CUP: Stenhouse clears “Crash Clock” after hard Sonoma hit, but blown engine ends his day

PHOTO: Brock Beard

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. picked up the 9th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Toyota / Save Mart 350 at the Sonoma Raceway when his #47 SunnyD Chevrolet fell out with a blown engine after 40 of 92 laps.

The finish, which came in Stenhouse’s 308th series start, was his first of the season and first since September 19, 2020 at Bristol, 23 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 34th for the #47, the 704th from engine failure, and the 807th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 52nd for the #47, the 1,102nd from engine failure, and the 1,784th for Chevrolet.

In his second season driving the flagship #47 at JTG-Daugherty Racing, Stenhouse has put himself in the fight to point his way into the 2021 playoff picture. He finished inside the Top 20 in each of the season’s first nine races, highlighted by a runner-up to Joey Logano in NASCAR’s return to dirt track racing at Bristol. But coming into Sonoma, Stenhouse had only once finished better than 20th, beginning with a 33rd-place finish at Talladega, site of his first Cup win. He also led 23 laps at Kansas, only to be eliminated in a late-race crash, putting him 34th. He entered Sunday’s race coming off a strong 12th in the Coca-Cola 600, having started on the outside-pole after a rare qualifying session.

At Sonoma, Stenhouse secured 14th on the grid. He’d carry the familiar colors of SunnyD, a sponsor that first backed his previous ride at Roush-Fenway Racing. It was with that team – but not that sponsor – that Stenhouse had finished last at Sonoma once before, back in 2017. The SunnyD scheme was nearly identical to that of his replacement, Chris Buescher, when he ran it most recently last fall in Talladega.

Rolling off 37th and last was Cody Ware in the #51 Nurtec ODT Chevrolet, fresh off a 15th-place run in the XFINITY race at Mid-Ohio’s road course the day before. He’d be joined at the rear by Anthony Alfredo, set to start 28th on his #38 MDS Ford before his crew chief was ejected for a body panel infraction during pre-race inspection. Also sent to the rear was 35th-place Scott Heckert for unapproved adjustments on his #78 Surface Sunscreen Ford.

When the race began, Alfredo held the last spot, but by the end of Lap 1 had passed Quin Houff in the #00 8 Ball Chocolate Whiskey Chevrolet. Alfredo was now racing Garrett Smithley in the #53 R.J.’s Paint Shop Ford, and the two nearly made contact running side-by-side in Turn 12. On Lap 3, Christopher Bell made an unscheduled stop in his #20 Rheem Toyota, which wasn’t running when he stopped in his stall. The crew looked under the hood, got the car refired, and he rejoined the race on the lead lap. By Lap 6, race leader Kyle Larson had caught Bell and the next time by put him a lap down.

By the time the competition caution fell on Lap 10, Bell had unlapped himself as many of the leaders pitted just before the yellow. Bell made another pit stop under the yellow, at which point he’d dropped Smithley back to last for the Lap 14 restart. On Lap 17, Smithley had caught Scott Heckert’s #78, and another round of pit stops just before the end of Stage 1 on Lap 19 dropped Ryan Newman to last in the #6 Guaranteed Rate Ford.

On Lap 22, Austin Dillon pitted his #3 Congressional Sportsmen’s Chevrolet, and the crew lifted the hood. Dillon had lost voltage, and would soon receive a new battery. The team planned to change batteries in each stage to keep the car running. Daniel Suarez then had a similar issue on his #99 CommScope Chevrolet, and took over last place on Lap 23. Smithley re-took last on the 26th circuit as Heckert battled with Josh Bilicki, who welcomed new sponsorship from California-based Pacific Coast Termite. According to a press release provided at the track, PCT sponsored Bilicki to thank their essential workers for their work during the pandemic.

The 29th lap saw Tyler Reddick take last in the #8 Childress Vineyards Chevrolet, citing smoke in the cockpit. The driver indicated fender damage caused the smoke, and the crew believed it was from a loose crush panel. Regardless, the damage dropped the #8 to last, the car running by itself on the track. Further ahead, Bilicki and Houff began to battle for position and on Lap 31 both were side-by-side coming off Turn 11 and heading into the first corner. Moments later, the caution fell, and the reason was Stenhouse.

Running around 22nd at the time, Stenhouse’s #47 clobbered the concrete barrier entering Turn 1 and slid into the dirt entering Turn 2. He managed to limp his car the rest of the way around the track as workers repaired the barrier. The team lost between one and two laps during their repairs, but returned to the track without the “Crash Clock” expiring. On Lap 36, he came across the stripe with the engine sounding rough, but managed to meet minimum speed in the process. He then slowed over the next lap, and came to the garage sometime after Lap 42.

While PRN reported Stenhouse was out, the driver was still behind the wheel, the car jacked up on the right side with the window net up. The crew was working under the hood and on the right-front of the car. On Lap 55, the car was off the jack, and the team had bolted on sticker tires for another run. By the 58th circuit, Stenhouse re-fired the engine, backed out of his garage stall, and returned to the track. Just two laps later, the car began to trail smoke, and he pulled into the garage again from the Turn 11 entrance, leaving a tall cloud behind him. Soon after, as the crew examined the fuel cell, Stenhouse dropped the window net and climbed out, his day done.

I spoke to Stenhouse as he walked back to his hauler. “Just racing, and then I got on the splitter and got into the guardrail there. And then, I don’t know, something happened with the engine after that. So, just a bad day.” He also said it was unlikely grass on the grille from driving off-course in Turn 2 was the culprit for the engine failure.

At the time, Stenhouse’s car was the only one in the garage, but the area filled up quickly. Quin Houff dropped out after 69 laps, citing rear gear trouble after his second spin left him stalled on the track. William Byon’s fast #24 Axalta Chevrolet was eliminated in a pileup in Turn 11, also collecting teammate Alex Bowman. Cody Ware’s day ended entering The Esses, where Ryan Preece spun out, then rejoined the track in front of Ware. The two collided, destroying the steering on Ware’s Chevrolet. Preece finished 21st. Rounding out the group was Ryan Newman, the last car on the lead lap, who spun off Turn 11 in a chain-reaction incident coming to the checkered flag.

Garrett Smithley finished the race one spot ahead of Newman in 32nd, and commented on his first Sonoma race, which happened to be his 200th combined NASCAR start. “We came home clean and I ran 32nd, which internally is my goal every week, so I feel like ‘mission accomplished.’ Didn’t have any damage on the car. We were kind of hitting the splitter a little bit to start out with and the brakes were kind of squishy. Wish we could’ve gotten at least one round of practice in. Normally I’m ‘Team No Practice,’ but at a place like this, it’s so difficult.”

Smithley focused on saving his brakes, which accounted for him running some distance behind the pack at several points during the race. Victory Lane Quick Oil Change and its partners, who have often backed Smithley’s Cup efforts, were not on his black #53 this week – in fact, the only logo was on his mask. R.J.’s Paint Shop, the car’s only logo on the lower rear quarter-panels, is a local California-based business, whose owners invited Smithley to come visit their shop before the race weekend. Smithley says Victory Lane has signed on for six to seven races in 2021, including the fall races at Las Vegas and the Charlotte “Roval.” 

Several drivers eyed a surprising top-ten finish in the final laps, only to drop down in the order. Corey LaJoie restarted in the Top Five in the final laps, but with 12 to go, his #7 Nations Guard Chevrolet spun off the nose of Ross Chastain entering Turn 11, dropping him to 18th. Michael McDowell was battling Alex Bowman for a spot in the Top Ten when the two banged wheels in Turn 7 on the final lap, putting McDowell into the dirt. McDowell straightened out the car, only to be spun by Daniel Suarez the final time through Turn 11, dropping the #34 Love's Travel Stops Ford to 28th. 

Enjoying a career weekend was Anthony Alfredo, McDowell’s teammate, who recovered from the penalty that dropped him to last place at the initial start to challenge for his first career top-ten finish. Still fighting to stay around the 10th spot with one lap to go in regulation, Alfredo was collected with Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, and Alex Bowman in a multi-car tangle heading to Turn 4. Heavy right-front damage caused Alfredo’s #38 to drag the bodywork during braking, leaving him a disappointing 31st.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the third last-place finish at Sonoma for JTG-Daugherty Racing’s #47 team, each with a different driver. On June 23, 2013, Bobby Labonte lost an engine on the opening lap. And on June 24, 2018, A.J. Allmendinger lost the engine after 33 laps when he shifted to the wrong gear off Turn 11.

*Stenhouse completed the fifth-most laps of any Cup Series last-place finisher at Sonoma. The record remains 68 laps (out of 110), set by Hideo Fukuyama on June 22, 2003.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

37) #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. / 40 laps / engine

36) #00-Quin Houff / 69 laps / rear gear

35) #24-William Byron / 76 laps / crash / led 5 laps

34) #51-Cody Ware / 84 laps / crash

33) #6-Ryan Newman / 92 laps / crash

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Spire Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Racing (3)

2nd) Chip Ganassi Racing, Motorsports Business Management, Rick Ware Racing (2)

3rd) Front Row Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, JTG-Daugherty Racing, StarCom Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (9)

2nd) Ford (5)

3rd) Toyota (2)

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

WEST: Stories from the back of the pack during the General Tire 200

Bobby Hillis, Jr.'s neon ride

While Chase Briscoe and his Stewart-Haas Racing group cruised to an easy victory in Saturday’s running of the General Tire 200 at the Sonoma Raceway, several smaller teams in the ARCA Menards West Series were battling to even make it to the green flag.

By far, the most dazzling car in the field belonged to Bobby Hillis, Jr., whose #27 First Impression Press Chevrolet was wrapped in shades of neon yellow and orange that matched the blazing yellow rims. “It’s the exact opposite of the other car,” said Hillis. “So, I bought two cars from Matt Levin, and one of them is yellow with orange graphics and then I just flipped it for this car. . .I like having stuff that stands out – the wheels, I like doing the wheels. A lot of people don’t do wheels, but I love bright wheels.” Hillis credited Sign-A-Rama in Phoenix for the colorful wrap. He also wore a Paul Menard #27 cap to match his car number, and remarked that he thought he had tape over Menard’s name.

I asked if the car ran as good as it looked. “Good. I’m just getting up to speed,” he said. “We’re near the back, but we’ll be better in the race. I was running old tires for most of the practice, and then we switched to new tires and ran two laps and that was it, we were done.” Starting 21st, he looked to pass half the field. “Top Ten if we could get there. Tenth would be great. Top Ten in this series, me spending no money, is like a win. So, if we can get the Top Ten, I’d be happy. Keep the car clean, load it in the trailer, get a Top Ten, that would be brilliant.”

Dave Smith in his car before practice

Dave Smith was featured here when NASCAR last came to Sonoma in 2019. The former mechanic and current racing instructor from Novato, California finished 9th in the #35, completing all 57 laps.

This time around, Smith’s deal had come together just months before the race. Ken Clapp at NASCAR had contacted Joe Nava at late model powerhouse P1 Motorsports was looking for a road course driver, and Ken Clapp at NASCAR had personally recommended Smith for the job. Smith pulled together his existing sponsorship with Fixse Wheels and Dusty Baker’s Family Vineyards, plus Peelz Mandarins (formerly Halo) and the 181 Fremont Residences in San Francisco, owned by Matt Latucie, one of Smith’s students at the racing school.

Saturday’s practice session would serve as qualifying to set the 22-car lineup. No sooner had the session began than Smith had issues.

“Well, it’s been a rough practice / qualifying for us,” said Smith. “Because as soon as we left pit lane, an axle backed out. So we thought it was the clutch, and all of a sudden as soon as I left pit lane, I could feel the car all sideways. . .I got up to second gear in Turn 2, and I went to third and I had nothing. So I coasted it all the way down. Anyway, we got to pit lane. They got the axle fixed. A cap came off the axle that holds the axle in.” 

Smith’s crew got the car fixed with just minutes left in the session, their #77 the only car to not yet complete a lap. Unable to make any adjustments, Smith fought a car that was tight on entry and loose on exit. He got in just three laps before the session concluded, but managed to improve from 22nd to around 15th on the grid.

Ryan Philpott's car receiving repairs

Near the end of the session, Ryan Philpott ran off-course in his #52 Hacienda Pools Chevrolet. He returned to pit road under power, but with the front valence pulled up and the rear panel pushed in. With the session red-flagged with around seven minutes to go, Philpott climbed out and helped his team straighten out the rear of the car. At one point, the driver was swinging a mallet behind the TV panel. He had to – Philpott was one of the series’ owner-drivers, his crew consisting of volunteers. He hadn’t raced in the series since 2013, and had just recently bought the car to “have some fun.”

“I just put it in the wall,” said Philpott with a laugh. “On the right-hander before the Carousel, the car gets real light there, and I was trying to get a decent lap. I just got loose, tried to save it, but the inside wall’s so close there. Backed it in.” The crew straightened the rear of the car, and with several strips of black tape holding the rear clip in place, presented on the starting grid to roll off in the 20th position.

But when the National Anthem had concluded, one car was still sitting on jack stands in its pit stall. This was the #68 Florian Ind / Rodd Fundraising / Hwy 12 Wrkg Chevrolet of Rodd Kneeland. With the rest of the field lined-up single file on pit road, Kneeland’s 19th starting spot remained open. Kneeland had snapped an input shaft, forcing the team to switch transmissions in the less than 90 minutes between the end of qualifying and the start of the race. After the National Anthem, there was still one crewman inside the car and another underneath. The left-front wheel was still missing. Kneeland put on his helmet and HANS device, and the team topped off the fuel tank when the command was given. Finally, Kneeland climbed behind the wheel as the car came off the jack stands, and the engine fired to applause from the crowd. ARCA added another pace lap to allow him to catch the tail end of the field. Three times before Kneeland had won the Brembo Brake-Through Challenge Award for overcoming adversity, and he seemed set to claim a fourth.

Zane Smith's car towed to pit road before the start.

Further up the lineup, Zane Smith was looking to make the most of an off-weekend for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series by running David Mayhew’s familiar #17 MadoroM Wine / Best Western Sonoma Chevrolet. Smith’s engine fired, but during the pace laps, something let go in the right side of the engine, and his car stopped on track. He was towed to pit road, and Smith climbed out. He watched the start of the race from pit road.

“It looks to me that we just blew up. I really had no indication of it. I went to go index my wheel, and before I knew it, it was smoking like crazy. Really not sure – I haven’t gotten to figure it out. We just got the car back to our stall, but it looks like it blew up.”

As Smith’s crew pushed the #17 back to the garage area, Kneeland’s resurrected #68 stalled on the track during the first green-flag lap, drawing the caution flag. The car was pushed back to pit road, but unlike Smith’s car was left at the far end of pit road, closer to the exit of Turn 11. Several crew members had to run up to that end of pit road and push it back to the garage area. Kneeland himself turned the steering wheel to make it up the sharp rise to the garage.

“Just unfortunate. We broke a transmission in practice, and we put a new tranny in and it’s slipping also. It’s got no power to the ground. I passed four cars in Turn 1 – we had a good car – but we’re not out there running, which is where I want to be. It’s a passion of mine. . .(The transmissions) are both fresh. I have nice stuff, so I don’t know what’s going on, so we’ll have to eliminate that problem. I never had DNFs or any type of stuff, but it’s the way it goes.” 

While Zane Smith broke down first, it was Kneeland who was credited with the last-place finish of the General Tire 200. Kneeland looks to return at Portland as he continues to focus on the road course events. Dave Smith finished 17th with Hillis and Philpott completing all the laps, taking 10th and 9th, respectively. Hillis’ #27 was banged-up at the finish, but the driver must certainly have been happy with the finish, his first top-ten since last September on the Las Vegas dirt track.

XFINITY: Road courses remain unkind to Noah Gragson after first-corner wreck

SCREENSHOT: FS1

Noah Gragson picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s B&L Transport 170 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course when his #9 Bass Pro Shops / Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet fell out in a crash without completing any of the race’s 78 laps.

The finish, which came in Gragson’s 82nd series start, was his second of the season and first since COTA, two races ago, giving him the lead in the 2021 LASTCAR XFINITY Series standings. In the XFINITY Series rankings, it was the 13th for the #9, the 348th from a crash, and the 570th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 55th for the #9, the 1,255th from a crash, and the 1,783rd for Chevrolet.

Coming into Mid-Ohio, Gragson had endured another frustrating afternoon in Charlotte. Running around the 7th spot with 13 laps to go, Gragson was looking to make a move to the outside when contact between Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Brandon Jones and Daniel Hemric sent both cars spinning into his path. The resulting pileup left Gragson 27th. Still, metric qualifying for Mid-Ohio ranked him a solid 13th on the grid for Saturday’s stand-alone event.

Rolling off 40th and last was Gray Gaulding in the #52 SBS Vision Chevrolet. Two drivers joined him at the rear for unapproved adjustments – 33rd-place Kris Wright in the #26 America’s Auto Auction Toyota and 28th-place Ryan Ellis in the #99 Good Sam / CorvetteParts.net Toyota. Coming to the stripe, one car was trailing the field by open track, though it was unclear whether it was one of the penalized drivers.

The last-place battle would then be settled at record pace. Coming off Turn 1, 4th-place starter Jeb Burton put two wheels off course in his #10 Rocky Boots Chevrolet. By the time he returned to the track, a huge cloud of dirt was in his wake, followed by a chunk of someone’s splitter sailing through the air. The splitter was Gragson’s, whose #9 was seen limping into the Keyhole with the nose of his car destroyed. Leaking fluid as he slowed to a stop, Cody Ware spun in his oil. Ware would ultimately recover nicely, taking 15th in his #17 Nurtec ODT Ford. But for Gragson, his day was done.

Tommy Joe Martins took 39th after the engine let go on hi #44 Gilreath Farms Red Angus Chevrolet. Harrison Burton ended up 38th with crash damage to his #20 Dex Imaging Toyota. Bayley Currey had an electrical issue after 30 laps, taking 37th behind a returning David Starr. Starr finished 12 laps down in the #61 Rad Air Complete Car Care Toyota after his shifter was stuck in gear.

After a challenging start to the season, Josh Williams finally secured his first top-ten finish of the season, taking 10th in the #92 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet. Jade Buford took 13th in the #48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet, which is now the best finish of the season for the new Scott Borchetta-owned effort. Gray Gaulding, the last-place starter, came home in 17th, just ahead of Ryan Vargas (#4 Celebrating Makenna Karmie Chevrolet), Matt Jaskol (#66 Auto Parts 4 Less Toyota), and Landon Cassill (#6 Jarett Logistics Chevrolet), who all finished on the lead lap.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for both the #9 and JR Motorsports at Mid-Ohio.

*Gragson is the first driver to fail to complete a lap of an XFINITY Series race since August 8, 2020, when Bayley Currey lost an engine on the opening lap of the Henry 180 at Road America.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

40) #9-Noah Gragson / 0 laps / crash

39) #44-Tommy Joe Martins / 7 laps / engine

38) #20-Harrison Burton / 19 laps / crash

37) #74-Bayley Currey / 30 laps / electrical

36) #61-David Starr / 66 laps / running

2021 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) B.J. McLeod Motorsports, JR Motorsports, RSS Racing / Reaume Brothers Racing (2)

2nd) DGM Racing, JD Motorsports, Mike Harmon Racing, Motorsports Business Management, Our Motorsports, Sam Hunt Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (9)

2nd) Toyota (3)

3rd) Ford (1)

2021 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: This weekend, the “road course ringers” are in Mid-Ohio, not Sears Point

PHOTO: @StewartHaasRcng

Saturday, June 5, 2021

XFINITY Race 13 of 33

B&L Transport 170 at Mid-Ohio

2019 Last-Place Finisher: Max Tullman

ENTRY LIST

This weekend sees NASCAR return to two road courses that were scrubbed from the 2020 schedule in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. First of these is Mid-Ohio, which hosts a stand-alone XFINITY Series field of 42 drivers for 40 spots. With the return of metric qualifying, the two DNQs are the #13 for Motorsports Business Management and the #77 for Bassett Racing (see below).

DRIVER CHANGE: #8-JR Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #31-Jordan Anderson Racing

With Miguel Paludo returning to JR Motorsports’ #8 team for the first time since COTA, Josh Berry moves to Jordan Anderson’s #31, which is now locked-in to the field after Cup regular Tyler Reddick’s strong finishes at both COTA and Charlotte (and with Berry’s status as a 2021 race winner). With Reddick joining the rest of the Cup guys in Sears Point, Berry will take his turn in the #31 for his first road course start of the year.

DRIVER SWAP / DID NOT QUALIFY: #13-Motorsports Business Management

DRIVER CHANGE: #61-Motorsports Business Management

DRIVER CHANGE: #66-Motorsports Business Management

Carl Long’s trio shakes up their lineup this weekend. David Starr moves from the #61 to the #13, taking the place of Chad Finchum, who’s not entered after an 15th-place run in Charlotte. Unfortunately, the #13 was bumped out of a starting spot by the Anderson #31 team, which means Starr will not race. Taking Starr’s place in the #61 is a returning Stephen Leicht, who will race after his DNQ in COTA. CORRECTION (June 3): David Starr has again taken the place of Leicht in the #61 with Rad Air Complete Car Care as sponsor. Timmy Hill is out of the #66 this week, and his ride will go to Matt Jaskol, who we last saw run at Dover.

DRIVER CHANGE: #23-Our Motorsports

Andy Lally returns to Chris Our’s second car for the first time since his 18th-place run two rounds ago in Austin, taking the place of Ty Dillon, who ran a strong 7th in Charlotte. Last Saturday was Dillon’s first top-ten finish in an XFINITY Series race since 2018 at Darlington. UCC and Energy Air are the listed sponsors for Lally’s 5th series start at Mid-Ohio, where he finished a track-best 5th in 2017 driving for SS-Green Light Racing.

DRIVER CHANGE: #26-Sam Hunt Racing

Also returning to his ride from Austin is Kris Wright, who takes the place of Grant Enfinger. Enfinger was himself the last-minute replacement for Brandon Gdovic, which resulted in Enfinger finishing last in his series debut.

MISSING: #76-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

B.J. McLeod has not entered the #76 team he debuted in Charlotte with Stefan Parsons’ 23rd-plae finish.

DID NOT QUALIFY: #77-Bassett Racing

Dillon Bassett will not qualify for Saturday’s race, missing the cut along with MBM’s #13.

DRIVER CHANGE: #90-DGM Racing

Road course specialist Preston Pardus returns in place of B.J. McLeod, who isn’t running either race this weekend. Chinchor Electric and Danus Utilities are again the sponsor, this time on Mario Gosselin’s flagship #90.

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

With the team’s point rank improved after Chase Briscoe nearly pulled off the win in Charlotte, Ryan Ellis again runs for the team for the first time since COTA. While originally listed with Keen Parts and CorvetteParts.net as sponsor, the McLeod team revealed that Marcus Lemonis had jumped on board as sponsor, decorating the #99 In the red-and-gold colors of Good Sam.

CUP INVADERS: None.

Sunday, June 6, 2021

CUP Race 16 of 36

Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sears Point (Sonoma)

2019 Last-Place Finisher: J.J. Yeley

LASTCAR TRACKSIDE COVERAGE

For the first time since March 2020, when I covered the action for the most recent 400-mile race at the Auto Club Speedway, I will be working trackside for the Toyota / Save Mart 350 at my home track. Stay tuned to this site and my Twitter feed @LASTCARonBROCK for more.

ENTRY LIST

Like Mid-Ohio, the race was not run last year and metric qualifying has already determined the lineup. Taking the green will be 37 drivers for 40 spots, the 12th short field in 16 races this season. It will also be the fewest-eve starters for the race, beating the mark of 38 starters from the last three runnings.

DRIVER SWAP: #51-Rick Ware Racing

DRIVER SWAP: #53-Rick Ware Racing

Cody Ware and Garrett Smithley swap rides again, putting Ware in the #51 and Smithley in the #53. Ware to pull double-duty with the XFINITY race in Mid-Ohio in the Ware #17. This will be Smithley’s first Cup start at Sears Point, and his 200th combined start across NASCAR's top three series.

MISSING: #66-Motorsports Business Management

While MBM has two cars in Saturday’s field at Mid-Ohio, Carl Long’s Cup team will not make the long trip west, one week after David Starr finished 36th in Charlotte.

DRIVER CHANGE: #77-Spire Motorsports

With Justin Haley committed to Saturday’s XFINITY race in Mid-Ohio, Ben Rhodes will make his Cup debut with Kaeding Performance s sponsor. Haley’s teammate A.J. Allmendinger is likewise conspicuously absent after running the most recent road course race with Kaulig Racing at COTA. The run is a reunion of sorts - according to a video with Rhodes, Spire Sports & Entertainment was instrumental in getting Rhodes into NASCAR back in 2013. Rhodes has never before run a race at Sears Point.

DRIVER CHANGE: #78-Live Fast Motorsports

If there is a “road course ringer” in the field, it is Scott Heckert, who we last saw in the #78 on the Daytona Infield Road Course, where he made his series debut this past February. Heckert again takes the place of B.J. McLeod with Surface Sunscreen returning as sponsor. This will also be Heckert’s first start at Sears Point.

Saturday, June 12, 2021

TRUCKS Race 11 of 22

SpeedyCash.com 220 at Texas

2020 Last-Place Finisher (July): Tanner Gray

LASTCAR TRACKSIDE COVERAGE

The Truck Series takes the week off and returns to kick off All-Star Weekend in Texas. I will be in attendance to cover that weekend’s action as well, including the XFINITY Series and the All-Star Race.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (June 3, 1984): John Krebs picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in the Budweiser 400 at Riverside when his #91 Coca-Cola Oldsmobile lost an engine after 6 laps. Krebs, perhaps best known for his spectacular tangle with Derrike Cope after briefly leading the 1994 Cup race at Sears Point, was that day making his fourth series start. An owner-driver from Roseville, California (not far from LASTCAR Headquarters), Krebs made 19 Cup starts in “companion races” run on the west coast. His best finish came at Riverside on June 13, 1982, when he ran 19th.

ARCA: D.L. Wilson’s race over as it starts in Charlotte

PHOTO: Donis L. Wilson via Facebook

by William Soquet

LASTCAR.info Staff Writer

D.L. Wilson scored the first last-place finish of his ARCA Menards Series career in Saturday’s General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway when his #12 Wilson Traditional Metals Toyota retired with a blown engine without completing any of the race’s 100 laps.

The finish came in Wilson’s tenth series start.

Donis “D.L.” Wilson of Texas has an illustrious career in racing. He became a fan in 1975 after watching a program at Heart O’ Texas Speedway just outside of Waco. His driving career began in 1987 in enduros and Wilson gradually progressed, jumping to IMCA Modifieds in 1995 and later moving to IMCA Southern Sport Mods - all on dirt. He switched to asphalt racing in 2007 and moved through the pro truck, asphalt modified and pro late model divisions, winning two championships along the way. In 2016, he met Fast Track Racing owner Andy Hillenburg and ran the Daytona test for the team in 2017. He debuted in ARCA in 2018, running four races over the next three seasons for Fast Track Racing.

Coming into 2021, Wilson joined forces with longtime Central Texas car owner Ed Thompson and Thompson Racing. Thompson acquired two ARCA chasses - a short track Chevrolet from Empire Racing and a superspeedway Toyota from Ken Schrader Racing - and had them prepped at the Fast Track Racing shop in Charlotte. Wilson's planned a seven-race schedule of Daytona, Phoenix, Talladega, Charlotte, Michigan and Iowa. In the end, the team wound up closely collaborating with Fast Track Racing and also used the team’s #12 owner points under listed owner Michelle Hillenburg.

The season hasn’t been all peaches and cream, however. Multiple sponsors have been late to pay or have not paid at all, putting the Thompson Racing team in financial jeopardy, and at Phoenix and Talladega, Wilson’s #12 was adorned with the phrase “I am a filler car” just behind the door number. Despite that, Wilson’s lone DNF heading in to Charlotte was due to overheating at Toledo and he held the fifth position in the point standings before the Charlotte race.

The Charlotte field featured 26 entries on the first version of the entry list. Three cars didn’t make it to the starting grid: Wayne Peterson Racing’s 06 entry with Con Nicolopoulos behind the wheel, and two Cody-Efaw affiliated entries. One had backing from The Ticket Clinic, a firm focusing on traffic tickets, and the other had backing from Hype Motorsports, the team that Jett Noland’s family campaigns in various racing series.

Of those remaining, a number of interesting stories emerged. Dave Mader III and Andy Jankowiak expanded from just a drafting-track schedule. IMSA racer Parker Chase debuted on an oval with Venturini Motorsports, and New Smyrna winner Max Gutierrez made his series debut for Rette Jones Racing. A number of drivers continued part-time schedules, including Drew Dollar, Chris Hacker, Jason Kitzmiller, Kyle Sieg, Tim Richmond, Greg Van Alst, Scott Melton, Charles Buchanan Jr. and Toni Briedinger. Fast Track Racing placed Tony Cosentino, Jason Miles and Owen Smith in its cars as well.

Practice and qualifying were combined at Charlotte. Much like the race itself, Ty Gibbs led the session. At the bottom of the charts were Buchanan and Brad Smith, the only two cars in the 36-second range. 

Smith was the last car on the grid, but it did not stay that way for long after the start of the race. Almost immediately after the green, the engine in Wilson’s car quit and he slowed considerably. The #48 car of Smith also worked his way past Buchanan and was five seconds up on the #87 by the end of the first lap. The MRN crew first noted Wilson crawling along the backstretch on lap two, and eventually the car stalled on its way to pit road, causing the caution to be flown on lap four. Wilson was later listed out without completing a single lap.

Cosentino was the next driver out, citing handling issues for his demise after 11 laps. Fast Track teammate Miles was the lone casualty from a late-race accident, finishing with 85 laps complete. Toni Briedinger in 20th was the last car running, 11 laps down after a stint in the garage to fix engine problems in her Young’s Motorsports entry. Brad Smith rounded out the Bottom Five, ten laps down in 

19th.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

23) #12-D.L. Wilson / 0 laps / engine

22) #11-Tony Cosentino / 11 laps / handling

21) #10-Jason Miles / 85 laps / accident

20) #02-Toni Briedinger / 89 laps / running

19) #48-Brad Smith / 90 laps / running

2021 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (3)

2nd) Ford (2)

3rd) Toyota (1)

2021 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Fast Track Racing (2)

2nd) Brad Smith Motorsports, Kimmel Racing, Rette Jones Racing, Young’s Motorsports (1)

2021 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP