PREVIEW: The trucks return to Richmond to lead off a four-race weekend

PHOTO: @joshbilicki

Thursday, September 10, 2020
TRUCKS Race 16 of 23
ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond
2005 Last-Place Finisher: Johnny Sauter

ENTRY LIST

The Truck Series returns to Richmond for the first time since 2005 with a list of 36 drivers for 40 spots – the same sized field that last ran here. Johnny Sauter, currently tied for the 2020 LASTCAR Truck Series lead, finished last that September night when his #43 Menards / Energizer Chevrolet fell out with crash damage after 100 laps of the Cheerios Betty Crocker 200.

TEAM UPDATE: #7-All Out Motorsports

TEAM UPDATE: #17-DGR-Crosley

It was reported this week that DGR-Crosley has acquired the Owner Point ranking for All Out Motorsports’ #7 team, which has been conspicuously absent since Korbin Forrister’s most recent series start in the first round of the Kansas double-header. The point swap secures David Ragan’s #17 a spot in the field, which is as yet unnecessary as fewer than 40 trucks have entered the last nine consecutive races, including this one. Select Blinds sponsors Ragan this week.

DRIVER CHANGE: #24-GMS Racing

Sam Mayer ran a strong 4th in his most recent series start at Gateway, and this week returns for the first time since then. He takes the place of Greg Biffle, who made his series return last week in Darlington and took 19th. AWA is the listed sponsor of the Mayer truck.

DRIVER CHANGE: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing

Josh Bilicki and his longtime sponsor Insurance King are back in the Truck Series, taking the place of Darlington last-place finisher Bryant Barnhill. This will be Bilicki’s first Truck Series start since the season’s second round in Las Vegas, where he himself finished last.

DRIVER CHANGE: #40-Niece Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #45-Niece Motorsports

This week’s big news was that Trevor Bayne’s return to NASCAR at Darlington wasn’t a one-off – he now takes the place of Ty Majeski in Niece’s #45. The move opens the #40 for a returning Carson Hocevar, who last steered the entry at Gateway to 15th place.

DRIVER CHANGE: #41-Cram Racing Enterprises

Ryan Huff returns to the Truck Series for the first time since his series debut in the second round of the Kansas double-header, and this time will give the new Cram team its third series start. He previously drove for Josh Reaume, and took 19th in the Kansas event. Huff takes the place of Dawson Cram, whose Tim Flock “throwback” ended up 33rd at Darlington after an early crash.

DRIVER CHANGE: #44-Niece Motorsports

Natalie Decker makes her tenth start of the season and first since her 28th-place run in Gateway, taking the place of Bayley Currey, who took 12th in the Cale Yarborough “throwback” truck. Ruedebusch Development is the listed sponsor for the #44 Chevrolet.

RETURNING: #49-CMI Motorsports

RETURNING: #83-CMI Motorsports

Both of Ray Ciccarelli’s trucks return to action this weekend – the #49 for the first time since Gateway, and the #83 for the first time since Dover. Ciccarelli himself will run the #49, run most recently by Roger Reuse, while Tim Viens will roll off from the last starting spot in the #83.

CUP INVADERS: None

Friday, September 11, 2020

XFINITY Race 24 of 33

Go Bowling 250 at Richmond

2019 Last-Place Finisher (Spring): Jeff Green

ENTRY LIST

There are 37 drivers entered for 40 spots – the same number as last week.

DRIVER SWAP: #5-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #99-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

B.J. McLeod and team will once again play musical chairs this week in Richmond. First off, Matt Mills and Vinnie Miller will swap rides this week with Mills in the #5 and Miller in the #99.

DRIVER CHANGE: #6-JD Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #78-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

In addition, B.J. McLeod himself moves back to Johnny Davis’ #6, taking the place of Ryan Vargas, who isn’t entered. McLeod thus opens the #78 for a returning Mason Massey, who makes his first XFINITY start since the Kentucky double-header. 

DRIVER CHANGE: #8-JR Motorsports

Jeb Burton rejoins the XFINITY Series for the first time since his 7th-place finish at Dover, and will again run the State Water Heaters paint scheme. He takes the place of Daniel Hemric, whose John Andretti “throwback” finished last at Darlington after an early crash.

DRIVER SWAP: #13-Motorsports Business Management

DRIVER SWAP: #61-Motorsports Business Management

DRIVER CHANGE: #66-Motorsports Business Management

Timmy Hill returns to the XFINITY Series this week and will this time run the #66, bumping Stephen Leicht to the #13, which moves Chad Finchum back to the #61. Finchum bumps out Austin Hill, who isn’t entered after a strong 9th-place run last Saturday. Finchum’s 20th-place finish in the Jerry Nadeau “throwback” car last week was his best finish since the first round of the Kentucky double-header, eight races previous, and was his third-straight finish of 25th or better.

DRIVER CHANGE: #21-Richard Childress Racing

Kaz Grala makes his third XFINITY start of the year and first since his season-best 4th-place finish at Road America. He takes the place of Anthony Alfredo, whose was at the center of the early Darlington wreck that ended Daniel Hemric’s race.

DRIVER CHANGE: #54-Joe Gibbs Racing

JGR’s part-time Cup invader team is back again with Kyle Busch taking the place of Denny Hamlin, and Starburst Duos taking the place of Sport Clips as sponsor. Busch has completed all 5,513 laps he’s ever run in 22 career XFINITY starts at Richmond dating back to 2004. He’s won six XFINITY races there, hasn’t finished outside the Top 10 since 2006, and has never once failed to finish.

DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing

J.J. Yeley returns to the XFINITY Series for the first time since Homestead, where he ran a season-best 11th for the same SS-Green Light Racing team. This time, he takes the place of David Starr, who was involved in a late-race accident at Darlington.

CUP INVADERS: #54-Kyle Busch

Sunday, September 12, 2020 (2:30 P.M. Eastern)

XFINITY Race 25 of 33

Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 250 at Richmond

2019 Last-Place Finisher (Fall): Mike Marlar

ENTRY LIST

There are 36 drivers entered in Sunday’s second round of the double-header for the XFINITY Series, with one very significant team missing---

MISSING: #54-Joe Gibbs Racing

Kyle Busch is not entered, and will thus be unable to sweep both XFINITY victories this weekend.

CUP INVADERS: None

Sunday, September 12, 2020 (6:00 P.M. Eastern)

CUP Race 28 of 36

Round of 16: Race 2 of 3

Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond

2019 Last-Place Finisher: Erik Jones

ENTRY LIST

After this year’s spring race at Richmond was scrubbed during the pandemic, the second round of the Playoffs will be at a track where the series has yet to run in 2020. The list shows 38 drivers entered for 40 spots, down one car from last week. It is the 13th short field in 28 races this season.

MISSING: #7-Tommy Baldwin Racing

Josh Bilicki is not entered after a 32nd-place finish last Sunday in the Tom Baldwin “throwback” car, but will focus on his Truck Series effort with Josh Reaume (see above). Incidentally, this will be only the second Cup race Bilicki has missed out of the last seven.

DRIVER CHANGE: #77-Spire Motorsports

Reed Sorenson, who had been entered last week in Darlington before he was swapped for Ross Chastain, is again entered in the #77 this week. According to Mike Davis of Dirty Mo Media, Chastain edged J.J. Yeley for the 29th spot at the end of last week’s Southern 500, where each driver was running seven laps down.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (September 10, 1988): Five years before he became Dale Earnhardt’s crew chief at Richard Childress Racing, Andy Petree picked up the first last-place finish of his NASCAR Busch Series career in the Commonwealth 200, the first-ever NASCAR race run on Richmond’s current three-quarters-of-a-mile layout. Petree started 24th in the #4 Lambert Racing Oldsmobile, but was involved in an accident after only nine laps. It was Petree’s first of five series starts. His last, which came driving for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. at Martinsville on October 16, 1994, yielded him his best finish of 16th.

ARCA: Inaugural Lebanon race sees first-time last-place finisher

PHOTO: @StartAndParkCar / @nascarcatholic via Travis Braden on Facebook

by William Soquet

LASTCAR.info Guest Correspondent

Tim Monroe scored the first last-place finish of his ARCA Menards Series career in Saturday’s Zinsser SmartCoat 200 at Lebanon I-44 Speedway when his #10 Fast Track Racing Chevrolet exited the race with brake problems after 4 of 200 laps.

The finish came in Monroe’s second career start.

Fast Track Racing crew member Tim Monroe has recently been given the opportunity to jump behind the wheel for the team in two events this season. The University of Northwestern Ohio student also races UMP modifieds at tracks like Shadyhill Speedway, Farmer City Raceway and Lincoln Speedway. He has been racing since at least the late 2000s, starting in small go-karts and working his way up through the ranks to outlaw karts and modifieds. He made his series debut for Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing (FTR) at the Daytona road course with an all-UNOH-student crew servicing his #11 machine. He did not complete a lap in the race due to electrical problems but was not credited with last place as Bryan Dauzat did not start the race and was scored in last.

This time around, thirteen other drivers joined Monroe for the first ARCA Menards Series race at Lebanon I-44 Speedway. Fast Track Racing kept its other two drivers the same as last week as Mike Basham piloted the #10 and last week's last-place finisher Owen Smith drive the #11. Perhaps the only surprising name to see on the entry list was road racer Kris Wright, as the former 24 Hours of Daytona driver was again entered in a Chad Bryant Racing Chevrolet. Hattori Racing Enterprises elected not to enter Max McLaughlin in the race, and Rev Racing did not enter any cars either. Thad Moffitt was once again absent from the list, leaving DGR-Crosley at two entries for the race. Despite Lebanon being a former track where the K&N Pro Series West raced, Bill McAnally Racing did not make the trip out to Missouri with its fleet of three entries. Not formally included on the entry list was former ARCA underdog and winner Brandon McReynolds, who is serving as a driver coach for Taylor Gray after helping Noah Gragson find success in NASCAR.

As the ARCA Menards Series was not racing with any national series at Lebanon, there was a full slate of practice and qualifying. Owen Smith put his machine 14th on the chart, about 2.5 seconds behind practice leader Hailie Deegan. Monroe then took the bottom spot in qualifying, running a lap of 17.4 seconds. He was not quite three seconds behind polesitter Bret Holmes.

At the drop of the green, Monroe was the last car in the running order. He was nine seconds back after two laps, and retired after four laps. Owen Smith avoided going 4-for-4 on career starts and last-place finishes by finishing 12th. He completed 39 laps before dropping out with brake issues. Brad Smith finished in between the two as the only other car to retire, citing handling as his reason out with 35 laps complete. Tim Richmond was the last car running in 11th, ten laps in arrears at the remainder of the race. Mike Basham completed the Bottom Five, finishing seven laps down.

Just outside the Bottom Five was Chandler Smith, who had what can be described as the "No Good, Terrible, Very Bad Lebanon Race." After Hailie Deegan spun him in turn one early in the race, Smith limped around a full circuit on a cut tire, damaging the front suspension. He spun again avoiding another Deegan incident, and fell two laps down. While running arguably the same time as the leaders, Smith was turned by Bret Holmes, a move that the Venturini Motorsports driver claimed came from crew chief Shane Huffman. Holmes did not directly refute the claim. An incident with Kris Wright later meant that Smith “hit for the cycle” and lost a total of two laps for repairs, the latest in a string of frustrating races between ARCA and the NASCAR Truck Series for Smith.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
14) #11-Tim Monroe / 4 laps / brakes
13) #48-Brad Smith / 35 laps / handling
12) #10-Owen Smith / 39 laps / brakes
11) #06-Tim Richmond / 190 laps / running
10) #12-Mike Basham / 193 laps / running

2020 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (9)
2nd) Toyota (4)
3rd) Ford (1)

2020 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Fast Track Racing (7)
2nd) Wayne Peterson Racing (2)
3rd) Brother-In-Law Motorsports, DGR-Crosley, Kimmel Racing, Reeves Racing, Russ Lane Racing (1)

2020 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

CUP: James Davison the first to finish last in both the Indianapolis 500 and Southern 500

PHOTO: @RickWareRacing

James Davison picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in the Cook Out Southern 500 at the Darlington Raceway when his #53 Signing Day Sports / Tom Sneva Throwback Chevrolet fell out with a blown engine after 162 of 367 laps.

The finish came in Davison’s 8th series start. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 21st for the #53, the 697th from engine trouble, and the 794th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three divisions, it was the 26th for the #53, the 1,093rd from engine trouble, and the 1,741st for Chevrolet.

Davison is perhaps the last of his kind in today’s Cup Series – an open-wheel star looking to transition into heavy stock cars. Back in 2008, the likes of Dario Franchitti, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Patrick Carpentier looked to compete against the top drivers in NASCAR’s Cup Series, but few stayed for multiple seasons or found much success. Davison, a six-time starter of the Indianapolis 500, and runner-up to J.R. Hildebrand in the 2009 Indy Lights Championship, made his first NASCAR start in the XFINITY race at Road America in 2016. Driving for Mario Gosselin’s DGM Racing, he finished on the lead lap in the 19th spot. This scored him three rides with Joe Gibbs Racing, where he ran a best of 4th at Mid-Ohio. He also embraced NASCAR’s past, running two different paint schemes inspired by “Days of Thunder.”

Davison was slated to make his Cup debut at Talladega this past June, but NASCAR didn’t afford him the same opportunity Jacques Villeneuve had in 2007, so B.J. McLeod took his place. The debut came the following week in Pocono, where he’d run both rounds of the double-header in Spire Motorsports’ #77 Oil Fire Whiskey Chevrolet. He finished 34th and 30th in both rounds, coming home with the car in one piece. From there, he joined the three-car rotation at Rick Ware Racing. He tied his career-best 30th on the Daytona road course, and only last week had his first Cup DNF, crashing out late in the race on the Daytona oval.

For Darlington, Davison would again have an opportunity to run a “throwback” paint scheme. Carrying sponsorship from Signing Day Sports, who backed him in his debut with the Ware team at Loudon, he’d run a dark brown paint scheme reminiscent of the #53 Simoniz Chevrolet from 1983. The reference was appropriate, as that car was driven by another open-wheeler who raced NASCAR in Tom Sneva. Just months after taking the checkered flag in the Indianapolis 500, Sneva earned his career-best 7th-place finish in this particular brown paint scheme during the 1983 Daytona 500. For Sunday’s race, Davison started 36th.

Rolling off 39th and last was Davison’s teammate Joey Gase, who ran the 1971 Bobby Allison red-and-gold throwback on his #51 ASC / Agri Supply / Carolina Cooker Ford. Three other teams would join him in the back for the start. The first was Ross Chastain, who replaced the entered Reed Sorenson in Spire Motorsports’ red-white-and-blue #77 Chevrolet slated to start 34th. The car, sponsored by Dirty Mo Media, was a tribute to Dale Earnhardt and his #77 Chevrolet Malibu he raced for Johnny Ray at Atlanta in 1976. The other was Ryan Blaney, who was penalized from 7th after his #12 Menards / Maytag Ford was found with an unsecured five-pound weight inside the car during pre-race inspection. Blaney’s car was decorated similar to Menards’ ARCA and Cup cars from 2003, including the first Cup car Paul Menard raced at Watkins Glen. Austin Dillon incurred an unapproved adjustment penalty after his crew mistakenly had the left side tires on the right side, and vise-versa, requiring a change on his Junior Johnson throwback-themed #3 American Ethanol Chevrolet. He’d been slated to start 12th.

When the race started, Blaney and Dillon were ahead of both Chastain and Gase, who started in the final two spots with Gase still in 39th. Gase remained in the last spot through Lap 15, when the leaders put him the first car one lap down. Under the competition caution on Lap 25, the driver tried to figure out the right volume level on the radio as trouble found Timmy Hill. Driving the #66 RoofClaim.com Toyota, decorated to resemble Phil Parsons’ Skoal Bandit ride, the car looked sharp, but had issues with the alternator. On Lap 30, Hill took last from Gase as the crew attended to the battery. On Lap 58, Hill’s crew said they were preparing to replace the alternator in the garage, and told him to turn off the air conditioner. He then pulled into the garage on Lap 62 for repairs. By Lap 75, the team began piecing the #66 back together, and he returned to action 25 laps down. The team had also taken time to adjust air pressures during the repairs, and set to work adjusting their remaining tires.

The ensuing run saw all 39 drivers still under power until around Lap 173, when Davison’s car wouldn’t fire on pit road. The next time by, the #53 pushed behind the wall. Davison said he felt the engine starting to lay down on the previous run, and also estimated the temperature had spiked to 300 degrees. The team thought Davison picked up debris on the nose, but saw nothing on the front grille. By Lap 184, Davison’s team confirmed they were done for the day. NASCAR relayed the message on Lap 193, reporting that engine issues were to blame. During this, Hill closed the gap on Davison, and took the last spot on Lap 194.

Finishing 38th was Bubba Wallace, whose #43 CashApp / Richard Petty D.K. Ulrich Throwback Chevrolet had issues leaking fluid early in the event, then spun on the apron. He pulled behind the wall on Lap 198 and was ultimately done for the night, citing transmission issues. Corey LaJoie took 37th after he rear-ended another car on a late-race restart in the #32 Trump 2020 Ford. John Hunter Nemechek crashed out in the #38 Citgard / Elliott Sadler 1999 Throwback Ford on Lap 245, leaving him out of the race in 36th. Rounding out the group was Timmy Hill, who after his alternator and battery issues, was ultimately felled by overheating issues.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the third consecutive last-place finish for Rick Ware Racing, one each with their three primary teams: the #51 (Dover), #27 (Daytona), and #53 (Darlington). The team also fields the former Premium Motorsports #15 with rookie Brennan Poole. With one more last-place finish next week in Richmond, the Ware team can tie JTG-Daugherty's streak of four last-place finishes in a row this summer.

*Davison has also become the first driver to finish last in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Southern 500. Davison finished last in both the 2018 and 2020 runnings of the Indy 500.

*This was the first last-place finish for the #53 in a Cup race at Darlington since September 6, 1992, when Johnny McFadden’s #53 Means Racing Pontiac quit after 3 laps of the Mountain Dew Southern 500.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

39) #53-James Davison / 162 laps / engine

38) #43-Bubba Wallace / 217 laps / transmission

37) #32-Corey LaJoie / 234 laps / crash

36) #38-John Hunter Nemechek / 245 laps / crash

35) #66-Timmy Hill / 296 laps / overheating

2020 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) JTG-Daugherty Racing (6)

2nd) Rick Ware Racing (5)

2nd) Motorsports Business Management (3)

3rd) Chip Ganassi Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Penske Racing (2)

4th) Beard Motorsports, B.J. McLeod Motorsports, Front Row Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Leavine Family Racing, StarCom Racing, Tommy Baldwin Racing (1)

2020 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (18)

2nd) Toyota (5)

3rd) Ford (4)

2020 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

TRUCKS: Stuck throttle halts Bryant Barnhill’s first Darlington start

SCREENSHOT: FS1

Bryant Barnhill picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career in Sunday’s South Carolina Education Lottery 200 at the Darlington Raceway when his #33 Motorsports Safety Group / Bell & Bell Buick and GMC Trucks Chevrolet was involved in a single-truck accident after 4 of 152 laps.

The finish, which came in Barnhill’s 8th series start, was his second of the year and first since Homestead, 10 races ago. In the Truck Series last-place rankings, it was the 7th for the #33, the 159th from a crash, and the 392th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 50th for the #33, the 1,224th from a crash, and the 1,740th for Chevrolet.

With the finish, Barnhill makes it a three-way tie for the lead in the 2020 LASTCAR Truck Series Championship, though he still trails both Norm Benning and Johnny Sauter on Bottom Fives.

Darlington marked Barnhill’s fifth start of 2020, a season that began with his brief run at Homestead. Driving Reaume Brothers Racing’s #33, he then finished 33rd at Kentucky, 33rd again after ignition failure at Dover, then a season-best 26th just last week in Gateway.

For Sunday, Barnhill’s black-and-orange paint scheme resembled the Andy Belmont-owned car Chad McCumbee drove to his first ARCA Menards Series victory at the Nashville Superspeedway on April 7, 2007. In place of McCumbee’s #62, Barnhill would run the Reaume team’s #33, the same car number of that day’s runner-up, Cale Gale. According to his interview with The Fourth Turn, McCumbee was Barnhill’s mentor as the two raced their way up the ranks in late models. The passenger-side roof rail of the truck would also carry the name of Charlie Powell, the longtime owner of Florence Motor Speedway, who passed away in August at age 83. Most significantly, it would be Barnhill’s first-ever start at his home track in Darlington, having grown up in Conway, South Carolina, 64 miles to the south-east. Barnhill would roll off 27th in the race.

Starting 34th and last was the #17 Shriner’s Hospitals Ford of David Ragan, who was finally able to make his first Truck Series start since November 10, 2006 at Phoenix. Ragan had twice been denied a start this year at Atlanta and Michigan, where his DGR-Crosley effort was on the wrong side of the cut line on entry lists with more than 40 trucks. During the pace laps, Ragan was warned to drop back from the field for the start as the others running in front of him were in slower trucks. However, this changed by the one-to-go signal as between four and five trucks dropped behind him voluntarily.

When the field addressed the starter’s stand, the final row consisted of two black Chevrolets: 32nd-place Norm Benning in the #6 H&H Transport Chevrolet and 27th-place Barnhill. Benning drew ahead of Barnhill on the first lap, and the #33 took the last spot at the stripe. By then, the gap was 8.997 seconds from the lead to last place, and the interval grew to 12.62 seconds on Lap 3. Both Benning and Barnhill remained in the final two spots, and were each a full 1.3 seconds back of the rest of the pack. On Lap 4, Barnhill had just dropped Benning to last place when trouble broke out.

“Throttle’s sticking! Throttle’s sticking!”

Heading into Turns 1 and 2, Barnhill’s throttle stuck and the truck hit the outside wall. The FS1 cameras were apparently unable to catch the accident live, and instead showed him rolling to a stop on the apron with the right side destroyed. Barnhill was understandably animated on the radio, saying “I’m so sorry, man, I did everything I could.” The crew prepared to look over the truck and find out what caused the throttle to stick, telling the crew to stand by to check it out. By Lap 9, the team had already transferred their tires to teammate and team owner Josh Reaume in the #00 Colonial Countertops Toyota. On Lap 10, someone on the #33 crew said, “Randy, we are done for the day, sir.” NASCAR declared him officially out on Lap 61.

Finishing 33rd was Dawson Cram, who by debuting his new team just last week was able to submit a last-minute contender for best “throwback” scheme in the race. The #41 Ford carried the blue-and-white colors of Tim Flock’s Hudson Hornet, and even included a stuffed monkey tied to the roll cage representing the famous “Jocko Flocko.” Unfortunately, Cram was turned head-on into the outside wall on the backstretch, and had to be towed to the garage. Moments later, Norm Benning was parked for, in NASCAR’s words, being “nowhere near minimum speed.” Benning was first black-flagged on Lap 34, but the repairs weren’t enough, and he was posted again on Lap 59. During that stretch, Benning was reportedly waiting for fresh tires from one of the teams that fell out. By then, Barnhill’s had already gone to Reaume, and it wasn’t clear what happened to Cram’s.

Taking 31st was last week’s last-place finisher Johnny Sauter, who was at least twice warned by NASCAR that he had smoke coming off the #13 Vivitar Ford. Ultimately, he pulled off the track in the final laps, and was upset over the radio about his engines. Rounding out the group was Jennifer Jo Cobb, five laps down in the #10 Fastener Supply Company Chevrolet.

Derek Kraus nearly pulled the upset on Sunday, taking the lead in overtime before he broke loose off Turn 2, handing the win to Ben Rhodes. Kraus’ #19 NAPA Toyota was a throwback scheme honoring Ron Hornaday, Jr.’s championship ride. The runner-up finish was Kraus’ career-best, improving on his 4th-place run in this year’s Daytona opener, and closed him within 10 points of Todd Gilliland for a place in the Playoffs. Along with Tyler Ankrum, 14 points ahead of Kraus, the three will square off for the final two Playoff spots this week in the cutoff race at Richmond.

Flying the flag for the underdogs was Timmy Hill, who elected to stay out in his Hill Motorsports unsponsored #56, honoring he and brother Tyler Hill’s father Jerry Hill. The truck, resembling Jerry’s ride with Rick Ware’s Truck team, steered clear of the chaos and held on to finish in 9th. This was the best finish for the Hill Motorsports Truck Series team since last fall at Martinsville, when Timmy took 5th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #33 in a Truck Series race at Darlington.

*Chevrolet continues to dominate the last-place finish history of the Darlington Truck Series event. The only non-Chevrolet to finish last in this race belonged to Dillon Oliver, whose #95 Team Gill Racing Dodge lost an engine after 2 laps on August 14, 2010.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

34) #33-Bryant Barnhill / 4 laps / crash

33) #41-Dawson Cram / 51 laps / crash

32) #6-Norm Benning / 52 laps / handling

31) #13-Johnny Sauter / 138 laps / engine

30) #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb / 147 laps / running

2020 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Reaume Brothers Racing (4)

2nd) Norm Benning Racing, ThorSport Racing (2)

3rd) CMI Motorsports, DGR-Crosley, FDNY Racing, Halmar Friesen Racing, Niece Motorsports, Spencer Davis Motorsports (1)

2020 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (8)

2nd) Ford (4)

3rd) Toyota (3)

2020 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

XFINITY: Daniel Hemric finishes 37th in John Andretti throwback car at Darlington; Ryan Sieg rallies from same wreck to finish 3rd

PHOTO: @JRMotorsports

Daniel Hemric picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 at the Darlington Raceway when his #8 Poppy Bank / John Andretti Tribute Chevrolet was involved in a multi-car accident after 2 of 147 laps.

The finish came in Hemric’s 82nd series start. In the XFINITY Series, it was the 14th for the #8, the 336th from a crash, and the 555th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 49th for the #8, the 1,223rd from a crash, and the 1,739th for Chevrolet.

Hemric’s XFINITY Series career has been defined by his frustrating search for his first series victory. Despite making the Championship Four at Homestead in 2018 on remarkable consistency, he’s finished runner-up six times, most recently this past May in Charlotte. He then earned a full-season ride in the Cup Series just last year, piloting Richard Childress Racing’s #8 Chevrolet. He pulled ahead of Ryan Preece in the final months of the Rookie of the Year battle, but still lost his ride to Tyler Reddick. 

Darlington would mark Hemric’s 16th XFINITY Series start in 23 races this year, now as a part-time driver sharing the #8 with Jeb Burton and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The aforementioned Charlotte race remains his season-best finish, but when Hemric hasn’t finished inside the Top Ten, he’s had terrible luck. Suspension failure left him 35th in Las Vegas, then a crashes put him 30th at Phoenix, 31st at Homestead, and 28th at Pocono. The road course stretch was particularly brutal as the engine let go after seven laps at Road America, leaving him 35th, followed by an early crash on the Daytona infield, worth 37th. Just last week on the Daytona oval, he was again on the wrong side of the night’s chaos, taking 24th, and dropping his average finish to 18.9.

Darlington’s “Throwback Weekend” was a welcome distraction. On August 4, JR Motorsports revealed that Hemric would run a particularly special throwback scheme, honoring the life of John Andretti, who passed away on January 30. In conjunction with the #CheckIt4Andretti cancer screening initiative, Hemric’s car would resemble the purple-and-orange Michael Kranefuss-owned #37 Ford that Andretti ran in 1995 and 1996. It was in the ’95 season that Andretti won the pole for the Southern 500, led 41 laps, and finished 12th. The same race the following year turned out to be his last with the team, where he again ran strong with a 5th-place finish. He then moved to Cale Yarborough Motorsports, with whom he’d score his first Cup win at Daytona in 1997.

In place of Andretti’s K-Mart and Little Caesar’s sponsorship, Hemric’s part-time XFINITY backer Poppy Bank would stay on board. Hemric drew the 15th starting spot.

Starting 37th and last was defending last-placer Denny Hamlin, who won the 2019 race in a backup car, only to be classified last due to being too low in the left-front and too high in the right-rear. This year’s throwback was to Cale Yarborough, and would be with the same #54 Joe Gibbs Racing team that finished a close second with Kyle Busch when the series ran this past May.

No drivers were sent to the back for the start, though according to Bob Pockrass, 15th-place Josh Williams failed pre-race inspection twice, incurring him a loss of pit selection penalty next week in Richmond. At least two teams dropped to the rear voluntarily: 35th-place Dexter Bean in Mario Gosselin’s #90 Alloy / Sleep Well Chevrolet and 36th-place Stephen Leicht in the #66 Jani-King Toyota. While Bean wasn’t running a “throwback” scheme, Leicht’s Toyota Camry was repainted to resemble Carl Long’s Dodge he ran for Mansion Motorsports in 2001 and 2002.

When the race started, Leicht took over the last spot, and was 8.688 seconds back of the lead at the end of Lap 1. He was barely a tenth behind Bean, who had dropped a full 1.586 seconds back of the next car in line. The two were still running at the back of the pack when trouble broke out on Lap 2. Coming off the second corner, Hemric was on the outside of Anthony Alfredo in the #21 Blue Otter Polarized Chevrolet, which was also working under Justin Allgaier’s #7 Brandt Chevrolet. Just past corner exit, Alfredo appeared to break loose, tipping Allgaier in the left-rear, and pinching Hemric into the outside wall. Hemric then came across the nose of Ryan Sieg’s #39 CMRroofing.com Chevrolet and both spun into the inside wall. While Sieg briefly took last place under the ensuing caution, he recovered to actually lead nine laps and finish 3rd. But Hemric pulled behind the wall, done for the afternoon.

What an amazing day for the #39 CMR Construction & Roofing Chevrolet. We got involved in a wreck on lap 2 but the team never quit and came back up thru the field with a beat up race car and finished 3rd. Very proud of the entire @RSS383993 team and looking forward to Richmond. pic.twitter.com/dzfN4lNMUR

— Ryan Sieg Racing (@RyanSiegRacing) September 5, 2020

Finishing 36th was Kyle Weatherman, who reportedly suffered damage in the chain-reaction from the Hemric accident. Weatherman’s #47 Tribute to David Ragan Chevrolet, painted like Ragan’s 1960 Ford Fairlane police car, pulled behind the wall just three laps after Hemric. Leicht dropped out after 11 laps and cited suspension issues. Taking 34th was David Starr, who pounded the Turn 3 wall on Lap 110 in the #07 Richardson Service 1991, Inc. Chevrolet. Rounding out the group was Brett Moffitt, who dropped oil around Lap 118 in the #02 Knockaround Sunglasses Chevrolet. The leak ended Moffitt’s race in a throwback scheme to the late Mike Stefanik.

In addition to Sieg’s impressive rally from the Lap 2 incident, Brandon Brown continued to hang onto his spot in the Playoffs after suffering early damage to his #68 Coastal Carolina University Chevrolet. Despite significant repairs to the right-front corner of his “throwback” to Janet Guthrie’s Kelly Girl Chevrolet, Brown recovered to finish on the lead lap in 17th, keeping him 12th in the standings ahead of Jeremy Clements. Austin Hill earned a solid 9th in the Motorsports Business Management / Hattori Racing Enterprises effort, recovering from 26th on the grid in the #61 Toyota Tsusho Toyota. The finish matched Hill’s career-best in the series, which came last year at Indianapolis.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #8 in an XFINITY Series race at Darlington.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

37) #8-Daniel Hemric / 2 laps / crash

36) #47-Kyle Weatherman / 5 laps / crash

35) #66-Stephen Leicht / 11 laps / suspension

34) #07-David Starr / 108 laps / crash

33) #02-Brett Moffitt / 118 laps / oil leak

2020 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Motorsports Business Management (5)

2nd) Joe Gibbs Racing (3)

3rd) JD Motorsports, Jimmy Means Racing, JR Motorsports, Mike Harmon Racing, Shepherd Racing Ventures, SS-Green Light Racing (2)

4th) B.J. McLeod Motorsports, Jeremy Clements Racing, Kaulig Racing (1)

2020 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (15)

2nd) Toyota (8)

2020 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP