PREVIEW: Blaine Perkins' debut, Loris Hezemans' return among Phoenix storylines

IMAGE: Motorsports Business Management

Saturday, March 13, 2021

XFINITY Race 5 of 33

Call 811 Before You Dig 200 at Phoenix

2020 Last-Place Finisher: Jeremy Clements

ENTRY LIST

There are 43 drivers entered for 40 spots, but still without practice and qualifying, the result will be the same for the three teams that have yet to start an XFINITY race in 2021 (see below).

DRIVER CHANGE / TEAM UPDATE: #13-Motorsports Business Management / Reaume Brothers Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #61-Motorsports Business Management

While the preliminary entry list showed a driver swap between Chad Finchum and David Starr, putting Starr in the #61 and Finchum in the #13, Finchum will not run this Saturday. In his place will be Loris Hezemans, the 2019 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Champion. The Dutchman made his NASCAR debut in last year’s XFINITY race at Road America, where he finished on the lead lap in 22nd driving B.J. McLeod’s #99.  While using MBM’s car number, Hezemans will actually be entered under Reaume Brothers Racing, who formerly collaborated with RSS Racing on the #23 team before Our Motorsports officially took it over at Las Vegas. This will be the first of two starts for Hezemans, who will also run the Charlotte oval in May. His sponsors this week are Hezeberg Systems and the R1 Indoor Karting & Entertainment Center.

DRIVER CHANGE: #17-Rick Ware Racing / SS-Green Light Racing

While he was originally slated to make his 2021 debut last week in Las Vegas, J.J. Yeley will instead do so at his home track. He takes the place of Garrett Smithley in the Rick Ware / SS-Green Light entry. Smithley finished 24th last Saturday.

DRIVER CHANGE: #23-Our Motorsports

The last time Blaine Perkins raced at Phoenix, he was edged by Jesse Love for the ARCA Menards West Series Championship by just 25 points, his three-win season ending with an engine failure. This time around, he will make his NASCAR top three series debut in the upstart second Our Motorsports entry, taking the place of Cup regular Tyler Reddick. Four Star Fruits, Perkins’ backer from his previous ride, will back his #23 Chevrolet.

DID NOT QUALIFY: #31-Jordan Anderson Racing

DID NOT QUALIFY: #77-Bassett Racing

DID NOT QUALIFY: #03-Our Motorsports

A fifth-straight race without qualifying keeps this unfortunate trio out of the field once again.

DRIVER CHANGE: #54-Joe Gibbs Racing

Returning to the seat of the #54 Toyota is Ty Gibbs, back behind the wheel for the first time since his surprising victory in his series debut on the Daytona road course. He takes the place of Ty Dillon, whose mid-race spin left him 31st and collected last-place finisher Riley Herbst. Dillon indicated he will next be racing on the Bristol dirt track, where he won a Cup Series stage on the concrete surface in 2019.

TEAM UPDATE: #98-Stewart-Haas Racing

Riley Herbst was not originally on the entry list for Saturday’s race following his aforementioned last-place finish, but he and the #98 team will make the long trip west for a rebound.

CUP INVADERS: None

Sunday, March 14, 2021

CUP Race 5 of 36

Instacart 500 at Phoenix

2020 Last-Place Finisher: Timmy Hill

ENTRY LIST

There are 38 drivers entered for 40 spots, marking the third-straight short field in five races so far this season.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing

After taking the Las Vegas weekend off, James Davison returns to the #15 Chevrolet for the first time since his fiery engine failure in Homestead. Davison’s only previous Cup start at Phoenix was in last fall’s finale, where he ran 33rd out of 39 starters. Smart Sanitizer is the listed sponsor.

DRIVER CHANGE: #53-Rick Ware Racing

Just like on the XFINITY side, J.J. Yeley will take the place of Garrett Smithley in a Rick Ware entry. Smithley drove this #53 team to a 31st-place finish last week. UPDATE: This then changed by Sunday with Garrett Smithley back in the #53 again.

Saturday, March 20, 2021

TRUCKS Race 4 of 23

FR8 Auctions 200 at Atlanta

2020 Last-Place Finisher: Johnny Sauter

The Truck Series takes the week off and returns a week from Saturday in Atlanta.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (March 11, 1995): Jeremy Mayfield picks up the first last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in the Busch Light 300 at Atlanta after his #50 UAW Ford loses an engine after 2 of 197 laps. The finish comes in Mayfield’s second-ever series start while driving for team owner Bobby Jones. Current team owner Rick Ware finishes next-to-last that day in a #98 Petron Plus Chevrolet he owns, out after 23 laps with a bearing issue.

CUP: Aric Almirola’s blown tire puts car #10 in last place at Las Vegas for first time since 1999

PHOTO: @StewartHaasRcng

Aric Almirola picked up the 12th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his #10 Smithfield Power Bites Ford was eliminated in a single-car crash after 178 of 267 laps.

The finish, which came in Almirola’s 356th series start, was his first of the season and first since April 7, 2019 at Bristol, 68 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 35th for the #10, the 609th from a crash, and the 704th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 127th for the #10, the 970th for Ford, and the 1,242nd from a crash.

Entering his fourth season as driver of Stewart-Haas Racing’s #10 Ford, and celebrating a decade of sponsorship from Smithfield Foods since his past driving duties with Richard Petty Motorsports, the soft-spoken Almirola is still looking for consistency. His only win with the team remains October 14, 2018, where he and his three teammates dominated the event in a controversial four-car breakaway. Since then, “The Cuban Missile” has picked up another seven top-five finishes, including a runner-up to Kevin Harvick at Texas in the fall of 2019, but time and again has fallen just short of victory lane.

Coming into this year’s Daytona 500, an event where he was two corners from victory before a bump from Austin Dillon in 2018, driver and team looked to be one of the favorites. After coming just short of a front-row start, he dominated his qualifying race, leading 52 of 60 laps. But just 14 laps into the 500 itself, it was Almirola who was first to be turned into the outside wall when the field exploded into a multi-car pileup entering Turn 3. He finished just 34th that night, and after runs of 17th on the road course and 30th in Homestead after a tangle with Ryan Blaney, arrived in Las Vegas a distant 26th in the point standings. This put him 28th on the grid for the Vegas race itself.

Rolling off 38th and last was last week’s last-place finisher Timmy Hill, whose blue #66 Toyota from Motorsports Business Management carried returning sponsorship from LasVegas.net on the quarter-panels, plus new backing from Diamondback Land Surveying, which purchased space on the hood and on two places on each side. Diamondback’s red logo was appreciated by the spotter as it made the car easier to see. When the engines fired, however, Hill was concerned about a car in front of him. “One of the RWR cars out here blowing up,” he said. This was the #53 Trophy Tractor Ford of 31st-place Garrett Smithley, who reported no issues on the gauges despite smoke from his exhaust pipes. The team believed it was extra oil burning off, which did dissipate during the pace laps.

Hill remained in last place when the field took the green flag, then by the end of Lap 1 passed Smithley’s teammate Joey Gase in the #15 Nevada Donors Network Chevrolet. On Lap 5, Gase reported his car was “shoving the nose” and “hard on the splitter,” and dropped more than two seconds back of Hill. By the 15th circuit, the leaders had caught and lapped Gase, passing to his inside to put him the first car one lap down. Hill, too, was struggling at this point, and Gase put the #66 back to last place just before the Lap 25 competition caution. Both drivers received adjustments with Hill’s crew pulling a rubber from the right-rear.

On the restart, still another Rick Ware entry found trouble as Cody Ware plummeted behind both Gase and Hill on Lap 32. “I can’t drive the car,” said Ware of his #51 Nurtec ODT Chevrolet. “Something’s broke. . .It’s shooting up towards the wall.” Though Ware could smell his splitter dragging on the track, he caught and passed Gase on Lap 37, and Gase dropped Hill back to last two laps later.

Next to enter the last-place battle was Bubba Wallace, whose #23 Columbia Sportswear Toyota came down pit road for an unscheduled pit stop around Lap 40. By Lap 42, he’d dropped to last place as the crew looked under the hood, attending to a faulty power steering pump. He returned to the track three laps down, but was still fighting to get the car around the track. “I'm trying to make some laps. Sorry if I fuckin' K.O. this thing,” said Wallace on Lap 45. “Shit, can't turn the damn wheel.” A debris caution came out moments later, allowing him to make a second stop under yellow. The team spent until Lap 51 completing repairs, and the steering appeared fixed. By then, Wallace was six laps down.

Josh Bilicki, in still another Rick Ware Racing entry, received extra media attention earlier in the week. Chuck Brennan, the founder of Bilicki’s sponsor, Dollar Loan Center, bet $10,000 that Bilicki's #52 Ford would win the race. His driver had such long odds that, if he did win, the resulting $10 million payout at the Circa casino would be enough to pay off the loans of the company’s Nevada clients. Unfortunately, by Lap 85, Bilicki was already off the lead lap, and pulled behind the wall with a mechanical issue. He returned just moments later after the crew re-attached a plug in the fuel cell which had caused the car to lose fuel pressure. The car re-fired, ran another lap, then made a second stop under green to make sure the repair was completed. It was only after this second stop that Bilicki lost enough laps to drop behind Wallace on Lap 87.

On Lap 108, Bilicki caught and passed Hill, who made a green-flag stop of his own, and returned to the track eight laps behind. He and Bilicki remained one lap apart on the 130th circuit, and on Lap 133 Hill reported a possible issue with the engine. At the end of Stage 2 on Lap 162, Hill was still running, but when asked if the team had made any progress on the car’s handling, he said, “No. None whatsoever.”

Hill was still running last, a full 13 laps down, when Almirola finally entered the last-place battle on Lap 179. “Got one slow up in Turn 2, might have a right-front there. No caution,” said Hill’s spotter. Then the yellow came out as Almirola came off the Turn 2 wall, the right-front down and right side heavily damaged. He made it to pit road, but the team soon said “We’re done,” and pushed the car behind the wall. On Lap 181, NASCAR reported “10 to the garage, dvp,” then the garage spotter relayed “10 out, accident” on Lap 189. Almirola took last from Hill on Lap 193.

Taking 37th was Corey LaJoie, who for the second-straight week dropped out because of mechanical issues during a long green-flag run. This time, his vibrant #7 Built Bar Chevrolet dropped out with rear end trouble. LaJoie joined Almirola as the only retirees from the race. Hill, Bilicki, and Gase finished under power, each more than 10 laps down to race winner Kyle Larson.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*The 178 laps completed by Almirola were the second-most of a Cup Series last-place finisher at Las Vegas, trailing only Kurt Busch’s 187 laps on September 15, 2019.

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #10 in a Cup Series race at Las Vegas since March 7, 1999, when Ricky Rudd’s #10 Tide Ford dropped out with engine failure after 115 laps.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #10-Aric Almirola / 178 laps / crash

37) #7-Corey LaJoie / 188 laps / rear end

36) #66-Timmy Hill / 246 laps / running

35) #52-Josh Bilicki / 252 laps / running

34) #15-Joey Gase / 255 laps / running

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Motorsports Business Management, Rick Ware Racing, StarCom Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (2)

2nd) Ford, Toyota (1)

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

XFINITY: Riley Herbst scores first series last-place finish for the #98 since 2001

SCREENSHOT: FS1

Riley Herbst picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his #98 South Point Hotel & Casino Ford was eliminated in a multi-car accident after 56 of 200 laps.

The finish came in Herbst’s 46th series start. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 6th for the #98, the 158th for Ford, and the 342nd from a crash. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 42nd for the #98, the 969th for Ford, and the 1,241st from an accident.

The 22-year-old third-generation racer whose family operates the Terrible Herbst franchise of gas stations in their native Nevada, Riley Herbst has traded the off-road racing of his father and grandfather for a career in stock car racing. Five years ago, he took seventh in the K&N Pro Series West standings. Four years ago, he took his lone ARCA Menards Series win at Pocono. Three years ago, he finished 6th in his first XFINITY Series race at Iowa and 8th in his first Truck Series race at Gateway. Then two years ago, he nearly pulled off the victory in the Truck Series race at Talladega, where he ultimately finished 3rd. 

Herbst’s rapid ascent is in no small part due to his affiliation with Joe Gibbs Racing, who hired him to run full-time XFINITY in 2020 in the flagship #18 Toyota. In the season’s first 15 races, he finished a season-best 2nd at Fontana, where he came up just short of tracking down teammate Harrison Burton, who that day took his first series win. With his third JGR teammate Brandon Jones taking his own first win the following week in Phoenix, Herbst was on the search for his own. Yet while he matched the runner-up finish at Kentucky and made the Playoffs, he was eliminated at the Charlotte “Roval,” and remained winless at season’s end.

This year, Herbst signed with Stewart-Haas Racing, taking over the equally high-powered #98 Ford that Chase Briscoe drove to nine wins last year. Bringing his sponsorship from Monster Energy, Herbst began the year qualifying 4th for the opener at Daytona. With 15 laps to go in regulation, he tried to run the bottom to clear a developing multi-car wreck in Turn 3. But contact from Justin Allgaier steered him into the pileup, leaving him 26th. On the Daytona road course, he was running behind race leaders A.J. Allmendinger and Austin Cindric, who wrecked each other battling for the Stage 1 win. Herbst pulled onto the grass to avoid them, only to rip the splitter from his car, leaving him 39th. A much-needed 11th-place run at Homestead carried him into his home track at Las Vegas.

With metric qualifying, this put him 12th on the grid. South Point Hotel & Casino, long a sponsor at Richard Childress Racing and the now-retired Brendan Gaughan, came on to sponsor Herbst’s run.

Starting 40th and last was Tyler Reddick, who would have finished runner-up in both Homestead races had his XFINITY car not failed post-race heights, resulting in a disqualification. Our Motorsports had since acquired the #23 team from the RSS Racing and Reaume Brothers Racing combination, taking the place of Our’s brand-new #03 team, which was again sent home. Reddick’s #23 Quartz Hill Records Chevrolet was joined at the back by two drivers with pre-race penalties: 30th-place Jeffrey Earnhardt for unapproved adjustments on the #0 KSDT CPA Chevrolet, and 15th-place Garrett Smithley, who at mid-week was swapped in for J.J. Yeley in Rick Ware Racing’s #17 Trophy Tractor Chevrolet.

Earnhardt was the last car across the stripe, but by the time teammate Colby Howard in the #15 Project Hope Foundation Chevrolet took over the spot at the end of Lap 1, another driver found trouble. Kyle Weatherman lined up 19th in Mike Harmon’s #47 PORAC Chevrolet, which put him in the middle of traffic when a right-rear tire went down in Turn 3. Weatherman saved the car, thanks in part to Tommy Joe Martins, who checked up behind him in his new-look #44 Discover Denton Texas Chevrolet. Weatherman dropped to last as he made it to pit road for a right-side tire change, only to cut another right-rear tire on Lap 6, forcing him to pit road again. Unsure if something was rubbing against his tire, Weatherman went behind the wall on Lap 10.

On Lap 16, just moments before Stefan Parsons’ #99 Dogecoin / Springrates Chevrolet spun in Turn 4 for the first caution of the day, Weatherman re-fired the engine and returned to the track a full 13 laps down. He then made still another stop under yellow to tighten the right-rear wheel. From there, the issue appeared fixed, and Weatherman was running comparable speeds to teammate Bayley Currey in the #74 Lerner & Rowe Chevrolet. “Dammit, this thing’s good,” said Weatherman on Lap 40, when Currey was running 17th.

On the 54th lap, Austin Cindric’s #22 Carquest Auto Parts Ford suddenly slowed with a flat tire, and nearly stopped on the track as he tried to make it to pit road. He missed the entrance, but made it to the apron without a caution. On Lap 57, with Cindric now a lap down, Ty Dillon spun his #54 Toyota Service Centers / Mobil 1 Toyota off Turn 2. Herbst, still on the lead lap and not far behind, came on the scene and collided with Dillon, destroying the right-front corner of Herbst’s car. While Dillon continued on, Herbst only made it to pit road before the team requested a wrecker. Once again, a wreck avoidance had knocked Herbst out of the race. He took last from Weatherman on Lap 69. Weatherman climbed to finish 33rd.

Finishing 39th was Matt Mills, whose #5 J.F. Electric Chevrolet pulled behind the wall with electrical issues. Ryan Sieg took 38th after his #39 CMR Construction & Roofing Ford was leaking fluid for the first part of the race, then slipped out of the Top Ten on Lap 65 and destroyed the nose of his car when the splitter hit the grass. Sieg managed to complete eight more laps before the car overheated, putting him behind the wall. Though NASCAR reported him out under the “Damaged Vehicle Policy,” he was listed out due to a “crash.” Timmy Hill’s engine failure put the #66 CrashClaimsR.us Toyota in the 37th spot while Stefan Parsons, recovered from his early spin, suffered a fire on pit road that put him out after 137 laps. Parsons was uninjured.

Making only his second series start, Santino Ferrucci impressed with a strong 13th-place finish on the lead lap, even fending off Justin Allgaier, who pushed in his left-rear fender in the final laps. The result was already the third-best finish for Sam Hunt Racing, and their best-ever on a 1.5-mile oval.

One spot behind Allgaier in 15th was Tommy Joe Martins, whose new backing from Denton, Texas’ tourism board lifted him to his best finish of the season, and his best since his career-best 10th-place showing at Texas last fall.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*Herbst is the fifth-straight driver to score their first XFINITY Series last-place finish, and the seventh in the last nine races.

*This marked the first last-place finish for a Ford in an XFINITY Series race since September 1, 2018, when Austin Cindric’s #60 Ford Hall of Fans Ford crashed after 2 laps of the VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 at Darlington.

*This was the first last-place finish for the #98 in an XFINITY Series race in more than two decades. The last time it happened was February 17, 2001, when Elton Sawyer’s #98 Hot Tamales / Starter Ford lost the engine after 6 laps of the NAPA Auto Parts 300.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

40) #98-Riley Herbst / 56 laps / crash

39) #5-Matt Mills / 72 laps / electrical

38) #39-Ryan Sieg / 73 laps / crash

37) #66-Timmy Hill / 100 laps / engine

36) #99-Stefan Parsons / 137 laps / fuel line

2021 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) RSS Racing / Reaume Brothers Racing (2)

2nd) DGM Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (3)

2nd) Ford (1)

2021 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

TRUCKS: Savage crash leaves Conor Daly last for the first time in his NASCAR career

PHOTO: @LVMotorSpeedway

Conor Daly picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s Bucked Up 200 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his #44 Fatheadz Eyewear / Elliott’s Custom Trailers Chevrolet was eliminated in a single-truck crash after 68 of 134 laps.

The finish came in Daly’s second series start. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 9th for the #44, the 165th from a crash, and the 402nd for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 63rd for the #44, the 1,240th from a crash, and the 1,766th for Chevrolet.

Daly’s path to NASCAR is a throwback of sorts, more closely resembling the likes of Juan Pablo Montoya and A.J. Allmendinger in 2007 than many of today’s newcomers. The 2011 Indy Lights winner at Long Beach, the second-generation open-wheel star made his IndyCar debut in the 2013 Indianapolis 500, where he ran 22nd for A.J. Foyt.

Since then, Daly has faced challenges along the way. In 2015, he finished last in the 500 when an exhaust fire stopped his Schmidt Peterson entry during the pace laps. In 2018, his XFINITY Series debut at Road America was overshadowed by his sponsor’s controversial reaction to a remark made years earlier by his famous father, Formula One veteran Derek Daly. Suspension issues on his now-unsponsored Roush-Fenway entry left him 31st that day, ten laps short of the finish.

Daly returned to NASCAR last fall at this same Las Vegas track, when he jumped aboard Al Niece’s #42 Chevrolet to make his first-ever Truck Series start. He lined up 27th and finished a solid 18th, the first truck one lap down to winner Austin Hill.

Friday would see him return to the series at the same track and with the same team. This time, Daly would drive Niece’s #44 Chevrolet, an entry that had struggled during 2021’s opening two rounds at Daytona. On the oval, James Buescher crashed before he could take the green flag, leaving him in last place. Super late model racer Jett Noland’s series debut on the road course saw him in position for a solid finish, only to crash out two laps short of the eventual distance. With that, Daly secured 36th on the grid of 40. Fatheadz Eyewear, which backed his series debut, would return as sponsor, joined by Elliott’s Custom Trailers on the quarter-panels.

Rolling off 40th and last was Parker Kligerman, one of ten drivers for underfunded teams who threw together Camping World paint schemes just days before the race. The $15,000 bonuses offered by CEO Marcus Lemonis were a much-need boost to the likes of Kligerman’s team owner Charlie Henderson and owner-drivers such as Norm Benning, Jordan Anderson, and Tyler Hill. Hill’s team finished re-wrapping their Chevrolet just before five in the morning on race day.

Prior to the start, 15th-place Kris Wright dropped to the rear for unapproved adjustments on his #02 First National Bank Chevrolet. Also dropping back was 37th-place Jesse Iwuji – also running Camping World’s sponsorship on his #33 Chevrolet – who was last across the stripe when the field took the green flag. By the end of Lap 1, the spot fell to Norm Benning, whose own #6 Camping World Chevrolet was already struggling with a bad vibration, either from a loose wheel or broken shock.

On Lap 3, Benning was following Jennifer Jo Cobb’s #10 Fastener Supply Chevrolet when trouble broke out ahead of them. Cory Roper spun his #04 CMN Hospitals / Carquest Ford to the apron of Turn 4. He re-fired the engine and spun the tires to rejoin the track, but lost control again, nearly colliding with Cobb and Benning as they squeezed by in the high lane. Roper lost a lap as the caution fell, taking last from Benning as he made it by. Roper returned to the track with cosmetic damage next to the passenger side door numbers and incurred a redundant tail-end penalty for pitting too soon.

For the next few laps, other drivers also struggled. On Lap 9, the throttle hung on Tyler Hill’s #56, forcing him to cut off the engine and restart it, but the issue persisted. The next time by, Carson Hocevar was also off the pace in his #42 Circle B Diecast Chevrolet as there was some discussion about if the right-rear tire was going down. By Lap 12, Hocevar’s crew told him the tires looked fine, but by then he was a lap down with Roper and in danger of taking over last place. Both drivers looked to earn the Lucky Dog, but the leaders soon caught Benning, Iwuji, and Cobb, and the two were soon a second lap down each.

Around Lap 18, Derek Kraus was running inside the Top Ten when his #19 Hunter Nation / South Point Hotel & Casino Toyota came in for an unscheduled pit stop. The crew looked under the hood, trying to diagnose a loss of oil pressure. On Lap 23, Kraus re-fired the engine and soon returned to the track seven laps down – last, but still on the track with the rest of the field. “Everything was normal except oil pressure,” said Kraus on the 30th circuit. “I hate this place. This place is never good to me.” The team then believed it was an electrical or gauge issue, and on Lap 36 the truck belched flames from the exhaust as the fuel pressure dropped to only three pounds. Kraus and team aimed to finish 35th or better, and began closing ground on the drivers in front of him. On Lap 67, they passed the lapped Benning, dropping the #6 back to last place. 

Then on Lap 69, disaster. Daly had climbed into the Top 20 and found himself in a tight pack of traffic headed into Turn 1. Running in the middle lane between teammate Ryan Truex in the #40 Jacob Companies Chevrolet and Chase Purdy in the #23 Bama Buggies Chevrolet, Daly’s truck broke loose. He tried to catch it, but overcorrected, and he veered nearly head-on into the outside wall. He slammed the fence with the right-front, and the truck erupted in flames as it bounced to a stop against the inside wall. “Shit, that was a hard hit,” said Daly as he climbed out without serious injury. Benning dropped Daly to last on Lap 80, by which point Daly had been checked and released from the care center. In his interview, he conceded that his inexperience with the trucks played a role in the wreck.

Another pileup on Lap 97 filled out much of the Bottom Five. David Gilliland’s aggressive start to the race ended when his #17 David Gilliland Racing Ford wrecked in Turn 1. Ryan Truex’s #40 stoved in the nose for a second-straight race, only to be eliminated under the Damaged Vehicle Policy seven laps later. Three circuits after him, defending ARCA Menards Series Champion Bret Holmes’ NASCAR debut ended for the same reason, his #32 Southern States Bank Chevrolet out after 106 laps. Cory Roper rounded out the group following his second accident on the night, hooked into the outside wall just short of the start / finish line.

Of the ten Camping World entries, two made it into the Top Ten, each earning another $10,000 bonus. Last-place starter Parker Kligerman took the 8th spot, one position behind Grant Enfinger in Codie Rohrbaugh’s #9 Chevrolet for CR7 Motorsports. For Kligerman, it was his first top-ten finish since last summer at Bristol, while Enfinger earned his first since his win last fall at Martinsville. Nearly joining them was Jordan Anderson, whose #3 was running 10th with 11 laps to go when he was body-slammed in traffic, spinning his truck into the path of Tyler Ankrum. Anderson finished 27th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the second-straight last-place run for the #44 in a Truck race at Las Vegas, following the time Natalie Decker’s entry was pulled out before the start on September 25, 2020.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

40) #44-Conor Daly / 68 laps / crash

39) #17-David Gilliland / 96 laps / crash

38) #40-Ryan Truex / 103 laps / dvp

37) #32-Bret Holmes / 106 laps / dvp

36) #04-Cory Roper / 111 laps / crash

2021 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Niece Motorsports (2)

2nd) GMS Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (3)

2021 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: The Camping World Underdogs and Dogecoin take center stage at Las Vegas

PHOTO: @dawsoncram

Friday, March 5, 2021

TRUCKS Race 3 of 23

Silver State 200 at Las Vegas

2020 Last-Place Finisher: Josh Bilicki

ENTRY LIST

There are exactly 40 drivers entered for as many spots in Friday’s return of the Truck Series. No less than 10 drivers in Friday’s field will carry logos of title sponsor Camping World, thanks to a challenge handed down Monday night by CEO Marcus Lemonis. Each team will receive $15,000 for wrapping their truck with the chance at additional bonuses based on where they finish. Another $10,000 will be paid for a Top Ten finish ($25,000 total), a Top Five will be worth another $10,000 ($35,000 total), and an additional $15,000 if they somehow beat Kyle Busch and win ($50,000 total). These are the challengers (thank you, Matt Weaver):

CAMPING WORLD UNDERDOGS

#2-Sheldon Creed

#3-Jordan Anderson

#6-Norm Benning

#9-Grant Enfinger

#24-Raphael Lessard

#33-Jesse Iwuji

#34-B.J. McLeod 

#41-Dawson Cram

#56-Tyler Hill

#75-Parker Kligerman

DRIVER CHANGE: #3-Jordan Anderson Racing

Among the Camping World-sponsored rides this Friday is that of Jordan Anderson, who returns to his Chevrolet for the first time since his runner-up finish in the Daytona opener. Bobby Reuse ran the truck on the Daytona road course and had a difficult night, finishing 27th. In eight previous Las Vegas starts, Anderson’s best was a 14th in the fall of 2019.

NOT ENTERED: #8-NEMCO Motorsports

Not among the 40 entrants is NEMCO Motorsports, whose driver Camden Murphy finished a solid 13th in his first road course race since 2017.

DRIVER CHANGE: #9-CR7 Motorsports

While sharing his ride at ThorSport with Christian Eckes kept him out of the field at the Daytona road course, Grant Enfinger is back in Vegas, taking the place of Codie Rohrbaugh in his CR7 team. Like Anderson, Enfinger will be driving one of the Camping World entries, and along with defending series champion Sheldon Creed could be one of the favorites to take the top prize.

DRIVER CHANGE: #17-David Gilliland Racing

David Gilliland also makes his return to the series for the first time since the opener, when he ran 14th in his #17 Ford. He takes the place of Riley Herbst, who ran well on the road course and finished in 5th.

NEW TEAM: #32-Bret Holmes Racing

Bret Holmes, the defending ARCA Menards Series Champion, brings his family’s team to the Truck Series for the first time with Southern States Bank as sponsor. Holmes’ lone ARCA win came last year at Kentucky, one of fourteen top-five finishes in the twenty-race season. With exactly 40 entries on the list, Holmes will be assured his Truck Series debut.

DRIVER CHANGE: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing

Both Reaume entries have changed drivers and are also carrying Camping World logos. Taking the place of Jason White, who faced all sorts of mechanical issues on the road course and finished 38th, is a returning Jesse Iwuji. Iwuji, who failed to qualify for the Daytona oval this year, made his most recent series start on the Vegas track last fall, finishing 31st with the same team.

DRIVER CHANGE: #34-Reaume Brothers Racing

Taking the place of Lawless Alan, 36th in his own series debut, is double-duty driver B.J. McLeod. This will be McLeod’s first Truck Series start since last fall at Martinsville, where he ran 22nd in the flagship #33. He will then run Sunday for his Live Fast Motorsports effort.

DRIVER CHANGE: #44-Niece Motorsports

Back at Daytona, Jett Noland took home 29th after a late spin in his series debut. Conor Daly will this time take the wheel of Al Niece’s #44 Chevrolet, carrying sponsorship from Fatheadz Eyewear.

MISSING: #49-CMI Motorsports

MISSING: #83-CMI Motorsports

Both Ciccarelli trucks are not entered after they withdrew from the Daytona road course.

DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Kyle Busch Motorsports

Kyle Busch is back in the Truck Series for the first time since his win last summer in Texas. He takes the place of Parker Chase, who ran 23rd in his series debut on the Daytona road course.

DRIVER CHANGE: #56-Hill Motorsports

Timmy and Tyler Hill’s team just missed out on the Camping World promotion, having loaded their unsponsored Chevrolet beforehand. Undaunted, Lemonis spread the word of Hill’s team on Wednesday to attract a sponsor. The black truck with red flames will this week be driven by Tyler Hill, who most recently ran last year’s finale at Phoenix, finishing 25th. He ran 17th in his lone Vegas start that same year. UPDATE: As of Thursday, Hill has joined the Camping World challenge and will run a blue-and-gold scheme in the race.

DRIVER CHANGE: #75-Henderson Motorsports

Parker Kligerman will make his first series start of the year after he failed to make the cut at Daytona, once again driving for Charlie Henderson, and this time as part of the Camping World challenge. He takes the place of Sam Mayer, whose turn with the team ended with a crash that left him 37th.

DRIVER CHANGE: #02-Young’s Motorsports

Kris Wright is back with the Randy Young team for the first time since his 18th-place run in the opener, taking the place of 8th-place road course finisher Kaz Grala.

CUP INVADERS: #51-Kyle Busch

Saturday, March 6, 2021

XFINITY Race 4 of 33

Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas

2020 Last-Place Finisher: Landon Cassill

ENTRY LIST

There are 43 drivers entered for 40 spots, but due to a lack of practice and qualifying, this leaves the same three teams that have yet to start a race in 2021 on the outside looking in.

MANUFACTURER CHANGE: #13-Motorsports Business Management

After his Supra, originally slated to run Saturday, was damaged in last week's incident in Homestead, David Starr will run one of the team's Ford Mustangs instead.

DRIVER CHANGE: #17-Rick Ware Racing / SS-Green Light Racing

Garrett Smithley takes the place of for J.J. Yeley, who climbed from 39th on the grid at Homestead to finish a strong 12th. Smithley brings with him sponsorship from Trophy Tractor, which backed his near-miss at the Daytona 500 this year for MBM, and will also back his run in Rick Ware’s #53 Cup car on Sunday. Both cars will carry a “Texas Strong” logo on the hood as the state recovers from last month’s sub-freezing temperatures.

TEAM UPDATE: #23-Our Motorsports (former RSS Racing / Reaume Brothers Racing)

DID NOT QUALIFY: #31-Jordan Anderson Racing

DID NOT QUALIFY: #77-Bassett Racing

DID NOT QUALIFY: #03-Our Motorsports

Jordan Anderson, Dillon Bassett (in place of brother Ronnie, Jr.), and Andy Lally are on the wrong side of the cut line for a fourth time, but their teams will still add to their season total of attempts, which could play a role if other part-time teams join later this year. UPDATE: In response to their DNQs, Our Motorsports has acquired the RSS / Reaume Brothers #23 entry, which Tyler Reddick drove under at Homestead. There is no word yet on if Natalie Decker will complete her partial season in the #23 this year.

SPONSOR UPDATE: #44-Martins Motorsports

Tommy Joe Martins has a new paint scheme for his sponsor, the tourism board of Denton, Texas, with elements of the scheme designed by Ryan Pistana.

SPONSOR UPDATE: #47-Mike Harmon Racing

SPONSOR UPDATE: #74-Mike Harmon Racing

Both of Mike Harmon’s Chevrolets carry new looks representing new sponsors for their cars. Kyle Weatherman runs a police car scheme for PORAC, the Peace Officers Research Association of California. Lerner & Rowe Injury Attorneys sponsors Bayley Currey on a new yellow paint scheme.

SPONSOR UPDATE: #99-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

Dogecoin makes its return to NASCAR for the first time in in more than five years, and continues its relationship with the Parsons family. After backing Phil Parsons Racing and driver Josh Wise (most famously in their Fan Vote into the 2014 All-Star Race), the cryptocurrency will now back Stefan Parsons, joining Springrates as sponsor.

CUP INVADERS: #23-Tyler Reddick

Sunday, March 7, 2021

CUP Race 4 of 36

Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas

2020 Last-Place Finisher: Timmy Hill

ENTRY LIST

There are 38 drivers entered for 40 spots, the second-straight short field and second in four races this season.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing

The only driver change on the Cup side is a returning Joey Gase, who’s back on this side of the garage for the first time since his 20th-place finish in the Daytona 500. In place of James Davison’s unsponsored white Chevrolet, which blew an engine in Homestead and finished 37th, Gase will run another colorful scheme for Nevada Donor Network.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (March 4, 2007): Brad Keselowski picked up the first last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in the Telcel-Motorola Mexico 200 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City when his #23 Oklahoma Centennial Chevrolet fell out with engine trouble after just 1 lap. This was just the ninth series start for Keselowski, and more than four months before he made his first start with JR Motorsports at Chicagoland.