapped trucks. On the 28th circuit, Nemechek was behind the wall while Senica lost his 7th circuit and Regan his 9th. Senica exited after he turned 28 laps of his own, but Regan managed to finish the race under power, 22 laps behind, in 27th.

Rounding out the Bottom Five behind Stenzel, Nemechek, and Senica were 29th-place Matt Crafton, who encountered a surprising brake issue that sent him behind the wall in the opening stages. 28th fell to Justin Haley, who avoided serious damage after a Lap 73 spin, but was unable to return in his #24 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet.

Norm Benning ended up 26th on Friday, parked by NASCAR after he and second-place runner Brett Moffitt made contact as Moffitt passed Benning to his outside in Turn 1 while tracking race leader Kyle Busch. Moffitt was recovering from another such instance earlier in that stage when he passed to the inside of 19th-place finisher Michel Disdier, locking fenders with his #20 Richard Orlinski Chevrolet as he passed to Disdier’s inside. Moffitt recovered once more to finish 3rd behind Busch and Johnny Sauter.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the second-consecutive last-place finish for truck #63 at Las Vegas, following Todd Peck’s run last fall, and the first for the number in a Truck Series race since Chris Windom’s early engine failure at Martinsville later that month.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
32) #63-Scott Stenzel / 5 laps / electrical
31) #87-Joe Nemechek / 23 laps / vibration
30) #0-Mike Senica / 28 laps / electrical
29) #88-Matt Crafton / 40 laps / brakes
28) #24-Justin Haley / 75 laps / crash

2018 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Beaver Motorsports, Copp Motorsports, MB Motorsports (1)

2018 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (3)

2018 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: Premium Motorsports brings Cup field up to 37 starters, shortest in Cup history at Las Vegas

PHOTO: Stephen Borodkin

Friday, February 24, 2017
TRUCKS Race 3 of 23
Stratosphere 200 at Las Vegas
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Inaugural Event

ENTRY LIST
There are 32 trucks for 32 spots, meaning that all listed entries will qualify for the race. It’s one fewer entry than last week in Atlanta, but three more than the last Truck Series race here last fall, when just 29 took the green.

DRIVER CHANGE: #0-Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing
Mike Senica is set to make his season debut, driving in place of Joey Gase in the second Cobb truck. Senica brings in sponsorship from offseason from Betty Lou’s and P3 Power Products. Norm Benning Racing has yet to field Senica’s 2017 ride, the #57 Chevrolet, this season.

DRIVER CHANGE: #1-TJL Motorsports
TJL Motorsports wasn't originally listed on the preliminary entry list, but by Tuesday the team posted that they were loading up a white Chevrolet for Tommy Regan to run this weekend. Clay Greenfield, who was flagged off the track last week, doesn't have a ride this weekend.

DRIVER SWAP: #4, #51-Kyle Busch Motorsports
Spencer Davis and Kyle Busch have swapped rides this week with Davis in the #4 and Busch in the #51.

MISSING: #7-All Out Motorsports
The #7 team and Korbin Forrister finished 16th at both Daytona and Atlanta, but are not entered this week.

DRIVER CHANGE: #8-NEMCO Motorsports
RETURNING: #87-NEMCO Motorsports
With Kyle Larson returning to the seat of Ganassi’s #42 XFINITY Series ride, John Hunter Nemechek returns to his #8 on the Truck Series side, and his father Joe will be move back behind the #87 not entered last week.

DRIVER CHANGE: #20-Young’s Motorsports
Last week, Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon managed a 10th-place finish in the Young team’s #20. This week, French driver Michel Disdier makes his first series start since the 2016 Daytona opener, where he ran 11th for Bobby Dotter. Tyler Young had been the listed entry until Thursday.

UPDATE: #49-Premium Motorsports
Wendell Chavous is again entered in his #49 SobrietyNation.org Chevrolet after he fell ill at Atlanta and had to hand the wheel over to Ross Chastain.

DRIVER CHANGE: #50-Beaver Motorsports
B.J. McLeod will turn double-duty this weekend in place of Travis Kvapil, who finished last at Daytona and failed to qualify at Atlanta.

DRIVER CHANGE: #54-DGR-Crosley
55-year-old Bo LeMastus isn’t entered this week following finishes of 30th and 17th in the season’s first two rounds. In his place will be Justin Marks, who we last saw finish 12th in the Daytona 500. As of this writing, we are still awaiting the entry of DGR-Crosley’s second truck, the #17, and the series return of K&N Pro Series West standout Chris Eggleston.

DRIVER CHANGE: #63-MB Motorsports
In place of Akinori Ogata, who wrecked last week in Atlanta, Mike Mittler has tabbed Bayley Currey to drive the #63 this weekend. The Texas native made his series debut in three of the last four races in 2017, finishing a season-best 10th for D.J. Copp at Phoenix.

DRIVER CHANGE: #74-Mike Harmon Racing
After Tim Viens failed to qualify last week in Atlanta, Mike Harmon will drive his own truck.

CUP INVADERS: #51-Kyle Busch

Saturday, March 3, 2018
XFINITY Race 3 of 33
Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Jordan Anderson

ENTRY LIST
There are 40 cars entered for 40 spots, meaning that all teams will start. That is down three entries from last week in Atlanta.

DRIVER CHANGE: #3-Richard Childress Racing
The Dillon brothers swap Richard Childress’ #3 car with Austin Dillon moving in place of Ty, who ran 13th last Saturday.

MISSING: #12-Penske Racing
DRIVER CHANGE: #60-Roush-Fenway Racing
Austin Cindric recovered from his disaster at Daytona with a 7th-place run at Atlanta. This week, Penske Racing’s #12 isn’t entered, so he moves back to Roush-Fenway’s #60, taking the place of 15th-place finisher Chase Briscoe.

DRIVER CHANGE: #18-Joe Gibbs Racing
A stacked field of Cup invaders is headed by Las Vegas native Kyle Busch, who takes the place of last week’s 8th-place finisher Kyle Benjamin.

ADDED: #22-Penske Racing
In place of Penske’s #12 Ford will be the returning #22, which has brought with it Cup regular Joey Logano. UPDATE: As of Friday, the driver is now Ryan Blaney.

DRIVER CHANGE: #42-Chip Ganassi Racing
John Hunter Nemechek finished a strong 4th last week in Atlanta. Regardless, he’s out of the car this week and Cup regular Kyle Larson is in.

MISSING: #98-Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste
After Kevin Harvick cruised to the first part of his double-header sweep at Atlanta, both he and the #98 team are not entered this weekend, capping the Cup invaders at four.

WITHDREW: #99-B.J. McLeod Motorsports
McLeod's third car is entered, but withdrawn without an entered driver for the second straight race. By bringing the field down to 40 cars, this effectively locked in Josh Bilicki, whose #45 from JP Motorsports failed to qualify for the first two rounds.

CUP INVADERS: #3-Austin Dillon, #18-Kyle Busch, #22-Ryan Blaney, #42-Kyle Larson

Sunday, March 4, 2018
CUP Race 3 of 36
Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Corey LaJoie

ENTRY LIST
There are 37 cars entered for 40 spots, meaning that all entered drivers will qualify. It’s the second-consecutive short field in 2018, but one team more than last week in Atlanta. Regardless, Sunday will set the record for the shortest Cup field at Las Vegas, beating the previous record of 39 cars in the last two runnings.

LATE DRIVER ANNOUNCEMENT: #15-Premium Motorsports
Ross Chastain’s unexpected tripleheader weekend in Atlanta was capped by an uneventful 30th-place finish last week. He returns for his second-straight start this week, added to the roster by Wednesday.

SPONSOR CHANGE: #43-Richard Petty Motorsports
As RPM’s sponsorship for Darrell Wallace, Jr. continues to come together, the team will continue the tradition of programs sponsored by local hotels and attractions as “The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas” will back the #43 effort.

DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Rick Ware Racing
While originally listed under Justin Marks, Cole Custer will drive in place of fellow XFINITY Series regular Harrison Rhodes. Rhodes finished 33rd last week, though he showed speed early when racing Jeffrey Earnhardt and Ross Chastain for position. Custer’s car will be a Ford in place of a typical Ware-prepared Chevrolet. Reports indicate Custer’s Ford will be prepared by his XFINITY car owner Stewart-Haas Racing, much as Kerry Earnhardt’s 2000 Cup debut was in a DEI car fielded by Dave Marcis.

ADDED: #55-Premium Motorsports
Just like in 2016, Premium Motorsports is helping fill short fields by fielding the first new Open team of 2018. Premium last fielded the #55 at Kansas last fall, though they’d entered a second Open car – the ex-Tommy Baldwin #7 – as recently as last fall at Phoenix. Sunday’s driver will be the same one from Phoenix, Joey Gase, who brings with him sponsorship from the Nevada Donor Network. Gase’s most recent Cup start was last year’s Homestead finale, when he finished last for BK Racing.

LASTCAR STAT OF THE WEEK
Coming into this weekend’s Cup race, the #55 is tied with the #19 for the second-most last-place finishes in series history with 46 apiece. The number’s first last-place run came with none other than Junior Johnson on May 12, 1956, during a 200-lapper at the Hickory Speedway. Johnson started 3rd that day, but burned a piston on his 1956 Pontiac after only nine laps. The number has since finished last with Don Hamilton, Tiny Lund, Jimmy Thompson, Jerry Draper, Earl Brooks, John Banks, Tommy Ellis, Benny Parsons, Phil Parsons, Jimmy Hensley, Kenny Wallace, Bobby Hamilton, Michael Waltrip, Michael McDowell, Dave Blaney, Jeff Green, J.J. Yeley, Travis Kvapil, Brian Vickers, and most recently last spring at Talladega by Reed Sorenson.