CUP: Blocked radiator eliminates Kyle Larson early in Talladega

SCREENSHOT: FOX

Kyle Larson picked up the 8th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway when his #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet lost the engine after 3 of 191 laps.

The finish, which came in Larson’s 233rd series start, was his first of the season and first in Cup since November 17, 2019 at Homestead, 46 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 21st for the #5, the 702nd from engine trouble, and the 804th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 34th for the #5, the 1,099th from engine problems, and the 1,776th from Chevrolet.

Larson’s return to the Cup Series has also been a throwback of sorts for Hendrick Motorsports, who brought back the iconic #5, the team’s founding entry. Similar to 1984, when Geoffrey Bodine’s win at Martinsville saved the team from closing, Larson has run with limited backing in 2021. Talladega marked the sixth time in ten races that logos for Hendrick’s own dealerships adorned his Chevrolet. The blue-and-white scheme was itself a “throwback” to the XFINITY and Truck Series entries run by Ricky Hendrick and Brian Vickers. The first time the scheme ran in Cup was this year at Las Vegas, where Larson scored his first Cup win since 2019. He very nearly took the checkers again at Atlanta, leading 269 of 325 laps before Ryan Blaney completed a late-race pass.  

Coming into Talladega, Larson sat sixth in the series standings and would line up 12th on the grid. In twelve previous starts, he’d finished inside the Top Ten only twice, and hadn’t run better than 11th since 2016. Three of his previous four cup starts there ended in crashes, including a last-place run in 2018 and a 39th out of 40 – ahead of Spencer Boyd – in the fall of 2019.

Rolling off 40th was Timmy Hill, who after the Motorsports Business Management team wasn’t entered in back-to-back Cup races was set to run double-duty in Talladega. Hill’s #66 Supreme Transportation Toyota would be joined at the rear by 33rd-place Cody Ware, whose #51 Nurtec ODT Chevrolet had multiple inspection failures, and 31st-place B.J. McLeod for unapproved adjustments on his gold-and-white Red Farmer “throwback” scheme by David Marrero, the #78 Long-Lewis Automotive Group Ford.

In addition, six of the seven Toyota teams – excluding only 9th-place Kyle Busch in the #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota – dropped to the rear for unapproved adjustments on pit road relating to their a-posts. Of these Toyotas, Harrison Burton, making his Cup debut in the Gaunt Brothers’ #96 Dex Imaging Toyota, was ultimately the last car to cross the stripe when the green flag dropped, 3.531 seconds back of the lead.

PHOTO: @RandomNascar

Burton remained in last at the end of Lap 1, but by the start of Lap 3, Larson pulled to the high lane and dropped off the pace. Larson reported his water temperature had spiked, and made an unscheduled green-flag stop. As the crew looked under the hood, they discovered a protective panel had been left on the radiator after the team unloaded, causing the temperature to climb to over 300 degrees. The panel was removed, but when Larson returned to the track on Lap 5, three laps down, his car was still off the pace. On Lap 7, Larson reported his car slowed down, and he said his car stopped running as he came to pit road. With smoke trailing from behind his car, Larson came to his pit stall a second time, then was pushed to the garage. NASCAR Officials declared him out of the race on Lap 24.

Finishing 39th was Joey Logano, who walked away from a frightening wreck on Lap 60. While battling for the lead at the end of Stage 1, Logano’s #22 Autotrader Ford was turned sideways and caught air, tumbling to the stop on the apron. Alex Bowman, last week’s Richmond winner, whose #48 Ally Chevrolet made it 123 laps before he was eliminated by the Damaged Vehicle Policy following a spin with teammates William Byron and Chase Elliott through the infield grass. Quin Houff suffered damage entering pit road, then wrecked his #00 Permatex Chevrolet on Lap 172 following a right-front tire failure. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Josh Bilicki, who ended up 11 laps down in Rick Ware Racing’s #52 Jacob Companies Ford.

Making only his third Cup start, and only the fourth in the series for Kaulig Racing, Kaz Grala charged from 38th on the grid to finish an impressive 6th in the #16 Hyperice Chevrolet. His was one of a number of impressive runs by underfunded efforts, including Ryan Preece, whose #37 Kroger / Reese’s Chevrolet led nine laps and was in the Top Five for much of the day before finishing 14th, J.J. Yeley, who got the #15 Arrowhead Brass Chevrolet up to 10th briefly in the final stage, and Harrison Burton, who battled into the Top Ten in the final laps before finishing 20th in his Cup debut.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked Larson’s second last-place finish in a Cup race at Talladega, and first since April 29, 2018, when he crashed out after 71 laps of this same spring race.

*This was the first last-place run for the #5 since October 11, 2015, when Kasey Kahne – driving another throwback HendrickCars.com paint scheme, this time honoring Geoffrey Bodine’s 1984 car – was eliminated in a crash after 58 laps of the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte. The number last finished in the back in a Cup race at Talladega on April 26, 2009, when Mark Martin’s Carquest / Kellogg’s Chevrolet was collected in a multi-car crash after 6 laps of the Aaron’s 499.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

40) #5-Kyle Larson / 3 laps / engine

39) #22-Joey Logano / 59 laps / crash / led 10 laps

38) #48-Alex Bowman / 123 laps / dvp

37) #00-Quin Houff / 168 laps / crash

36) #52-Josh Bilicki / 180 laps / running

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Motorsports Business Management, Spire Motorsports (2)

2nd) Chip Ganassi Racing, Front Row Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, Rick Ware Racing, StarCom Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (6)

2nd) Ford, Toyota (2)

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

XFINITY: Bayley Currey overheats in rain-shortened Talladega sprint

PHOTO: @RandomNascar

Bayley Currey picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300 at the Talladega Superspeedway when his #74 Children's National Chevrolet fell out with overheating problems after 34 of 90 laps.

The finish, which came in Currey’s 58th series start, was his first of the season and first in the series since August 8, 2020 at Road America, 23 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 12th for the #74, the 36th for overheating, and the 567th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 52nd for the #74, the 178th for overheating, and the 1,775th for Chevrolet.

Since he was last featured here, Currey and his teammate Kyle Weatherman at Mike Harmon Racing have continued to shown flashes of brilliance. One week after his last-place run at Road America, Currey rebounded to finish 14th on the Daytona Infield Road Course, where the two teammates were on the front row for a late restart, then took 12th in the fall race at Texas. Just last month at Phoenix, Currey ran even better, returning to the site of his lone DNQ in 2020 to finish a career-best 7th – his first top-ten run in the series. This also happened to be the second of three races where Currey ran a bright yellow paint scheme with sponsorship from the Lerner & Rowe law firm, just one measure of MHR’s improving fortunes with sponsorship.

For Talladega, Bret Baier of FOX News got the Children’s National Hospital Foundation in touch with MHR for a special paint scheme. The black, red, and, white Chevrolet would carry the hospital’s logo on the hood, a donation the link on the sides, and several multi-colored handprints reminiscent of many of Joey Gase’s paint schemes promoting organ donation. The Currey car would roll off 25th on the starting grid.

Taking 40th and last was Jason White, back in the XFINITY Series for the first time since Daytona. In place of the former RSS Racing / Reaume Brothers Racing #23 in February, White’s pink-and-blue A-Game Ford was renumbered to the #13 under Carl Long’s Motorsports Business Management team. While no drivers were penalized to start in the rear, by the one to go signal, four cars were behind him in the outside line, including the three B.J. McLeod Motorsports entries: 31st-place Mason Massey in the #99 Special Olympics Georgia Toyota, 34th-place Jesse Little in the #78 Skuttle Tight Chevrolet, and 36th-place Matt Mills in the #5 J.F. Electric Chevrolet. While ranked ahead of his two teammates, it was Massey who lined up last in the outside line behind Little and Mills.

Just 39 drivers took the green, however, as FOX reported Joey Gase had pulled behind the wall with mechanical issues. Gase’s latest organ donation paint scheme was also a “throwback” paint scheme to the #28 Havoline Ford, specifically the version Davey Allison, himself an organ donor, raced from 1991 until his tragic death in 1993. Unfortunately, Gase’s #28 Ford lost fuel pressure and couldn’t get re-fired. It wasn’t until Lap 5 that he returned to action, the only driver off the lead lap.

Joey Gase in his Davey Allison throwback
PHOTO: @RandomNascar

Despite a lingering threat of rain, the early stages of the race had few crashes and even fewer cars pull behind the wall for mechanical issues. Gase got two of his laps back when Stages 1 and 2 ended without incident. He was still running in 40th until around Lap 35, when Currey reported his car was overheating with temperatures over 280 degrees. Currey pulled behind the wall, and Gase dropped him to last by Lap 41. Jason White, the last-place starter, joined him in the garage early in Stage 3 when a reported tire going down turned out to be a left-front suspension issue. Gse would ultimately climb past him as well, and despite late-race contact with the inside wall finished in 36th place. Between Gase and White were Caesar Bacarella in the #90 AP Sports Regiment / Maxim Chevrolet and Brandon Jones in the #19 Menards / Tuscany Faucets Toyota, both collected in the day’s only wreck on Lap 85.

The Lap 85 wreck signaled the end of a surprisingly strong run for Joe Graf, Jr., who finished last in both XFINITY races at Daytona just last year. Graf entered the Top 10 on Lap 59, climbing up to 8th. He was still in the Top 15 when a possible cut tire caused him to slide up the track off Turn 2, triggering a seven-car accident. Graf’s team managed to get him back on the track to finish in 33rd before rain cut short the event at 90 laps.

Just before the red flag, other underdogs had positioned themselves for strong runs, and would ultimately leave with their cars intact. Both Tommy Joe Martins in the #44 AAN Adjusters Chevrolet and Timmy Hill in the #66 Auto Parts 4 Less Toyota were running around the 18th spot for most of the race, and had climbed to 11th and 13th, respectively, when rain cut the race 23 laps short. Colin Garrett in the #26 11/11 Project Toyota finished 15th for Sam Hunt Racing, just one spot short of a career-best. David Starr, Timmy Hill’s teammate at MBM, finished a season-best 16th in the #61 Whataburger Toyota. Jade Buford, who NASCAR denied a run in Daytona for the Big Machine team, finished 18th in his first Talladega start in the #48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet. Rounding out the Top 20 were JD Motorsports teammates Colby Howard and Landon Cassill, who started 37th and 32nd, respectively.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

40) #74-Bayley Currey / 34 laps / overheating

39) #13-Jason White / 51 laps / suspension / led 1 lap

38) #90-Caesar Bacarella / 84 laps / dvp

37) #19-Brandon Jones / 84 laps / crash

36) #28-Joey Gase / 85 laps / running

2021 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

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

2nd) B.J. McLeod Motorsports, DGM Racing, JD Motorsports, Mike Harmon Racing, Our Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (6)

2nd) Ford, Toyota (1)

2021 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: Unexpected throwback schemes have “The Alabama Gang” set to ride again at Talladega

IMAGE: @JoeyGaseRacing

Saturday, April 24, 2021

XFINITY Race 8 of 33

Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega

2020 Last-Place Finisher (June): John Jackson

ENTRY LIST

There are 43 drivers entered for 40 spots, including the same three teams that have been on the wrong side of the cut line since the rain fell in Daytona – Jordan Anderson Racing’s #31, the Bassett brothers’ #77, and the original second Our Motorsports #03 entry.

DRIVER CHANGE: #13-Motorsports Business Management

Jason White will run the familiar looking pink-and-blue A-Game paint scheme from his return to XFINITY competition this past February in Daytona, where he came home a strong 10th. Since his former ride - the RSS Racing #23 shared with Reaume Brothers Racing – has since been acquired by Our Motorsports, White will instead run for Motorsports Business Management. White takes the place of Matt Jaskol, who ran 28th in his series debut with MBM at Martinsville.

DRIVER CHANGE: #23-Our Motorsports / Reaume Brothers Racing

When Our Motorsports acquired the aforementioned #23 team, Reaume Brothers Racing has apparently maintained their existing portion of the schedule for Natalie Decker, who on Saturday returns to the ride for the first time since her last-place finish on the Daytona Road Course. Decker takes the place of Blaine Perkins, who finished 35th in his most recent start at Martinsville. Red Street Records returns as sponsor.

DRIVER CHANGE: #26-Sam Hunt Racing

Colin Garrett makes his first XFINITY start of the season and first since Kansas last year, when he ran 16th. His only DNF of the 2020 season came at this Talladega crash, where his Sam Hunt Racing entry was destroyed in a crash. Garrett takes the place of Brandon Gdovic, SHR’s 8th-place finisher in this year’s Daytona opener, who finished a solid 17th at Martinsville. The 11/11 Project sponsors Garrett’s ride.

NUMBER AND DRIVER CHANGE: #28-Rick Ware Racing

Rick Ware Racing unveiled a poignant tribute to the late Davey Allison, who lost his life in a helicopter crash at the Talladega track in 1993. Both Ware’s #17 XFINITY team and #53 Cup team have been renumbered to the #28, the Fords each decorated to resemble Allison’s iconic Havoline Ford at Robert Yates Racing. Taking the place of J.J. Yeley in the XFINITY car is Joey Gase, whose cars will both carry the phrase “Register Me” in connection with Gase’s continued commitment to the cause of organ donation. Allison was himself an organ donor, and after his death saved others, including one of his fans. NASCAR Race Hub produced this short documentary on the subject in 2018.

DRIVER CHANGE: #54-Joe Gibbs Racing

Ty Dillon returns to the driver’s seat for the first time since Las Vegas in Joe Gibbs Racing’s #54 Toyota, this week sponsored by Mobil 1. Dillon, who is a past stage race winner on the Cup side at Tallaega, takes the place of Ty Gibbs, who ran 4th at Martinsville and led 28 laps. This will mark Dillon’s sixth XFINITY start at Talladega and his first since 2017, when he finished 14th for Richard Childress Racing.

DRIVER CHANGE: #90-DGM Racing

Caesar Bacarella continues his superspeedway stint for Mario Gosselin in the #90 Chevrolet, this week sponsored by AP Sports Regimen and Maxim. Bacarella returns to the series for the first time since his career-best 12th-place run in this year’s Daytona opener. He takes the place of George Gorham, Jr., who ran a solid 18th in his first NASCAR start in Martinsville.

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

Mason Massey will take his turn in the #99 entry for just the second time this season and first since Atlanta, when he ran 32nd. Taking the place of Stefan Parsons, who ran 20th at Martinsville, Massey carries logos for Special Olympics Georgia.

Sunday, April 25, 2021

CUP Race 10 of 36

GEICO 500 at Talladega

2020 Last-Place Finisher (June): Matt Kenseth

ENTRY LIST

There are 40 drivers entered for as many spots, marking just the third full field in 2021 and first since the Daytona Road Course, eight races ago.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing

Jennifer Jo Cobb’s previously announced Cup debut with Rick Ware Racing has been postponed for now after NASCAR declined her eligibility. She was originally set to take the place of James Davison, who ran 33rd at Richmond, with sponsorship from Arrowhead Brass. Taking her place will be J.J. Yeley, who was out of his XFINITY ride at RWR this week to make way for Joey Gase’s “double-duty” weekend. Yeley most recently ran a Cup race here in this event last June, when he ran 36th in Ware’s #53.

RETURNING: #16-Kaulig Racing

Matthew Kaulig’s Cup team is back in action for the first time since this year’s Daytona 500, where a fire in the rear of the #16 Hyper Ice Chevrolet resulted in a 28th-place finish. Kaz Grala will again drive with the same sponsor, and hopes for a better finish in his third series start. Grala’s most recent Talladega start came in the Truck Series race last fall, when he finished 9th for Niece Motorsports.

NUMBER AND DRIVER CHANGE: #28-Rick Ware Racing

As with XFINITY, Joey Gase takes the place of Richmond’s 35th-place finisher Garrett Smithley in the #53, which is now renumbered as the #28 in a matching Davey Allison tribute car.

MISSING: #33-Penske Racing

Austin Cindric contended for the win in February’s Daytona 500, but he and his fourth Penske Racing entry are not entered after his 28th-place finish at Richmond. Cindric will instead focus on the XFINITY side, where he starts Saturday’s race on pole.

PAINT SCHEME: #43-Richard Petty Motorsports

Erik Jones runs the same Tuskegee Airmen paint scheme which David Marrero designed for the debut of Rick Ware Racing’s #53 team in May 2019. Last year, during his final season with Joe Gibbs Racing, Jones finished 5th and 2nd in the two Talladega races.

RETURNING: #66-Motorsports Business Management

Timmy Hill made his triumphant return to the iRacing Pro Invitational Series on Wednesday, and this time was allowed to run MBM’s #66 Toyota. He came home a strong 4th. This Sunday, he’ll run in the main event after the team was missing in action at both Martinsville and Richmond. Supreme Transportation is the listed sponsor for Hill’s first Cup start sine Atlanta, where he ran 36th.

PAINT SCHEME: #78-Live Fast Motorsports

To go with Gase’s Davey Allison car, B.J. McLeod will run a Red Farmer throwback on his #78 Ford. Sponsoring McLeod’s entry is Long-Lewis Ford Lincoln, the Alabama-based car dealership which backed Farmer’s original entry. Sunday will mark the first time Long-Lewis sponsored a Cup car since August 17, 1975, when Farmer finished 44th in a field of 50.

RETURNING: #96-Gaunt Brothers Racing

While Jennifer Jo Cobb’s Cup debut was moved off Sunday’s Talladega race, Harrison Burton will make his own Cup debut in the Gaunt Brothers’ #96, which is back in the field for the first time since Ty Dillon’s 26th-place run in the Bristol Dirt Race. Harrison brings his familiar Dex Imaging sponsorship which carried him to his first four XFINITY Series victories last year. His father Jeff Burton made 40 Talladega starts in the Cup Series and led 158 laps, but never won. He came closest in the fall of 2011, when then-teammate Clint Bowyer edged him off the final corner.

Saturday, May 1, 2021

TRUCKS Race 7 of 22

Kansas 200 at Kansas

2020 Last-Place Finishers (July, 2 Races): Kevin Donahue, Bryan Dauzat

The Truck Series takes the week off after Richmond and will return in Kansas. They will compete in one race in place of last year’s two, and the event will be held under the lights.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (April 22, 2001): Chad Knaus was atop the pit box when his driver, Stacy Compton, won the pole for the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega in Melling Racing’s #92 Kodiak Dodge. On this day – the day of the race itself – Compton led the opening two laps, but dropped out with engine trouble after 116 laps of the caution-free event. His was one of only three DNFs in the 43-car field.

CUP: Justin Haley completes fewest laps of a Cup race at Richmond since 1994

PHOTO: @SpireMotorsport

Justin Haley picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at the Richmond Raceway when his #77 Diamond Creek Water Chevrolet fell out with engine problems after 1 of the race’s 400 laps.

The finish came in Haley’s 12th series start. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 35th for the #77, the 701st from engine trouble, and the 803rd for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 48th for he #77, the 1098th from engine trouble, and the 1,774th for Chevrolet.

Despite his upset win at Daytona in 2019, Haley has remained an infrequent competitor in the Cup Series. Last year, he made just three Cup starts, finishing 13th in the Daytona 500, 14th in his first All-Star Race at Bristol, then 11th in the Playoff race at Talladega. The Daytona 500 run came with his current XFINITY team, Kaulig Racing, kicking off a strong season where he scored his first three XFINITY wins – all of them on superspeedways – and finishing 3rd in the series standings. The Cup race at Talladega came with Spire Motorsports’ #77 Chevrolet, the same organization he won with in 2019.

For 2021, Haley continues his full-time effort in the XFINITY Series with Kaulig, but has also committed to more Cup races with Spire. The Richmond race would mark his seventh start in nine races this year. He’d finished under power in all but one of those starts – last week in Martinsville, he was collected in the day’s biggest wreck and finished 35th. His best in the series so far remains a 24th at both the Daytona Road Course and at Phoenix. He’d start 34th in Sundays race, two spots ahead of teammate Corey LaJoie in the #7 Schluter Systems Chevrolet.

Starting 38th and last on the grid was Austin Cindric, back in the fourth Penske Racing entry for the first time since Atlanta. No drivers were sent to the rear for pre-race penalties, and when the race went green, Haley pulled ahead of 37th-place starter Garrett Smithley in the #53 Trophy Tractor Ford, 4.185 seconds back of the leader. 

On that same first lap, Haley’s car abruptly shut off, and he coasted down pit road. “Feels like no power at all,” he said as he completed the first lap. The team had selected Stall 22, the fourth stall past the start/finish line, which allowed him to complete the first lap by the time he reached it. The driver reported he “spiked the rpms,” and the crew put the car on jack stands as he continued to lose laps. With the car’s digital dash now shut off, the crew took the car off the stands and pushed it behind the wall on Lap 7, which NASCAR reported as a mechanical issue.

“I think it’s killed,” said Haley on Lap 18. “Like it just fuckin’ grenade the motor.” The driver also reported his car apparently came out of gear. By Lap 28, the crew gave two sets of their sticker tires to teammate Corey LaJoie. Work continued until around Lap 35, when the team posted on Twitter that they were done for the day “due to mechanical failure.” The official word from NASCAR came soon after, declaring him out with engine trouble.

Haley turned out to be the race’s only retiree as the rest of the field remained within 16 laps of race winner Alex Bowman. The next three spots belonged to three-fourths of Rick Ware Racing’s team: Josh Bilicki in the #52 Insurance King Ford, Cody Ware in the #51 Nurtec ODT Chevrolet, and Garrett Smithley in the #53 Trophy Tractor Ford. The fourth member, James Davison in the #15 Jacob Companies Chevrolet, edged Quin Houff in the final laps to drop the #00 Mount-N-Lock Chevrolet into the 34th spot.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the fewest laps a Cup Series driver has completed in a race at Richmond since March 6, 1994, when Dick Trickle’s #32 Mett’s Tours Chevrolet crashed out after 1 lap of the Pontiac Excitement 400. A Cup Series last-place finisher hasn’t failed to complete a lap at Richmond since September 13, 1981, when Mike Alexander’s #37 Rogers Auto Leasing Buick had wiring issues in the Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400.

*Haley now has three last-place finishes – one in each of NASCAR’s top three series. Sunday joined the October 31, 2015 Truck Series race at Martinsville and the August 15, 2020 XFINITY race on the Daytona Infield Road Course. He thus becomes the 37th driver to complete the LASTCAR Triple Crown:

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #77-Justin Haley / 1 lap / engine

37) #52-Josh Bilicki / 384 laps / running

36) #51-Cody Ware / 385 laps / running

35) #53-Garrett Smithley / 389 laps / running

34) #00-Quin Houff / 390 laps / running

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Motorsports Business Management, Spire Motorsports (2)

2nd) Chip Ganassi Racing, Front Row Motorsports, Rick Ware Racing, StarCom Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (5)

2nd) Ford, Toyota (2)

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

TRUCKS: Ryan Truex gives #40 its first Truck Series last-place finish since 2008

PHOTO: @NieceMotorsport

Ryan Truex picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Saturday’s ToyotaCare 250 at the Richmond Raceway when his #40 Marquis 900 Wishes Chevrolet fell out with rear gear trouble after 44 of 250 laps.

The finish, which came in Truex’s 57th series start, was his first of the year and first since November 18, 2016 at Homestead, 98 races ago. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 6th for the #40, the 12th from rear gear issues, and the 405th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 40th for the #40, the 43rd from rear gear trouble, and the 1,773rd for Chevrolet.

The younger Truex was last featured here last fall at Kansas, where he lost the engine in his most recent XFINITY Series start for JR Motorsports. A year later, he was completing his first series of Truck starts since 2017, all of them for Niece Motorsports in the #40 Chevrolet. His season-best 12th-place finish also came at Kansas. 

Truex returned to the team for a full-time effort this year, and kicked off the season with a sterling 4th-place run in the Marquis Spas entry during the opener at Daytona. This was Truex’s first top-five finish in the series since the 2017 Homestead finale, when he also finished 4th for Hattori Racing Enterprises. The following races didn’t go as smoothly. He crunched the nose on his Chevrolet on the damp Daytona Road Course, was eliminated with crash damage in Las Vegas, then finished 15th and 20th at Atlanta and the Bristol Dirt Track. He entered Saturday’s race 17th in points. The Niece team had also been struggling with their #44 team already last twice in the first five races – James Buescher on the Daytona oval and Conor Daly in Vegas.

Marquis Spas would rejoin Truex’s effort for the first time since Daytona. As one of the sponsorship partners with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the company would also put the names of 900 children whose wishes Marquis had granted over the last two decades. The truck would roll off 16th on Saturday.

Starting 40th and last was Sam Mayer, back in the series for the first time since last fall’s season finale at Phoenix. The 2020 Bristol night race winner would this time drive for Bret Holmes in the new team Holmes himself debuted at Las Vegas and Atlanta earlier this year. No drivers were sent to the rear to join Mayer’s #32 QPS Employment Group Chevrolet, but Mayer quickly passed another truck in the opening moments.

That truck belonged to 21st-place Cory Roper, whose #04 Preferred Industrial Contractors Ford had a stuck throttle on the initial start, forcing him to pit road and off the lead lap. He returned to action around Lap 6, and was soon told by his team he was running as fast as drivers in the Top Five. During this opening run, Roper managed to not lose additional laps, but Norm Benning wasn’t so fortunate. His blue-and-gold #6 Chevrolet, its Camping World logos removed, was on the verge of three laps down by the 32nd circuit.

During this run, trouble found Howie DiSavino III, making his series debut in Jordan Anderson’s #3 Kees Vacations / Bud’s Chevrolet. DiSavino had apparently been running well without any word on the radio. It wasn’t until later the team discovered that was because the radio wasn’t working at all. He came down pit road for repairs and took last from Roper on Lap 38. He then pulled behind the wall on Lap 52 and returned to action on Lap 56, by which point he was 23 laps down.

Truex had also been having issues since the early laps. Very early in the race, NASCAR’s spotters were taking note of smoke coming off the right-rear of his truck, but believed it to be a tire rub. By Lap 47, however, Truex was off the pace on the backstretch and coming to pit road. The driver reported he had a rear gear issue, and said they were done for the day. He pulled behind the wall, and he team put his truck on jack stands. Truex remained behind the wheel as the crew tracked down the source of leaking gear oil. Truex took last from DiSavino on Lap 70.

Five laps later, Truex’s team was concerned that timing and scoring indicated they were “out” of the race even though they were still continuing repairs. Another crewman said they had a NASCAR official with them, who was making sure Truex remained inside the truck. Repairs continued until Lap 93, when the team declared themselves out, and Truex climbed from the truck. NASCAR declared Truex officially out with the rear gear issue on Lap 108.

Taking 39th was Tate Fogleman, who on Lap 85 was racing his #12 Solid Rock Carriers Chevrolet on the outside of Hailie Deegan’s #1 Built Ford Tough Ford heading into Turn 3. Deegan appeared to push up into Fogleman, who locked his brakes as he slammed the outside wall with the right-front corner. Fogleman climbed from his truck uninjured and upset, pointing at his head as Deegan rolled by under caution. Fogleman had just slipped to 38th when Truex climbed from his truck on Lap 93, and was declared out at the same Lap 108 transmission as the #40.

Finishing 38th was Jennifer Jo Cobb, whose #10 Fastener Supply Company Chevrolet was involved in at least three incidents. Two of them occurred with Norm Benning – first with Benning spinning Cobb down the backstretch, then Cobb slamming doors with Benning in Turn 4. The latter incident saw Cobb go behind the wall, out of the race under the DVP, while Benning continued on to finish 32nd with damage to his driver’s door. Brett Moffitt made two surprising trips to the garage area for handling issues that left him 37th in the unsponsored #45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet while Codie Rohrbaugh closed out the Bottom Five after he backed his #9 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet into the wall on Lap 196.

A tight battle around the 10th spot in the final laps led to a few surprising runs. Last-place qualifier Sam Mayer made it up to 10th, lost a couple spots, then surged back to finish 9th – his first top-ten finish since his win at Bristol. Carson Hocevar also continued his impressive early season in Al Niece’s #42 Scott’s / GM Parts Now Chevrolet, this time keeping his nose clean to finish 12th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #40 in a Truck Series race since February 15, 2008, when Chad Chaffin’s #40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet was involved in a multi-truck accident after 18 laps of the Chevy Silverado 250 at Daytona.

*This was the first Truck Series last-place finish by reason of rear gear trouble since May 17, 2019, when Joe Nemechek’s #87 Romco Equipment Co. / TMS Titanium Chevrolet dropped out after 19 laps of the North Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

40) #40-Ryan Truex / 44 laps / rear gear

39) #12-Tate Fogleman / 82 laps / crash

38) #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb / 168 laps / DVP

37) #45-Brett Moffitt / 186 laps / handling

36) #9-Codie Rohrbaugh / 195 laps / crash

2021 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Niece Motorsports (3)

2nd) GMS Racing (2)

3rd) Norm Benning Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (6)

2021 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP