ARCA: Mike Basham falls out first in Darrell Basham Racing’s 2018 debut

Basham's car at Kentucky in 2017
PHOTO: ARCAracing.com

by William Soquet
LASTCAR.info Guest Contributor

Mike Basham picked up the first last-place finish of his ARCA Racing Series career in Saturday night’s Music City 200 at Nashville Fairgrounds Raceway after he fell out of the race in his #34 Darrell Basham Racing Chevrolet after 1 of 200 laps. The finish came in his 45th series start.

The Basham family has long been a part of America’s short track racing scene. Patriarch Darrell Basham made a lone Cup start at Nashville Fairgrounds in 1979, starting and finishing 24th in a 28-car field. Dating back over two decades, he has also made over 300 ARCA starts, running full seasons from 2002 to 2012, and garnering a best point rank of 10th in 2011. After 2012, he scaled back his schedule and has let his sons, Mike and Jason, drive. A shop fire in November 2010 and a tornado in 2012 took its toll on the team and after Darrell and Jason split a full 2013 schedule, the team scaled back to part-time in 2014 and 2015 but returned nearly full-time in 2016 with Mike driving in 17 events, finishing tenth in points, while Willie Mullins fielded his car at the two restrictor-plate tracks and at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Darrell was also diagnosed with cancer that year, from which he is still recovering. The arrangement continued in 2017, as Mullins ran both plate tracks, Nashville, and Elko with Mike covering the remaining 16 races on his way to a 13th-place points finish.

2018 has brought changes to both sides of the 34 car. Mullins, expanding to two teams, decided to partner with Hixson Motorsports. In came K&N West racer Jesse Iwuji (who was featured on this site last month) and his Patriot Motorsports Group, who reached an agreement to use the No. 34 to at big tracks while the Basham family would run short tracks. The first entry for the Basham side for Nashville was filed with Darrell driving, but he said in an interview with ARCAracing.com that one of his sons would probably drive.

The entry list showed 28 cars, including four drivers making their series debuts. 15-year-old Chandler Smith had announced a partial schedule with Venturini Motorsports. Joe Graf Jr. had announced a six-race slate with Chad Bryant Racing. With less publicity, two Texans showed up on the entry list for their debuts. D.L. Wilson, of Waco, was set to run a second Fast Track Racing car, the #11. Tovia Grynewicz, of Clyde, entered his own #40 Grynewicz Motorsports machine. Wilson raced super late models at Central Texas Speedway with current XFINITY and Truck driver Bayley Currey, and tested with Henderson Motorsports at Daytona at the beginning of last year. Grynewicz mainly raced in Pro Trucks. He has experience in the Southern Pro Am Truck Series and had made the trek to Florida for Snowball Derby week, finishing 24th of 36th in 2017.

The weekend included only one practice session, which was anchored by Wayne Peterson, entered in his team’s composite car #0. Peterson, 79 years young, turned a fastest lap of 25.501, more than six seconds off the pace set by Chandler Smith at a 19.003. ARCA has made news in the past for inconsistencies in enforcing minimum speed rules, and Peterson looked to be at the mercy of the sanctioning body if times held steady. Grynewicz was next-slowest, at a 24.959, and decided to withdraw before qualifying. Sources within the industry have confirmed that the team is looking at Toledo and IRP but has not confirmed either date as a return.

Qualifying looked surprisingly like a NASCAR event. Riley Herbst’s Joe Gibbs Racing team had to change an engine and didn’t attempt a lap. Harrison Burton, Will Kimmel and Thad Moffitt couldn’t get past inspection. Peterson spun his car on the frontstretch and backed his team’s only composite car into the wall, forcing his team to withdraw. That left 26 on the board, and of the four that didn’t attempt a lap, Will Kimmel was credited with the last starting spot.

Between the qualifying session and race, the best action of the night took place. A super late model race sanctioned by the CARS Tour took place and included Stewart Friesen’s late model debut as well as former NASCAR drivers Mason Mingus and Steven Wallace. Mingus, driving for former Truck owner Richie Wauters, was wrecked by Wallace after 11 of the race’s 100 laps. Wallace was parked for rough driving after the incident and after both had gotten to the infield, Mingus’ crew jumped members of Wallace’s party, which resulted in a semi-viral video of the fight. Wallace, in a statement posted by Matt Weaver, declared war on Mingus after someone allegedly hit Wallace’s wife. Mingus struck a similar tune to Brendan Gaughan after his encounter with Ross Chastain last year, saying in a Tweet that many drivers had sent thank-yous for standing up to Wallace. That action set the stage for what seemed to be a promising night of short track racing.

Alas, the last-place battle was over almost as soon as the race started. Basham retired after a lap, followed by Kimmel and Wilson seven laps later. Con Nicolopoulos, Peterson’s other driver, fell out after eleven laps and Brad Smith, James Hylton’s driver, went behind the wall after seventeen laps. Due to the quick nature of the bottom five falling out all within the first ten minutes of the race, and due to the policy that ARCA does not always publicly release DNF reasons, the entire Bottom Five left the racetrack with no cause listed. Smith’s camp declined to list a pecific reason, saying that a number of issues were to blame. Wayne Peterson Racing and Fast Track Racing had no comment on their teams’ issues, while Kimmel Racing didn’t even have the race on their original schedule and their social media platforms had zero mention of the team even being at the racetrack. (UPDATE: Will Kimmel tweeted that the #69 at Nashville was indeed a start-and-park effort).

A special shout-out goes to winner Zane Smith’s spotter Landon Huffman, an underdog in the Truck Series who is another Tommy Joe Martins-like driver on social media, not being afraid to be honest and (when necessitated) criticize sanctioning bodies.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
26) #34-Mike Basham / 1 lap / unknown
25) #11-D.L. Wilson / 8 laps / unknown
24) #69-Will Kimmel / 8 laps / unknown
23) #06-Con Nicolopoulos / 11 laps / unknown
22) #48-Brad Smith / 17 laps / unknown

2018 LASTCAR ARCA OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Max Force Racing, Darrell Basham Racing (1)

2017 LASTCAR ARCA MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford, Chevrolet (1)

2018 LASTCAR ARCA DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP

CUP: Devastating hit leaves Martin Truex, Jr. unhurt, but last in Texas

PHOTO: @MRNRadio, FS1

Martin Truex, Jr. picked up the 7th last-place finish of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #78 Bass Pro Shops / 5-hour Energy Toyota was involved in a hard single-car accident after 80 of 334 laps.

The finish, which came in Truex’s 448th start, was his first in a Cup Series race since November 13, 2016 at Phoenix, 44 races ago. In the Cup Series last-place rankings, it’s the 22nd for car #78, the 147th for Toyota, and the 562nd by reason of a crash. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it’s the 30th for the #78, the 295th for Toyota, and the 1,132nd by reason of a crash.

Truex’s rise since he joined Furniture Row Racing in 2014 has been well-documented. His debut with the team was a last-place run in the Daytona 500, where his backup car lost the engine after 30 laps. A year later, he ended a nearly three-year winless streak with a win at Pocono, then made the final four at Homestead. A switch to Toyota brought four wins and another championship run in 2016, but another blown engine at Talladega left him an also-ran. That all changed last year, when he capitalized on the new stage racing format to score eight wins and the first Monster Energy Cup.

Truex arrived in Texas with a streak of five consecutive top-five finishes, including a dominant victory in Fontana. He ran 10th-fastest in Friday’s opening practice, then ran 6th in Round 1 of qualifying with a lap of 195.979mph (27.554 seconds), which became his official starting spot when rain washed out the final two rounds. He then ran 11th in Saturday’s morning practice then improved to 5th in Happy Hour.

Lining up last on the grid was Reed Sorenson, back in Premium Motorsports’ “open team,” the #55 Chevrolet (originally reported to be a Toyota) for the first time since Fontana. Sorenson was the only driver to not turn a lap in Round 1 of qualifying, but with just 37 cars for 40 spots, he still made the show.

As usual, there were some position changes during the pace laps. The first time by, David Ragan slowed in his #38 1000Bulbs.com Ford, and on the second pace lap, Ross Chastain stopped his #15 LowT Center Chevrolet on the apron of Turn 1. Both cars rejoined the field in the 29th and 31st spots, respectively.

With one lap to green, the four drivers who incurred pre-race penalties went to the back. Heading through Turn 3, Kyle Larson pulled his #42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet to the outside, sent back after his car failed inspection three times. On the backstretch, Matt DiBenedetto fell back in his #32 Can-Am / Wholey Ford for a transmission change, joining William Byron’s #24 Liberty University Chevrolet, which had a new engine. Also sent to the rear was Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who for the third time in four races was sent to a backup car following a wreck in practice. Coming to the line, Sorenson had dropped back once more, holding down 37th with Byron and DiBenedetto forming the row in front of him.

On the first lap, Sorenson held down last, but was keeping pace with William Byron as he followed the #24 through the first two corners. To Byron’s outside was Landon Cassill, who lined up 35th in StarCom Racing’s #00 USFRA.org Chevrolet. By the completion of the first lap, Sorenson had passed Cassill, and was now working over the #51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet of Harrison Rhodes. Coming to the completion of Lap 2, Cassill was still in last when he suddenly steered the car down pit road, avoiding a wreck unfolding off Turn 4.

In trouble was 16th-place starter Alex Bowman, who got loose on the apron and spun in the middle of the pack, leaving several drivers with damage. As Bowman’s #88 Nationwide Insurance Chevrolet spun to the outside, Paul Menard was slowing down in his #21 Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford and veering to the left. This closed the door on an approaching Daniel Suarez in the #19 Stanley “Racing for a Miracle” Toyota. Suarez’s left-front slammed into the right-rear of Menard, leaving both drivers with heavy damage. Bowman, Suarez, and Menard joined Austin Dillon, who suffered front valence damage, to pit under the yellow.

Under the ensuing caution, Bowman took last from Cassill and was the first driver to be lapped by the leaders. Bowman made it back on track with the rest of the group, trying to beat NASCAR’s six-minute “Crash Clock.” On Lap 5, Daniel Suarez’s team was taking extra time repairing the damaged left-front of the #19, costing them a lap of their own. When Bowman pulled into the pits that time by, stopping two stalls in front of Suarez, the #19 fell to last place. On the Lap 7 restart, Suarez was just coming off pit road, now three laps behind. Much like Kevin Harvick at Fontana, he waited until the whole field had exited Turns 1 and 2 and pulled onto the track by himself, about a half-lap behind.

Suarez was still not up to speed, and on Lap 18 lost a fourth circuit to race leader Kevin Harvick, who sped by to his inside off Turn 2. The Joe Gibbs Racing team called Suarez back to pit road on Lap 22, and didn’t return until Lap 35, by which point he was 19 circuits behind. He then lost a 20th lap as he got up to speed, then returned to pit road for a green-flag tail end penalty for too many crew members over the wall. Suarez stopped yet again on Lap 51, at which point he was 22 laps down to the leaders.

While Suarez was once again sitting on pit road, Alex Bowman pulled his damaged #88 behind the wall, the first driver on Sunday to do so. On Lap 59, Bowman was 12 laps down, 17 laps ahead of Suarez. Suarez was the first of the two to return to action, doing so on the 67th go-round, then made another pass-through penalty for too many men over the wall the next time by. At this point, Suarez was now 39 laps down, putting him in position for car #19’s first last-place finish since July 14, 2013.

Martin Truex, Jr., meanwhile, was looking to turn adversity into an advantage. He’d been forced to make an unscheduled stop, but had cycled back up to the runner-up position on Lap 80, poised for a good finish when Stage 1 ended five laps later. But coming off the fourth turn, the right-front tire went down without warning, steering the #78 hard into the outside wall. As the caution flew, allowing Kevin Harvick to take the Stage 1 win uncontested, Truex climbed from his car unhurt. His Toyota was towed behind the wall, then loaded up, done for the afternoon.

By Lap 82, during the Truex caution, Alex Bowman had returned from the garage area. He was now just seven laps from Suarez passing him for 36th, dropping the #88 to last. Instead, with both Bowman and Suarez running, the two gradually closed on the retired Truex. On Lap 88, Truex’s car was pulled off the RaceView app. On Lap 112, Bowman passed Truex. And on Lap 121, Suarez dropped Truex to last.

The rest of the Bottom Five proved to be an “all-star” affair as several other top drivers found themselves involved in accidents. Finishing 36th was Kyle Larson, who like Truex was running in the Top Five when he blew a right-front and slammed the Turn 1 wall. His car was still smoldering as it was towed to the garage. The remaining three spots went to Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski, who tangled in Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 176 after Hamlin ran up on a slowing Aric Almirola. Like Truex, the group gradually fell down the rankings below the lapped Bowman and Suarez, who finished 28th and 29th, respectively.

With so many big names struggling, other small teams enjoyed strong runs. Top of the list was Darrell Wallace, Jr., who came home 8th, his best finish since his runner-up showing in the Daytona 500. Michael McDowell recovered from his disappointing engine failure at Las Vegas to finish 14th, his best run since he was 9th in the 500. Behind McDowell were Chris Buescher, Matt DiBenedetto, Kasey Kahne (driving for Leavine Family Racing with heavy left-front damage from a blown tire), Ross Chastain, Cole Whitt, and Gray Gaulding, who all left Texas with top-twenty finishes. Landon Cassill and Harrison Rhodes, 21st and 22nd, came within one and three laps of challenging this group, but still left with their best finishes of the year. Prior to Sunday, neither driver had finished better than 33rd with Cassill finishing last in his Martinsville season debut.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish at Texas for both Truex and car #78. It’s Truex’s fourth last-place finish with Furniture Row Racing.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
37) #78-Martin Truex, Jr. / 80 laps / crash
36) #42-Kyle Larson / 126 laps / crash
35) #48-Jimmie Johnson / 175 laps / crash
34) #11-Denny Hamlin / 177 laps / crash
33) #2-Brad Keselowski / 178 laps / crash

2018 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) TriStar Motorsports (2)
2nd) BK Racing, Front Row Motorsports, Furniture Row Racing, Roush-Fenway Racing, StarCom Racing (1)

2018 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (3)
2nd) Ford, Toyota (2)

2018 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

XFINITY: Jeff Green scores seventh Texas last-place finish in eight years

PHOTO: Dominic Aragon, TheRacingExperts.com

Jeff Green picked up the 105th last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s My Bariatric Solutions 300 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #93 RSS Racing Chevrolet fell out with electrical issues after 13 of 200 laps.

The finish, which came in Green’s 486th series start, was his third of the year and his first since Phoenix, two races ago. In the LASTCAR XFINITY Series rankings, it’s the 30th for car #93 (breaking a tie with the #91 for second-most in the series), the 498th for Chevrolet, and the 45th by reason of electrical failure. Across the top three series, it’s the 80th for #93, the 1,585th for Chevrolet, and the 112th by reason of electrical failure.

Following his next-to-last-place finish in Fontana, Green reprised his role in the third RSS Racing Chevrolet, teamed with Ryan Sieg (#39) and J.J. Yeley (#38). Green didn’t participate in Friday’s opening practice, then turned exactly one lap in Happy Hour, good enough for 30th on the charts. He improved in qualifying in part due to other teams not making it on track in time, securing 29th on the grid with a lap of 181.494mph (29.753 seconds). It was the sixth-slowest lap turned in Round 1.

While the preliminary entry list indicated exactly 40 cars for 40 spots, this did not count JP Motorsports teammates Stephen Leicht and Josh Bilicki, who both qualified for the race. Sent home by the duo were Matt Mills in JD Motorsports’ #15 Chevrolet and Fontana last-placer Mike Harmon in the ##74 Shadow Warrior Project Chevrolet.

Starting 40th and last on Saturday was Cup regular Kevin Harvick, back with the Biagi-DenBeste team for the first time since his dominant win at Atlanta in February. Harvick was one of seven drivers who failed to complete a lap in qualifying due to inspection issues, meaning that the entire group lined up according to Owner Points. Though the Biagi team only runs part-time, Harvick secured the spot based on the Past Champions’ Provisional for his 2006 series title. Prior to the start, Harvick was joined at the rear by Spencer Gallagher, whose #23 Allegiant Airlines Chevrolet was penalized for unapproved adjustments.

Two cautions slowed the first 13 laps of the race. First to find trouble was Chad Finchum in the #40 Smithbilt Homes / TLC Resorts Toyota. Finchum, set to make his Cup debut for MBM next Sunday in Bristol, spun on Lap 3 but kept going, only to back into the fence on Lap 81, shortening the rear clip for a 34th-place finish. Cup regular Jamie McMurray then found trouble in Turn 4 on Lap 10, but managed to recover to finish 7th. It was during McMurray’s caution that Green pulled behind the wall. Last-place starter Harvick ultimately finished just 19th, two laps down to race winner Ryan Blaney.

Finishing 39th was Vinnie Miller, who wrecked Johnny Davis’ #01 JAS Expedited Trucking Chevrolet in the second corner on Lap 17, drawing the third yellow of the afternoon. 38th fell to Morgan Shepherd, who made his 1,000th start across NASCAR’s top three divisions in his #89 Visone RV Chevrolet. Shepherd turned 33 laps before suspension issues ended his race. JP Motorsports’ Stephen Leicht in the #55 Jani-King Toyota had electrical issues of his own 20 laps after Shepherd, followed the next time by with Timmy Hill in Motorsports Business Management’s #66 Chris Kyle Foundation / CrashClaimsR.us Dodge. For Leicht, Hill, and Miller, it was their first bottom-five finish of 2018.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Jeff Green has now finished last in exactly one XFINITY Texas race every year since 2011 with the exception of last year, when Jordan Anderson and John Jackson took the position. Saturday was his sixth finish at the track.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #93-Jeff Green / 13 laps / electrical
39) #01-Vinnie Miller / 15 laps / crash
38) #89-Morgan Shepherd / 33 laps / suspension
37) #55-Stephen Leicht / 53 laps / electrical
36) #66-Timmy Hill / 54 laps / fuel pump

2018 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) RSS Racing (3)
2nd) JGL Racing, Mike Harmon Racing, Roush-Fenway Racing (1)

2018 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (4)
2nd) Ford (2)

2018 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: Texas set to host first short Cup Series field in track’s history

PHOTO: Brock Beard

Saturday, April 7, 2018
XFINITY Race 6 of 33
My Bariatric Solutions 300 at Texas
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Jordan Anderson

ENTRY LIST
There are 40 drivers for 40 spots, meaning that all entered drivers will start Saturday’s race. The XFINITY Series has not had a short field since August 16, 2014, when 39 drivers took the green at Mid-Ohio. UPDATE: List grew to 42 cars with the late additions of JP Motorsports' Josh Bilicki (#45) and Stephen Leicht (#55), who continue their full-season run.

DRIVER CHANGE: #3-Richard Childress Racing
The Dillon brothers trade spots once again with younger brother Ty taking over for Austin, who finished 4th last time out in Fontana.

DRIVER CHANGE: #8-B.J. McLeod Motorsports
Set to make his XFINITY Series debut this Saturday is Bayley Currey, who takes over for Tommy Joe Martins, 24th at Fontana. Currey will make his series debut at his home track (he was born in Driftwood, Texas), having made four Truck Series starts since last fall. His best series finish was 10th last November at Phoenix, to date the only Top 10 for Copp Motorsports.

RETURNING: #12-Penske Racing
Austin Cindric’s ride-swapping season continues Saturday as he drives Penske’s #12 Mazak Ford for the first time since Atlanta. Cindric, who drove the #60 last time out in Fontana, had another rough outing that day, finishing 28th.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-JD Motorsports
Series veteran Joe Nemechek returns to the controls of JD Motorsports’ fourth car, his first start in the series since a 23rd-place performance in the Daytona opener. He takes the place of Matt Mills, who doesn’t have a ride this weekend. UPDATE: Mills was added in place of Nemechek for race day.

DRIVER CHANGE: #22-Penske Racing
Another Cup driver swap headlines the primary Penske Ford with Ryan Blaney taking the place of Joey Logano, who dominated the Roseanne 300 two weeks ago.

DRIVER CHANGE: #42-Chip Ganassi Racing
After a freak incident left caused John Hunter Nemechek’s hood to fly up in Fontana, leaving his fast Chevrolet 29th, Cup regular Jamie McMurray returns for his second XFINITY start of the season. McMurray came home 5th last month in Phoenix.

DRIVER CHANGE: #60-Roush-Fenway Racing
Taking the place of Austin Cindric in the #60 Nutri Chomps Ford is Chase Briscoe, his first XFINITY start since he ran 15th with the team in Atlanta. Briscoe ran 2nd and 4th in last year’s Truck Series races in Texas.

RETURNING: #98-Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste
Rounding out the group of Cup invaders is Kevin Harvick and the Biagi-DenBeste #98 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford, who both were last seen dominating the field in Atlanta, leading 141 of 163 laps for an easy victory.

CUP INVADERS: #3-Ty Dillon, #22-Ryan Blaney, #42-Jamie McMurray, #98-Kevin Harvick

Sunday, April 8, 2018
CUP Race 7 of 36
O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Jeffrey Earnhardt

ENTRY LIST
There are 37 drivers entered for 40 spots in Sunday’s Cup race. It’s the sixth-consecutive short field this season and the first short field in the history of either of Texas’ two Cup dates. The track had 40-car fields in all four races since the 2016 reduction.

DRIVER & MANUFACTURER CHANGE: #55-Premium Motorsports
After J.J. Yeley’s season debut ended with a 31st-place finish in Martinsville, Reed Sorenson is listed to return to Jay Robinson’s Open team for the first time since Fontana. Sorenson drove Premium’s Chartered #15 in both of last year’s Texas races, finishing 35th in the spring and 31st in the fall. The team also makes the switch to Toyota for the first time since last fall in Kansas.

WITHDREW: #66-Motorsports Business Management
Carl Long was entered in his #66 Toyota for what would have been MBM’s first Cup start since Mark Thompson’s effort in the Daytona 500. By the time the preliminary list was posted, however, the car was withdrawn. News already broke on March 27 that MBM will return next Sunday in Bristol, where the team’s XFINITY Series driver Chad Finchum will make his Cup debut at his home track. Finchum will run double-duty that weekend, paired with an XFINITY run in the #40 Concrete North, Inc. Toyota.

MISSING: #96-Gaunt Brothers Racing
D.J. Kennington survived his first short track Cup race at Martinsville, coming home 28th with the #96 Toyota in one piece. Driver and team are not entered this week, but appear to be building their notebook at tracks where they’ve never competed.

MISSING: #99-StarCom Racing
Sources indicated earlier this season that StarCom would field their second car, the #99, this weekend at Texas. However, despite the short field, the car was missing from the preliminary entry list.

UPDATE: #00-StarCom Racing
This is the second and final scheduled race for Landon Cassill’s two-race stint with StarCom Racing. Plans for driver and team at Bristol and beyond are still in the works.

Friday, May 4, 2018
TRUCKS Race 5 of 23
Dover 200 at Dover
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Camden Murphy

The Truck Series’ first of two trips to Texas isn’t until June, and their next race this season comes next month in Dover.

LASTCAR STAT OF THE WEEK
In NASCAR’s early days, dirt tracks provided several unique hazards. This was particularly true of the Richmond Fairgrounds (today the Richmond Raceway), which hosted races on clay until 1968. During one particular running of the Richmond 200 on May 22, 1955, the track also saw the only instance of a Cup driver falling out because of “mud.” The victim was sixth-place starter Jimmie Lewallen of Archdale, North Carolina. Lewallen’s #88 made it just three laps before wet soil was specifically blamed for the end of his day. According to historian Greg Fielden, the track surface grew worse in the closing stages, turning so "rutted and choppy" that mud "clogged fuel lines and choked off radiators." Years later, Lewallen was the subject of a 2014 film, “Red Dirt Rising,” co-produced by his son Gary.

#JD70: J.D. McDuffie competed in a handful of Texas races

J.D. McDuffie in his Bailey Excavating cap, circa 1975
PHOTO: source unknown

Though he raced years before the opening of the Texas Motor Speedway, J.D. McDuffie made several trips to the Lone Star State in his career.

McDuffie competed in seven of the eight races run at the Texas World Speedway in College Station, missing only the inaugural event in 1969. Today, the mammoth two-mile oval stands empty, and most recently was the staging ground for vehicles damaged during Hurricane Harvey. But on December 12, 1971, the #70 Mercury lined up 44th on the grid of a tremendous 49-car field. In a race won by Richard Petty, McDuffie climbed up to 19th at the finish, 39 laps down to The King.

In those seven starts, McDuffie never finished last. In fact, one of his 106 career top-ten finishes happened there. On June 10, 1973, another race won by Petty, McDuffie finished 10th. Though the #70 came home 12 laps down that afternoon, he was in good company – Petty had lapped the entire field not once, but twice, besting runner-up Darrell Waltrip by more than two full circuits. He also finished ahead of Bobby Allison, Dave Marcis, and Richard Childress, among others.

McDuffie very nearly finished in the top-ten again during the series’ final visit to the track on June 7, 1981. That day, he finished 11th, one spot and two laps behind 10th-place Harry Gant. This time, the group in his rear view included polesitter Terry Labonte, Ricky Rudd, Darrell Waltrip, and Morgan Shepherd. Benny Parsons took the win, his second of three for the late Bud Moore. It was also the day Kirk Shelmerdine made his Cup Series debut as a driver.

Interestingly, McDuffie also competed at a second Texas venue. Car #70 was one of 14 entrants who competed in the Space City 300, a 300-lapper at the Meyer Speedway, a half-mile paved bullring in Houston. Held on June 23, 1971 – the Wednesday between the summer rounds at Riverside and Greenville-Pickens – McDuffie started 6th and finished 10th, the next-to-last driver to finish under power. Cruising to victory that day was Bobby Allison, who inherited the lead when Richard Petty had early mechanical issues.

Reserve your copy of "J.D.: The Life and Death of a Forgotten NASCAR Legend" at Waldorf Publishing, coming July 15, 2018. Click here for more details.