K&N WEST: Cassie Gannis records Patriot Motorsports Group’s fourth last place in five races

Gannis with a young fan
PHOTO: Cassie Gannis Instagram

by William Soquet
LASTCAR.info Guest Contributor

Cassie Gannis picked up the 1st last-place finish of her NASCAR K&N Pro Series West career in Saturday night’s NAPA Auto Parts 175 at Colorado National Speedway after her #36 Tough Tested / Patriot Motorsports Group Chevrolet fell out with rear end problems after 154 of 175 laps. The finish came in her 11th series start.

Gannis, a 27-year-old Phoenix native, has overcome many obstacles throughout her racing career. In her teens, she dealt with dyslexia and asthma, and at 17 had surgery to correct her scoliosis. At 20, she made a venture into the K&N Pro Series West in the 2011 season, making three starts. The next season, she made five starts, winning the series’ Most Popular Driver award.

Fast-forward to 2015, which looked to be promising from the outset. She attempted the ARCA race at Daytona with Carter 2 Motorsports, but wound up 42nd on the speed charts in a race that took 40 cars. At the other end of the season, Gannis attempted her Truck debut with Mike Harmon Racing, but wound up last of the 36 trucks in qualifying, leaving her on the outside looking in. She disappeared from large-scale racing until earlier this year, when she teamed up with John Wood, Jesse Iuwji and Patriot Motorsports Group to drive the team’s #08 entry in the Tucson Twin 100s.

After finishing sixteenth and fifteenth in a crash-shortened Second 100, Gannis returned in the #36, vacated by Iwuji for the first time since he started running full-time in 2016. That same weekend, Iwuji was in Michigan for the ARCA race, where his run ended early after transmission failure. Gannis, meanwhile, would try to keep the #36 from last, where it had finished twice in the opening four races of the season.

Colorado’s entry list showed only sixteen cars, on pace to tie Orange Show for the least cars this year. Soon after, the #77 Performance Motorsports entry withdrew without ever naming a driver, leaving only fifteen cars to race. Takuma Koga, once again in the #11 machine for John Krebs, anchored first practice with a lap of 18.084, a relatively competitive seven tenths off the leader. Koga, however, picked up four-tenths in qualifying, outpacing Wood and Gannis, the latter of whom picked up less than a tenth from practice to qualifying. She later incurred a redundant tail-end penalty for unapproved adjustments before the green. Joining her at the back was Wood, sent to the back for missing the mandatory pre-race autograph session.

After a lap under green, Gannis was 3.8 seconds back of the leaders, still the last car on the track. She retired after 154 laps due to rear end problems, though none of the driver’s social media channels had any specific comment on the end of the race. None of NASCAR’s coverage regarding the race did, either.

Gannis wound up being the only attrition in the 175-lap race. Koga finished fourteenth, eight laps off the pace. Wood was seven laps in arrears in thirteenth, Todd Souza two down in twelfth and Rudy Vanderwal was the last car one lap down in eleventh to round out the Bottom Five.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
15) #36-Cassie Gannis / 154 laps / rear end
14) #11-Takuma Koga / 167 laps / running
13) #08-John Wood / 168 laps / running
12) #13-Todd Souza / 173 laps / running
11) #34-Rudy Vanderwal / 174 laps / running

2018 LASTCAR K&N WEST OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Patriot Motorsports Group (4)
2nd) Bill McAnally Racing (1)

2018 LASTCAR K&N WEST MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (4)
2nd) Toyota (1)

2018 LASTCAR K&N WEST DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP

CUP: Garrett Smithley’s Cup debut and reunion with Cope ends early at Michigan

PHOTO: @XfinityRacing

Garrett Smithley picked up the 1st last-place finish of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at the Michigan International Speedway when his #99 Victory Lane Quick Oil Change Chevrolet fell out with transmission issues after 1 of 133 laps.

The finish occurred in Smithley’s series debut. It is the first for StarCom Racing since Landon Cassill’s rear gear issues at Martinsville in March. In the Cup Series last-place rankings, it’s the 16th for car #99, the 77th by reason of transmission issues, and the 747th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it’s the 30th for the #99, the 157th by reason of transmission trouble, and the 1,603rd for Chevrolet.

Last Tuesday, June 5, StarCom Racing announced that Smithley would be making his Cup Series debut in Sunday’s Michigan race, driving the #99 Chevrolet previously fielded by StarCom team owner Derrike Cope. It would be a reunion of sorts for Smithley and Cope. The two crossed paths when Smithley was testing an ARCA car for the Keselowski family at Daytona.

According to his website, Smithley, born in Reed Sorenson’s hometown of Peachtree City, Georgia, is something of a stock car racing prodigy. In 2007, he was the Rookie of the Year in Bandoleros, and soon after was winning races and championships in the U.S. Legends Car Series. He was then invited to compete in Richard Petty’s national driver development program, and had so impressed the staff that, by the time he met Cope, he was the lead instructor for the Richard Petty Driving Experience.

Following his test with the Keselowskis, Smithley was invited by Cope to run a handful of ARCA Racing Series events. His series debut came at Pocono on June 8, 2013, when he moved from 33rd in the 34-car field to finish 17th. He improved with a 14th in his return to Pocono in August, then the next year ran a one-off for Wes Gonder at Talladega, finishing 18th. Cope then fielded Smithley’s first XFINITY ride in the 2015 finale at Homestead, where he ran 28th. The run closed out a season where Smithley gained SegPay as a sponsor for four Truck Series efforts with Mike Mittler’s MB Motorsports. His best run in that series was a 14th at Michigan.

Smithley is perhaps best known for his current XFNITY Series effort in the “Number Nuthin,” the #0 Chevrolet fielded by Johnny Davis at JD Motorsports. Smithley’s first start with the team came February 27, 2016 at Atlanta, when he took over the ride from Eric McClure and finished 24th. A 12th at Talladega and a 13th at Daytona were the highlights of a season that saw Smithley finish 18th in the standings. He stood 21st in points last year with a new career-best of 8th in the Daytona opener, then a 10th at Iowa, his first top-ten performances in the series.

The 2018 season has seen Smithley earn his first Top Five – again at Daytona, where he finished 5th – and he’s paced the field for five laps, most recently his solid 14th-place showing last month at Charlotte. His #0 Chevrolet carried new sponsorship for Saturday’s XFINITY event at Michigan. Through the same weekend as his planned Cup debut, Smithley ran 25th and 22nd in the two practices, lined up 22nd on points after a qualifying rain-out, and finished 26th due to engine trouble.

On the Cup side, Smithley’s #99 carried a new look for what would be the third start of 2018 for StarCom Racing’s second team. New sponsorship arrived from Michigan franchise Victory Lane Quick Oil Change with associate backing from Showcase Auto Sales. In Friday’s opening Cup practice, the car ran 38th of the 39 entered teams, outpacing Timmy Hill in Motorsports Business Management’s #66 MBM Motorsports / CrashClaimsR.us Toyota by four-thousandths of a second. Smithley qualified slowest overall with a 186.552mph (38.618 seconds), then again edged Hill for 38th in the second practice, this time by 0.150 second. Happy Hour was washed out.

Prior to the race, we tweeted that Smithley was one of only seven drivers in the field who had never finished last in a Cup Series race. The statistic arose because of a lesser-known streak coming into Michigan where the last three rounds saw a driver trail their first Cup race (Ty Dillon at Kansas, Kevin Harvick at Charlotte, and Darrell Wallace, Jr. at Pocono). There hadn’t been a streak of four first-timers since 1983, which saw a run of eight from April through June. Smithley responded with the “See-No Evil Monkey” emoji.

Joining Smithley in the back of the field were Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Erik Jones, who were all sent to the rear for failing inspection due to a splitter infraction. When the green flag fell, Smithley retook the spot from the trio, and pulled down pit road after the opening lap. The crew discovered a transmission issue, and pushed the car behind the wall. By the end of Stage 1, Smithley was listed out of the race. This made Smithley the first Cup driver to finish last in his Cup debut since Ray Black, Jr. last September at Chicagoland.

Knowing their driver didn’t get a chance to show what he could do, StarCom Racing tweeted during the race that “We will have him (Smithley) back!”

Finishing 38th was David Ragan, whose #38 MDS Transport Ford backed into the wall in Turn 2 after Pocono last-placer Darrell Wallace, Jr. slid into him on the inside. It was Ragan's first bottom-five finish of 2018. 37th fell to B.J. McLeod, who struggled with handling issues and finished the last car under power, two laps behind race winner Clint Bowyer. Also two laps down was 36th-place Matt DiBenedetto in the #32 Can-Am / Wholey Ford. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Timmy Hill, the last driver one lap down.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Smithley is the first Cup driver to finish last while making his Cup debut at Michigan since August 20, 2000, when Kerry Earnhardt wrecked the #71 RealTree Camouflage Chevrolet after 5 laps of the Pepsi 400 presented by Meijer.
*This is the first time the last-place finisher of a Cup race at Michigan only completed 1 lap since June 15, 2003, when Ricky Rudd’s #21 Motorcraft Ford was involved in an accident with Ken Schrader’s #49 Blair.com Dodge in the Sirius 400. Rudd was classified last behind Schrader, who started four spots ahead.
*This marked the first last-place finish for car #99 in a Cup Series race since February 19, 2006, when Carl Edwards’ #99 Office Depot Ford crashed 78 laps into the Daytona 500. It was Edwards’ only last-place finish in the series.
*This marked the first time the #99 finished last in a Cup race at Michigan, and the first time a Cup driver finished last here with transmission issues.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
39) #99-Garrett Smithley / 1 lap / transmission
38) #38-David Ragan / 35 laps / crash
37) #51-B.J. McLeod / 131 laps / running
36) #32-Matt DiBenedetto / 131 laps / running
35) #66-Timmy Hill / 132 laps / running

2018 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) TriStar Motorsports (3)
2nd) Premium Motorsports, StarCom Racing (2)
3rd) BK Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, Front Row Motorsports, Furniture Row Racing, Germain Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports, Roush-Fenway Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2018 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (10)
2nd) Ford (3)
3rd) Toyota (2)

2018 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

XFINITY: After Saturday, Darlington stands as only XFINITY track where Jeff Green has not finished last

PHOTO: Michael Harvey, @MrLester88

Jeff Green picked up the 109th last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s LTi Printing 250 at the Michigan International Speedway when his unsponsored #93 RSS Racing Chevrolet fell out with a vibration after 5 of 91 laps.

The finish, which came in Green’s 493rd series start, was his series-leading seventh of the 2018 season and his second in a row. In the XFINITY Series last-place standings, it’s the 34th for car #93, the 135th by reason of a vibration, and the 505th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it’s the 84th for the #93, the 207th for a vibration, and the 1,602nd for Chevrolet.

Green was set to be one of 41 drivers entered in Saturday’s race. That list shrank by one on Thursday, when JGL Racing withdrew the #28 Fatal Clothing Ford after driver Dylan Lupton parted ways with the team. Just 37 of the remaining 40 drivers turned laps in Friday’s opening practice with Green 35th overall, ahead of Talladega last-placer Spencer Boyd and Josh Bilicki. Green did not participate in Happy Hour, and a washed-out qualifying session secured him 31st on the grid with the Past Champion’s Provisional.

With the remainder of the field set by owner attempts, the 40th starting spot fell to Kaz Grala, whose new ride at Fury Race Cars LLC was making its third of four planned starts in the #61 NETTTS Ford. However, according to a video posted by the speedway, five other drivers had fallen to the rear, lifting him to 35th as he took the green.

Morgan Shepherd (No. 89) trails the field at the start
PHOTO: @MISpeedway

Last at the stripe went to Morgan Shepherd, scheduled to start 39th in the #89 VisOne RV Chevrolet that failed to make last week’s race at Pocono. Shepherd received one of the day’s three tail end penalties, his for unapproved adjustments. The other two went to Chad Finchum, his #40 Smithbilt Homes Toyota slated to start 36th before an engine change, and 9th-place starter Justin Allgiaer, for unapproved adjustments on the #7 Brandt Professional Agriculture Chevrolet.

Ahead of 40th-place Shepherd was Jeff Green, followed by 38th-place Josh Williams, whose #90 Sleep Well / Bethel Glass & Shower Door Chevrolet had lined-up 26th. Timmy Hill’s #66 Dodge retained his original 37th spot while B.J. McLeod moved Mike Harmon’s #74 Horizon Transport Chevrolet up from 38th to 36th.

On Lap 6, Shepherd was still in last, 14.278 seconds back, when Green surrendered the 37th spot under green to pull behind the wall, done for the afternoon. Shepherd turned 34 laps before he exited the race with brake problems for a 38th-place finish. Between the two came Joey Gase, whose #35 Sparks Energy, Inc. Chevrolet fell out with overheating issues. It’s Gase’s worst finish of the season since a 33rd at Daytona.

Crashes filled the rest of the Bottom Five before rain shortened the event. 37th-place Alex Labbe, Gase’s teammate at Go FAS Racing, spun to the inside of Turn 1, ripping the splitter and much of the front clip from his #36 Can-Am / Wholey / Cyclops Chevrolet. Labbe made it to pit road, only to fall out. This gave both Go FAS Racing teammates their first Bottom Five runs of 2018.

Rounding out the group was Matt Mills, who lost a tire in Turn 1 and pounded the outside wall in JD Motorsports’ #15 Flex Glue Chevrolet. After a few anxious moments, Mills climbed from the car under his own power.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Green’s first-ever XFINITY Series last-place finish at Michigan in 17 career starts at the track. Among tracks on the current 2018 XFINITY Series schedule, Green has finished last at every track at least one time with the sole exception of Darlington (24 starts). Curiously, it was at the Darlington track in 2015 that Ryan Ellis put to an end Green’s NASCAR record streak of eight consecutive last-place finishes. Green finished 38th. This statistic does not count the upcoming Charlotte “Roval” set to debut in September.
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #93 in an XFINITY Series race at Michigan.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #93-Jeff Green / 5 laps / vibration
39) #35-Joey Gase / 33 laps / overheating
38) #89-Morgan Shepherd / 34 laps / brakes
37) #36-Alex Labbe / 52 laps / crash
36) #15-Matt Mills / 54 laps / crash

2018 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) RSS Racing (7)
2nd) B.J. McLeod Motorsports, Jeremy Clements Racing, JGL Racing, Mike Harmon Racing, Roush-Fenway Racing, SS-Green Light Racing (1)

2018 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (11)
2nd) Ford (2)

2018 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

TRUCKS: Todd Peck finishes last as Beaver, Mittler teams draw even for LASTCAR lead

Peck in the #50 at Dover
PHOTO: Sam Laughlin

Todd Peck picked up the 5th last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s PPG 400 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #50 Image Tech Chevrolet fell out with electrical issues after 1 of 167 laps.

The finish, which came in Peck’s 32nd series start, was his second of the year and first since Dover, three rounds ago. It ends a streak of two consecutive lasts by Mike Mittler’s MB Motorsports. In the Truck Series last-place rankings, it’s the 10th for the #50, the 33rd by reason of electrical issues, and the 351st for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it’s the 49th for the #50, the 115th by reason of electrical issues, and the 1,601st for Chevrolet.

As of this writing, Peck and Scott Stenzel are tied for the lead in the LASTCAR Truck Series Championship. If the championship ended today, Stenzel would take the title by a single bottom-twenty finish, thanks to him running one more race than Peck.

Peck’s return to Beaver Motorsports’ #50 team came after the team’s back-to-back 28th-place runs, first with Jamie Mosley at Kansas, then with Timmy Hill at Charlotte. It would be Peck’s third Truck Series start at the Texas oval, following a 28th for his family’s team in 2015, then a 24th last year for D.J. Copp.

Peck was one of the 33 drivers entered to attempt Friday’s 32-truck field. He was also one of the seven drivers who didn’t run the weekend’s only practice session on Thursday. This ultimately meant Peck would not turn a lap until the race itself. The second practice was washed-out by rain, and the #50 was the only truck to not turn a lap in qualifying. He still made the field on Owner Points, securing the 32nd starting spot.

Missing the race was Mike Harmon, who committed to the Truck Series race in Texas while B.J. McLeod drove his Chevrolet in the XFINITY race in Michigan. Harmon turned a lap of 163.349mph (33.058 seconds), which placed him ahead of not only Peck, but also Norm Benning’s 162.656mph (33.199 seconds) and Jennifer Jo Cobb’s 162.352mph (33.261 seconds). Like Peck, both Benning and Cobb managed to make the race on Owner Points. Benning and Cobb qualified for all eight races in 2018, Peck’s #50 only missed Atlanta, but Harmon’s #74 failed to qualify four times, which proved decisive.

On Friday night, Peck incurred a redundant tail-end penalty for unapproved adjustments. The same penalty went to Dalton Sargeant, who surrendered the 28th starting spot in GMS Racing’s #25 Performance Plus Motor Oil Chevrolet. Just seconds into the seven-lap green-flag run, Peck pulled behind the wall, followed three circuits later by Cobb’s second truck, the #0 Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet, driven by Camden Murphy.

Finishing 30th on Friday was Justin Fontaine, who drew the first yellow when his #45 ProMatic Automation / Superior Essex Chevrolet, running 23rd, pounded the outside wall in Turn 4.

The 29th spot went to the victim of the next yellow, Bayley Currey, whose #83 Fr8Auctions.com Chevrolet snapped loose in the high lane off Turn 4 and hit the outside wall with the right-rear. The tail end of the field barely missed Currey’s truck as he fought for control on the apron, the rear decklid flapping from its tether.

Rounding out the Bottom Five was Kyle Donahue, back at the track for the first time since driving the #83 at Kansas. This time around, he drove MB Motorsports’ #63 Chevrolet, once again with backing from First Responder Racing. Donahue turned 13 laps before overheating issues during the Currey caution.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first Truck Series last-place finish for the #50 at Texas.
*Chevrolet, which swept the final six positions in Friday’s race, has now finished last in 31 consecutive Truck Series races.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
32) #50-Todd Peck / 1 lap / electrical
31) #0-Camden Murphy / 4 laps / electrical
30) #45-Justin Fontaine / 6 laps / crash
29) #83-Bayley Currey / 11 laps / crash
28) #63-Kyle Donahue / 13 laps / overheating

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

2018 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (8)

2018 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: Michigan and Texas doubleheader keeps Cup regulars out of Trucks, but not XFINITY

PHOTO: @j66anderson

Friday, June 8, 2018
TRUCKS Race 8 of 23
PPG 400 at Texas
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Tommy Regan

ENTRY LIST
There are 33 drivers entered for 32 spots, meaning that one team will miss the race. This is a significant improvement from the last few spring races at Texas, which saw 27 starters in 2014, 30 in 2015, and 28 last year (2016 was a full field of 32).

RETURNING: #0-Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing
Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing fields their second truck for the first time since Kansas, when Joey Gase drove to a 31st-place finish. With Gase running the XFINITY race at Michigan for Go FAS Racing, Monster Jam racer Camden Murphy takes the controls of the #0 Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet. Murphy has one Michigan start in the series, which came last August, when he drove MB Motorsports’ second truck to a 25th-place finish.

MISSING: #1-TJL Racing
Tracy Lowe’s TJL Racing isn’t entered this week, following the team’s withdrawal without a driver at Charlotte.

SPONSOR UPDATE: #3-Jordan Anderson Racing
The Mark Martin Podcast has joined Jordan Anderson’s grassroots effort as sponsor, the logo on the rear decklid of the #3 Chevrolet. This is in addition to the signing of Brian Keselowski to the crew after Keselowski parted ways with Premium Motorsports last month. Sefton Steel has also signed to sponsor the quarter-panels.

DRIVER CHANGE: #8-NEMCO Motorsports
With John Hunter Nemechek running the XFINITY race at Michigan for Chip Ganassi Racing, father Joe Nemechek climbs aboard the #8 Romco Equipment Chevrolet. It will be Nemechek’s third Michigan start in the series following a 10th-place run in the #8 in 2014 and a 30th last August in the “start-and-park” #87, not entered this week.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Premium Motorsports
Bob Pockrass reported Thursday that Robby Lyons has fallen ill, and the team was now looking for a replacement driver in the #15 Chevrolet. Driving in hos place is Reed Sorenson, the team's spotter, who had also been pulled from the Premium / NY Racing Team #7 on the Cup side (see below).

MISSING: #46-Kyle Busch Motorsports
Kyle Busch Motorsports scales back to two trucks from three, omitting the #46 that Brandon Jones drove to a 3rd-place finish in Charlotte. Jones will continue his full-time XFINITY effort in Michigan, driving Joe Gibbs Racing’s #19 XYO Networks Toyota.

DRIVER CHANGE: #50-Beaver Motorsports
With Charlotte driver Timmy Hill in Michigan for a double-duty effort (see below), Todd Peck returns to the #50 team for the first time since his last-place run in Dover. Peck has five previous Truck Series starts at Michigan with a best of 27th for SS-Green Light Racing in 2014.

DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Kyle Busch Motorsports
With Kyle Busch running double-duty in Cup and XFINITY in Michigan, the flagship KBM truck goes to Spencer Davis, who we last saw running the opening three rounds of the 2018 campaign in Daytona (finishing 7th), Atlanta (13th) and Las Vegas (13th). Davis has one Michigan start in the ARCA Racing Series last year, when he finished 9th for Bill Venturini. JBL and SiriusXM continue as sponsors.

DRIVER CHANGE: #63-MB Motorsports
Kyle Donahue returns to attempt his third Truck Series start and first since his season-best 20th-place run for D.J. Copp Motorsports at Kansas. Donahue drives in place of J.J. Yeley, who drove the last two rounds in the NY Racing Team’s #7 Cup Series effort, but isn’t entered this week (see below).

RETURNING: #68-Clay Greenfield Motorsports
After the team withdrew in Charlotte, Clay Greenfield and his team are back in action at Texas in the #68 AMVETS / Please Stand Chevrolet. If he qualifies, it will be Greenfield’s first series start at Michigan and his team’s first start of 2018 since a strong 3rd-place start, then 22nd-place finish at Daytona.

TEAM UPDATE: #74-Mike Harmon Racing
Mike Harmon’s team confirmed that Harmon will himself be driving the #74 truck, despite the driver listing being blank on the preliminary entry list. A “surprise driver” was then mentioned to drive Harmon’s XFINITY car in Michigan (see below).

MISSING: #92-RBR Enterprises
Ricky Benton’s #92 team isn’t entered this weekend, nor is Timothy Peters, who failed to qualify at Charlotte after a washed-out time trials.

MISSING: #97-JJL Motorsports
Jesse Little and JJL Motorsports are also not entered following their 16th-place performance in Charlotte.

CUP INVADERS: None

Saturday, June 9, 2018
XFINITY Race 13 of 33
LTi Printing 250 at Michigan
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Morgan Shepherd

ENTRY LIST
There are 40 drivers entered for 40 spots, following the withdrawal of the #28 (see below).

DRIVER CHANGE: #3-Richard Childress Racing
Saturday’s stacked field of Cup regulars begins with Austin Dillon, who takes the place of Shane Lee in Richard Childress’ #3 Bass Pro Shops / Cabela’s Chevrolet. It will be Dillon’s first XFINITY Series start since Fontana, where he ran a season-best 4th.

DRIVER SWAP: #8-B.J. McLeod Motorsports
DRIVER SWAP: #74-Mike Harmon Racing
DRIVER SWAP: #78-B.J. McLeod Motorsports
A three-team driver swap has unfolded between the teams belonging to owner-drivers B.J. McLeod and Mike Harmon. Driving the #8 this week is Floridian Caesar Bacarella, who we last saw finish 13th with the team in this year’s Daytona opener. This moves Tommy Joe Martins to the flagship #78 Chevrolet. McLeod himself will drive Harmon’s #74 Chevrolet as Harmon himself will be running Friday’s Truck Series race (see above).

MISSING: #12-Penske Racing
DRIVER CHANGE: #60-Roush-Fenway Racing
Penske Racing will field just one car this week – the lead #22 Menards / Richmond Ford, driven for a second-straight round by Cup regular Paul Menard – and has not entered the #12 Ford. Austin Cindric, who drove the #12 to a 4th-place finish in Pocono, moves back to the #60 Roush-Fenway Racing entry, taking the place of Chase Briscoe (who is not entered). Cindric last drove the #60 at Fontana, where he finished 28th. Race sponsor LTi Printing backs the effort, moving over from the #22.

DRIVER CHANGE: #23-GMS Racing
Alex Bowman eyes his first XFINITY Series start since an 8th-place finish last fall in Phoenix. This time around, he drives in place of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott in the #23 ISMConnect Chevrolet. Bowman’s best of three XFINITY starts at Michigan was this race two years ago – his most recent at the track – when he won the pole and finished 7th.

WITHDREW: #28-JGL Racing
Dylan Lupton and the #28 Fatal Clothing Ford have were withdrawn from Saturday's race. A Twitter debate followed Thursday between Lupton and team. Lupton pointed to "unfortunate circumstances" leading to him leaving the team. JGL accused Lupton's sponsors of not paying, and also volunteered that team owner James Whitener has fallen ill. JGL withdrew the #28 from Michigan to evaluate their options going forward. This continues the strange saga of JGL, which shuttered one of its teams in each of the last two years, most recently the release of Kaz Grala to Fury Race Cars LLC.

RETURNING: #98-Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi DenBeste
The Biagi DenBeste entry returns to the circuit for the first time since Charlotte, and Cup regular Kevin Harvick will be driving it for the first time since his 19th-place performance in Texas.

CUP INVADERS: #3-Austin Dillon, #18-Kyle Busch, #22-Paul Menard, #23-Alex Bowman, #98-Kevin Harvick

Sunday, June 10, 2018
CUP Race 15 of 36
FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Danica Patrick

ENTRY LIST
There are 39 drivers entered for 40 spots, the second-straight short field and 12th out of 15 this season. It is, however, two more entrants than this race last year, when only 37 took the green.

DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Premium Motorsports
Michigan sees still another twist to the #7 team. For the second-straight race, the car will be entered under Jay Robinson’s Premium Motorsports, not by Johnathan Cohen’s NY Racing Team. This time around, D.J. Kennington returns in his first start since Parker Kligerman took his place driving for the Gaunt Brothers at Charlotte. APC Executive Management signs as a sponsor. Premium’s driver Reed Sorenson was originally listed in the seat in place of J.J. Yeley. Sorenson had previously driven the #55 this year, a car withdrawn last week and not entered this week. Whether this means the #7 team will be run in place of the #55 this year, and if Cohen will again be the listed owner, is still to be determined.

PAINT SCHEME: #23-BK Racing
While Gray Gaulding will once again drive without a primary sponsor, it's worth noting the team will be running "Redwing," another variation of their black, white, and red scheme, by DC2 Designs.

DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Rick Ware Racing
The car last week was driven by Cole Custer, who turned in a 26th-place finish in his second-ever Cup race last Sunday in Pocono. This week, B.J. McLeod returns to run double-duty, a driver-team pairing that wasn't revealed until Friday.

MISSING: #55-Premium Motorsports
As mentioned above, Premium Motorsports has not entered the #55 car this week and has placed driver Reed Sorenson in the #7. Ross Chastain remains in the flagship #15.

RETURNING: #66-Motorsports Business Management
Timmy Hill will pull double-duty this weekend, driving both the #66 O.C.R. Gaz Bar Toyota (UPDATE: Dodge) in Saturday’s XFINITY race and the #66 CrashClaimsR.US Toyota on Sunday. Hill returns to action in Cup for the fifth time this year and the first time since the Coca-Cola 600, when he finished 32nd, 17 laps down. It will be Hill’s first Cup start at Michigan since August 2015, when he finished last for Premium Motorsports.

DRIVER CHANGE: #72-TriStar Motorsports
Corey LaJoie returns for his seventh start of 2018, taking the place of Cole Whitt, who ran 30th in Pocono. LaJoie ran both Michigan races last year for BK Racing with a track-best 30th in June, then a 31st in August. Zomongo has signed as primary sponsor on another new paont scheme for the #72.

DRIVER CHANGE: #99-StarCom Racing
Garrett Smithley is set to make his Cup debut, taking the place of 34th-place Pocono finisher Derrike Cope in the #99 Chevrolet. New sponsorship has arrived from Victory Lane Quick Oil Change and Showcase Auto Sales. With this run, Smithley will join fellow JD Motorsports teammates Harrison Rhodes and Ross Chastain as drivers who have made their Cup debuts in the last two seasons. Smithley has two XFINITY starts at Michigan for JD in the “Number Nuthin,” finishing 17th in 2016 and 29th last year.

LASTCAR STAT OF THE WEEK
The lone NASCAR last-place finish earned by a Henry J automobile occurred on November 11, 1951 at the Lakewood Speedway, a one-mile dirt track in Atlanta. The only Henry J in the 31-car field was fielded by Florida native Tommy Moon, who was then making his second start after a sterling 6th-place run one week earlier in Jacksonville. Moon’s #30 was owned by Ralph Chaney, whose dealership Chaney Motors put its logos on the car. As of this writing, Moon’s starting spot and reason out are not listed, but he is credited with finishing last as Tim Flock’s Hudson took the win.