ARCA: Will Kimmel finds Kimmel Racing’s first last-place in a season marked by early start-and-parks

Kimmel at Talladega earlier this season
PHOTO: Kimmel Racing Facebook

by William Soquet
LASTCAR.info Guest Contributor

Will Kimmel recorded the 6th last-place finish of his ARCA Racing Series career in Sunday’s Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care at the Toledo Speedway when his #69 FASS Diesel Fuel Systems / Kimmel Racing Ford fell out after 19 laps due to mechanical issues.

The finish came in Kimmel’s 113th series start and was his first since Elko last year, 19 races ago.

By now, the Kimmel family name has become almost synonymous with the ARCA series. Frank Kimmel, of course, has had arguably the most successful career of anyone who has driven in the series, and is still hard at work as a crew chief. His relatives have soldiered on from their Clarksville, Indiana base. Bill and Will Kimmel have traditionally run a relatively competitive team on a small budget, always putting on strong shows at their beloved home track, Salem Speedway. Last year, the team campaigned a number of drivers, including Kimmel and Kevin Hinckle for eight races apiece to fill out the majority of the schedule.

Unfortunately, like all race teams, this one is not immune to financial problems. Before the season, Kimmel and the team announced a seven-race slate with sponsor FASS Diesel Fuel Systems as well as plans for Hinckle and David Sear to run a couple races. The team also announced an alliance with Finney Racing Enterprises for that team to utilize the owner points of the #69 in select races. Still, however, not all the races were covered. In an effort to likely keep valuable owners points up and to receive extra funding from the sanctioning body for attempting all races, Will Kimmel has been forced to "start-and-park" races not covered by any of the aforementioned scenarios. This weekend was one of these, as the team said in a Monday Facebook Live from the shop that Toledo would be a "start-and-park" effort due to insufficient funding.

The initial entry list for Toledo had 24 cars. Not among them for the first time in over 100 races was Thomas Praytor, who announced earlier this month that his #9 Max Force Racing team would scale back to a partial schedule in 2018. Also, for the second-straight race, Chad Bryant Racing withdrew their #22 entry without ever naming a driver, bringing the entry list down to 23. They did, however, confirm plans for a full season with driver Joe Graf, Jr. Two debut drivers also showed up on the entry list: Venturini Motorsports development prospect Eddie Fatscher in the #55 and KBR Development driver Carson Hocevar. Former ARCA champion Grant Enfinger returned to the series, teaming up with another former champion, Mason Mitchell.

The lone practice session saw 63-year-old Rick Clifton take last on the speed charts. Toledo was Clifton’s second race of the year with Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing team. His lap was about a second slower than session leader Chandler Smith’s time. Alas, qualifying was washed out by the rain that moved through that afternoon, so by virtue of practice speeds, Smith lined up first and Clifton last.

The last-place battle was hampered by the malfunction of ARCA timing and scoring for the opening handful of laps. Kimmel was the first to retire, going out after completing 19 laps. Con Nicolopoulos followed him 13 laps later. Immediately farther up the leaderboard saw big names fall to tire failures – Christian Eckes, Gus Dean, Riley Herbst and Sheldon Creed all fell victim to some kind of problem.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
23) #69-Will Kimmel / 19 laps / mechanical
22) #06-Con Nicolopoulos / 32 laps / unknown
21) #15-Christian Eckes / 70 laps / tire
20) #32-Gus Dean / 92 laps / tire
19) #18-Riley Herbst / 155 laps / running

2018 LASTCAR ARCA OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Max Force Racing, Darrell Basham Racing, Wayne Peterson Racing, James Hylton Motorsports, Kimmel Racing (1)

2018 LASTCAR ARCA MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (3)
2nd) Chevrolet (2)

2018 LASTCAR ARCA DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP

CUP: Alex Bowman scores Hendrick’s first All-Star last-place finish since 1995

PHOTO: @NASCAR

Alex Bowman finished last in Saturday’s Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway when his #88 Axalta Chevrolet was involved in a single-car accident after 68 of 93 laps.

Bowman’s fourth season in the Cup Series has found the 25-year-old from Tucson, Arizona the center of attention. After two difficult seasons driving for underfunded BK Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing, it was Bowman who was tabbed to replace a retiring Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in Hendrick Motorsports’ high-powered #88 Chevrolet. His audition came in 2016, when Earnhardt’s concussion symptoms led to Bowman sharing driving duties with Jeff Gordon. Bowman won his first pole in the car at Phoenix and very nearly took the checkered flag before a late-race tangle with Matt Kenseth.

This year, with Earnhardt retired and Chevrolet introducing the new Camaro ZL1 model, Bowman has been showing steady improvement. He began the year by earning the pole for the Daytona 500, then scored six-straight finishes inside the Top 20 before an opening-lap wreck at Texas. He impressed again the next week at Bristol, finishing a season-best 5th, and two weeks later ran 8th at Talladega. Coming into the All-Star break, Bowman sat 14th in the point standings.

Bowman began the weekend 6th in Friday’s opening practice and secured 3rd on the grid for the Monster Energy Open when qualifying was rained-out. In Stage 1, Aric Almirola appeared headed to a convincing victory until 7 laps to go, when Bowman caught, then passed Almirola’s tightening car in Turn 1. As the rest of the field continued to figure out the new aero package introduced in last summer’s XFINITY race at Indianapolis, Bowman cruised to the stage win, advancing him to the All-Star Race, where he’d start 18th. Bowman would be joined by fellow Open racers Daniel Suarez, A.J. Allmendinger, and fan vote winner Chase Elliott.

Elliott started last in the All-Star main, but was joined at the rear by Jamie McMurray, whose #1 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet was sent to the rear due to an engine change. When the race began, McMurray moved past Suarez, who was now locked in a side-by-side battle with Elliott. Suarez fell to last by the end of the first lap, then tried to pick a lane to catch Elliott. On Lap 3, he had caught Elliott just as Kurt Busch lost control in front of him, backing the #41 Monster Energy Ford into the outside wall. Suarez passed Elliott, who checked-up to avoid Busch. Busch fell to last behind the pair, and lost a lap for repairs on pit road before rejoining the pack under caution on Lap 4.

On the Lap 6 restart, Busch managed to work his way past the cars of Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, and Austin Dillon in three laps. But by Lap 10, all three had passed him back, and the wounded #41 Ford began to lose touch with the field again. Busch managed to not lose a second lap before the first stage ended, and he was awarded the Lucky Dog to put him back on the same circuit as the leaders.

At the start of Stage 2, Kurt Busch managed to stay closer to the tail end of the pack, but steadily lost ground under green. By Lap 35, he was 3.7 seconds behind. Busch held the last spot until Lap 45, when A.J. Allmendinger came down pit road. Allmendinger, who won the final stage of the Monster Energy Open, had made a pair of daring moves in his #47 Kroger ClickList Chevrolet, and was making exceptional use of the high lane, charging into the Top Five from 20th in Stage 1. Unfortunately, he smacked the wall off Turn 4, forcing the pit stop and costing him a lap. Like Busch, Allmendinger got the lap back with a Lucky Dog at the end of the stage.

In the caution before Stage 3, Allmendinger made a second pit stop, keeping him in last after Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Ryan Newman took turns briefly holding it. The repairs seemed to help, and when Lap 51, Allmendinger was doing a better job than Busch of keeping up with the field. The next time by, Allmendinger had raced past Clint Bowyer in the high lane, dropping Bowyer’s #14 Stewart-Haas Racing Fan Club Ford to last. On Lap 55, the spot fell to polesitter Matt Kenseth, running Roush-Fenway Racing’s throwback to Mark Martin’s 1998 All-Star winner. Kenseth was still in the spot when the next caution fell on Lap 56.

Bowman played a role in this fourth caution of the night, having made contact with the #95 Dumont Jets Chevrolet of Kasey Kahne. The contact turned Kahne’s #95 hard into the outside wall, wrinkling the right side of his throwback scheme to his 2008 All-Star winner. Kahne made it back to pit road, where he spent three laps under yellow for repairs. Kahne looked like he was certain to finish last until Lap 59, when he rolled down pit road, then stopped at pit exit to let the restarting field pass by for a fourth time. Now running by himself, Kahne was last, but still on the track.

What ended the night for Bowman came on Lap 68, when the #88 was running 10th. Racing Brad Keselowski for 9th off of Turn 2, Bowman lost control and whacked the outside wall, causing heavy damage to the rear clip and right side of his Chevrolet. The crew told him to pull behind the wall, which he did, ending his night under the “Crash Clock” protocol. The wreck forced Stage 3 into overtime, and the lengthy caution allowed Kahne to drop Bowman to last under yellow on Lap 72.

The rest of the Bottom Five was filled by the night’s biggest accident on the ensuing restart. Heading through Turn 4, a four-wide battle went awry when Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. made contact with Martin Truex, Jr.’s #78 5-hour Energy / Bass Pro Shops Toyota. The contact sent Truex up the track directly into the closing pack, collecting seven other drivers. Truex ended up the highest ranked of the four drivers whose damage eliminated them from competition. The other three were Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, and Brad Keselowski. Of the Bottom Five, only Truex and the #2 Discount Tire Ford of Keselowski had not taken turns in last earlier that night. Both led for a combined 20 laps.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Hendrick Motorsports’ first All-Star last-place finish since May 20, 1995, when Ken Schrader’s turn in the #25 Budweiser Chevrolet ended after 32 laps of the Winston Select following a tangle with Jimmy Spencer, Dale Earnhardt, and Terry Labonte. Schrader’s #25 team became the current #88 team when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. joined Hendrick in 2008.
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #88 and for Bowman in the All-Star Race.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
21) #88-Alex Bowman / 68 laps / crash
20) #2-Brad Keselowski / 74 laps / crash / led 3 laps
19) #14-Clint Bowyer / 74 laps / crash
18) #41-Kurt Busch / 74 laps / crash
17) #78-Martin Truex, Jr. / 76 laps / crash / led 17 laps

CUP: Reed Sorenson becomes first repeat Open last-placer since 1998

PHOTO: John Harrelson, LAT Images

Reed Sorenson finished last in Saturday’s Monster Energy Open at the Charlotte Motor Speedway when his #55 Internetwork Engineering Chevrolet finished under power and on the lead lap at the conclusion of the 50-lap event.

The finish marked Sorenson’s second last-place finish in the Open. The other occurred in 2016, where he also finished under power in Premium Motorsports’ #55, then sponsored by World Record Striper Company and Hauling Bass. With the finish, Sorenson becomes just the third driver in the history of the Open to finish in the event more than once, joining Trevor Boys (1985, 1986) and Andy Hillenburg (1996, 1998).

Sorenson reprised his role in Premium’s #55, which he’d driven in seven races this season, including each of the last six. His best finish of the year came just last Saturday in Kansas, where he ran 27th. As with previous preliminary entry lists, the #55 was listed as a Toyota, but arrived as an identical black Chevrolet to teammate Ross Chastain’s #15. The cars further resembled themselves by race day as each shared sponsorship from Internetwork Engineering. Sorenson’s car ran without sponsors in practice.

Sorenson didn’t turn a lap in Friday’s opening practice, and a washed-out qualifying session meant he’d start 20th in the 21-car starting field, ranked by Owner Points. Starting last would be the only other “open team” in the starting field – Motorsports Business Management’s #66 Toyota for Timmy Hill, which debuted a brand-new black-and-purple wrap from debuting sponsor SentinelOne.

At the start of Saturday’s Open, Hill hugged the inside lane in a door-to-door battle with Sorenson. The #55 lost ground off Turn 4, dropping Sorenson to last. Though a gap opened between the two drivers, Sorenson began to catch Hill on Lap 6, caught him on Lap 8, then fell back again on Lap 10, when he was now 17 seconds back of the leaders. The rubber band effect continued for the rest of Stage 1: Sorenson caught Hill again on Lap 15 as the pair closed on Landon Cassill’s #00 Dairi-O Chevrolet. Sorenson worked over Hill on Lap 17, but the #66 held him off at the Lap 20 end of Stage 1.

Alex Bowman took the Stage 1 win in the #88 Axalta Chevrolet and transferred to the All-Star main. His 20 laps complete technically classified him last in the 21-car field.

Among the 20 remaining starters, Cassill briefly took last under the ensuing yellow when his car was the last off pit road. Hill retook it seconds later, followed by Kansas last-placer Ty Dillon, who had a long pit stop in the #13 GEICO Chevrolet. The tail end of the field shuffled once more coming to one lap to go with Cassill and Chastain running in the final row.

When Stage 2 began, Chastain lost touch with the pack as it pulled away in front of him. By Lap 23, Chastain had caught up to Sorenson, beginning a friendly battle between teammates. Chastain worked high in the corners while Sorenson ran low until the #15 made it by both Sorenson and Hill. By Lap 26, Sorenson was last and once again was catching up to Hill. This time, he made it by, passing him low off Turn 4 on Lap 31. Sorenson held off Hill to the end of Stage 2 on Lap 40, but Sorenson lagged back down the backstretch.

Daniel Suarez took the Stage 2 victory in the #19 ARRIS Toyota, classifying him 20th in the final running order as he transferred to the All-Star Main with Bowman.

Once again, Ty Dillon had a long pit stop on the #13. The field lapped him under yellow, but since the laps didn’t count, he left pit road with one to go on the same circuit as the leaders. This time, Dillon incurred a penalty for too many men over the wall, sending him to the back of the field.

Sorenson pulled behind Dillon for the restart on Lap 50, and this time held the last spot from wire to wire in Stage 3. Sorenson remained in the tire tracks of Timmy Hill, and this time was two carlengths behind the #66 as the pair crossed the stripe.

A.J. Allmendinger took the win – his third in the Open - and was soon joined by Fan Vote winner Chase Elliott – his third in a row.

Omitting Stage 1 and 2 winners Bowman and Suarez, the Bottom Five from 19th on up consisted of drivers who all completed the entire 50-lap distance. Behind 19th-place Sorenson and 18th-place Hill was Ross Chastain, who held down 17th. B.J. McLeod took 16th for Rick Ware Racing in the #51 Prefund Capital Chevrolet, the driver returning to the team after his Cup season debut at Kansas. Rouning out the group was defending Open last-placer Corey LaJoie in TriStar Motorsports’ unsponsored #72 Chevrolet.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Sorenson is the only driver to finish last under power in the Open and the only driver to finish last in the #55.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
19) #55-Reed Sorenson / 50 laps / runnning
18) #66-Timmy Hill / 50 laps / running
17) #15-Ross Chastain / 50 laps / running
16) #51-B.J. McLeod / 50 laps / running
15) #72-Corey LaJoie / 50 laps / running

TRUCKS: In and out of the garage, J.J. Yeley extends Mittler team’s last-place streak

PHOTO: Max Neuwirth, @racingfan83

J.J. Yeley picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway when his #63 Fr8Auctions Chevrolet fell out with transmission problems after 21 of 134 laps.

The finish, which came in Yeley’s 31st series start, is his first since last summer at Iowa, 21 races ago. In the Truck Series last-place rankings, it’s the 19th for truck #63, the 33rd by reason of transmission failure, and the 350th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it’s the 36th for the #63, the 156th by reason of transmission failure, and the 1,597th for Chevrolet.

It was also Yeley’s 22nd last-place finish across NASCAR’s top three series, breaking a tie with Mike Harmon for 12th in the all-time rankings. Curiously, Harmon would play a role in Friday’s finish.

As through much of his NASCAR career, Yeley has remained a journeyman across the sport’s top three series. Since 2014, his focus has been on the XFINITY Series, where this year he moved from TriStar Motorsports to RSS Racing, teamed with Ryan Sieg and all-time last-place leader Jeff Green. Yeley’s best XFINITY finish was his 11th-place showing at Talladega, where Sieg and Green all finished in the lead pack. He’d also made a single Cup start at Martinsville, driving Premium Motorsports’ #55 Chevrolet to a 31st-place finish.

Prior to last Friday, Yeley’s most recent start in the Truck Series came last fall at Texas, where he ran 29th for MB Motorsports in the #63 Fr8Auctions.com Chevrolet. Despite their past history, Yeley was a last-minute driver change on for Charlotte. Up until Friday, Camden Murphy had been entered in the #63 truck, following a last-minute ride with TJL Racing in the #1 Chevrolet last week in Kansas. But Murphy was swapped out before opening practice, leaving him without a ride.

The driver swap at MB Motorsports was the latest of several driver and team swaps through the week. The preliminary entry list for Friday’s race saw 38 entries, meaning that six trucks would miss the cut. But on Wednesday, two teams withdrew: TJL Racing’s #1 Chevrolet, which hadn’t picked a driver for Charlotte, and Clay Greenfield, who was slated to return to his family’s #68 AMVETS Please Stand Chevrolet for the first time since his strong run at Daytona. By Friday, Joe Nemechek had withdrawn the #87 Chevrolet he was slated to run.

The remaining drama of the resulting 35-truck list went away with steady rain on Friday, cancelling qualifying and setting the field on Owner Points. The three teams washed out of the field were part-time efforts with strong entries. Korbin Forrister and All Out Motorsports have been solid in 2018, but the #7 Now Matters More Chevrolet missed out in their first attempt since Dover. Series race winner Timothy Peters was sent home with RBR Enterprises’ #92 BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors / Carquest Ford, marking the first time he’d missed the series race at Charlotte since 2007. Last to miss was Bo LeMastus, who was set to debut DGR-Crosley’s new second team, the #17 Crosley Brands Toyota.

With qualifying rained out, Yeley and the #63 team took the final starting spot on Owner Points. The truck showed some speed in practice - Yeley ran 25th of 35 trucks in Friday’s opening session, then 27th of 35 in Happy Hour.

Yeley’s truck was sponsored by Fr8Auctions.com, an infrequent backer of Front Row Motorsports’ Cup operation. The auction company had sponsored both Yeley’s most recent truck race at Texas, but also two other starts with Copp Motorsports’ #83 Chevrolet. As with the Mittler’s #63 and Copp’s #83 last week in Kansas, both decorated with MB Motorsports graphics, Charlotte would show cooperation between the two teams. Bayley Currey would run Copp’s #83, which carried sponsorship this time from the Ingersoll-Rand corporation.

On race night, Yeley rolled out last, but was joined at the rear by Austin Wayne Self, who was sent to a backup truck after wrecking Al Niece’s primary #22 Don’t Mess With Texas / AM Technical Solutions Chevrolet. Falling to the rear voluntarily was Timmy Hill, tabbed to pull double-duty in the #50 Crossbar E-Cigarettes Chevrolet for Beaver Motorsports. When the race started, it was Hill who was classified last, 4.293 seconds back of the leader. Hill lost another two seconds at the end of the first lap, still holding down 32nd, 6.059 seconds back.

After the completion of Lap 2, NASCAR’s leaderboard was slow in updating the intervals for the final four trucks of Yeley, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Robby Lyons, and Hill. The issue, similar to the tracking of Mike Senica’s run at Martinsville earlier this year (LINK), was likely caused by the trucks running off the pace and being lapped in the very early going. On Lap 4, Cobb’s #10 Think Realty Chevrolet was moved to last, 13.051 seconds back with a speed of just 160.815mph - more than 20mph slower than Matt Crafton’s top speed in practice of 181.129mph. On Lap 5, Yeley was classified last, having slowed onto pit road with a lap of just 105.064mph. The running order was refreshed on that circuit to show Yeley two laps down. Cobb, warned by NASCAR to pick up the pace, pulled down pit road after Lap 9, placing her 31st.

On Lap 22, the first caution fell for tire debris off Grant Enfinger’s #98 Champion Power Equipment / Curb Records Ford. By the next time by, both Cobb and Yeley had returned to the track. Yeley was still last, 19 laps down, with Cobb 8 down, 11 laps in front of Yeley’s #63. On the ensuing restart, Yeley picked up his pace from earlier, improving on his sluggish best of 168.713mph to a 170.686. Cobb, meanwhile, could only improve slightly on her best, putting up a 161.329mph.

When Stage 1 ended on Lap 32, Mike Harmon entered the last-place battle. Harmon had started 31st that night, placing him alongside Yeley in the final row. At the end of the stage, Harmon had fallen to 30th, two laps down to the leaders in his #74 Koolbox / Horizon Transport Chevrolet. Harmon continued to lose laps during the caution and through the restart, dropping him down the rankings. On Lap 38, when Stage 2 began, Harmon took 31st from Cobb, who was now nine laps down. If things stayed the same, Yeley would pass Harmon on Lap 48, dropping Harmon’s #74 to last.

But on Lap 43, Yeley, then 20 laps down, lost a 21st circuit. Then a 22nd the next time by. Just eight laps from losing last to Harmon, Yeley was now widening the gap between his truck and the #74, apparently from another trip to the garage. With 10 laps to go in Stage 2, the FS1 leaderboard showed Yeley and Harmon off the track while Cobb, still 30th, was still logging laps. Harmon returned to action on Lap 60, just before the end of Stage 2. When Yeley still didn’t return to the track, this opened up the margin between the two trucks.

Still another competitor entered the picture when Norm Benning suffered crash damage after 55 laps, dropping his #6 Zomongo / H&H Transport Chevrolet into the Bottom Five. On Lap 67, Benning took 30th from Cobb. Harmon, who continued to keep his truck running after his Lap 60 return to action, passed Benning soon after, leaving Benning’s #6 in 31st. But Benning would fall no further. By Lap 68, FS1’s leaderboard indicated that J.J. Yeley was out of the race, having not turned another lap since the 43rd circuit. Thus, Yeley secured last place by 34 laps over Benning.

Finishing 30th was Justin Fontaine, whose #45 ProMatic Automation / Superior Essex Chevrolet backed into the Turn 4 wall on Lap 82. Fontaine’s truck was the last one Harmon’s #74 passed before the finish, doing so by just two laps. Harmon came just two laps from passing 28th-place finisher Timmy Hill, who lost an engine on the #50 in the final laps.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the second-straight truck race at Charlotte where MB Motorsports’ #63 finished last. In 2017, it was Todd Peck behind the wheel. The Mittler team has now finished last in three of the most recent five Truck Series races this season.
*UPDATE (May 21): Yeley's 21 laps completed are the most by a Truck Series last-placer since the 2016 Homestead finale, where Ryan Truex completed 49 laps before engine woes. In that span, only two other times did the last-place finisher complete more than 8 laps: Caleb Holman at Eldora and Stewart Friesen at Kansas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
32) #63-J.J. Yeley / 21 laps / transmission
31) #6-Norm Benning / 55 laps / crash
30) #45-Justin Fontaine / 97 laps / crash
29) #74-Mike Harmon / 99 laps / running
28) #50-Timmy Hill / 100 laps / engine

2018 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) MB Motorsports (3)
2nd) Beaver Motorsports (2)
3rd) Copp Motorsports, TJL Racing (1)

2018 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (7)

2018 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: As new teams join the Truck Series, a small field prepares for All-Star Saturday

PHOTO: Ryan Daley, @StarcomRacing

Friday, May 18, 2018
TRUCKS Race 7 of 23
North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Todd Peck

ENTRY LIST
Following three withdrawals, there are 35 drivers entered for 32 spots, meaning that three will miss the show.

MISSING: #0-Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing
Charlotte has traditionally had some of the largest entry lists of the season, and 2018 is no exception. As a result, two “start-and-park” efforts aren’t entered. First of them is Jennifer Jo Cobb’s second truck, driven to a 31st-place finish last week by Joey Gase.

WITHDREW: #1-TJL Motorsports
One week after his last-minute drive for TJL resulted in a 29th-place finish at Kansas, Camden Murphy will not be driving Tracy Lowe’s #1 Chevrolet this week as he moves to MB Motorsports’ #63. The team did not have another driver listed before it was withdrawn on Wednesday.

DRIVER CHANGE: #4-Kyle Busch Motorsports
Kyle Busch Motorsports returns to a four-truck effort this weekend, and all but Kansas winner Noah Gragson’s #18 will have different drivers. Replacing Kyle Busch in the #4 is Todd Gililand, back in the series for his third start of the season and his first since a 10th-place showing in Dover. Pedigree will sponsor the truck. Busch moves to the #51 (see below).

RETURNING: #7-All Out Motorsports
All Out Motorsports returns with designs on their fourth Truck Series start this year, their first since Korbin Forrister’s 21st-place run at Dover. Forrister’s truck is entered with “Now Matters More” in the sponsor slot. Forrister has not made a Truck Series start at Charlotte since 2015, when he finished 29th for Christopher Long.

NEW TEAM: #17-DGR-Crosley
DGR-Crosley expands to two trucks for the first time in 2018. The team brings driver Bo LeMastus over from the primary #54 Toyota to get it into its first race. LeMastus’ run leaves the #54 open for Chris Eggleston, who eyes his series return (see below).

DRIVER CHANGE: #20-Young’s Motorsports
After Darrell Wallace, Jr. finished 14th in Kansas, Daniel Hemric takes a turn in the #20 Chevrolet for his first Truck Series start since the 2016 finale at Homestead. Overkill Motorsports and Death Wish Coffee join the effort.

MISSING: #36-MB Motorsports
The second “start-and-park” missing from this week’s list is the second Mike Mittler truck, driven last week by Bayley Currey. Currey moves to the sister team, Copp Motorsports, to drive the #83 Ingersoll-Rand Chevrolet (see below).

RETURNING: #46-Kyle Busch Motorsports
KBM’s #46 team returns to the Truck Series for the first time since Todd Gilliland’s 5th-place run at Martinsville last fall. With Gilliland in the #4 this week, Brandon Jones will drive the Mobil 1 Toyota, moving over from the #51 team. Jones finished 9th last week in Kansas.

DRIVER CHANGE: #50-Beaver Motorsports
On Friday, Timmy Hill was entered in place of Jamie Mosley, who finished 28th in his series return last week in Kansas. Hill eyes his first Truck Series start sinfe 2016 at Kentucky, when he drove for Premium Motorsports.

DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Kyle Busch Motorsports
With Gilliland in the #4 and Jones in the #46, the #51 is freed up for – who else – Kyle Busch. Busch, who was defeated by teammate Noah Gragson last week, is the lone Cup full-timer in Friday’s race. CESSNA returns as sponsor.

DRIVER CHANGE: #54-DGR-Crosley
With Bo LeMastus in DGR-Crosley’s new #17, it’s time to welcome back Chris Eggleston to the Truck Series. Eggleston last ran a truck race on July 11, 2014, when he finished 19th at Iowa for SS-Green Light Racing. Over the following three years, Eggleston moved to the K&N Pro Series West, where he and Bill McAnally Racing enjoyed tremendous success. Teamed with Todd Gilliland, Eggleston won eight races and the 2015 title. He now returns for his first Truck Series start at Charlotte since 2011, when he ran 29th for Steve Urvan. Sponsorship comes from Globe Sprinkler and H2O Fire Protection.

DRIVER CHANGE: #63-MB Motorsports
One week after Kevin Donahue scored his first last-place finish in Kansas, Camden Murphy moves from TJL Racing’s #1 to take his place. With returning sponsorship from Fr8Auctions.com, Murphy looks to make his first Truck Series start at Charlotte. UPDATE: J.J. Yeley was entered in Murphy's place on Friday.

WITHDREW: #68-Clay Greenfield Motorsports
Friday was to see the return of Clay Greenfield, who we last saw finish 28Th in Atlanta for TJL Racing. He was entered in his family’s #68 AMVETS Chevrolet for the first time since the Daytona opener, where he started 3rd and enjoyed a career run before a wreck left him 22nd. The team withdrew on Wednesday. As it happens, Greenfield has just one Truck Series start at Charlotte – May 18, 2012, when he finished last.

RETURNING: #75-Henderson Motorsports
With news of his upcoming Cup return next week in the Coca-Cola 600, Parker Kligerman is back in action on the Truck Series side, looking to make his fourth start of 2018 and first since a 28th-place run at Dover. Kligerman’s best of four Charlotte starts was his first in 2011, when he finished 8th for Brad Keselowski Racing.

DRIVER CHANGE: #83-Copp Motorsports
Moving from the “start-and-park” #36 to the #83 is Bayley Currey, replacing Kyle Donahue. Ingersoll-Rand is the listed sponsor for the effort. It will be Currey’s first Truck Series start at Charlotte.

WITHDREW: #87-NEMCO Motorsports
A third withdrawal came Friday as NEMCO pulled their second truck for Joe Nemechek.

RETURNING: #92-RBR Enterprises
Ricky Benton’s team rejoins the circuit this week with Timothy Peters, a first for both driver and team since Peters’ Cup debut with Benton at Talladega. Peters has 12 prior Charlotte starts in the Truck Series. In his last four, he’s finished no worse than 7th, including a pair of track-best 5th-place runs in 2014 and 2017.

RETURNING: #97-JJL Motorsports
Jesse Little’s part-time effort roars into Charlotte following finishes of 8th in Atlanta and 9th at Dover. It will be the youngster’s first Truck Series start at the track.

CUP INVADERS: #51-Kyle Busch

Saturday, May 19, 2018
CUP EXHIBITION
Monster Energy Open at Charlotte
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Corey LaJoie

ENTRY LIST
There are 21 drivers entered in this Saturday’s Open race to qualify for the All-Star main event. It’s the fewest starters in this event since the inaugural Atlanta Invitational in 1986, where only 14 drivers were invited to start. The previous record was 22 in 2012. Four of the following drivers will transfer: the three winners of each stage (Lap 20, Lap 40, and Lap 50), plus the All-Star Fan Vote winner. The other 17 will fail to qualify. Many of those will use this as a test session for next week’s Coca-Cola 600.

#9-Chase Elliott
#10-Aric Almirola
#13-Ty Dillon
#15-Ross Chastain
#19-Daniel Suarez
#20-Erik Jones
#21-Paul Menard
#23-Gray Gaulding
#24-William Byron
#32-Matt DiBenedetto
#34-Michael McDowell
#37-Chris Buescher
#38-David Ragan
#43-Darrell Wallace, Jr.
#47-A.J. Allmendinger
#51-B.J. McLeod
#55-Reed Sorenson
#66-Timmy Hill
#72-Corey LaJoie
#88-Alex Bowman
#00-Landon Cassill

TEAM NOTES
Ross Chastain, William Byron, Darrell Wallace, Jr., and Harrison Rhodes are set to make their first-ever starts in the All-Star Open. Rhodes, the only driver on this list who didn’t run Kansas last Saturday, makes his first Cup start since Richmond, where he ran 36th in Rick Ware’s #51. UPDATE: B.J. McLeod is entered in the #51, meaning all Kansas entrants are in the race (McLeod makes his All-Star debut). Premium Motorsports and StarCom Racing have only entered one of their two eligible teams (see below). CORRECTION: Premium has entered their second car, the #55 Toyota, with Reed Sorenson. Landon Cassill, in StarCom’s #00, welcomes new sponsorship from Dairi-O, which will also back the team in the Coca-Cola 600. Timmy Hill has new backing from Sentinal ONE on Motorsports Business Management’s #66 Toyota, including a brand new wrap for the car. William Byron debuts new sponsorship from Hertz Car Rentals on his #24, the beginning of a two-year part-time sponsorship deal. As of this writing, Gray Gaulding does not have a sponsor listed on the #23 Toyota for BK Racing, just as they didn’t in Kansas. Cole Whitt is not entered as Corey LaJoie remains in the #72 for TriStar Motorsports.

TEAMS ELIGIBLE, BUT NOT ENTERED
#8-Richard Childress Racing
#62-Beard Motorsports
#92-RBR Enterprises
#96-Gaunt Brothers Racing
#99-StarCom Racing

Saturday, May 19, 2018
CUP EXHIBITION
Monster Energy All-Star Race at Charlotte
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Matt Kenseth

ENTRY LIST
There are 17 drivers qualified for the 2018 All-Star Race. Joining these 17 will be the three stage winners from the Monster Energy Open and the All-Star Fan Vote winner for a starting field of 21. Despite the record small field for the Open, Saturday will be the biggest All-Star field since 2014, when 22 took the green.

#1-Jamie McMurray
#2-Brad Keselowski
#3-Austin Dillon
#4-Kevin Harvick
#6-Matt Kenseth
#11-Denny Hamlin
#12-Ryan Blaney
#14-Clint Bowyer
#17-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
#18-Kyle Busch
#22-Joey Logano
#31-Ryan Newman
#41-Kurt Busch
#42-Kyle Larson
#48-Jimmie Johnson
#78-Martin Truex, Jr.
#95-Kasey Kahne

TEAM NOTES
The biggest standout on the list is Matt Kenseth, whose deal to run Roush-Fenway’s #6 has included the All-Star Race, which he won in 2004. Roush Industries is the listed sponsor of Kenseth’s car, which will be a throwback scheme to Mark Martin's Eagle One Ford that won the 1998 All-Star Race. Other notable sponsors on the preliminary list are the “Stewart-Haas Racing Fan Club” for Clint Bowyer’s #14 Ford, Hawk and Carlisle on Joey Logano’s #22 Ford, and Dumont Jets for Kasey Kahne’s #95 Chevrolet. Kahne's car will also be a throwback to his 2008 All-Star paint scheme for Gillett-Evernham.

Saturday, May 26, 2018
XFINITY Race 11 of 33
Alsco 300 at Charlotte
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Stephen Leicht

ENTRY LIST
The XFINITY Series returns next week in the lead-up to the Coca-Cola 600.

DRIVER CHANGE: #24-JGL Racing
Kaz Grala tweeted on Tuesday night that his contract with JGL Racing will not be honored for the rest of 2018. His best finish of what was supposed to be a full-time ride was a 4th at Daytona. A new driver has yet to be announced. UPDATE: Reports indicate that JGL will shut down the #24 for the time being, the second time JGL has done so in as many years.

NEW TEAM: #61-Fury Race Cars
Grala did not stay out of a ride for long. On Friday, Fury Race Cars announced they will field a #61 Ford for Grala in the next four races, starting with Charlotte. The Mooresville-based Fury team is new to the XFINITY Series, but by no means are they a start-up. Fury, whose crew includes former DEI crew chief Tony Eury, Jr., have been building short track stock cars and modifieds since 2016.

LASTCAR STAT OF THE WEEK
In 10 of 32 runnings, the All-Star Open’s last-place finisher failed to complete a single lap. Four times in a row from 1991 through 1994, the last-place finisher didn’t start the race. Four other times, the last-place finisher took the green, but failed to complete the opening lap due to crashes or mechanical issues. Delma Cowart was disallowed from starting the 1997 running for allegedly not going through inspection. Just as perplexing was 2002, when Frank Kimmel was apparently entered in Travis Carter’s #26 Ford, didn’t turn a lap in qualifying and was withdrawn, but for some reason is still classified last in the final running order.