CUP: Joey Gase’s last-minute driver swap followed by hard hit at Michigan

PHOTO: @RickWareRacing

Joey Gase picked up the 8th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at the Michigan International Speedway when his #15 Lisa Express Chevrolet was involved in a single-car crash after 29 of 200 laps.

The finish, which came in Gase’s 81st series start, was his first of the season and first in a Cup race since August 23, 2020 at Dover, 36 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 28th for the #15, the 618th from a crash, and the 813th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 45th for the #15, the 1,268th from a crash, and the 1,800th for Chevrolet.

Last season saw Gase run the most Cup Series races he’s run in any one season – 33 of the 36 rounds – and earned a career-best 17th in the fall Talladega race. This year, Gase made his third Daytona 500 start and managed to avoid the early pileup in Turn 4, drafting with his teammates to the finish for a 20th-place showing. He’s run just five races since then, most recently at Nashville, where his 29th-place run was his best run since the 500.

On Thursday, Gase reported he would be running the #15 in place of James Davison, having finalized a sponsorship deal with The Lisa Foundation, an organization that raises awareness of brain aneurysms. By Sunday, Bob Pockrass reported Gase will then drive one of Rick Ware Racing’s cars in all but two of the remaining 11 races in 2021, excluding only Bristol and the Charlotte “Roval.” 

Gase would line up 34th on the grid, but was one of two drivers sent to the back on Sunday for driver changes. The other was for Josh Berry, who ended up running triple-duty over the weekend after Corey LaJoie was swapped out due to COVID-19 protocols. Berry had lined up 24th in LaJoie’s Spire Motorsports entry, the #7 Nations Guard Chevrolet.

Rolling off 37th and last was another Rick Ware Racing entry, the #51 team that had finished last in the preceding two Cup races at Watkins Glen and Indianapolis. After the command to start engines, driver Cody Ware immediately had a problem – a crewman had accidentally knocked the hose off his coolbox, meaning he’d start the late summer race without air conditioning. Ware did not come down pit road for repairs, and addressed the starter’s stand for the green flag.

The penalized Gase was the last driver across the stripe, 3.409 seconds back of the lead behind Ware and Berry. Gase lined up last on the inside line, and gradually lost touch with the pack. By Lap 3, he was already 1.451 seconds behind 36th-place teammate Josh Bilicki in the #52 Ziegler Auto Group Ford. “Keep digging here, bud, keep digging!” said Gase’s crew the next time by. Regardless, Gase dropped to 3.448 seconds back of 36th place on Lap 7. By then, the 36th-place driver was the fourth member of the RWR team – Garrett Smithley – whose #53 Kendall Motor Oil Chevrolet had also lost touch with the tail end of the pack.

Both Gase and Smithley were running by themselves when the leaders caught them on Lap 15. The frontrunners ran the middle lane, then moved by to Gase’s inside. Smithley, several seconds ahead, was now 8.562 seconds back of 35th-place driver Quin Houff in the #00 YMCA / Creek Chevrolet. The leaders didn’t catch Smithley until just before the Lap 20 competition caution, which prevented Gase from getting his lap back. During the caution, Gase’s crew made several adjustments to fix a car that was loose all around the track, particularly at the entrance to Turn 3.

When the race restarted, Gase indicated his car was handling better. But on Lap 31, while coming off Turn 2, something broke in the right-front of the #15, sending Gase hard into the outside wall. “Hold onto it, bud – stay up, stay up, stay up,” said the team’s spotter as Gase stopped in the middle of the backstretch. The caution came out, and after a few moments, Gase climbed out of his car, done for the day. On Lap 34, as Gase’s car was towed to the garage, the team relayed the driver’s comments: “Said it felt like something broke under him, and it just took off in Turn 2. . .shot him straight into the wall, a pretty hard hit." NASCAR’s officials confirmed Gase was out on Lap 50.

Finishing 36th was a disappointed Austin Dillon, whose #3 Breztri Chevrolet was one of the fastest cars on the track. After battling Kyle Larson for the race lead en route to a 3rd-place finish in Stage 1, Dillon edged Brad Keselowski for 6th in Stage 2, only for Keselowski’s left-front to hook Dillon’s right-rear, sending Dillon head-on into the outside wall. Dillon walked away uninjured, but tumbled into the Bottom Five.

Dillon was passed in the late laps by Ross Chastain, whose #42 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet pulled into the garage with a reported fire in the rear end of his car. Also sent to the garage for mechanical woes was Anthony Alfredo, whose crew attended to the left-rear of his #38 TheGoldenNuggetCasino.com Ford. Alfredo returned to the track before Chastain, and the pair crossed the line in 34th and 35th. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Joey Logano, who appeared to break a tie rod in the right-front after he spun out of the Top 10 on Lap 188. Logano’s six-minute “Crash Clock” expired, making him the only retiree from the seven-car incident.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #15 in a Cup race at Michigan since August 13, 2017, when Derrike Cope’s #15 StarCom Fiber Toyota lost the engine after 107 laps of the Pure Michigan 400.

*The last seven of Gase’s eight Cup Series last-place finishes have all come in different numbers. From oldest to newest, these were the #32, #83, #23, #66, #7, #51, and #15.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

37) #15-Joey Gase / 29 laps / crash

36) #3-Austin Dillon / 120 laps / crash / led 2 laps

35) #42-Ross Chastain / 152 laps / running

34) #38-Anthony Alfredo / 178 laps / running

33) #22-Joey Logano / 188 laps / dvp

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Rick Ware Racing (5)

2nd) JTG-Daugherty Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (4)

3rd) Spire Motorsports (3)

4th) Chip Ganassi Racing, Motorsports Business Management (2)

5th) Front Row Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, StarCom Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (15)

2nd) Ford (7)

3rd) Toyota (3)

2021 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

TRUCKS: Jennifer Jo Cobb loses power before the track does at Gateway

PHOTO: @RealJaredHaas

Jennifer Jo Cobb picked up the 9th last-place finish of her NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s Toyota 200 Presented by CK Power at the World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway when her #10 Fastener Supply Company Ford lost the engine after 28 of 163 laps.

The finish, which came in Cobb’s 225th series start, was her first of the season and first since September 10, 2020 at Richmond, 23 races ago. In the Truck Series last-place rankings, it was the 21st for the #10, the 112th for Ford, and the 135th from engine trouble. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 130th for the #10, the 978th for Ford, and the 1,106th from an engine.

The finish also continues a streak of 16 different last-place finishers in as many races this season. She also jumps to the lead in the 2021 LASTCAR Truck Series Championship. Tied with Norm Benning on Bottom Fives and Bottom Tens, she leads by a single Bottom Fifteen, 11-10.

Now in her 14th season in Truck Series competition, the veteran owner-driver is looking to improve her team’s performance. Coming into Gateway, she’d ended a streak of five consecutive DNFs, a DNQ at COTA, and a withdrawal at Nashville to finish under power at Texas, Pocono, Knoxville, and Watkins Glen. 

Although she’s run Chevrolets for her most recent seasons, Cobb has since acquired an old Ford from ThorSport Racing, and is now campaigning it in the series. The Ford made its 2021 debut at her home track in Kansas, marking the first time she’d raced a Ford since 2013. She finished 37th with it that day, then ran 31st at Texas and Pocono before a 36th in Watkins Glen. At Gateway, the black nose of the Ford added a new accent to her traditionally white paint scheme, which would roll off in the 35th spot.

Which nose a team ran ended up a story in the garage area at Gateway, specifically involving fellow owner-driver Norm Benning. Benning unloaded his #6 MDS A Sign Co. Chevrolet in the garage area, only to be told by NASCAR officials that the 2018 nose on his Chevrolet was illegal to run. According to NASCAR, as of June 30 of this year the 2018 nose could only be run on dirt tracks and road courses, not paved ovals like Gateway. A statement from Norm Benning Racing was that NASCAR told Benning one of his three trucks was made illegal by the rule, but indicated it was not the truck he’d brought to Gateway. With no on-staff fabricator on the NBR team and all his fabrication work done in Charlotte, the #6 team had no choice but to withdraw.

Benning’s was already one of two withdrawals late in the week, joined by Spencer Davis and his family’s #11 Inox Supreme Lubricants Toyota. This further frustrated two other teams who had originally been entered in what, until mid-week, had been a 42-truck entry list for 40 starting spots. Davis’ withdrawal would have put Clay Greenfield into his first race of 2021 in the #68 Rackley Roofing Toyota while Benning’s would put in On Point Motorsports’ second entry, to be driven by Chris Hacker. While Hacker was able to find another ride in Josh Reaume’s #34, Greenfield was left on the outside looking in, unable to make the show on Owner Points due to the lack of practice or qualifying. With that, there were only 38 starters out of a possible 40.

Rolling off last on the grid Friday night was Dawson Cram, who late in the week welcomed sponsorship from KSDT onto his patriotic-painted #41 Chevrolet. But as the field rolled off the grid, Cobb had already fallen to the rear, and would incur an unapproved adjustment penalty prior to the start of the race. When the race did start, Cobb was on pit road with her truck’s hood up, and she immediately assumed the 38th spot. The crew then pushed her #10 behind the wall, and finally rolled down pit road on Lap 4. The next time by, she completed her first lap, and was shown three laps down to the leaders.

The aforementioned Chris Hacker was next to enter he last-place battel on Lap 15, when his #34 ARS Construction Toyota was pushed behind the wall for a hole in the oil line that caused the truck to smoke. Cobb dropped Hacker to last on Lap 18, then nearly tangled with Kris Wright’s #02 Wright Chevy Chevrolet in Turn 1. By Lap 27, Cobb was six laps ahead of Hacker in 39th, and Hacker was joined by Watkins Glen last-place finisher Chandler Smith, who that time by went to the garage with a hub failure on his #18 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota.

Cobb restarted with the field on Lap 30, but after slowing down the backstretch returned to pit road on Lap 32. Hacker returned to the track on Lap 34, showing 21 laps down, and the still-rolling Cobb dropped Smith to 37th on Lap 41. Hacker then dropped Smith to last on Lap 48, and Cobb was back on pit road when Stage 1 ended on Lap 56. On Lap 62, Smith had just re-fired the engine and rejoined the race 36 laps down when a power outage stopped scoring and forced a nearly one-hour red flag. It wasn’t until after scoring resumed that the caution laps before the red flag were counted, dropping Cobb to last place, two laps back of Smith on Lap 65. The race ultimately restarted and was run to completion, but Cobb was the only driver to not rejoin the event. Chris Hacker climbed to finish 27th, one spot ahead of Chandler Smith.

Jordan Anderson, racing in the hometown of sponsor Bommarito Automotive Group, had engine issues as early as Lap 2 and spent several laps behind the wall in his #3 Chevrolet. He ultimately dropped out after completing 68, leaving him 37th. Danny Bohn went to the garage at least twice in On Point’s #30 North American Motor Car Toyota before calling it a night. Zane Smith led 19 laps – one of the race’s only three leaders – but the rear gear failed past the halfway point, leaving him 35th. Rounding out the group was Jake Griffin, whose #45 Great Escapes RV Center Chevrolet crossed another truck’s nose in the chain-reaction caused by John Hunter Nemechek’s sudden loss of power entering Turn 1.

In this opening round of the Playoffs, Carson Hocevar served notice by finishing a hard-fought 8th despite right-front damage suffered in one of the night’s pileups. Jack Wood, the last-place finisher at Pocono, earned a career-best 10th-place finish in his #24 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet – his first top-ten finish in seven career Truck starts. Tyler Hill’s 11th-place finish in the #56 Hair Club Chevrolet tied his own career-best for a third-straight year, following Kentucky in 2019 and Texas in 2020. And making only his second series start, Taylor Gray finished 12th in his #17 Ford for David Gilliland Racing, and was about to follow brother Tanner Gray into the Top 10 before Tanner was involved in a late-race crash, leaving him 19th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked Cobb’s second last-place finish in a Truck Series race at Gateway. The other occurred on June 17, 2017, when her $10 ASAP Appliance Service / Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet had suspension issues that prevented her from completing a lap.

*With the finish, Cobb moves into a tie with Joe Nemechek and Chris Lafferty for the fifth-most last-place finishes in Truck Series history.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb / 28 laps / engine

37) #3-Jordan Anderson / 68 laps / engine

36) #30-Danny Bohn / 94 laps / engine

35) #21-Zane Smith / 99 laps / rear gear / led 19 laps

34) #45-Jake Griffin / 112 laps / crash

2021 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Niece Motorsports (5)

2nd) GMS Racing, Rackley-W.A.R. (2)

3rd) CMI Motorsports, Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Norm Benning Racing, Reaume Brothers Racing, Roper Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (13)

2nd) Ford, Toyota (2)

2021 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

XFINITY: Brandon Brown scores first XFINITY last-place finish in “Baby Doge” car

PHOTO: @BMSRaceTeam

Brandon Brown picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s New Holland 250 at the Michigan International Speedway when his #68 Baby Doge Coin Chevrolet was collected in a multi-car accident after 35 of 139 laps.

The finish came in Brown’s 108th series start. In the XFINITY Series rankings, it as the 5th for the #68, the 355th from a crash, and the 576th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 28th for the #68, the 1,267th from a crash, and the 1,799th for Chevrolet.

Heading into the Texas race this past June, Brandon Brown gained much attention on social media with his entertaining car salesman parody, advertising the available sponsorship space on his family’s Brandonbilt Motorsports #68 Chevrolet. Brown has worked every bit as hard on the track, where since 2016 he’s developed into a steady mid-pack contender in the XFINITY Series. Since going full-time in 2019, Brown and team have shown improvement each year, taking 15th in the ’19 standings with their first top-ten run at Daytona, then 11th last year with their first Top Five at Texas.

This year, the “For Sale” sign scheme at Texas was one of six races where the team either lacked primary sponsorship or carried the logos of his family’s Brandonbilt Foundations company. Most recently at last week’s Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit, Brown ran without sponsorship at all, and finished third-from last when he was among the drivers to run over the errant “turtle” off Turn 6 on the opening lap. This kept him 14th in the series standings, just two spots and 42 points out of a spot in the Playoffs.

Brown would start 25th at Michigan, his second race carrying the pastel-hued “Baby Doge Coin” cryptocurrency paint scheme on the #68. Prior to the race, and on behalf of his sponsor, Brown would present $100,000 to the Best Friends Animal Society, which the press release indicates is the United States’ largest no-kill animal sanctuary.

Rolling off 40th was Gray Gaulding in the #52 SVS Vision Chevrolet for Jimmy Means Racing. No drivers were sent to the back for technical infractions, but Josh Berry’s unexpected triple-header weekend put him back into Michael Annett’s #1 Pilot / Flying J / TMAF Chevrolet, dropping him back from the 17th starting spot.

After the race went green, Gaulding re-assumed the last spot, and was closing on the new 39th-place driver Caesar Bacarella in DGM Racing’s #90 AP Sports Regimen / Maxim Chevrolet. Gaulding passed Bacarella on Lap 7, and both they and 38th-place Joe Graf, Jr. in the #07 Power Weld Chevrolet lost touch with each other in the back of the pack. By Lap 13, Bacarella had dropped to 5.436 seconds back of Gaulding, and was lapped just seconds before the competition caution fell on Lap 16. This gave the #90 the first Lucky Dog of the afternoon.

During caution flag pit stops on Lap 18, last spot briefly fell to David Starr in the #66 Sinex Transport Toyota before a penalty dropped Tyler Reddick to last in the #23 Ohio Logistics Chevrolet. Bacarella then took last on Lap 20 as the free pass recipient. On the ensuing restart, Bacarella was in a tight race with Graf when he drove high into the second groove entering Turn 3. Bacarella spun and backed into the outside wall, drawing the second caution of the day. The crew made at least two pit stops to push down the rear decklid and also tape the decklid to the quarter-panel. This dropped Bacarella off a lap for the second time in the race.

At the same time, Bayley Currey was losing power in his black #74 Fort Worth Screen Printing Chevrolet. During an extended stay on pit road, the crew looked over the left-rear corner of the car for an apparent battery and electrical issue – the same issue that kept them from starting the Texas race back in June. Bacarella returned to the track by Lap 25, when he dropped the #74 to last place for the first time. On Lap 31, Currey’s crew reported their battery was “melting,” and they soon cobbled together a new electrical connection from parts they had on hand.

On Lap 34, Sam Mayer entered the last-place battle when his #8 QPS Employment Group Chevrolet pulled behind the wall with transmission issues. “Oh, we got one,” said Currey. The next time by, Currey’s engine re-fired, and he returned to the track 13 laps down, 10 laps back of Mayer. No sooner had Currey returned to the track when trouble broke out on the backstretch.

Lap 36 saw the restart to begin Stage 2, putting some surprising names into the Top Ten. Among these was Tommy Joe Martins, who put his #44 AAN Adjusters Chevrolet into the first spot with Brandon Brown restarting behind him in 3rd. When the green flag dropped, Brown pushed Martins into the entrance of Turn 1, but the faster outside line gained momentum through the corners. Brown backed off Martins and skated up the track, nearly colliding with Justin Allgaier in the #7 Brandt Chevrolet as he pulled to the outside line.

At the same instant, directly to Brown’s inside, Ty Gibbs in the #54 Sport Clips Toyota made contact with Myatt Snider’s #2 Superior Essex Chevrolet, causing Snider’s car to cross the nose of Austin Cindric’s #22 Menards / NIBCO Ford and pinch Brown into the outside wall. The ensuing pileup collected several frontrunners, including Cindric’s #22 and Daniel Hemic in the #18 Poppy Bank Toyota. Brown had barely enough time to pull his car straight when Hemric spun him to the apron, where Joe Graf, Jr. nearly collided with him a second time.

Brown’s car was the first of those involved in the wreck to pull into the garage, done for the day under the “Damaged Vehicle Policy” on Lap 36. Hemric and Graf followed on the next two consecutive laps. By Lap 39, Currey was 14 laps down in 40th with Mayer’s transmission issues putting him 39th and Brown now slipping to 37th, lowest-ranked of the wrecked drivers. Cindric’s crew removed the nose of the #22 on pit road, and he turned another six laps trailing smoke before he was finally flagged off the track under the DVP. Four laps after that, both Snider and Bacarella were also docked under the DVP on Lap 51.

Meanwhile, Currey didn’t drop Mayer to last place until Lap 47. But Mayer’s engine re-fired on Lap 59, and he returned to action 27 laps down. At the time, Mayer was just four laps back of Brown, who had since slipped to 39th behind Currey. On Lap 63, Mayer, too, passed Brown for the 39th spot, and the #68 took over last place. Both Mayer and Currey climbed out of the Bottom Five, climbing past Baccarella, Snider, Cindric, Graf, and Hemric to finish 33rd and 34th, respectively. Currey would ultimately be involved in a late-race wreck with Jesse Little in the #99 B.J. McLeod Motorsports Toyota.

At the finish, Jade Buford scored a season-best 9th-place finish in the #48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet – one spot shy of Buford’s career-best 8th last fall on the Charlotte “Roval,” and the best for the first-year Big Machine Motorsports team. One spot behind him came Bubba Wallace, who steered Motorsports Business Management and Hattori Racing Enterprises’ #61 AISIN Toyota to a 10th-place spot despite left-front damage suffered in the same wreck that eliminated Brandon Brown.

Among the surprises just outside the Top 10 were Matt Mills, who was running in the Top 15 all day in B.J. McLeod Motorsports’ #5 J.F. Electric Chevrolet. Mills finished 14th, his third-best finish in the series and best-ever at Michigan, besting a previous mark of 24th back in 2019.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #68 in a XFINITY Series race at Michigan.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

40) #68-Brandon Brown / 35 laps / crash

39) #18-Daniel Hemric / 36 laps / crash

38) #07-Joe Graf, Jr. / 37 laps / DVP

37) #22-Austin Cindric / 41 laps / DVP

36) #2-Myatt Snider / 45 laps / DVP

2021 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) B.J. McLeod Motorsports (5)

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

3rd) Brandonbilt Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Our Motorsports, Sam Hunt Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2021 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (15)

2nd) Toyota (6)

3rd) Ford (1)

2021 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: Many drivers make first Michigan starts in XFINITY; Gateway Truck Series race features a few debuts

PHOTO: @dawsoncram41

Friday, August 20, 2021 (9:00 P.M. ET FS1)

TRUCKS Race 16 of 22

Round of 10 – Race 1 of 3

Toyota 200 Presented by CK Power at World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway)

2020 Last-Place Finisher: Johnny Sauter

ENTRY LIST

As the Truck Series Playoffs begin in Missouri, there are 42 drivers entered for 40 spots. But with the return of metric qualifying, two teams are already eliminated from the lineup (see below) - plus another two wothdrew for a field total of 38.

DRIVER CHANGE: #3-Jordan Anderson Racing

This weekend, Jordan Anderson will attempt double-duty in both the Truck Series race at Gateway and the XFINITY event in Michigan, each time driving for his own team. On Friday, he’ll step in for Bobby Reuse in the #3 Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet. Anderson’s best of 6 Gateway finishes was in 2016, when he ran 11th for Bolen Motorsports. Anderson takes the place of Bobby Reuse, who handed the wheel to Anderson during the race at Watkins Glen en route to a 29th-place finish.

WITHDREW: #6-Norm Benning Racing

Benning arrived at the track Friday, only to be told by NASCAR that the 2018 nose on his truck had been banned on all but dirt tracks and road courses as of June 30 of this year. Benning had no choice but to withdraw.

DRIVER CHANGE / WITHDREW: #11-Spencer Davis Motorsports

Spencer Davis and the #11 team are back in action for the first time since Nashville, where they finished in 25th. Inox Supreme Lubricants is again the sponsor of their Toyota. UPDATE: Not this week - the team has withdrawn as of Friday.

DRIVER CHANGE: #23-GMS Racing

Chase Purdy is expected to be off COVID-19 protocol this weekend, and is again entered in his #23 BamaBuggies.com Chevrolet. A.J. Allmendinger, last week’s Cup winner in Indy, drove the truck to a 27th-place finish.

NEW TEAM / DID NOT QUALIFY: #31-On Point Motorsports

DRIVER CHANGE: #34-Reaume Brothers Racing

Gateway was to mark the first time that On Point Motorsports would enter a second truck, the #31, to join Danny Bohn in the #30. However, the large entry list has put the #31 on the wrong side of the cut line, moving the originally scheduled driver Chris Hacker to Josh Reaume’s second truck, the #34. Hacker, who takes the place of Lawless Alan, will be making his first start in NASCAR’s top three series. Most recently, he finished 10th in this year’s ARCA race at Charlotte.

DRIVER CHANGE: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing

Piloting Reaume’s flagship #33 in place of the owner himself is Armani Williams, who will become the first NASCAR driver diagnosed with Autism. Williams, who hails from Detroit, has competed part-time in other NASCAR regional series since 2017, and most recently finished 10th in the 2020 ARCA race at Michigan driving for Andy Hillenburg. 

DRIVER CHANGE: #41-Cram Racing Enterprises

Dawson Cram was about to be without sponsorship this week until KSDT came on board on Wednesday. He takes the place of Will Rodgers, who after early trouble was classified last at Watkins Glen until Chandler Smith was disqualified.

DRIVER CHANGE: #45-Niece Motorsports

Great Escapes RV Center will sponsor Jake Griffin in his third Truck start of the season and first on a paved track since this same Gateway event in 2016, when he finished 30th for the late Mike Mittler at the team’s home track. Griffin takes the place of Chad Chastain, who ran 34th in his series debut at Watkins Glen.

DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Kyle Busch Motorsports

The latest development driver to make his Truck Series debut with KBM is Derek Griffith, who finished 5th in his most recent ARCA start at Kansas earlier this year. Griffith takes the place of Corey Heim, who ran 18th at Watkins Glen, and brings Hudson Speedway sponsorship in addition to KBM’s backing from JBL.

DRIVER CHANGE: #56-Hill Motorsports

Tyler Hill will swap in for brother Timmy this Friday as Hair Club will again sponsor the #56 Chevrolet.

DRIVER CHANGE: #66-ThorSport Racing

Ty Majeski will make his fourth Truck Series start of 2021 on Friday, looking to continue a streak of finishing no worse than 14th in ThorSport’s newest #66 entry. Majeski takes the place of Paul Menard, who climbed from 39th on the grid at Watkins Glen to finish 8th.

RETURNING / DID NOT QUALIFY: #68-Clay Greenfield Racing

For the third time in 2021 and the first since his latest attempt in Nashville, Clay Greenfield will not qualify in his #68 Rackley Roofing Toyota. Greenfield has yet to make a start so far this year. Ironically, Greenfield would have started Friday's race had Davis and/or Benning's withdrawals come earlier.

MISSING: #72-CMI Motorsports

Ray Ciccarelli has elected not to enter their third team, the #72, which missed the cut at Watkins Glen with Samuel Lecomte driving.

MISSING: #75-Henderson Motorsports

Parker Kligerman is not entered following a charge from 38th to 5th at Watkins Glen that netted his fans $1 hoodies, courtesy of sponsor Fast.co.

DRIVER CHANGE: #02-Young’s Motorsports

Following a series of XFINITY races for Sam Hunt Racing, Kris Wright makes his tenth Truck Series start of the year and first since Pocono, again with Randy Young’s #02 Chevrolet. Wright Chevy is the listed sponsor as he takes the place of Kaz Grala, 12th after early trouble at The Glen.

RETURNING: #04-Roper Racing

We haven’t seen the #04 team since Knoxville, nor Cory Roper driving it since Nashville, but both are back in action in Gateway. In fact, this will mark Roper’s first series start at the track.

CUP INVADERS: None

Saturday, August 21, 2021 (3:00 P.M. ET NBCSN)

XFINITY Race 22 of 33

New Holland 250 at Michigan

2019 Last-Place Finisher: Dillon Bassett

ENTRY LIST

There are 41 drivers entered for 40 spots in the XFINITY Series’ first race at Michigan in two years. With the return of metric qualifying, MBM’s #13 team will not qualify for the 11th time in 22 races (see below).

DRIVER CHANGE: #0-JD Motorsports

After multiple road course races, many XFINITY Series teams return to their familiar oval-track lineups. Among this is Johnny Davis’ team, which puts Jeffrey Earnhardt back in the #0 for the first time since – ironically – Watkins Glen. Earnhardt takes the place of Spencer Pumpelly, who was running 10th in the final 16 laps of last week’s Indianapolis race before he dropped to 24th.

DRIVER CHANGE: #1-JR Motorsports

Michael Annett’s continued recovery from his leg injury kept him out of the car at Indianapolis, putting Chase Elliott behind the wheel and Annett out of the Playoffs. Annett will slip even further back this weekend for the same reason. Taking his place on Saturday is Josh Berry, fresh off signing a full-season deal with JR Motorsports for 2022.

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

Matt Mills returns to the #5 for the first time since Watkins Glen, taking the place of James Davson, who an 18th at Indy.

DRIVER CHANGE: #6-JD Motorsports

Ryan Vargas is back in his #6 for the first time since Loudon, and will make his first series start at Michigan. He takes the place of Ryan Eversley, who failed to qualify at Indianapolis.

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

Timmy Hill is the listed driver to take the place of Stephen Leicht, who failed to qualify during time trials at Indianapolis. The result will be the same as Hill’s team is too low in Owner Points to qualify this week.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-JD Motorsports

Colby Howard is back in his #15 for the first time since Watkins Glen, taking the place of Mike Skeen, who like Eversley failed to qualify at The Glen. Like Vargas, this will be Howard’s first XFINITY start at Michigan.

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

Carson Ware will make just the third XFINITY start of his 2021 season and first since the July weekend in Atlanta, where he ran 36th. He will again run the Rick Ware Racing car partnered with SS-Green Light Racing, taking the place of J.J. Yeley, who was 22nd in Indy. This will likewise be Ware’s first XFINITY start at Michigan, and only his third series start at a track larger than 1.5 miles in length (he has two starts at Pocono).

DRIVER CHANGE: #23-Our Motorsports

It’s a swap of Richard Childress Racing teammates at the second Chris Our team as Tyler Reddick takes the place of Austin Dillon in the #23 Ohio Logistics Chevrolet. This will be Reddick’s 6th XFINITY start of the year, his first since Nashville, and comes as he tries to hold off Dillon for the 16th and final spot in the Cup Series Playoffs.

MISSING: #24-Sam Hunt Racing

Will Rodgers is not entered in this weekend’s XFINITY race, and neither is the new second team Sam Hunt debuted in Indy with a 28th-place finish.

DRIVER CHANGE: #26-Sam Hunt Racing

With Kris Wright running the Truck Series race in Gateway, Colin Garrett will reassume the #26 for SHR marking just his second XFINITY start of 2021 and first since Talladega, where he ran 15th. As on the superspeedway, the 11/11 Project will sponsor his #26 Toyota Supra. Garrett is still another driver making his first series start at Michigan.

DRIVER CHANGE: #31-Jordan Anderson Racing

Jordan Anderson’s aforementioned double-header will carry on in Michigan, where he takes the place of open-wheel star Sage Karam, 26th after electrical woes in Indianapolis.

MISSING: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing

Loris Hezemans is not entered following his DNQ in Indianapolis, and the Reaume Brothers team will instead focus on their two-truck lineup in Gateway.

MISSING: #42-Motorsports Business Management

Giorgio Maggi is not entered after his own DNQ in Indy, and the MBM team has elected not to enter their fourth car this week.

DRIVER CHANGE: #61-Motorsports Business Management

MBM will, however, field a car for the only other Cup regular joining Tyler Reddick in the XFINITY Series race. With Austin Hill committed to Friday’s Truck Series race and the Playoffs, Bubba Wallace has stepped forward to run the partnered effort with Hattori Racing Enterprises. This marks Wallace’s first XFINITY start since September 16, 2017 at Chicagoland, where he ran 10th. It will also be his first XFINITY race in Michigan since 2016, when he ran 9th for Roush-Fenway Racing.

DRIVER CHANGE: #66-Motorsports Business Management

David Starr will rejoin MBM in the #66 entry, taking the place of Matt Jaskol, who failed to qualify at Indianapolis. Starr makes his first start since Loudon, and welcomes another new sponsor in Sinex Transport.

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

One week after Andy Lally turned in an impressive 10th-place finish for B.J. McLeod Motorsports in the XFINITY race at Indianapolis, Mason Massey will pilot the #78 for the first time since last fall at Richmond. This will be Massey’s first XFINITY start since his last-place run at Loudon this past summer.

DRIVER CHANGE: #90-DGM Racing

Caesar Bacarella makes just his third series start of the year and first on a non-superspeedway, following a 12th-place run in Daytona and 38th in Talladega. He takes the place of Preston Pardus, who was among the victims of Indy’s Turn 6 “turtle” on Lap 1, leaving him 35th.

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

Cup regular Kevin Harvick is not in this week’s XFINITY race, and Jesse Little – most often in McLeod’s #78 entry this year – will instead pilot the #99. Little made his most recent series start at Watkins Glen, finishing 27th, and will on Saturday make his first series start at Michigan.

DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing

Joe Graf, Jr. carries sponsorship from Power Weld as he returns to the #07 for the first time since The Glen. He takes the place of road racer Josh Bilicki, who ran 25th with the team at Indianapolis.

CUP INVADERS: #23-Tyler Reddick, #61-Bubba Wallace

Sunday, August 22, 2021 (3:00 P.M. ET NBCSN)

CUP Race 25 of 36

FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan (200 laps)

2020 Last-Place Finishers: Joey Gase (161 laps August 8), Brad Keselowski (156 laps August 9) 

ENTRY LIST

There are 37 drivers entered for 40 spots, the 19th short field in 25 races, and the fewest starters for a Cup race here since June 10, 2019, when 36 took the green.

DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Spire Motorsports

On Thursday came news that Corey LaJoie will be out of his Cup ride on Sunday due to COVID-19 protocols. Driving in his place will be Josh Berry, who will now run all three races this weekend - two in relief of other drivers.

MISSING: #16-Kaulig Racing

Conspicuously absent on this week’s entry list is the driver and team that took the checkered flag in last week’s upset victory. Michigan is not among the races for A.J. Allmendinger and Kaulig Racing this year, as both will instead focus on Saturday’s XFINITY race.

MISSING: #33-Penske Racing

Austin Cindric is likewise not entered as Indianapolis marked his 7th and final scheduled Cup start of the season, yielding an impressive 9th-place finish. He, too, will instead contest Saturday’s XFINITY race with the Penske Racing team.

MISSING: #66-Motorsports Business Management

Timmy Hill is again shut out of this week’s activities as his brother runs in the Truck Series, his XFINITY car is ranked too low in points, and his Cup car isn’t entered. Timmy finished 27th at Indianapolis after starting 40th and last on the grid.

DRIVER CHANGE: #78-Live Fast Motorsports

B.J. McLeod returns to the seat of his #78 for the first time since Loudon, taking the place of Andy Lally, who himself relieved Kyle Tilley at Indianapolis and finished 39th with rear gear trouble.

MISSING: #96-Gaunt Brothers Racing

Ty Dillon is not entered after the Gaunt Brothers team withdrew in Indianapolis.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (August 19, 1995): Scott Lagasse picked up the first last-place finish of his NASCAR Truck Series career when his #24 DuPont Refinishes Chevrolet crashed after 5 laps of the Stevens Beil Genuine Car Parts 150 at Flemington, New Jersey. Lagasse, who started 4th, drew the first of 11 cautions in the 151-lap race won by Ron Hornaday, Jr.

OPINION: Kaulig’s rapid rise to Cup success a breath of fresh air in the Charter Era

PHOTO: @KauligRacing

by Ben Schneider

LASTCAR.info Guest Contributor

On Sunday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kaulig Racing picked up the team’s first victory in NASCAR’s Cup Series with A.J. Allmendinger. It was already Kaulig's eleventh win in NASCAR overall, accounting for their ten Xfinity Series wins.

It’s easy to forget just how young the team is. Just over two years ago, the team was still in search of their first Xfinity win and only running one car in the series full-time. Team owner Matt Kaulig is the owner of LeafFilter, which originally entered the sport in 2014 - just seven years ago - as a sponsor of Blake Koch at TriStar Motorsports. In 2016, Kaulig began fielding his own startup team with Koch as the driver. The team hired Ryan Truex in 2018, who scored the team’s first top-five finish at Mid-Ohio that season.

The 2019 season marked Kaulig’s breakout year. They hired Justin Haley as the flagship No. 11 team’s driver, a position he holds to this day. They started a second part-time team, the No. 10, after running a single race with Austin Dillon the previous year. The biggest highlight of the season, however, would come in a one-off third entry, the No. 16, driven by Ross Chastain to the team’s first-ever win at Daytona. Allmendinger, who has since emerged as the team’s veteran leader, would score a second win on the Charlotte Roval later that year. This would re-ignite Allmendinger's passion behind the wheel, and he’s back full-time in NASCAR, truly enjoying his role in the team's rapid growth.

In 2020, Haley and Allmendinger added three and two wins respectively, while Haley made the  Championship Four at Phoenix, finishing third in the final point standings. Kaulig also entered Haley in a one-off Cup entry in the Daytona 500. Now, three full-time Kaulig entries are going "trophy hunting" - each capable of winning on any given Xfinity weekend. In the Cup Series, they have launched a part-time program with the intention of running full-time in 2022, having secured not one, but two charters for next season. And now they have a Cup win of their own.

In an era of mergers, short fields and disappearing teams, it has been hard for fans of the underdog to keep the faith. The era of the Charter System has seen the closures of many small teams their Charters were supposed to protect.

There has arguably never been a harder time to be an underdog in this sport. Costs are higher than ever, and the current business model has virtually locked out any team not among the 36 who possess Charters from competing at the top level on Sundays.

And yet, in the midst of it all, Kaulig has found a way to grow from a midfield, independent, single-car Xfinity program into a championship-contending Xfinity team with a startup Cup program that already has a race win on their résumé - a first for “open” teams in the charter era.

It’s truly the perfect underdog story: a driver whose passion and entire career has been completely rebuilt by a team that, in less than half a decade, has gone from struggling to crack the top-ten to competing for wins in each of NASCAR’s top two divisions.

For fans of the underdog looking for someone to support, is there really any need to look anywhere else?