CUP: Frightening crash in first turn leaves Landon Cassill last at Indy

PHOTO: @StarcomRacing

Landon Cassill picked up the 13th last-place finish of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when his #00 Sherfick Companies Chevrolet was involved in a hard single-car crash after 40 of 160 laps.

The finish, which came in Cassill’s 314th series start, was his first of the season and first since July 22, 2018 at Loudon, 42 races ago. In the Cup Series last-place rankings, it was the 26th for the #00, the 688th from a crash, and the 771st for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 39th for the #00, the 1,194th from a crash, and the 1,685th for Chevrolet.

Now in their third year in business, the partnership of 1990 Daytona 500 champion Derrike Cope and sponsor StarCom Fiber continues to seek stability in the Cup Series. Landon Cassill’s arrival at the team last spring resulted in just three DNFs in 29 races with a best finish of 18th at Las Vegas. This year, the team shelved their part-time second team, the #99 Chevrolet, and have purchased their leased Charter from Richard Childress Racing to focus on Cassill’s #00. Again, the team has made measured progress – the team best improved to an 11th in the July race at Daytona, and other than a crash in the Daytona 500 and a busted oil cooler in the Coca-Cola 600, Cassill has brought the car home under power in all 24 remaining races.

One of StarCom’s most unique features has been the sheer number of different companies represented on Cassill’s #00. On the back of the team’s hero cards are an advertisement for three different “Star Fan Packages” designed to get new companies involved in NASCAR sponsorship. The result has seen new companies sign on, including Iron Mountain Data Centers, CGS Imaging, Jacob White Construction, Madison Group, and Home Town Lenders. Also signing up were former NASCAR sponsors like Permatex and Mane ‘n Tail shampoo.

Just last week at Darlington, StarCom Fiber sponsored one of the most popular “throwback” schemes of the weekend honoring Sterling Marlin. StarCom Racing donated a portion of t-shirt sales to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Marlin’s sponsor Coors Light was so enthused by the deal that not only did they pay for tires and provide beer to the #00 crew, but donated $40 to the Foundation for each of the 364 laps Cassill completed.

For Indianapolis, Cassill would run still another new paint scheme on a brand-new car. Latest to join the #00 team was Sherfick Companies, an Indiana-based construction firm. Cassill would also run double-duty at Indianapolis, driving JD Motorsports’ #4 Chevrolet in Saturday’s Indiana 250. He finished 16th in the race, improving from a 34th-place qualifying run. The driver looked for the same improvement on Sunday, running 32nd in opening practice, skipping Happy Hour, then timing in 31st with a speed of 181.386mph (49.618 seconds).

Starting 40th and last on Sunday was J.J. Yeley, who finished last in Saturday’s XFINITY race. Yeley’s #54 Maximum Elevation Off-Road Chevrolet was one of four Rick Ware Racing entries in the field, three of them occupying the final three spots in numerical order. He was joined at the rear by Denny Hamlin, who was sent to a backup car after a hard crash in Turn 4 in Happy Hour that left his #11 FedEx Toyota on fire near the entrance to pit road. Hamlin’s backup could only manage 33rd in time trials, his worst qualifying performance of the year, and would join Yeley at the back of the field.

As the field crossed the stripe, however, Hamlin was no longer in 40th spot, but moved up to 34th, 3.001 seconds back of the lead. The running order behind him, according to NASCAR.com’s leaderboard, were 35th-place Ryan Sieg in the #27 Sci Aps Chevrolet (3.119 seconds back), 36th-place B.J. McLeod in the #51 Jacob Companies Ford (3.302), 37th-place Garrett Smithley in the #52 Honest Abe Roofing Ford (3.312), 38th-place Reed Sorenson in the #77 Go-Parts.com Chevrolet (3.485), the #54 of J.J. Yeley (3.526), and Josh Bilicki in the #53 AQRE.app Ford (3.671).

The start of the race saw last place change hands several times. Bilicki dropped Sieg to last after two laps, and Sieg returned the favor the next time by. On Lap 11, Playoff contender Daniel Suarez made contact with the SAFER barrier in Turn 2, drawing the caution. He dropped behind Bilicki for last the next time by as his crew fought to clear the right side fenders on his #41 Haas Automation Ford. On Lap 13, Suarez pitted a second time, and the position of his stall relating to other drivers dropped Matt Tifft to last in the #36 Southeastern Equipment & Supply / Meijer Ford. Tifft re-passed Suarez, who was on pit road for more than 90 seconds. But by then, another incident had unfolded further up pit road.

Bubba Wallace, who qualified 15th in the #43 World Wide Technology Chevrolet, slowed in the middle of a single-file line down pit road. Unable to avoid Wallace, Chase Elliott’s #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet rear-ended the #43, triggering an accordion effect that collected at least seven cars. Two of the most seriously damaged cars were the #17 Fastenal Ford of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and the #19 Auto Owners Insurance Toyota of Martin Truex, Jr. Truex, last of the group involved, couldn’t avoid rear-ending Stenhouse, who was pinned between Truex and the #3 Symbicort Chevrolet of Austin Dillon. Repairs dropped Wallace, then Truex to last on Lap 14 with Elliott now running by himself some distance ahead, trying to stay on the lead lap.

On Lap 26, Truex pitted a second time and lost a second lap, then a third by Lap 31. Stenhouse also made repeated pit stops for his own damage and took last during a lengthy stop on Lap 35, eventually returning four circuits back. Four laps later, Stenhouse was more than a full lap behind Truex, and in position to give car #17 its first last-place run at Indianapolis since Darrell Waltrip’s early engine failure in the August 3, 1996 running. That all changed just three laps later.

Cassill didn’t enter the last-place picture until Lap 42, when a right-front tire let go at the worst possible spot. Entering Turn 1, the #00 turned a sharp right and pounded the SAFER barrier hard enough to buckle the roof of the Chevrolet. Thankfully, Cassill was able to climb out under his own power, but the car was utterly destroyed and towed behind the wall between Turns 1 and 2, done for the day. Cassill officially took last from the lapped Stenhouse on Lap 46.

Cassill’s was just the first of several big hits to punctuate the 400-mile race. The next two spots fell to Erik Jones and Brad Keselowski, whose battle near the Top 10 turned to disaster when both spun off Turn 2. While Jones ended up with the rear clip destroyed, Keselowski’s #2 Discount Tire Ford spun backwards into a tire barrier protecting an edge of the inside wall. The tires grabbed Keselowski’s car and stopped it suddenly with the right sides off the ground. Keselowski walked away, but was upset about the safety arrangements at the track and spoke with raceway officials before the day’s end.

Kyle Busch finished a surprising 37th when his #18 Hazlenut Spread M&M’s Toyota lost an engine after a pit stop, then coasted down pit road with smoke pouring from under the hood and flames behind the right-front wheel. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Parker Kligerman, who was enjoying a solid run in the Gaunt Brothers’ #96 TRD 40th Anniversary Toyota until he was caught in the fluid from a wrecking Jimmie Johnson, sending him head-on into the rear of Johnson’s #48 Ally Chevrolet. These were just some of the eight drivers eliminated Sunday in accidents.

After briefly holding last place during the pit road debacle, Matt Tifft recovered nicely to run as high as 11th, threatening to score the first Top 10 of his young Cup Series career. But the strong run ended just short of the finish when contact from Daniel Suarez sent him sliding into the Turn 1 wall with just nine laps remaining.

Premium Motorsports enjoyed a fine run with their cars of Ross Chastain in the #15 Xchange of America / Busey Bank Chevrolet and Ryan Sieg in the #27 Sci Aps Chevrolet running 22nd and 24th, surrounding partner Spire Motorsports’ #77 Go-Parts.com Chevrolet with Reed Sorenson aboard. The team tweeted their good luck charm, a Lucky Bamboo plant given them by the Crowne Plaza hotel where the team was staying. Similarly, all four Rick Ware Racing cars managed to finish 29th or better with B.J. McLeod recovering from his last-place run at Darlington to lead the group in 25th.

But the underdog of the day had to be Bubba Wallace, who after triggering the pit road incident on Lap 13 took a car that was 5th in opening practice to a 3rd-place finish. The run was Wallace’s best overall performance since his victory in the Monster Energy Open this past May, and his best in a Cup points race since he led laps in the spring of last year at Bristol. His previous best points race finish was a 14th, again at Bristol this past August.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for both Cassill and car #00 in a Cup race at Indianapolis.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #00-Landon Cassill / 40 laps / crash
39) #20-Erik Jones / 48 laps / crash
38) #2-Brad Keselowski / 48 laps / crash
37) #18-Kyle Busch / 87 laps / engine
36) #96-Parker Kligerman / 104 laps / crash

2019 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Rick Ware Racing (8)
2nd) Stewart-Haas Racing (4)
3rd) Front Row Motorsports (3)
4th) Chip Ganassi Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Spire Motorsports (2)
5th) Germain Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Motorsports Business Management, StarCom Racing (1)

2019 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (15)
2nd) Ford (9)
3rd) Toyota (2)

2019 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

XFINITY: At Indy, J.J. Yeley finishes last, MBM impresses again, and Mike Harmon makes unexpected headlines

PHOTO: Kyle, @KDuke28

J.J. Yeley picked up the 9th last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Indiana 250 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #38 RSS Racing Chevrolet fell out with suspension issues after 7 of 100 laps.

The finish, which came in Yeley’s 321st series start, was his third of the season and first since Road America, two races ago. This gives Yeley the lead in the 2019 LASTCAR XFINITY Series Championship for the first time this year, more than two months after teammate Jeff Green’s surgery cut short his season.

In the XFINITY Series last-place rankings, it was the 17th from suspension issues, the 19th for the #38, and the 535th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 41st for suspension issues, the 52nd for the #38, and the 1,684th for Chevrolet.

Following his last-place finish in the stand-alone event at Road America, Yeley ran double-duty last weekend in Darlington. His XFINITY Series ride for Rod Sieg’s team RSS Racing would be followed by a run in one of three Rick Ware Racing cars, a #52 Chevrolet honoring Daytona Beach Road Course winner Bill Blair. Following a 36th-place finish in the Saturday race, citing axle trouble, Yeley lined up 35th in a field of 39 for the 70th running of the Bojangles’ Southern 500.

We caught up with Yeley during the rain delay prior to Sunday’s action. He first talked about his weekend, and the challenges of running the Cup Series’ controversial 2019 package on such a demanding track:

“So far, it’s been going pretty good,” he said. “We didn’t make a whole lot of laps in practice with this car. The typical situation when you come to Darlington, trying to save as many sets of tires as we have, but with the 550 package, it’s very interesting to me. Obviously, I’ve been coming here quite a while, but the amount of on-throttle time you spend now at this race track is even higher than what you used to. It was hard getting acclimated to – not so much running wide open through one and two – but your entry speed and throttle lifting points into Turn 3 are so different than what they would be normally.”

“So, in a normal situation if we drove into Turn 3 as deep as we are now, everybody would’ve already knocked the fence down. It’s a little bit different getting used to. It’ll be interesting to see how the race plays out. This, to me, is one of the more fun race tracks we get to come out to. But at the same time, the leaders are gonna be coming in a hurry. There’s gonna be a huge difference in speed between the front of the field and the back of the field. There’s certainly no place to hide at this race track. So, we’ll do our best to keep her in one piece and just see how the race unfolds.”

Yeley added that running double duty in Cup and XFINITY was particularly challenging as the differences between each car required two completely different driving styles:

“With the old package, we had so much more horsepower, entry speed was a lot faster than we have now, so we had to lift a lot sooner. Now, because our entry speed is less, you drive a lot farther into the corner before you roll off throttle. You use a lot less brake than what you used to. Like I said, it’s kind of an odd thing to get used to. After yesterday, it was a little more difficult going in and out of the XFINITY car, getting back in the Cup car, and really just overdriving the XFINITY car because of the amount of time and how hard you can run a Cup car now with this package.”

“The XFINITY cars – small spoiler, you still have the speed, the tires fell off, you know, the cars were slipping around quite a bit yesterday. Didn’t have a lot of that yesterday in practice. Usually after one heat cycle in the tires - five laps, seven laps - you go back on the race track and lose two or three tenths, sometimes half a second. Yesterday, we made a three-lap run, came in, checked things out, and actually went faster, which is kind of unheard of when you come to Darlington other than in 2008, the year they repaved it.”

Following a 32nd-place finish in the Southern 500, Yeley would again run both series at Indianapolis. In addition to his “start-and-park” run in RSS Racing’s #38 on the XFINITY side, he’d be moved to a different Rick Ware Racing entry in Cup. He took the place of Garrett Smithley in the #54 Chevrolet, which carried Yeley’s returning sponsor Maximum Elevation Off-Road. The company backed Yeley last fall at Texas under the BK Racing entry acquired by Front Row Motorsports. That same car was run the following week at Phoenix under the Obaika Racing banner with Tanner Berryhill driving.

On the XFINITY side, Yeley started the weekend a strong 20th of 35 drivers in opening practice and didn’t participate in Happy Hour. He put the black #38 Chevrolet 24th on the grid with a lap of 161.152mph (55.848 seconds), just over eight-hundredths off the 23rd-best lap of teammate Josh Bilicki in the RSS #93 Chevrolet.

The final row of the 38-car field belonged to Mike Harmon Racing, a team which gained some unexpected exposure in the lead-up to the race. During final practice, Harmon’s #74 Chevrolet was following the #1 Pilot / Flying J Chevrolet of Michael Annett, driving for JR Motorsports. As the two exited Turn 4, Annett pulled down pit road in front of Harmon. Unable to completely avoid a collision, Harmon swiped the rear of Annett’s car, knocking the TV panel off the rear of Annett’s Chevrolet. While Harmon apologized for the incident, comments by Annett led to a rather heated exchange on social media. The situation appeared resolved by Saturday, where Annett qualified 15th and Harmon in 37th.

The car Harmon drove appeared to be exactly the same “throwback” car he ran the previous week at Darlington, all the way down to the reflective chrome stripe on each side which had to be removed as they interfered with NASCAR’s cameras during inspection. Harmon explained the paint scheme last week in Darlington. “Mid-90s to 2000, we ran it on our late models, super late models, had a lot of success. I’ve always been partial to it. . .It looked kind of flashy.” The veteran also explained his approach to racing at Darlington: “You’ve gotta stay out of the wall, which we all know that. It’s a very fast race track. Just gotta race smart. If you have a lot of respect for other drivers, you expect a lot of respect for yourself. It’s a very challenging track to run. Just running the track will keep your attention. It’s a mental thing – it’s not as bad as Daytona or Talladega, but it’s close. It’s a lot of fun. I like mental challenges. . .Race with the race track, that’s the main thing.”

Prior to Indianapolis, Harmon’s team had steadily improved through August’s stretch of road course races as Dan Corcoran, Aaron Quine, and Nicolas Hammann took turns driving the #74. Hammann’s 15th-place finish at Road America became the team’s best of the season, improving on Harmon’s 23rd-place showing at Talladega:

“Well, Nick (Hammann) did a tremendous job as far as Road America,” said Harmon. “With road racing, knowing the track is about fifty percent of it, and he grew up there three miles away. He’s been riding bicycles around it, driving race cars around it, for twenty-something years. So, he was the one I handed the wheel to. And I don’t say I don’t enjoy [road racing] – it’s not my cup of tea. We didn’t do that much growin up. And at this part of my career, I’m not interested in starting all over doing that. And I like working with the guys, and Aaron (Quine) did a good job as far as Mid-Ohio, got caught up in a crash. And then Dan (Corcoran) did a good job wherever he drove (Watkins Glen). I enjoy seeing other guys get opportunities they never had. I know what it meant to me when I got my first opportunity.”

Harmon also reflected on his team’s progress through the first part of 2019, including their change from the retired Dodges to current Chevrolet Camaros:

“It’s going pretty good. At the beginning of the year, I had zero equipment, basically. We ran the Dodges most all the time last year, and the rules, got caught up with them, so it wasn’t any good anymore. So, we started out the season with one motor and one car, and we’ve got three or four motors now, three or four cars. We’re gaining on it. Actually, it’s been a pretty decent year so far, as a whole. I haven’t got any complaints. Looking forward to the rest of the season – I’ve got some good tracks coming up. And I’ve got some other people coming back. Connor Mackie is gonna do some driving for us. That’s what it takes – it’s dollars, man. Sponsors get dollars. And I’ve got a business to run before I got the race car to drive.”

Starting alongside Harmon’s #74 was the #17 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet driven by Kyle Weatherman. According to Harmon’s team, Harmon and Ware have been partners “since the beginning,” and have continued that relationship to this day. Thus, while Weatherman’s #17 was entered with Rick Ware as the listed owner, Harmon runs the daily operations of the #17 team. The partnership is represented through the car numbers on the #17, which for weeks have matched the same font as Harmon’s #74. Interestingly, both drivers weren’t originally named as the drivers to their respective cars until after the preliminary entry list was published.

Weatherman’s team changed engines on the #17, and he incurred a redundant tail-end penalty as a result. Joining him in the rear were three other drivers, all for unapproved adjustments: 21st-place B.J. McLeod in the #15 JD Motorsports Chevrolet, 20th-place Ronnie Bassett, Jr. in DGM Racing’s #90 Bassett Gutters & More Chevrolet, and 23rd-place Bilicki in the RSS #93.

When the race began, Yeley took over last from this group, already 3.697 seconds back of the lead with Weatherman in front of him in 37th. Yeley passed Weatherman by the end of Lap 1, and the next time by, the #17 was 12.094 seconds back. After five laps, Weatherman was 18.853 seconds back with 37th-place Morgan Shepherd in the #89 Visone RV Chevrolet, just passed by Yeley who took 36th. At six laps complete, Shepherd fell to last behind Weatherman and remained in that spot until Yeley came down pit road, then pulled into the garage with seven laps in the books. Yeley was the first to be lapped, and NASCAR officials reported “38 to the garage, mechanical,” moments later. Yeley was announced out with suspension issues on Lap 23, officially done for the day. In the next day’s Cup race, Yeley climbed from last on the 40-car grid to finish 26th, three laps down.

Weatherman followed Yeley into the garage on Lap 13, but rejoined the race four laps down around Lap 16. This allowed Weatherman to climb past Austin Dillon, who after qualifying 14th in a one-off in Kaulig Racing’s #10 Ellsworth Advisors Chevrolet stalled his car to draw the first caution of the afternoon. Dillon also returned to action at the end of Stage 1 and ultimately completed two more laps than Weatherman before fuel pump issues ended his race in 34th. Between last place Yeley and 35th-place Weatherman were Shepherd, out with handling issues after 34 laps, and David Starr, who lost an engine on Lap 23, stopping his #52 Northern Builders Chevrolet.

Harmon, meanwhile, earned the race’s first two Lucky Dogs and climbed to 32nd before electrical issues ended his race just before halfway. Annett finished 12th.

PHOTO: MBM Motorsports Facebook

The top underdog of the day was Austin Hill, who made his long-awaited XFINITY Series debut following a disappointing DNQ in the July race at Daytona. Like Timmy Hill’s strong run at Bristol just last month, Austin drove a Carl Long chassis with fresh tires from Hattori Racing Enterprises, who also provided the car’s wrap. And just like Timmy, who steered his car to a 7th-place finish, Austin notched another Top Ten for Motorsports Business Management with a well-earned 9th-place showing. Both runs bookended a pair of 30th-place showings for the #61 at Road America and Darlington with road racer Dick Karth and MBM teammate Chad Finchum trading turns in the car.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the third consecutive last-place finish for RSS Racing in the XFINITY race at Indianapolis, but the first for Yeley, the #38, and suspension issues. The seven previous XFINITY races saw five last-place finishers out due to a vibration and the other two with first-lap engine failures. All seven races saw the last-place finisher complete no more than nine laps.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
38) #38-J.J. Yeley / 7 laps / suspension
37) #52-David Starr / 23 laps / engine
36) #89-Morgan Shepherd / 34 laps / handling
35) #17-Kyle Weatherman / 35 laps / overheating
34) #10-Austin Dillon / 37 laps / fuel pump

2019 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) RSS Racing (7)
2nd) Motorsports Business Management (6)
3rd) Joe Gibbs Racing (3)
4th) DGM Racing, Kaulig Racing (2)
5th) B.J. McLeod Motorsports, Brandonbilt Motorsports, JD Motorsports, Jimmy Means Racing, Rick Ware Racing (1)

2019 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (16)
2nd) Toyota (9)

2019 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: Sieg, Bilicki, and Kligerman among those returning to action at Indy

PHOTO: @StarcomRacing

Saturday, September 7, 2019
XFINITY Race 25 of 33
Indiana 250 at Indianapolis
2018 Last-Place Finisher: Jeff Green

ENTRY LIST
There are 38 drivers entered for as many spots, meaning no drivers will fail to qualify.

DRIVER SWAP: #4-JD Motorsports
DRIVER SWAP: #15-JD Motorsports
DRIVER SWAP: #01-JD Motorsports
The Johnny Davis team has swapped its drivers around again this week. Landon Cassill moves from the #01 to the #4, moving B.J. McLeod to the #15 and Leicht back to the #01 in place of Cassill. Garrett Smithley is the only of the quartet to remain in his same ride, staying in his “Number Nuthin” #0.

DRIVER CHANGE: #8-JR Motorsports
It was a crowd-pleasing effort last Saturday in Darlington as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. took fifth place in his first XFINITY start of the season. This week, the car goes to Jeb Burton, who last ran the #8 in the Bristol night race, where brake issues left him a frustrating 32nd. State Water Heaters will back his third series start at Indianapolis and first since 2017.

RETURNING: #10-Kaulig Racing
The second Kaulig entry returns from a one-week hiatus, and it’s Cup regular Austin Dillon behind the wheel. Ellsworth Advisors will sponsor the effort.

MISSING: #12-Penske Racing
Penske has not entered the #12 this week following Ryan Blaney’s 3rd-place showing at Darlington.

DRIVER SWAP: #13-Motorsports Business Management
DRIVER CHANGE: #61-Motorsports Business Management
DRIVER SWAP: #66-Motorsports Business Management
Austin Hill returns to the #61 for the first time since his DNQ in the July race at Daytona, and will this time run a car entered by Carl Long’s MBM team. This bumps Chad Finchum back to the #13, which moves Tommy Joe Martins to the #66 in place of Timmy Hill, who isn’t entered.

DRIVER CHANGE: #17-Rick Ware Racing
While no driver was mentioned on the preliminary entry list for the #17 team, by Wednesday Kyle Weatherman was named to make his fourth XFINITY start of the season and first since a 34th-place run for Mike Harmon at Michigan. He takes the place of Joe Nemechek, who ran 34th at Darlington.

DRIVER CHANGE: #18-Joe Gibbs Racing
One week after Denny Hamlin was disqualified, cutting short the celebrations of a sixth victory in twelve starts at the track, Kyle Busch will run the #18. Combos will sponsor Busch, who has won three of his previous six XFINITY starts this season.

MISSING: #28-H2 Motorsports
One week after Shane Lee was released and the Circuit City throwback to Hut Stricklin was withdrawn, the H2 team is not entered this week. Further details on the team’s future are still to be announced.

TEAM UPDATE: #74-Mike Harmon Racing
As of this writing, no driver has been listed in place of Mike Harmon, who drove to a 32nd-place finish at Darlington after early radio issues. UPDATE: Mike Harmon remains in the car.

TEAM UPDATE: #89-Shepherd Racing Ventures
Morgan Shepherd is entered in his own car as he recovers from bronchitis suffered leading into Darlington.

DRIVER CHANGE: #90-DGM Racing
Ronnie Bassett, Jr. rejoins the circuit for the first time since Bristol last month, where he ran 33rd after a crash. He takes the place of Alex Labbe, who traveled from Mosport the previous week with the Pinty’s Series to run 17th in the #90 at Darlington.

DRIVER CHANGE: #93-RSS Racing
Josh Bilicki is another driver rejoining the series this week, his first XFINITY race since a 20th-place finish at Road America. Bilicki takes the place of Camden Murphy, who also ran 20th at Darlington for a new career-best.

CUP INVADERS: #10-Austin Dillon, #18-Kyle Busch

Sunday, September 8, 2019
CUP Race 26 of 36
Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis
Regular Season Finale
2018 Last-Place Finisher: Martin Truex, Jr.

ENTRY LIST
For the first time since the July race at Daytona, eight races ago, and for just the sixth time all season, there are exactly 40 cars entered for as many spots in this Sunday’s Cup race.

DRIVER CHANGE: #27-Premium Motorsports
Ryan Sieg in for Joe Nemechek; Sieg to make first Cup start since July 16, 2017, his fifth and final run for BK Racing. Incidentally, Sieg was also entered at Indy that year, only to be the wrong side of the #83 team’s first withdrawal of the season. Sci Aps is the sponsor.

DRIVER SWAP: #52-Rick Ware Racing
DRIVER SWAP: #54-Rick Ware Racing
J.J. Yeley and Garrett Smithley have swapped rides this week with Yeley going to the #54, entered as a Ford, and Smithley to the #52. Smithley’s car will carry a new sponsor for the Ware team as Honest Abe Roofing will back his Indy run.

RETURNING: #53-Rick Ware Racing
The Ware team has also entered their #53 car, but had no driver named on the preliminary list. That changed by Wednesday as Josh Bilicki will pull double duty, and carry sponsorship from AQRE.app. Bilicki’s most recent Cup start was in the #53 at Bristol, finishing 35th due to exhaustion.

MISSING: #66-Motorsports Business Management
Not making the trip north is Carl Long’s Cup car, which Joey Gase dusted off from May and brought home in 34th, 18 laps down.

RETURNING: #96-Gaunt Brothers Racing
Parker Kligerman returns for his tenth Cup start of the season and first since Watkins Glen, where he finished 26th. This will be Kligerman’s first start in the Brickyard 400, where Jeffrey Earnhardt wrecked in the team’s Indy debut with six laps to go.

SPONSOR UPDATE: #00-StarCom Racing
Derrike Cope’s team has brought still another sponsor into the fold this weekend as Sherfick Companies will back Landon Cassill’s #00 Chevrolet this Sunday.

Friday, September 13, 2019
TRUCKS Race 19 of 23
Race at Las Vegas
Round of 8 – Race 3 of 3
2018 Last-Place Finisher: Tanner Thorson

The Truck Series returns next week to decide who will advance past the first round of the Playoffs.

LASTCAR STAT OF THE WEEK
Today in LASTCAR history (September 5, 1983): Bobby Hillin, Jr. picks up the first last-place finish of his Cup Series career in the Southern 500 at Darlington when the engine fails on his #8 Trap Rock Industries Buick after 11 laps. The finish came in Hillin’s fifteenth start, and in the very race where he was honored by Kyle Busch through his third-place finishing “throwback scheme” this past Sunday.

ARCA: Wayne Peterson sweeps dirt track last place finishes

PHOTO: @Arcafan06

by William Soquet
LASTCAR.info Guest Contributor
ARCA Menards Series

Wayne Peterson collected the 43rd last-place finish of his ARCA Menards Series career in Saturday’s Southern Illinois 100 at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack when his #0 Josh’s Eggs Ford retired from the raced with suspension issues after completing 1 of 100 laps. The finish came in Peterson’s 108th career start and was his second consecutive.

Wayne Peterson Racing once again utilized a two-car lineup for the second and final dirt race of the 2019 ARCA Menards Series season, with regular team driver Tim Richmond in the 06 machine and team owner Wayne Peterson in the 0 car. This time, however, Peterson picked up sponsorship from Josh’s Eggs. Other than that, the entry list remained much the same: 20 cars showed up, with mostly the same teams and drivers. The most notable exception to that was the return of a familiar driver and number: Ken Schrader piloted his own #52 car, the first time that Schrader has fielded an entry since Daytona of this year. Other than that, Eric Caudell and Dale Shearer did not enter their cars. As for driver changes, Fast Track Racing was the only team to shuffle drivers around, as Mike Basham did not return and Tyler Speer made his first start since this race two years ago.

A pair of Illinois dirt ringers topped the practice speeds – Ryan Unzicker led the way and Kelly Kovski took the runner-up spot. All 20 cars took a time, and Peterson was slowest, recording a lap of 47.848 seconds, about fifteen seconds behind Unzicker’s time. Qualifying brought another dirt star at the top of the charts - Schrader - who became the oldest pole winner in series history, and was in contention until a pit penalty knocked the 52 out of the lead battle. Peterson again took last, running a lap of about 49 seconds even.

The race started with Schrader out front for only a lap before Kovski took the lead. Peterson, however, stayed at the back of the field for two laps before he turned in – officially crediting him with a lap completed. It marked the first time since the 2016 Kansas ARCA 150 that Peterson completed a lap in an ARCA race. Ten race attempts had passed since then, including six last year that secured him the LASTCAR championship. The other LASTCAR drivers’ championship contender, Dick Doheny, followed Peterson behind the wall two laps later. Will Kimmel, Speer and Brad Smith rounded out the Bottom Five, all citing overheating issues as the cause for retirement.
With the last-place finish, Peterson vaulted into first place in the LASTCAR drivers’ championship. His team secured its hold on the owners’ championship lead, and Ford clinched the owners’ title.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
20) #0-Wayne Peterson / 1 lap / suspension
19) #1-Dick Doheny / 3 laps / handling
18) #69-Will Kimmel / 18 laps / overheating
17) #11-Tyler Speer / 27 laps / overheating
16) #48-Brad Smith / 62 laps / overheating

2019 LASTCAR ARCA MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (9)
2nd) Toyota (4)
3rd) Chevrolet (3)
4th) Dodge (1)

2019 LASTCAR ARCA OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Wayne Peterson Racing (5)
2nd) Fast Track Racing (3)
3rd) Brad Smith Motorsports, Kimmel Racing, Venturini Motorsports (2)
4th) KBR Development, Mullins Racing, Our Motorsports (1)

2019 LASTCAR ARCA DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP

CUP: Late night last-place battle at Darlington sees B.J. McLeod take 39th spot

McLeod with his throwback ride before the start of the race.
ALL PHOTOS: Brock Beard

B.J. McLeod picked up the 4th last-place finish of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday (and Monday’s) Bojangles’ Southern 500 at the Darlington Raceway when his #51 Jacob Companies Chevrolet was involved in a single-car accident after 194 of 367 laps.

The finish, which came in McLeod’s 36th series start, was his third of the season and first since Kentucky, six races ago. In the Cup Series last-place rankings, it was the 27th for the #51, the 588th from a crash, and the 770th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 39th for the #51, the 1,193rd from a crash, and the 1,683rd for Chevrolet.

Darlington marked McLeod’s third Cup start since Kentucky and his thirteenth of the season, a year where his best finish remains a 19th in the opening Daytona 500. He would run Rick Ware Racing’s flagship #51 entry, and do so with a twist. For “Throwback Weekend,” McLeod would run a scheme inspired by Clyde Torkle’s Chicken Pit Special, the 1980s Ford Thunderbird raced by Burt Reynolds’ film character Stroker Ace. McLeod’s teammates, J.J. Yeley and Garrett Smithley, would run schemes honoring veteran drivers Bill Blair and Lennie Pond, respectively.

McLeod was also running double-duty as both owner and driver in the XFINITY Series. While Matt Mills (#5), Vinnie Miller (#78), and Stefan Parsons (#99) would run his three Toyotas, McLeod would continue his driving efforts for JD Motorsports, driving a #4 South Carolina Eductation Lottery throwback scheme honoring Bobby Labonte. McLeod qualified 23rd for the Saturday race and finished 19th, the last driver on the lead lap, besting all three of the cars he owned.

On the Cup side, the “Stroker Ace” car began the weekend just 35th of 38 drivers in opening practice, then didn’t turn a lap in Happy Hour. He qualified 36th on Saturday, turning in a lap of 163.538mph (30.070 seconds). The team then incurred an unapproved adjustments penalty, which meant they would drop to the rear prior to the start of the race.

Starting 39th and last on Sunday afternoon was Joey Gase, who in addition to running double-duty was literally bringing back Motorsports Business Management’s Cup Series team for the first time since Charlotte in May. The plain black Toyota, which last ran at the Coca-Cola 600, carried associate backing from Page Construction. It also struggled to get through technical inspection, making theirs the only car to not turn a lap in the opening session. He then turned the slowest lap in Happy Hour, and was again slowest in qualifying by three-tenths of a second.

Joining Gase and the penalized McLeod at the rear was Kyle Busch, whose surprising 33rd-place qualifying run was caused by issues under the hood of his #18 Snickers Throwback Toyota. According to Bob Pockrass, the Joe Gibbs Racing team changed the engine, transmission, drive shaft, rear gear, and ECU, but were still not entirely sure what caused the issue. Aric Almirola joined him in a backup car after damaging the right-front of his #10 Smithfield Ford, while Joe Nemechek’s return to the Cup Series for the first time since 2015 included a tail-end penalty for unapproved adjustments on his #27 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet.

As the field formed up for the start following a four-hour rain delay, Nemechek and the #54 AQRE Chevrolet of Garrett Smithley dropped to the rear, and Busch and McLeod followed suit the next time by. The group then reorganized itself with Busch up to 35th ahead of Gase, the #77 MRN 50th Anniversary Chevrolet of Reed Sorenson, McLeod, and Nemechek. The McLeod and Nemechek duo remained at the rear until the green flag dropped, where Gase slipped to 38th with Nemechek now in last place.

LaJoie behind the wall with brake issues.

Nemechek remained in last for the first seven laps, but by then had caught up to Gase. On Lap 11, Nemechek cut low and completed the pass, putting Gase back to last. By then, the leaders were hot on their trail, and Brad Keselowski put Gase the first car one lap down as both crossed the start / finish line on Lap 14. Both Gase and Nemechek remained just a few carlengths apart until just before the competition caution on Lap 35. During this same run, Gase lost a second lap on the 28th circuit.

Gase remained in last for the restart, and the team reported his car was too tight center-off. On Lap 50, he now had a new 38th-place driver in front of him as Garrett Smithley fell behind Nemechek. Gase began to close on Smithley’s powder blue #54, but the advance slowed as lead lap cars swarmed past them once more. Finally, on Lap 64, Gase passed Smithley, who started to lose ground to the #66. Three laps later, contact from David Ragan spun Smithley down the backstretch, and he made light contact with the inside wall. While the damage did not appear serious, a brace apparently failed behind the lower left-rear quarter-panel, causing it to flap loose under green.

The damage appeared to compromise Smithley’s speed, as by Lap 156, he was about to lose his tenth lap to the leaders. He was still in last place when the caution fell for Corey LaJoie, who hit the outside wall with the right-rear of his #32 Corvette Parts Ford, decorated to resemble Dale Jarrett’s Nestle Crunch-backed XFINITY Series car. LaJoie pitted for minor repairs and a set of tires with chrome rims, but on the Lap 162 restart, pulled into the garage area with brake failure. LaJoie managed to slow down in his stall, where the crew jacked up the right side of the car and looked over the right-rear hub. This dropped LaJoie behind Smithley on Lap 169, though on Lap 180, the car was lowered, the hood closed, and the driver returned to the track. As he got back up to speed, the #32 was in last, 23 laps down, but all 39 drivers were still running.

Heavy damage to the McLeod car after his Lap 196 crash.

McLeod didn’t enter the LASTCAR battle until Lap 196, when his car came down pit road with heavy right side damage. He pulled into his pit stall, third from pit exit, then made one more slow lap before pulling into the garage area. On Lap 202, McLeod climbed out under his own power and was brought in for a precautionary check at the infield care center. The #51 was listed “OUT” on NASCAR’s leaderboard on Lap 205, confirmed out due to accident by NASCAR’s garage spotter on Lap 210, and as the Rick Ware team loaded the #51 into the #52 hauler on Lap 219, took last from Smithley.

After McLeod returned to the team’s trailer and changed into his street clothes, he talked about what put him out. “We got caught up with another car off (turn) two and got pushed up in the fence, then cut a right-front going into (turn) one trying to make it to the break, ended up knocking the wall down good. It put us out – broke an upper a-frame bracket.” He also talked about his weekend. “We were having a good run. We were really doing good as far as our class and just kind of managing the rest of the race. We weren’t quick enough to catch Ross (Chastain) or Landon (Cassill), but we were able to stay ahead of the people we’ve been ahead of all day.”

Loading up McLeod's car in the No. 52 Rick Ware Racing hauler.

LaJoie and Smithley managed to finish the race under power, climbing two spots each to 36th and 35th, respectively. Between them came Michael McDowell and Daniel Hemric, who were collected in the night’s biggest accident. Coming off Turn 4, Hemric’s #8 Caterpillar Chevrolet lost control and slid down the track, just as Denny Hamlin’s #11 FedEx / Darrell Waltrip Throwback Toyota and McDowell’s #34 Dockside Logistics / Jimmy Means Throwback Ford were trying to squeeze by on the low lane. Both cars banged doors, sending McDowell backing hard into the outside wall. McDowell was eliminated under the damaged vehicle policy with Hemric joining him moments later.

By McLeod edging McDowell for last place, McLeod was able to take the lead in the 2019 LASTCAR Cup Series Driver’s Championship by a single bottom-five finish, 6-5.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first-ever last-place finish for car #51 in a Cup Series race at Darlington.
*McLeod also completed the second-most laps of any Darlington last-place finisher in Cup. The record still belongs to Greg Biffle, who on May 10, 2008, completed 234 laps of the Dodge Challenger 500 before engine trouble ended his night. Biffle also started on pole and led 95 laps, at the time the record for most laps led by a last-place finisher in Cup.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
39) #51-B.J. McLeod / 194 laps / crash
38) #34-Michael McDowell / 274 laps / crash
37) #8-Daniel Hemric / 274 laps / crash
36) #32-Corey LaJoie / 330 laps / running
35) #54-Garrett Smithley / 344 laps / running

2019 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Rick Ware Racing (8)
2nd) Stewart-Haas Racing (4)
3rd) Front Row Motorsports (3)
4th) Chip Ganassi Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Spire Motorsports (2)
5th) Germain Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Motorsports Business Management (1)

2019 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (14)
2nd) Ford (9)
3rd) Toyota (2)

2019 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP