PREVIEW: All-star Knoxville inaugural and a noticeably absent Timmy Hill among weekend's storylines

Michael Annett honors his late father this Friday at Knoxville.
IMAGE: @youngsmtrsports

Friday, July 9, 2021 

TRUCKS Race 14 of 22

Corn Belt 150 Presented by Premier Chevy Dealers at Knoxville

2020 Last-Place Finisher: Inaugural Event

ENTRY LIST

There will be 40 entrants in Friday’s first Truck race at the famed black clay oval in Knoxville, and despite the four qualifying heats preceding the race, all of them will make the field.

DRIVER CHANGE: #3-Jordan Anderson Racing

Two-time Canadian Nationals winner Parker Price-Miller is among the dirt track “ringers” joining the action this Friday, taking the wheel of Jordan Anderson’s #3 OTE / Townline Variety Chevrolet. In his most recent bid at the Knoxville Nationals in 2019, Price-Miller finished 16th in the 24-car A-Main. He takes the place of Howie DiSavino III, who ran 22nd in Pocono.

TEAM UPDATE: #6-Norm Benning Racing

During my interview with Norm Benning about his Kansas incident, Benning made clear he was looking forward to this weekend’s dirt track race at Knoxville, and would be “very disappointed if I didn’t get a Top Five.” Benning will run the same truck he used at Bristol, rebuilt after he was eliminated in an on-track tangle.

DRIVER SWAP: #9-CR7 Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #98-ThorSport Racing

Codie Rohrbaugh is back in his #9 for the first time since Darlington as brand new dad Grant Enfinger replaces Christian Eckes in ThorSport’s #98. Eckes finished 12th last time out in Pocono while Enfinger lost an engine in Rohrbaugh’s truck near the lead, leaving him 36th.

DRIVER CHANGE: #17-David Gilliland Racing

Making his NASCAR debut at the track where he won the Knoxville Nationals ten times, ten-time World of Outlaws Series champion Donny Schatz will take the place of Cup regular Ryan Preece in the #17 Ford with Little Giant Ford as sponsor.

DRIVER CHANGE: #20-Young's Motorsports

Update (July 8) - Spencer Boyd has announced that dirt track ace Kyle Strickler will drive in his place. Strickler finished 31st and 18th in the last two Eldora races.

MISSING: #28-FDNY Racing

Bryan Dauzat and Jim Rosenblum will not be tackling the dirt following a 34th-place showing in Pocono.

DRIVER CHANGE: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing

Josh Reaume has enlisted the aid of another sprint car racer in Iowa native Devon Rouse, currently driver of the #18 ServiceMaster entry. Rouse had originally been scheduled to make his debut last year at Eldora before the event was cancelled during the pandemic, and sponsorship kept him out of the field earlier this year in Bristol. The #33 was still listed as “TBA” on the initial list before Rouse was added, his truck sponsored by Camping World.

DRIVER CHANGE: #34-Reaume Brothers Racing

Jake Griffin eyes his eighth Truck Series start and fourth in a row on the dirt, looking to improve on his 29th-place run in this spring’s Bristol Dirt Race. Griffin takes the place of Lawless Alan, who ran a solid 20th back at Pocono.

RETURNING: #37-AM Racing

For the first time since July 29, 2017 at Pocono, AM Racing and their development team Win-Tron Racing (owned by series veteran Kevin Cywinski) will enters a second truck, this time the #37 – with Cywinski as the listed owner. Brett Moffitt will make his seventh Truck start of the year and first since Richmond, when he declared for XFINITY points with Our Motorsports. Concrete Supply and Destiny Homes will sponsor his ride.

DRIVER CHANGE: #41-Cram Racing Enterprises

Cody Erickson makes his fifth series start and first since the Dirt Race at Bristol, where he ran 26th with this same Dawson Cram entry. Magnum Contracting will sponsor Erickson once more as he takes the place of Todd Peck, 29th in Pocono.

RETURNING: #44-Niece Motorsports

Veteran dirt racer Morgan Alexander has one ARCA Menards Series East start to his credit, finishing 12th of 16 starters at North Carolina’s 0.400-mile Southern National Motorsports Park. He makes the jump to the Truck Series in Al Niece’s returning #44, last seen in Darlington. Multiple sponsors adorn the Chevrolet, including Geneva Farms, Senoia Raceway, Sugar Creek Raceway, Alexander Produce, Booger Brooks Racing, and Performance Lift.

DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Niece Motorsports

Jett Noland’s third career start will come on the dirt, his first green flag in the series since a career-best 26th at Richmond. He takes the place of Bayley Currey, whose engine failure in the early laps at Pocono left him 37th. Hype Motorsports is the listed sponsor for the #45 Chevrolet.

DRIVER CHANGE: #49-CMI Motorsports

Andrew Gordon’s Truck Series debut in the Bristol Dirt Race gave Ray Ciccarelli his first start of the season and resulted in a 31st-place finish. He rejoins the #49 team in place of Ciccarelli himself, 23rd in Pocono. Staar Trucking is the listed sponsor.

DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Kyle Busch Motorsports

Five-time Knoxville track champion “Blackjack” Brian Brown makes his NASCAR debut in another high-powered entry, taking the place of Pocono runner-up Kyle Busch in the #51 Casey’s / Rowdy Energy Toyota. Brown boasts 52 career wins in 410 and 360 sprints, plus three consecutive runner-up finishes in the Knoxville Nationals from 2012 through 2014.

MISSING: #56-Hill Motorsports

Not among this week’s entrants is the Timmy and Tyler Hill effort, which up to this point had only missed the spring Atlanta race during the 2021 campaign and finished 24th with Tyler in Pocono. Mike Marlar took 28th with the team during this year’s Bristol Dirt Race.

RETURNING: #62-Halmar-Friesen Racing

After rain washed her out of the field with the cancellation of the heat races in Bristol, Jessica Friesen is back to make her series debut, racing against her husband Stewart in the second Halmar entry.

MISSING: #66-ThorSport Racing

Ty Majeski and the newest ThorSport entry are not among this week’s entries following their 14th-place finish in Pocono.

MISSING: #75-Henderson Motorsports

Parker Kligerman and Charlie Henderson are likewise not in Knoxville this week after they withdrew from Pocono.

DRIVER CHANGE: #02-Young’s Motorsports

XFINITY Series regular Michael Annett will make only his 10th Truck Series start and first since 2014 at Eldora, again tackling the dirt. This time, he takes place of 30th-place Pocono finisher Kris Wright in the #02 Chevrolet. The black #02 will be run in honor of Michael’s father Harrold Annett, who died after a brief illness in March. Harrold founded TMC Transportation in 1986 after turning around the Mickow Corporation Trucking Company, and was himself an accomplished racer. Harrold’s midget is on a logo on Michael’s rear deck, commemorating his 2007 induction into the Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame.

RETURNING / DRIVER CHANGE: #04-Roper Racing

Cup rookie Chase Briscoe will likewise be carrying names on his rear deck – each in conjunction with a promotion from sponsor CircleBDiecast.com. Briscoe, who tied his season-best 6th from COTA in last week’s Road America race, returns to the Truck Series for the first time since Kansas, where he ran 19th. The Roper Racing team itself returns to the circuit for the first time since Nashville, where Cory Roper took 31st.

CUP INVADERS: #04-Chase Briscoe

Saturday, July 10, 2021 

XFINITY Race 18 of 33

Credit Karma Money 250 at Atlanta

2020 Last-Place Finisher: Inaugural Event

ENTRY LIST

The XFINITY Series runs a second race at Atlanta for the first time on Saturday. There are 41 drives entered for 40 spots, meaning the #13 of Timmy Hill is on the wrong side of the cutline under metric qualifying (see below).

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

Matt Mills returns to the McLeod team for the first time since his 23rd-place finish in Pocono. He takes the place of Andy Lally, who ran 13th in the Hendrick Motorsports “throwback” scheme at Road America.

DRIVER CHANGE: #6-JD Motorsports

Following a frustrating last-place finish for Spencer Pumpelly in Road America, Ryan Vargas is back behind the wheel of the #6 with MaintenX rejoining as sponsor.

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

MISSING: #42-Motorsports Business Management

Two of Carl Long’s entries from Road America will not be among the starters on Saturday. The #42 driven to a 20th-place finish last week is not entered, and Timmy Hill was then moved to the #13 in place of 26th-place Stephen Leicht. But that #13 will end up the race’s lone DNQ under metric qualifying.

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

Carson Ware takes over for brother Cody Ware in the #17, looking to improve on his 28th-place showing in his only start in the series in 2021 at Pocono. Cody finished 24th last week in Road America.

DRIVER CHANGE: #23-Our Motorsports

As Ty Dillon looks to add more races to his 2021 calendar, he rejoins Our Motorsports this week in place of 32nd-place finisher Natalie Decker. Ty’s most recent XFINITY start came at Charlotte with the same team, scoring his season-best 7th-place finish. Ty will not be racing Cup this week, however, as the Gaunt Brothers Racing team isn’t running on Sunday (see below).

DRIVER CHANGE: #26-Sam Hunt Racing

Santino Ferrucci is back from Pocono looking to continue his Top 15 streak. He takes the place of Kris Wright, who ran 25th last week in Road America. Pocono sponsor Manatawny Still Works returns as backer.

DRIVER CHANGE: #31-Jordan Anderson Racing

Following the dirt race with Rackley-W.A.R.’s #25 entry, Josh Berry will run in Atlanta for Jordan Anderson’s XFINITY team, taking the place of 18th-place Road America finisher Kaz Grala. Bommarito.com and Easy Care are the listed sponsors of the #31 Chevrolet.

DRIVER CHANGE: #61-Motorsports Business Management

“Road ringer” Boris Said was unable to qualify last week in Road America, but David Starr will race on Saturday in his return to the #61 Whataburger Toyota.

DRIVER CHANGE: #66-Motorsports Business Management

After a combined 11 series starts with B.J. McLeod and RSS Racing, C.J. McLaughlin will make his first XFINITY race for Carl Long’s MBM effort, this time taking the place of Road America DNQ Matt Jaskol in the #66 Toyota. McLaughlin brings with him sponsorship from frequent backer Sci Aps, plus SA Recycling.

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

Jesse Little rejoins McLeod’s #78 team in place of Ryan Ellis, who was 30th in Road America. Little ran 29th his most recent time out in Pocono.

MISSING: #81-Joe Gibbs Racing

Ty Gibbs is not entered along with JGR’s expansion team, the #81, but Kyle Busch will continue to run the #54 with Extra Gum as sponsor.

DRIVER CHANGE: #90-DGM Racing

Ronnie Bassett, Jr. will take another turn in Mario Gosselin’s #90 in a flat black Chevrolet with Butler Trailer Manufacturing Company n the hood. Bassett takes the place of Preston Pardus, who ran 16th with the team in Wisconsin.

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

Kevin Harvick ran an unsurprising 6th in McLeod’s #99 at Road America, and again focuses on the Cup side of the garage this week. Mason Massey rejoins the effort with Anderson Power Services as sponsor to compete at his home track for the third time. His best finish in three previous starts this year was a 27th in Talladega.

DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing

Josh Bilicki eyed a possible top-ten finish in his last-minute ride at Road America, only for a late-race accident to leave him 29th. Joe Graf, Jr. returns to his familiar ride in the #07 with Z Grills as the listed sponsor. Graf ran 29th here in the spring.

CUP INVADERS: None

Sunday, July 11, 2021

CUP Race 21 of 36

Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart at Atlanta

1966 Last-Place Finisher (August): David Pearson

ENTRY LIST

For the first time since 2010, the Cup Series will run a second race at Atlanta, and for the first time since August 7, 1966, that event is scheduled for 400 miles. The event also carries title sponsorship from Quaker State, which moves from the Kentucky event cut from this year’s calendar. There are 38 drivers entered, marking the 16th short field in 21 races in 2021.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing

Bayley Currey was a late-announced driver for the RWR #15 driven for much of the year by James Davison, who was 28th in Road America. For Currey, this will be his 12th series start ad first of the season. His only start in 2020 came at Bristol, where he ran 38th in the spring race, though he also relieved J.J. Yeley during the exhausting Daytona Infield Road Course event that summer.

MISSING: #16-Kaulig Racing

A.J. Allmendinger is not entered after his 29th-place showing in Road America, and will instead focus on the XFINITY Series side of the garage with Kaulig Racing.

MISSING: #33-Penske Racing

Likewise missing from Sunday’s field is Austin Cindric, who for the second-straight road course race looked poised for an upset win in the opening stage. This time, rear gear issues left him a disappointing 38th.

DRIVER CHANGE: #53-Rick Ware Racing

Garrett Smithley is back in RWR’s #53 entry for the first time since the Pocono double-header, where he ran 29th and 36th in the two events. He takes the pace of “road ringer” Ryan Eversley, who took the checkers in 39th during his NASCAR debut.

WITHDREW: #66-Motorsports Business Management

On top of his Truck team not in Knoxville and his XFINITY effort on the wrong side of the cut line, Timmy Hill will also not run Sunday’s Cup race as the MBM team has not brought that Toyota to the track.

DRIVER CHANGE: #78-Live Fast Motorsports

B.J. McLeod returns to his co-owned #78 Ford with former The Motorsports Group and Go FAS Racing sponsor Superior Logistics Services as sponsor. McLeod takes over for Kyle Tilley, whose second series start resulted in a 35th-place finish.

MISSING: #96-Gaunt Brothers Racing

Ty Dillon and the Gaunt Brothers are not entered after a 26th-place run in Road America. For this weekend at least, Dillon will instead focus on his XFINITY effort with Our Motorsports.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (July 8, 2001): Brian Weber scored the first last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in the GNC Live Well 200 at Watkins Glen when his #49 Rent-A-Wreck / Jay Robinson Pontiac lost an engine on the opening lap. This car was fielded by the same Jay Robinson whose Premium Motorsports team would make it to Cup in 2014, then ultimately merge with Rick Ware Racing. 

SRX: Incident-free race at Lucas Oil still leaves Bill Elliott in last

SCREENSHOT: CBS Sports

by William Soquet

LASTCAR.info Staff Writer

Bill Elliott finished last for the 3rd time in his Superstar Racing Experience career when his #9 LakeSide Media car completed all 76 laps in the event at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis on Saturday night.

Across series history, it was the third for car number 9 and the first for crew chief Jeff Hammond. The finish was Elliott’s second in a row.

Attentive viewers of last week’s SRX event noticed that when Elliott climbed from the car after being involved in the large late-race melee, he was favoring his right wrist and grimaced as he took his helmet off. The series did not offer any update on the situation until midway through the broadcast on Saturday, when it was revealed that Elliott cracked a bone in the incident. Because of that, Awesome Bill wore a brace while driving on Saturday and will likely be doing so for the foreseeable future.

Scott Speed returned for the last of his two appearances as the ringer driver after a strong run at Eldora. The local champ driver was a name known to many who knew Doug Coby’s name – Bobby Santos III. Santos, a longtime competitor on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and other pavement open-wheel series. Tim Clauson, co-owner of sprint car team Clauson-Marshall Racing and father of longtime racer Bryan Clauson, was brought on as the local all-star crew chief. Tony Eury Jr. was a super-sub crew chief on Saturday night in the place of Mike Beam, who was not able to make it to the track.

For the second time this season, Marco Andretti drew the final starting position for the first heat. He didn’t stay there for long, however, as he passed Helio Castroneves in Turns 1 and 2 of the opening lap. Andretti also made quick work of Willy T. Ribbs and moved up to tenth by the conclusion of the first circuit. Castroneves began setting up Ribbs for a pass at the end of Lap 1 and made the pass during the 2nd lap. From there, Ribbs steadily lost ground on the field, falling eight seconds in arrears to the lead at the caution that flew around the halfway mark. Despite that equalizer, Ribbs was unable to make up any ground on a track notorious for being a single-groove racetrack in the high lane and finished the first heat in 12th. Elliott ran a fairly anonymous tenth place, not meriting much attention on the broadcast.

With a complete invert from Heat 1 to Heat 2, Speed took over the last spot for the beginning of the second heat as the winner of the first. He bided his time for a little bit, and then got past Michael Waltrip with two laps complete in the heat. Elliott, who started third, soon came into the last-place picture and fell into Waltrip’s clutches in only a handful of laps. The Progressive Insurance-branded machine piloted by Waltrip worked around Elliott’s dark blue car at about the two-minute mark. From that point on, much as in Heat 1, the last-place car could not make any headway against the rest of the field, and Elliott finished the heat nondescriptly in last place.

With the Independence Day weekend coinciding with a race at a paved track, series officials decided to make the feature event 76 laps long instead of the 50 laps at the two dirt tracks. Starting last in the feature was Ribbs, whose finishes of 12th and 11th in the heat races left him with an average finish of 11.5, the lowest average of anyone on the grid. Elliott wound up alongside Ribbs in the final row with an average finish of 11th.

At the start of the feature, Ribbs gave Elliott a good run but was never able to complete the pass. After the opening handful of laps, Ribbs lost touch with Elliott and ran by himself a decent distance back. Despite a caution to bunch up the field, Ribbs still seemed to be a touch off the pace. However, Elliott’s car began fading, and he was only a tenth ahead of Ribbs at Lap 46. Ribbs made the pass on the following lap, and a caution fell the lap after that. At that time, Elliott pitted for what the broadcast called a “vibration” and was the only car to pit, not losing any laps on pit road as per SRX rules. He remained in last until there were eight laps to go, when Tony Kanaan spun off of turn two on a restart, briefly dropping the 48 car to last.

However, on the ensuing restart, Kanaan charged past Elliott and even with an eventful final few laps, no cars retired, handing Elliott his third last-place finish in four races.

Ribbs finished the race in 11th, and Kanaan was only able to make it up to tenth after his spin, rounding out the Bottom Three.

With his finish, Elliott claimed the 2021 LASTCAR SRX Drivers Championship, as he has claimed three last-place finishes and four Bottom Three finishes. Paul Tracy is the only other driver to record a last-place finish this season, and with two races to go, he has only recorded one Bottom Three finish, nullifying any chance of surpassing Elliott on a tiebreaker.

THE BOTTOM THREE
12) #9-Bill Elliott / 76 laps / running
11) #17-Willy T. Ribbs / 76 laps / running
10) #48-Tony Kanaan / 76 laps / running

2021 LASTCAR SRX CREW CHIEFS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Christopher, Jeff Hammond, Keith Kunz, Todd Parrott (1)

2021 LASTCAR SRX DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

CUP: Ryan Preece’s backup car falls out early in Road America

PHOTO: @JTGRacing

Ryan Preece picked up the 5th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Jockey Made In America 250 Presented by Kwik Trip at Road America when his #37 Maxwell House / Kroger Chevrolet lost an engine after 6 of 62 laps.

The finish, which came in Preece’s 97th series start, was his first of the season and first since July 19, 2020 at Texas, 38 races ago. In the Cup Series last-place rankings, it was the 43rd for the #37, the 706th from engine trouble, and the 810th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 49th for the #37, he 1,105th from engine trouble, and the 1,793rd for Chevrolet.

After a difficult and frustrating 2020 season, Preece was once again set to run the #37 for JTG-Daugherty Racing, but this time would do so without a Charter. With only enough sponsorship for 24 of the 36 races, Preece’s Charter was sold to Spire Motorsports, which expanded to two cars. Preece responded well to the pressure, qualifying fastest of the “open” cars for the Daytona 500 and finishing 6th on race day, followed by a 9th on the Daytona Road Course. His 8th-place run at Pocono was his first finish since then that was better than 14th, though he’d failed to finish only three times, down significantly from the 8 DNFs scored last year.

Preece’s spirits were further buoyed last month at Nashville, where he had the opportunity to make his first career Truck Series start. Driving David Gilliland’s #17 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford, Preece qualified 6th and took the lead with eight laps to go, beating David’s son Todd to the finish by less than a second. The ride earned Preece a trip to victory lane – where NASCAR had made the one-time decision to not allow post-race interviews on the frontstretch – and secured him another ride with Gilliland at Pocono. There, he started 8th and finished 9th.

At Road America, Preece turned just one lap in practice and anchored the charts due to an on-track incident. He apparently carried too much speed exiting the Carousel and ran off-course into the grass, causing significant damage to the left-front corner of his splitter. The team rolled out their backup car and ran a cautious lap of 105.19mph (2 minutes, 18.531 seconds), good enough for 32nd on the grid.

The backup car meant Preece would have to drop to the rear, joining six other drivers. Kyle Busch didn’t even turn a lap in qualifying and his #18 Skittles Red, White, and Blue Toyota was set to start 40th in his own backup after he spun into a wall in practice. Issues in qualifying for Bubba Wallace left him 36th before a transmission change on his #23 Dr. Pepper Toyota and Justin Haley surrendered 22nd due to an engine change. Unapproved adjustments were the cited reason for 33rd-place Quin Houff in the #00 8 Ball Chocolate Whiskey Chevrolet, 27th-place Josh Bilicki in the #52 Screamin’ Sicilian Ford, and 30th-place Kyle Tilley in the #78 Bremont / Battle Associates Ford.

When the field came to the green flag, Houff had taken over last place from Busch, and was 5.285 seconds back of the leader. By the time they completed the first lap, Houff had climbed to 38th, dropping Kyle Tilley’s #78 to last place. At the time, Tilley was already a full 1.162 seconds back of new 39th-place runner Ryan Eversley, making his NASCAR debut in the #53 Nurtec ODT Preventative Ford. At the start of Lap 3, Eversley had dropped Houff back to 39th, and Tilley remained 1.225 seconds back of the #00 in last place. Moments later, NASCAR reported a car was stalled on track.

This was the #99 Good Sam Chevrolet of Daniel Suarez, who just like at COTA had been stopped due to a transmission issue. There was some delay getting Suarez pushed as the medical truck arrived before a proper push truck. He was already a lap down by the time it arrived, and he was pushed to the garage entrance just before Turn 14. The crew prepared to work on the top of the transmission, and by Lap 6 had pulled it out completely.

The next time by, Ryan Preece was in heavy traffic heading into Turn 5 when his car erupted in smoke. He drove onto the run-off lane and slowed as he entered the rear garage entrance on the other side. Not far behind him, Kyle Tilley had also overshot the corner, and managed to stay on the track. Preece’s car had apparently stalled at this point, as Preece asked “I mean, is NASCAR gonna send the push truck, or---?” 

On Lap 13, under a caution caused by Tilley getting stuck in the gravel trap in the Carousel, Suarez re-fired his engine in the garage and returned to the track 10 laps down. Needing to turn four laps to drop Preece to 40th place, he accomplished this on the 17th circuit, at the same moment NASCAR’s garage official reported “37 out, engine.” 

Suarez went on to finish 36th ahead of the day’s only three other retirees. Ryan Eversley pulled into the garage off Turn 5 and ultimately retired with rear gear trouble. That same lap, Austin Cindric, who had been battling for the lead in his #33 Pirtek Ford, had also suffered a mechanical failure and spun, ultimately sending him behind the wall. Cindric ended up finishing ahead of the #53, but behind Anthony Alfredo, whose #38 SpeedyCash Ford exploded the left-rear brakes in Turn 1 and spun into the gravel trap.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #37 in a Cup Series road course race since August 10, 2009, when Tony Ave’s #37 Long John Silver’s Dodge had transmission issues after 8 laps of the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen.

*Preece is the first Cup Series last-place finisher at Road America since Junior Johnson, who on August 12, 1956 scored the 2nd last-place finish of his career after his #296 1956 Ford had clutch issues after 1 lap.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

40) #37-Ryan Preece / 6 laps / engine

39) #53-Ryan Eversley / 27 laps / rear gear

38) #33-Austin Cindric / 35 laps / rear gear / led 2 laps

37) #38-Anthony Alfredo / 42 laps / brakes

36) #99-Daniel Suarez / 53 laps / running

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Stewart-Haas Racing (4)

2nd) JTG-Daugherty Racing, Spire Motorsports (3)

3rd) Chip Ganassi Racing, Motorsports Business Management, Rick Ware Racing (2)

4th) Front Row Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, StarCom Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (12)

2nd) Ford (6)

3rd) Toyota (2)

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

XFINITY: Spencer Pumpelly and JD Motorsports fight back from an early trip through the gravel, only for the brakes to fail at the worst moment

SCREENSHOT: @NASCARonNBC

Spencer Pumpelly picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Henry 180 at Road America when his #6 Rice Tire Chevrolet crashed out after 11 of 45 laps.

The finish came in Pumpelly’s second series start. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 17th for the #6, the 351st from a crash, and the 573rd for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 66th for the #6, the 1,260th from a crash, and the 1,792nd for Chevrolet.

The 46-year-old racer from Arlington, Virginia has an impressive road course resume. He scored seven American Le Mans Series wins with The Racers Group and Flying Lizard Motorsports, plus another ten in Rolex Grand-Am, including four at Watkins Glen. In both 2006 and 2011, Pumpelly took class victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona, both times running a Porsche GT3. He scored another two Weathertech Sports Car Series wins in 2015 at Laguna Seca and the season finale at Road Atlanta.

Pumpelly made his NASCAR debut just last month at the Circuit of the Americas, where he finished 19th in the same #6 entry fielded by JD Motorsports. It was his first race in a stock car since September 13, 2009, when he drove RAB Motorsports’ #09 to a third-place finish in the ARCA Menards Series race at New Jersey Motorsports Park, trailing only Patrick Long and Parker Kligerman. He was even Elliott Sadler’s college roommate, which Sadler revealed in a tweet on race morning, when Rice Tire bought space on Pumpelly’s unsponsored #6.

Pumpelly ran a solid 17th in practice and qualified 18th with a speed of 106.353mph (2 minutes, 17.023 seconds). Both times his was the fastest of the four JD Motorsports entries. Only one of the remaining three actually qualified for the race, and Landon Cassill needed to rely on Owner Points to secure the 32nd spot in the #4 Voyager Chevrolet.

The remaining two JDM cars ended up among the race’s seven DNQs: Jeffrey Earnhardt in the #0 Forever Lawn Chevrolet and Colby Howard in the #15 Project Hope Foundation Chevrolet. Motorsports Business Management also saw two of their four entries sent home: Matt Jaskol in the #66 Auto Parts 4 Less Toyota and Boris Said in the #61 Kunes RV Toyota, plus Mike Harmon Racing teammates Kyle Weatherman in the #47 Axe Crossbows Chevrolet and Bayley Currey in the #74 Belmont Classic Cars Chevrolet, and a returning Gray Gaulding in Jimmy Means’ #52 Chevrolet.

Set to roll off 36th and last was Noah Gragson, who after an engine failure in COTA and a first-lap splitter-related wreck in Mid-Ohio blew an engine in practice. He didn’t turn a lap in Round 1 of qualifying and would incur a redundant tail-end penalty. Also joining him would be 34th-place Riley Herbst, sent to a backup car after a practice incident in his #98 Monster Energy Ford. Kris Wright would ultimately drop to the rear for an incident on Friday when his #26 Wright Automotive Toyota was stuck in the Turn 1 gravel in the final five minutes of practice.

On race day, two more drivers had difficulty rolling off pit road. Ryan Ellis, set to roll off 28th in the #78 Rich Mar Florist Toyota, was in his pit stall, and would incur an unapproved adjustments penalty as the team awaited a push from a service vehicle. Polesitter Ty Gibbs had an ignition problem that kept his #81 Monster Energy Toyota from rolling, and he’d ultimately get started without incurring a penalty of his own. Ellis looked to inherit last from Gragson, but Wright dropped behind him into last place.

By the time the leaders pulled up to the start, the intervals indicated another four drivers had dropped behind the cars around them: 24th-place Brett Moffitt in the #02 Our Motorsports Chevrolet, 29th-place Timmy Hill in the #42 Motorsports Business Management Toyota, 31st-place Stephen Leicht in the #13 Jani-King Toyota, and 33rd-place Tommy Joe Martins in the #44 Gilreath Farms Red Angus Chevrolet. All of these drivers were ahead of Wright, who crossed the stripe 5.687 seconds back of the leader. 

By the time the field completed the first lap, Wright had dropped to the 36th spot Natalie Decker, who was back behind the wheel of Our Motorsports’ #23 Nerd Focus Chevrolet. By then, both were 6.423 seconds back of Tommy Joe Martins in 34th. By the start of Lap 3, Decker was 9.479 seconds back of Wright, and was running nine seconds slower than Wright’s #26. 

Pumpelly entered the last-place battle on Lap 6, when contact from Brandon Brown’s #68 Sim Seats Chevrolet sent him spinning into the gravel trap outside of Turn 14. Pumpelly’s splitter dug up a huge amount of gravel, and the car was stuck fast, drawing the caution. Crews managed to get his car back out of the trap, but while the engine fired, the transmission wouldn’t engage. “It goes in gear,” said the driver, “but it won’t move.” Pumpelly lost a lap as he was pushed back to pit road. After looking the car over, the team pushed him to the garage on Lap 8. The JD Motorsports team tried to re-fire Pumpelly’s engine, but when it didn’t start, they took the car off jack stands and pushed it to Jeffrey Earnhardt’s hauler for a transmission change. Pumpelly would later tweet that gravel had “packed the bell housing. . .locking up the transmission.”

Sam Mayer's car towed after his hard crash.
PHOTO: William Soquet

Back on the track on Lap 13, Sam Mayer – just 0.672 second behind the leader at the stripe - crossed the nose of another car entering Turn 12 and slammed the outside wall, destroying the nose of his #8 QPS Employment Group Chevrolet. Mayer climbed out without serious injury, and the car was towed to the garage, first officially out of the race. By then, there was a seven-lap gap between Pumpelly and Mayer. 

On Lap 20, Pumpelly’s crew reported “we’re getting close,” and by the next lap had taken the car off the jack stands after the car had fired. After some difficulty securing the window net, the #6 re-fired again on Lap 21 and returned to the track 16 laps down. If he turned just eight laps, he’d drop Mayer to last place. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. On Lap 27, when he was just one lap behind Mayer, Pumpelly’s front brakes failed going into Turn 1. The car switched ends, clipping the outside wall before backing hard into a tire barrier. The driver climbed out uninjured, but his race was over.

Finishing 34th ahead of Pumpelly and Mayer was Jade Buford, who qualified a strong 11th in the #48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet, only to break an axle on Lap 18. Ty Gibbs also ended up in the Bottom Five after his transmission failed with just 11 laps to go. Natalie Decker’s race ended in 32nd place when she collided with the spinning Kris Wright during a multi-car pileup.

Rick Ware Racing teammates Cody Ware and Josh Bilicki both ran inside the Top 10 late in the final stage, only to drop back in the order. Ware finished 12th in Stage 2 and ran as high as 9th. He then spun out twice in the #17 Nurtec ODT Ford, at one point sliding through multiple signs in the infield, and ultimately took 24th. Bilicki was 5th on the same restart, making the most of a last-minute ride for SS-Green Light Racing, but his #07 Insurance King Chevrolet broke a track bar in a late-race incident with Brett Moffitt and Ryan Sieg, dropping him to 29th.

Further up the lineup, Tommy Joe Martins recovered to finish 15th in his #44, his best run since Darlington and third-straight finish of 20th or better. Kaz Grala took 18th in his first XFINITY start of the year, this time in Jordan Anderson’s #31. And Timmy Hill followed up getting MBM’s #42 into its first race of the season with a 20th-place run, holding off Alex Labbe by just under a second. This was Hill’s best series finish since Talladega, when he ran 13th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #6 in a XFINITY Series race since April 9th of this year, when Ryan Vargas was involved in a mid-race crash. The number had never before finished last in a XFINITY race at Road America.

*The 11 laps completed by Pumpelly are the most by a XFINITY Series last-place finisher at Road America. Prior to Saturday, no last-place driver had turned more than 2 laps, including two occurrences (2014, 2020) where they didn’t complete the opening lap.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

36) #6-Spencer Pumpelly / 11 laps / crash

35) #8-Sam Mayer / 12 laps / crash

34) #48-Jade Buford / 16 laps / suspension

33) #81-Ty Gibbs / 34 laps / transmission / led 2 laps

32) #23-Natalie Decker / 38 laps / crash

2021 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) B.J. McLeod Motorsports (3)

2nd) DGM Racing, JD Motorsports, JR Motorsports, Mike Harmon Racing, RSS Racing / Reaume Brothers Racing (2)

3rd) Motorsports Business Management, Our Motorsports, Sam Hunt Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (12)

2nd) Toyota (4)

3rd) Ford (1)

2021 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: Double-duty road ringers abound in Road America

PHOTO: @joshbilicki

Saturday, July 3, 2021 

XFINITY Race 17 of 33

Henry 180 at Road America

2020 Last-Place Finisher: Bayley Currey

ENTRY LIST

There are 43 drivers entered for 36 spots as qualifying returns in Road America, meaning seven teams will miss the show.

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

Andy Lally eyes his fourth XFINITY start of the year in his all-road course effort, and rejoins B.J. McLeod’s team for the first time since his last-minute ride at the Daytona Road Course. This time around, Lally runs McLeod’s #5 in place of Matt Mills, and will carry a “throwback” scheme to Rick Hendrick’s Levi Garrett Chevrolet, made famous by Geoffrey Bodine and Ricky Rudd. Lally and his Alpha Prime Regimen Chevrolet is part of a strong three-driver “road ringer” lineup for the McLeod team.

DRIVER CHANGE: #6-JD Motorsports

Spencer Pumpelly finished a strong 16th in his NASCAR debut during the XFINITY race at the Circuit of the Americas, and is back for the first time since then in the same entry – the #6 Chevrolet. Pumpelly takes the place of Ryan Vargas, whose tangle with Justin Haley put him out of the race in Pocono.

DRIVER CHANGE: #13-Motorsports Business Management

RETURNING / DRIVER SWAP: #42-Motorsports Business Management

MBM brings back their #42 entry for the first time since Nashville, where Chad Finchum failed to qualify. Timmy Hill will drive the car this time, moving over from the #13 for a returning Stephen Leicht. Leicht and sponsor Jani-King will look to end the #13 team’s DNQ streak which has seen the car miss every race since COTA.

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

Cody Ware returns to the XFINITY Series for the first time since his season-best 15th-place finish at Mid-Ohio, taking the place of brother Carson Ware, who ran 28th in Pocono. Ware will run double-duty this weekend, running his same #51 Nurtec ODT Chevrolet on Sunday.

DRIVER CHANGE: #23-Our Motorsports

Road America will also be the next round for Natalie Decker and the Reaume Brothers Racing portion of the #23 team’s schedule. Decker takes the place of Blaine Perkins, who ran 34th after late-race suspension issues in Pocono. Nerd Focus is Decker’s listed sponsor, and the driver seeks to bounce back from her last-place finish in her series debut on the Daytona Road Course.

DRIVER CHANGE: #26-Sam Hunt Racing

Despite his early-race incident with Josh Williams, Santino Ferrucci extended his streak of finishing 15th or better to five straight starts with a 14th-place showing in Pocono. He will not run this weekend, however, as Kris Wright continues his road course portion of the schedule. Driving with this same team, Wright finished 18th in his series debut on the Daytona Road Course, but finished 32nd at both the Circuit of the Americas and Mid-Ohio following a blown engine and crash, respectively.

DRIVER CHANGE: #31-Jordan Anderson Racing

Kaz Grala eyes his first XFINITY start of the season and first in the series since last fall on the Charlotte “Roval,” where he led 3 laps only for suspension issues to leave him 31st. Grala takes his Ruedebusch.com sponsorship from RCR to Jordan Anderson’s team this time, driving in place of last week’s 9th-place finisher Josh Berry. Grala finished a season-best 4th in this race last year.

DRIVER CHANGE: #52-Jimmy Means Racing

Following Joey Gase’s 36th-place finish at Pocono, Gray Gaulding returns to the #52 team and looks to make his first start since Texas – he failed to qualify for his last attempt at Nashville.

DRIVER CHANGE: #54-Joe Gibbs Racing

RETURNING / DRIVER SWAP: #81-Joe Gibbs Racing

Like MBM, Joe Gibbs has brought back a part-time team to their lineup, fielding the #81 team for the first time since XCI Racing shut down in 2019. Ty Gibbs will move to the #81 from the #54, allowing last Sunday’s winner Kyle Busch to also enter the event. Busch will carry sponsorship from M&M’s Ice Cream Sandwiches.

DRIVER CHANGE: #61-Motorsports Business Management

Boris Said returns to the XFINITY Series for the first time since COTA, and will be running the actual chassis that Jeremy Clements took to victory lane here in 2017. The former Chevrolet is now a Toyota with Kunes RV as sponsor, and Said takes the place of 25th-place Pocono finisher Austin Hill.

DRIVER CHANGE: #66-Motorsports Business Management

Matt Jaskol returns to the XFINITY Series for the first time since Texas, and runs the #66 for the first time since Mid-Ohio. He takes the place of David Starr and brings back sponsorship from Auto Parts 4 Less. Jaskol’s best finish in five starts this year came in the most recent road course race in Mid-Ohio, where he ran 19th.

DRIVER CHANGE: #74-Mike Harmon Racing

Bayley Currey returns to the #74 in place of 31st-place Pocono finisher Jesse Iwuji, and looks to bounce back from his last-place finish in this race last year, when the engine let go on the opening lap.

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

Ryan Ellis joins Andy Lally at the McLeod team, taking the place of 29th-place Pocono finisher Jesse Little. Ellis made his three previous starts this year in the #99 with a best run of 16th at Darlington. This time he runs the #78, and has Rich Mar Florist as sponsor.

DRIVER CHANGE: #90-DGM Racing

Road courses and Mario Gosselin’s team mean the return of Preston Pardus, who finished 25th in his most recent series start at Mid-Ohio, taking 25th. Pardus takes the place of Loris Hezemans, who finished 27th in his own series return at Pocono. Pardus finished a strong 8th in this race last year, driving Gosselin’s #36.

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

Headlining the McLeod trio is Cup regular Kevin Harvick, who rejoins the team for the first time since his 4th-place showing at COTA. This time, Harvick runs the #99 instead of the #5, and carries sponsorship from race sponsor Henry Repeating Arms on his Ford.

DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing

Like his Rick Ware Racing teammate Cody Ware, Josh Bilicki will pull double-duty, and do so at his home track. Prior to debuting new sponsorship from Screamin’ Sicilian Pizza on Sunday with his #52 Ford, Bilicki will run in place of Joe Graf, Jr. in the #07 Insurance King / Ditec Chevrolet.

CUP INVADERS: #54-Kyle Busch, #99-Kevin Harvick

Sunday, July 4, 2021

CUP Race 20 of 36

Jockey Made in America 250 Presented by Kwik Trip at Road America

1956 Last-Place Finisher (258 miles): Junior Johnson

ENTRY LIST

For the first time since the Circuit of the Americas and just the fifth time in 20 races this season, there are 40 cars entered for as many spots – and like COTA, qualifying will set the lineup.

RETURNING: #16-Kaulig Racing

In the last three of their four Cup Series starts, Kaulig Racing has finished 7th, 6th, and 5th with the duo of Kaz Grala and A.J. Allmendinger. Now, with the announcement that Kaulig has acquired two Charters for 2022, Allmendinger will pull double-duty in the #16 Hyperice Chevrolet. Allmendinger won the 2013 running of Road America’s XFINITY race for Penske Racing, and finished runner-up to Austin Cindric last year.

RETURNING: #33-Penske Racing

Speaking of Cindric, he will also be back in a Cup field for the first time since the All-Star Open. Cindric will look to follow-up his surprising run at the start of the Cup race at COTA, and carries the Pirtek scheme once more.

DRIVER CHANGE: #53-Rick Ware Racing

Joining double-duty drivers Cody Ware and Josh Bilicki will be Ryan Eversley, who will be making his first NASCAR start in a black version of the Nurtec ODT scheme. Eversley, who a few years ago ran one of the only Acuras in the Pirelli World Challenge Series, will take the place of Garrett Smithley, who lost power steering and finished 36th in Pocono.

DRIVER CHANGE: #77-Spire Motorsports

Justin Allgaier ran as high as 20th in the final laps at Pocono before settling for a 25th-place finish in his last-minute substitute role in Spire’s #77 Chevrolet. Justin Haley is expected to return and again pull double-duty between his own full-time XFINITY entry for Kaulig Racing. The Fraternal Order of Eagles rejoins Haley as sponsor on the same weekend he won his rain-shortened Daytona race two years ago.

DRIVER CHANGE: #78-Live Fast Motorsports

B.J. McLeod and Matt Tifft have again tabbed Kyle Tilley to run the #78 this week. The Englishman finished 31st in his NASCAR debut at COTA, and will again carry sponsorship from Bremont and Battle Associates on his patriotic-themed Ford.

RETURNING: #96-Gaunt Brothers Racing

Welcome back Ty Dillon and the Gaunt Brothers, who have not been seen in the Cup garage since COTA, where they finished in 21st. Lure Lock and Bass Pro Shops are the listed sponsors of the #96 Toyota.

Friday, July 9, 2021 

TRUCKS Race 14 of 22

Corn Belt 150 at Knoxville

2020 Last-Place Finisher: Inaugural Event

The Truck Series takes the week off and returns to action on the dirt in Knoxville.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (July 1, 1956): Jack Smith picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his Cup Series career when his 1956 Chevrolet dropped out with carburetor issues after 5 laps of a 200-lap event on the Ashville-Weaverville Speedway.