XFINITY: Incident in traffic hands Sam Mayer first last-place finish at rainy Portland; Yeley earns first Top Ten since 2017

PHOTO: Ben Schneider, @bcschneider53

Sam Mayer picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Pacific Office Automation 147 at the Portland International Raceway when his #1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet was involved in an accident after 12 of 75 laps.

The finish came in Mayer’s 32nd series start. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 18th for the #1, the 365th from a crash, and the 595th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 73rd for the #1, the 1,291st from a crash, and the 1,842nd for Chevrolet.

Mayer has enjoyed a meteoric rise through NASCAR’s ranks to become one of the most anticipated talents of the current XFINITY Series field. When he was 16, he dominated the K&N Pro Series East, scoring four wins and ranking Top Five in all but one of his starts, beating Chase Cabre for the title. He nearly repeated the feat the following year as a full-timer in ARCA, where he scored five wins in 13 starts, taking 7th in the championship only because he ran part-time. By then, he was also a part-timer in the Truck Series, where in only his 7th start for GMS Racing, he took the checkered flag at Bristol.

Last year, Mayer signed with JR Motorsports, and though he would be upstaged by another meteoric talent in Josh Berry, who shared his #8 Chevrole, he still earned solid finishes in the season’s second half. He finished 9th in his third start at Atlanta, 9th again in his return to Bristol, and ranked 4th at Martinsville. Inheriting the #1 team from a retired Michael Annett, Mayer has now secured his own full-time ride and capitalized on the opportunity. After a difficult first five races, Mayer finished 5th or better in eight of the nine races leading into Portland. Just last week in Charlotte, he tied his career-best 3rd-place run.

On a damp Portland road course, Mayer ranked 25th in practice and at one point spun in Turn 4, suffering slight damage to the nose of his Chevrolet. He managed to recover in qualifying, jumping to 4th with a lap of 1 minute, 16.416 seconds (92.808mph). While he had finished 5th at COTA to start his current top-five streak in 2022, just last year he also had a rough outing on a road course when he nearly finished last at Road America following a crash.

With 38 cars entered for as many spots for the first time in 46 races, no one was sent home, and Jesse Iwuji slotted into the final spot with a lap of just 1 minute, 30.729 seconds (78.167mph), more than 14 seconds off the pole. During his timed lap in Round 1, Iwuji had spun in Turn 11, forcing Josh Berry in the #8 Tire Pros Chevrolet and Mason Filippi in the #91 OpenFenders.com Chevrolet to drive through the grass to avoid him. Intensifying rain cancelled the second round of qualifying, securing Mayer his 4th-place rank and giving Anthony Alfredo his first career pole in the #23 Dude Wipes Chevrolet.

Multiple rain-inflicted spins in practice and qualifying led to nine drivers dropping to the tail end of the field, including the aforementioned Josh Berry and Mason Filippi. Both were docked for unapproved adjustments along with 10th-place A.J. Allmendinger in the #16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet, 25th-place Myatt Snider in the #31 Tree Top Chevrolet, 30th-place Gray Gaulding in the #6 JT Marine Inc Chevrolet, 27th-place Ryan Sieg in the #39 CMRroofing.com A-Game Ford, and his new 55-year-old RSS Racing teammate – SCCA competitor and P.E. teacher Darren Dilley in the #38 Willamette Valley Hops Ford, set to start 32nd. Noah Gragson went to a backup car after his #9 Bass Pro Shops TrueTimber BRCC Chevrolet lost control on the main straight, slid into the grass, and destroyed the front splitter. Gragson’s backup turned in the 11th-best time ahead of Josh Williams, whose #78 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet was to set 31st before he missed driver introductions.

Again running rain tires with even more precipitation falling, even the pace laps proved hazardous. Before the green flag, Allmendinger ran off course between Turns 4 and 5, and returned to the track with thick smears of grass and mud on the nose of his Chevrolet. This forced a pit stop as the green flag dropped. Allmendinger took last place from Josh Williams, who was already 33.204 seconds back of the lead as one of several cars still working their way off the final corner as the leaders piled into the first chicane. There, the leaders also found trouble, including Mayer. As Daniel Hemric challenged Anthony Alfredo for the lead, Alfredo and Austin Hill missed the chicane and had to serve a stop-and-go in the runoff area. This allowed Mayer to climb to 3rd behind Hemric and Sheldon Creed, only to lose control on the approach to the next turn. Contact peeled a piece of his rear bumper from Mayer’s Chevrolet, and though he lost all his track position managed to run without serious damage.

When the first lap was completed, Allmendinger took over the 38th spot 80.113 seconds back of the leader and 40.687 seconds back of 37th-place Josh Williams. During that lap, Allmendinger slipped off the track a second time, but this time without much debris on the grille. On Lap 3, Williams dropped Jesse Iwuji to 37th in the #34 Equity Prime Mortgage Chevrolet, and Allmendinger chopped off eight seconds of his deficit to just 32.686 seconds behind. The gap fell to 11.511 on Lap 4, the 3.333 seconds back on Lap 5, when Iwuji had passed Joe Graf, Jr. Graf, whose #07 BuckedUp Buck Shot Ford lost its unsecured hood in practice, apparently had an incident of his own as he dropped more than 10 seconds back of Iwuji. Thus, by Lap 6, Allmendinger dropped Graf to last. Iwuji then lost ground again, and Graf dropped the #34 back to the 38th spot on Lap 9.

Mayer with the damage that ended his race.
PHOTO: Luis Torres, @TheLTFiles

On Lap 12, Iwuji’s spotter warned him of a slow car in Turn 9, and NASCAR drew the caution. The reason was Mayer, who came to pit road trailing smoke with the nose of his car pushed inward. Replays showed that Mayer was running in traffic when Brandon Jones’ #19 Menards / Patriot Lighting Toyota spun out on the back half of the course. An accordion effect resulted, during which Mayer rear ended one of the cars in front. “Stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” said Mayer as he prepared to climb from his car. The team reported the oil cooler was busted in the impact, ending their day. Mayer took over last place on Lap 14, then three circuits later was declared out by NASCAR.

Darren Dilley finished 37th, the nose of his #38 shoved in during a pileup that followed a hard Lap 26 crash where Gray Gaulding collided with a spinning Riley Herbst just after the chicane. Gaulding, too was eliminated in the 36th spot with Herbst continuing on until reported track bar issues ended his day at 35 laps. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Jeremy Clements, whose #51 First Pacific Funding Chevrolet was damaged in a separate incident after 44 laps.

After running in last place from the very drop of the green flag, A.J. Allmendinger recovered to take a hard-fought victory, wrestling away the top spot from an impressive Myatt Snider. The Homestead winner put together the best race yet for Jordan Anderson’s XFINITY program, leading twice for 19 laps – second-most behind Ty Gibbs.

The on-again-off-again pattern of rainfall led to a split in strategy during the final stages where some teams elected to run slick tires while others did not. Finding himself on slicks at the right time was J.J. Yeley, who ran as high as 2nd on a late-race restart, where his #66 Minutemen Coffee Company Toyota was alongside the #48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet of a returning Jade Buford. While Buford fell back to 14th after contact from Justin Allgaier caused a fender rub, Yeley only lost spots gradually, ultimately holding off a closing Noah Gragson for the 8th spot. The result is Yeley’s first top-ten finish in a XFINITY race since July 29, 2017 at Iowa, where he ran 6th for TriStar Motorsports.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #1 in a XFINITY Series race since October 3, 2020, when Michael Annett’s #1 Pilot / Flying J Chevrolet was disqualified at Talladega. The number hadn’t finished last in a XFINITY race on a road course since August 11, 2007, when Max Papis lost the engine on Phoenix Racing's #1 Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet at Watkins Glen.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #1-Sam Mayer / 12 laps / crash

37) #38-Darren Dilley / 25 laps / crash

36) #6-Gray Gaulding / 27 laps / crash

35) #98-Riley Herbst / 35 laps / crash

34) #51-Jeremy Clements / 44 laps / crash

2022 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Alpha Prime Racing, JD Motorsports, Mike Harmon Racing (2)

2nd) Big Machine Racing, JR Motorsports, Kaulig Racing, Motorsports Business Management, Richard Childress Racing, Sam Hunt Racing, SS-Green Light Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2022 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (10)

2nd) Ford, Toyota (2)

2022 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

TRUCKS: Taylor Gray’s truck won’t refire after minor incident at Gateway

PHOTO: @BudgetRacing51

Taylor Gray picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Saturday’s Toyota 200 Presented by CK Power at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway when his #17 Ford Performance Ford was eliminated in a crash after 45 of 165 laps.

The finish came in Gray’s 8th series start. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 4th for the #17, the 115th for Ford, and the 172nd from a crash. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 49th for the #17, the 992nd for Ford, and the 1,290th from a crash.

It’s been an emotional season for David Gilliland Racing, and for Taylor Gray’s team in particular. In March, their hauler driver Steven C. Stotts was killed in a traffic accident near Longview, Texas. Stott was driving the hauler to Phoenix for the upcoming ARCA race, where Taylor was set to drive the #17. The team managed to make arrangements in time to bring another car to the speedway, and Taylor led the final 17 laps on his way to victory. The win was his first in ARCA national competition, his fourth in West races, and would be followed in April by an East Series win in Dover.

Taylor has also competed alongside his brother Tanner Gray in the Truck Series, running the #17 Ford on a part-time basis alongside Tanner’s full-time #15. Taylor’s series debut came last summer in Watkins Glen, where he finished 35th, but his next start was at this same Gateway track, where he finished 12th. Only once since then has he run better – an 8th in the fall race at Martinsville. His two previous starts in the 2022 season, where he’s shared the #17 with Stewart-Haas Racing reserve driver Ryan Preece, each yielded only 26th-place finishes.

Gray’s weekend in Gateway began with a 13th-fastest speed in practice, then improved in qualifying to secure 9th with a speed of 137.535mph (32.719 seconds). After G2G Racing withdrew their second entry, the #47, there remained 39 trucks for 36 spots. Missing the show were Blake Lothian, whose #43 RedlineDetection.com Toyota drew a caution in practice when his truck stalled, plus Matt Mills in the #20 J.F. Electric Chevrolet and Justin S. Carroll in the #90 Carroll’s Automotive Toyota. Jake Garcia, who like Carroll missed his Truck debut at Martinsville when rain cancelled the session, rebounded to qualify 21st in the McAnally-Hilgemann #35 Chevrolet.

Starting 36th and last was Texas last-place finisher Derek Kraus, whose #19 NAPA AutoCare Toyota was prohibited from qualifying due to issues in inspection. He’d be joined by three other drivers sent to the rear for unapproved adjustments: 26th-place Hailie Deegan in the #1 Monster Energy Ford, 33rd-place Mason Maggio, making his series debut in the #33 HMY Yacht Sales Toyota, and 34th-place Spencer Boyd in the #12 Hans Wiemann Chevrolet.

When the race started, Maggio was last across the stripe, 3.884 seconds back of the leader. Kraus, the last-place qualifier, was up to 31st ahead of the docked Deegan, Boyd, and Maggio, plus 31st-place Brennan Poole in the #46 G2G Racing Toyota and 35th-place Tate Fogleman in the #30 Rangeline Group Toyota, which had both dropped in behind Kraus before the start. Maggio retained last at the start with Boyd and Poole racing for 34th some distance ahead. By Lap 4, Poole had dropped Boyd to 35th place, and Maggio behind by open track. Maggio stayed within a half-second of Boyd until Lap 11, when the gap grew to 0.785. The interval was 1.158 the next time by, 1.738 on Lap 14, 2.217 on Lap 16, and 3.240 on Lap 21. By Lap 24, the leaders put Maggio the first truck one lap down. By the end of Stage 1, the leaders had lapped everyone up to Timmy Hill and Dean Thompson, who were racing for 30th spot. Hill got the Lucky Dog.

Maggio reported handling issues with his truck, specifically in the front end, as he lost ground from the center-off, particularly in Turns 1 and 2. He came down pit road with the other lapped drivers, but overshot his stall and had to be pushed back. Due to a miscommunication between the crew chief and his crew, Maggio still incurred a penalty for pitting outside the box. During the exchange on Lap 42, Maggio finally climbed past Poole’s #46. The problems weren’t over for the driver of the returning Cole Trickle “throwback” scheme from Darlington. Poole was warned his truck might “roll over” more on the start since a spring rubber fell out after his stop. Poole himself reported a vibration that made him reconsider shifting. And the team’s spotter warned Poole to lag back in case a big wreck unfolded in Turn 1. The wreck didn’t happen – at least not right away.

On Lap 46, Taylor Gray was racing Ty Majeski in the #66 Road Ranger Toyota for the 8th spot through Turns 3 and 4 when the two made contact. Gray slid up the track and backed into the outside wall with the left-rear corner. Rajah Caruth, making his own Truck Series debut in the #7 Confluence Music Festival Chevrolet, was committed to the high lane and locked up the brakes, narrowly missing Gray as he spun to the inside of the track. While Caruth returned to the track, Gray’s truck wouldn’t refire. The driver reported he had 50 pounds of fuel pressure, but the #17 refused to cooperate. The truck had to be towed to the garage, ending their afternoon despite relatively minor damage.

Finishing 35th was John Hunter Nemechek, whose three-wide bid for position ended with his #4 Mobil 1 Toyota spinning off Turn 4, where he was collected by other trucks. Nemechek made it to pit road, but couldn’t clear the “Crash Clock,” ending his day. Brennan Poole finished 34th, ultimately out of the race with rear gear issues. Kris Wright was involved in multiple incidents before his #44 F.N.B. Corporation Chevrolet was eliminated in a wreck, leaving him 33rd. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Ty Majeski, whose #66 kept rolling after he backed into the wall, crossing the line under power.

Derek Kraus came close to climbing from 31st across the line to his first career victory, only to be caught by eventual runner-up Christian Eckes in the final laps. A caution forced an overtime restart, where Corey Heim took the victory over Eckes and Kraus slipped to 7th.

After his earlier spin, then a pit road speeding penalty and unscheduled stop for tires, Rajah Caruth very nearly finished 10th in his series debut, ultimately taking 11th behind Chase Purdy.

And Johnny Sauter, while scaled back to a part-time effort, maintained his near-perfect record at Gateway with a 5th-place showing in his #13 CMRRoofing.com Toyota. Sauter’s last-place run in 2020 remains his only finish worse than 5th in ten career starts at the track.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*Gray is the fifth consecutive first-time last-place finisher of a Truck Series race.

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #17 in a Truck Series race at Gateway.

*The 45 laps that Gray completed are the third-most of a Truck Series last-place finisher at Gateway. The current record is 49 laps held by Tony Raines, who lost an engine on his #19 Pennzoil Ford after 49 laps of the inaugural event on September 19, 1998. The second-most was 44 laps set by Rich Bickle with a blown engine on #08 Green Light Racing Chevrolet on April 30, 2005.

*This was the first last-place finish for the #17 in a Truck Series race since November 19, 2005, when polesitter David Reutimann’s #17 NTN Bearings Toyota lost the engine after 24 laps of the Ford 200 at Homestead.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

36) #17-Taylor Gray / 45 laps / crash

35) #4-John Hunter Nemechek / 57 laps / dvp

34) #46-Brennan Poole / 77 laps / rear gear

33) #44-Kris Wright / 93 laps / crash

32) #66-Ty Majeski / 104 laps / running

2022 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) David Gilliland Racing, Reaume Brothers Racing, Niece Motorsports (2)

2nd) AM Racing, Front Row Motorsports, G2G Racing, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, Young’s Motorsports (1)

2022 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (6)

2nd) Ford (3)

3rd) Toyota (2)

2022 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: Road ringers and familiar faces populate fields in both Gateway and Portland

PHOTO: @StartAndParkCar

Saturday, June 4, 2022 (1:30 P.M. FS1)

TRUCKS Race 11 of 23

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

2021 Last-Place Finisher: Jennifer Jo Cobb

ENTRY LIST

There are 40 drivers entered for 38 spots, meaning two teams will fail to qualify.

RETURNING: #3-Jordan Anderson Racing

Among the teams returning to action this week is Jordan Anderson’s #3, which did not run in Charlotte following a 14th-place showing in Texas. With returning sponsorship from Bommarito Automotive Group, Anderson eyes his 8th Gateway start, a track where he ran 11th in 2016 for Bolen Motorsports.

RETURNING: #5-Hill Motorsports

The second Hill Motorsports entry returns with Tyler Hill carrying sponsorship from Hair Club and Capilus on the #5 Toyota. Tyler finished a strong 11th in this race last year, just his second Gateway start, while driving the team’s flagship #56.

RETURNING: #7-Spire Motorsports

Spire’s entry returns, but since this is a Triple Truck Challenge race, it won’t be run by a Cup regular this time. The team had no driver listed until Thursday, when news broke that ARCA upstart Rajah Caruth will attempt his Truck Series debut with sponsorship from the Confluence Music Festival. Caruth enters the race following his first two XFINITY starts for Alpha Prime Racing, which yielded a 24th in Richmond before mechanical issues left him last after a strong start in Dover.

RETURNING: #13-ThorSport Racing

One to watch will certainly be Johnny Sauter, who besides a last-place finish due to a vibration in 2020 has finished no worse than 5th in his other eight series starts at this track. What’s more, Sauter will again pilot his familiar #13 for ThorSport, whose scaled-down part-time schedule has kept it off the grid in every race this year except Martinsville – where Sauter finished 2nd.

DRIVER CHANGE: #17-David Gilliland Racing

Taylor Gray takes the place of Charlotte triple-header Ryan Preece, and shares the Ford Performance sponsorship with brother and teammate Tanner Gray in the #15. The result is Taylor’s eighth series start and first since Martinsville, where he matched his 26th-place finish from COTA. Taylor finished 12th in this race last year.

DRIVER CHANGE: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing

The Reaume team has brought on Florida late model driver Mason Maggio, who has earned a development driver deal with Rick Ware Racing. This week, Maggio seeks his NASCAR national series debut in the #33 Toyota with HMY Yacht Sales as primary sponsor, joined by associated backers Viblock and Dry Shine, among others.

RETURNING: #35-McAnally-Hilgemann Racing

RETURNING: #90-Terry Carroll Motorsports

Back at Martinsville, persistent rain kept two drivers from attempting to qualify for their Truck Series debuts. For the first time since then, both are back. Jake Garcia will again pilot the part-time third entry from the McAnally effort, the black #35 Chevrolet. Along with him comes Justin S. Carroll with his family-owned #90 team.

MISSING: #37-AM Racing

Not among this week’s entrants is the part-time entry from AM Racing, with which Max Gutierrez earned a 26th-place finish last week in Charlotte.

MISSING: #41-Niece Motorsports

Also not entered due to the “Triple Truck Challenge” event is 2019 Gateway winner Ross Chastain, who inherited the win from teammate Carson Hocevar last week in Charlotte.

DRIVER CHANGE: #43-Reaume Brothers Racing

The struggling second Reaume entry goes this week to Blake Lothian, who finished 28th in his series debut earlier this year at Martinsville, two laps down to the leader. Lothian takes the place of Keith McGee, whose broken shock ended a challenging weekend in Charlotte.

WITHDREW: #47-G2G Racing

The G2G team originally had Brennan Poole entered in both its #46 and #47 entries, but by Thursday has since withdrawn the #47. Poole will remain in the #46, looking to bounce back from his last-place showing at Charlotte, caused by a sudden driveshaft failure.

DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Kyle Busch Motorsports

Atlanta winner Corey Heim is back in the KBM #51 for the first time since Texas, where he finished in 7th. This will be Heim’s first Truck Series start at Gateway as he takes the place of Kyle Busch, 7th last week in Charlotte.

CUP INVADERS: None

Saturday, June 4, 2022 (4:30 P.M., FS1)

XFINITY Race 14 of 33

Pacific Automation 147 at Portland

2021 Last-Place Finisher: Inaugural Race

ENTRY LIST

For the first time in 46 races, there will be no DNQs from the XFINITY Series garage this week as there are exactly 38 drivers entered for as many spots in the inaugural XFINITY event at the Portland road course.

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

MISSING: #55-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

Road course racing means Scott Heckert rejoining the McLeod team, once again piloting the #5 Malco Chevrolet he drove to a 32nd-place finish earlier this year in COTA. Heckert takes the place of Ryan Preece, who finished 5th in the second leg of his Charlotte triple-header. Matt Mills, who was moved to McLeod’s part-time #55 by Preece last week, is not entered in Portland as he will again drive for Randy Young in the Truck Series race at Gateway.

DRIVER CHANGE: #6-JD Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #47-Mike Harmon Racing

A business decision at Johnny Davis’ team has this week moved Ryan Vargas from his familiar #6 to the #47 entered by Mike Harmon Racing, replacing Brennan Poole who will be in Gateway for G2G’s Truck team. This will be Vargas’ first XFINITY start for a team other than JD Motorsports. Taking Vargas’ place is part-timer Gray Gaulding, who brings with him backing from JT Marine.

DRIVER CHANGE: #13-Motorsports Business Management

With Timmy Hill joining his Truck Series team in Gateway, Matt Jaskol returns to competition in the #13 with AutoParts4Less rejoining as sponsor. This will be Jaskol’s first XFINITY start of the year, following his departure from G2G Racing’s Truck team earlier this season. His most recent series start was last fall in Las Vegas, where he famously skydived into the track on race day. The preliminary entry list had no driver listed for the #13, though MBM’s Facebook page mentioned Jaskol much earlier.

DRIVER CHANGE: #18-Joe Gibbs Racing

With six ARCA starts under his belt, most recently a 5th in Kansas and 4th last week in Charlotte, Connor Mosack will make his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut with the high-powered #18 JGR entry, replacing 9th-place Charlotte finisher Trevor Bayne. Open Eyes is the listed sponsor for Mosack, who last year ran road courses full-time, winning a Trans-Am TA2 race at Watkins Glen.

DRIVER CHANGE: #26-Sam Hunt Racing

Parker Chase rejoins the XFINITY Series following his debut at COTA this year, where he finished 19th in this same Sam Hunt Racing #26. Taking the place of Jeffrey Earnhardt, whose crash in Charlotte left him next-to-last, Chase carries sponsorship from the Tower Family Foundation.

MISSING: #28-RSS Racing

Not making the long trip west is the third part-time entry from RSS Racing, which Kyle Sieg was unable to qualify in Charlotte while running a Davey Allison “throwback” scheme.

DRIVER CHANGE: #34-Jesse Iwuji Motorsports

Jesse Iwuji will again step in for Kyle Weatherman, seeking his first XFINITY start on a road course since his series debut in 2020 at Road America, where he ran 26th for Carl Long. Weatherman, who was involved in an early crash at Charlotte, lost his full-time ride at DGM Racing just before this year’s previous road course race in COTA.

DRIVER CHANGE: #35-Emerling-Gase Motorsports

Patrick Emerling – and not 12th-place COTA finisher Parker Kligerman – takes the place of Shane Lee in the car he co-owns, placing him into his fourth XFINITY race of the season and first since his 28th-place run in Texas. Shane Lee finished 24th last week, four laps down.

DRIVER CHANGE: #36-DGM Racing

Speaking of DGM, Alex Labbe is back behind the wheel of his familiar #36, looking to continue his string of strong performances on the road courses. He takes the place of Garrett Smithley, whose one-off in Charlotte yielded a 21st-place finish. Labbe qualified a strong 5th in this year’s race at COTA, but rear gear troubles left him 36th in the final laps. Longtime backer Larue Industrial Snow Blowers returns as sponsor.

DRIVER CHANGE: #38-RSS Racing

The second RSS Ford, previously driven by 23rd-place Charlotte finisher C.J. McLaughlin, will this week give Oregon native Darren Dilley his first NASCAR national series start. The 55-year-old Dilley is a throwback to the gentleman racers of the past, a schoolteacher turned amateur racer in SCCA. According to TheCheckeredFlag.co.uk, Dilley was hired due to his familiarity with the Portland track.

DRIVER CHANGE: #44-Alpha Prime Racing

Portland will also be the latest start for road race ace Andy Lally, who makes his first XFINITY start of 2022. Lally’s most recent green flag in a XFINITY car came last summer on the Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit, where he took 10th for B.J. McLeod. This time around, he drives the lead Alpha Prime entry, taking over for 13th-place Charlotte finisher Ryan Ellis.

DRIVER CHANGE: #48-Big Machine Racing

After he was ousted by Cup Series full-timers Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon – the former winning at Texas and the latter triggering a pileup at Charlotte – Jade Buford will make his only remaining start of this year’s regular season on Saturday, returning to the #48 Chevrolet he last piloted at Martinsville. Buford will need to capitalize on his road course background if he has a shot at claiming any of the team’s remaining starts in this year’s Playoffs.

MISSING: #77-Bassett Racing

Ronnie Bassett, Jr. is not entered as the #77 team awaits its next opportunity to rejoin the XFINITY Series field.

DRIVER CHANGE: #91-DGM Racing

Joining Alex Labbe in Mario Gosselin’s stable is Mason Filippi, who on Saturday will make his own NASCAR national touring series debut. Filippi has several years’ experience running sprint races in the sports cars of the Pirelli World Challenge, then two-to-four-hour endurance races in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. Filippi takes the place of Mason Massey, who failed to qualify last week in Charlotte. OpenFender.com is the listed sponsor of the #91 this week.

MISSING: #99-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

Nick Sanchez is not entered this week after his 28th-place showing following ignition troubles in Charlotte, and neither is McLeod’s part-time #99 entry.

DRIVER CHANGE: #08-SS-Green Light Racing

Welcome back Spencer Pumpelly, who made his first three XFINITY starts with JD Motorsports last year, taking a 19th in COTA, 24th at Indianapolis, and a last-place run at Road America after a hard crash in Turn 1. This time, Pumpelly takes the place of Charlotte DNQ David Starr in the #08, which retains Starr’s sponsorship from Ticket Smarter.

CUP INVADERS: None

Sunday, June 5, 2022 (3:30 P.M., FS1)

CUP Race 15 of 36

Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway)

2021 Last-Place Finisher: Inaugural Race

ENTRY LIST

The inaugural Cup race at Gateway sees only the 36 Chartered entries populate the grid, marking the 14th short field in 15 races.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Rick Ware Racing

RWR had no driver listed to take the place of last-place Charlotte finisher Ryan Preece until just yesterday, when Parker Kligerman was shown getting adjusted behind the wheel. The result is Kligerman’s first Cup start of the season, and his first in the series since his impressive 20th-place showing in Kansas with the now-defunct Fast.co as sponsor of his Gaunt Brothers Toyota.

DRIVER CHANGE: #16-Kaulig Racing

While A.J. Allmendinger will return to the #16, taking the place of 24th-place Charlotte finisher Noah Gragson, Allmendinger will also be running Saturday’s XFINITY race in Portland. Thus, he is expected to have another driver – believed to be a Truck Series competitor – on hand to practice and qualify his #16 for Sunday.

DRIVER CHANGE: #17-RFK Racing

Chris Buescher tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, which has put Zane Smith into his first Cup race.

MISSING: #50-The Money Team Racing

Kaz Grala is not entered after The Money Team managed a 23rd-place finish. While 13 laps down at the checkered flag, due to overtime, Grala ironically completed all 400 laps of the scheduled distance.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (June 2, 1968): David Mote of Siler City, North Carolina picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Grand National Series career in the Macon 300 at the Middle Georgia Raceway when his #69 1966 Chevrolet had a fuel pump failure after 8 of 300 laps. This was Mote’s second of his seven total career starts that year, each driving for Ken Cline. His best finish was 14th, which he earned at Fonda, New York on July 11th. That day, Mote was last of the 25 starters to still be running at the finish.

INDYCAR: VeeKay becomes first Dutchman to finish last in Indy 500

PHOTO: Sporting News

by William Soquet

LASTCAR.info Staff Writer

Rinus VeeKay scored the 1st last-place finish in his NTT IndyCar Series career in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when his #21 Bitcoin Racing Team Chevrolet crashed out of the race after 38 of the race’s 200 laps.

The finish came in VeeKay’s 35th career start.

Born as Rinus van Kalmthout, VeeKay started his racing career in his native Netherlands, finding success in the junior karting ranks. He ran across the European continent at age 15 in the 2015 season, finishing second in the Rotax Max European series. Van Kalmthout moved to single-seater formula racing in 2016, running in Formula Renault cars in 2016. He hopped across the pond for 2017, rebranding himself as Rinus VeeKay for a USF2000 drive in 2017 with Wisconsin-based Pabst Racing. After three wins and a second-place finish in the championship, VeeKay moved to the Pro Mazda Series with Juncos Racing and won an astounding seven of 16 races on the schedule in 2018, winning the championship over Parker Thompson and Oliver Askew. That earned him a scholarship to Indy Lights in 2019, and he stayed with Juncos for that season. Despite winning a third of the races on the schedule, VeeKay lost an epic championship duel with Askew by a mere 21 points.

On the heels of that season, Ed Carpenter Racing signed Askew to replace Spencer Pigot in the team’s #21 entry for the 2020 season. After a rocky start to the season that included crashes in both practice and the race at Texas, VeeKay progressed throughout, landing on the podium in one of the fall races at the Indianapolis road course. ECR renewed him for 2021, and he made good on that extension, winning the May race on the Indianapolis road course, the site of his first podium the fall before. A broken collarbone sustained in a bicycling accident forced himto miss the race at Road America, and a string of poor results in the back half of the year hampered his season. Despite that, he finished 12th in the final standings, an improvement upon his rookie year, and was brought back by ECR for a third season, this time funded by Bitnile, a cryptocurrency holding and mining company. VeeKay showed flashes of brilliance in the early portion of the season yet again, winning the pole and landing on the podium at Barber before heading into the Indianapolis 500.

A noticeable absence at this year’s 500 was that of bumping. There were exactly 33 entrants, and the last of those - Stefan Wilson’s Cusick/DragonSpeed entry - wasn’t confirmed until less than a month before the race. A.J. Foyt Racing did not enter a fourth car this year, with J.R. Hildebrand running one of the team’s regular entries. Carlin exited IndyCar entirely, and Paretta Autosport has not made any attempts this year. Despite that, the smaller teams in the IndyCar paddock did deliver in a big way. The aforementioned DragonSpeed made a late entry, and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing contributed two entries to this year’s field, too.

Ed Carpenter Racing usually brings fast entries to Indianapolis, and this year was no different. VeeKay wound up 13th and 15th in open testing, and then landing sixth on the charts in the opening day of practice. The variations of tow and no-tow strategies during different practice sessions saw a number of drivers at the bottom of the charts at the end of the various practice sessions, including Colton Herta, Santino Ferrucci and Stefan Wilson.

Wilson was the only driver not to make a qualifying attempt; the engine in his car expired during the morning tune-up session that preceded qualifying on Saturday, May 21. Despite not taking an attempt, with only 33 entrants, his #25 Cusick Motorsports with DragonSpeed entry was guaranteed a spot in the race, albeit in the 33rd and final starting spot.

Starting on the outside of Row 11, Wilson quickly made a move on Indy 500 rookie Christian Lundgaard, a Danish driver piloting a Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entry for this IndyCar season, and it was Lundgaard who was last across the stripe for Lap 1. The field then proceeded to gradually spread out, with very few cars losing touch with the one in front, just a steady stream of cars around the 2.5-mile oval. Wilson also eventually worked his way past Dalton Kellett, moving up to the 31st spot before the opening round of pit stops. Kellett eventually dropped to the final spot on the racetrack, falling behind Lundgaard at Lap 16.

Kellett’s teammate at A.J. Foyt Racing, J.R. Hildebrand, started the pit cycle on Lap 29, and the 33rd spot transferred among a number of drivers during the pit cycle. Hildebrand, Conor Daly, Kellett and Wilson all held last at points, with Wilson in 33rd at the completion of the pit cycle. VeeKay was running in second place behind Alex Palou on Lap 39 when he got loose in the middle of Turn 2, the car snapping around and backing into the outside wall before coming to a rest in the backstretch grass.

The Bottom Three was filled by Callum Ilott and Romain Grosjean, both victims of single-car incidents in the same corner that were eerily similar to VeeKay’s. Colton Herta retired with mechanical issues - the only driver to do so Sunday - in 30th place. Scott McLaughlin was the lone driver to crash in Turns 3 and 4 with two vicious impacts against the outside wall. Jimmie Johnson and Sage Karam both found the Turn 2 trouble spot as well in the closing stages of the race, bringing the total to six cars who crashed out of this year’s Indy 500.

THE BOTTOM THREE
33) #21-Rinus VeeKay / 38 laps / crash
32) #77-Callum Ilott / 68 laps / crash
31) #28-Romain Grosjean / 105 laps / crash

2022 LASTCAR NTT INDYCAR SERIES MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (4)
2nd) Honda (2)

2022 LASTCAR NTT INDYCAR SERIES OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) A.J. Foyt Racing (3)
2nd) Andretti Autosport, Dale Coyne Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing (1)

2022 LASTCAR NTT INDYCAR SERIES DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

ARCA: Charlotte becomes second-straight race with a last-place finisher that did not start

PHOTO: @DnfRacers

by William Soquet

LASTCAR.info Staff Writer

Tim Richmond finished last for the 2nd time in his ARCA Menards Series career in Friday’s General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway when his #27 Circle Track Warehouse Chevrolet did not start the race.

The finish came in Richmond’s 43rd attempt at an ARCA Menards Series race, and was his first since IRP in 2020, 40 races ago.

Much has happened in Richmond's career since he was last featured here. He continued running with Wayne Peterson Racing for the remainder of 2020, but then formed his own team with fellow Illinois racer Alex Clubb at the beginning of 2021, dubbed Richmond Clubb Motorsports. As part of the arrangement, Richmond was scheduled for eleven races in the 2021 ARCA schedule. After struggling in the early portion of the season, Richmond hit his stride in summer, finishing only one lap down at Iowa and making it through a tough Watkins Glen race in 17th. At Michigan, Thad Moffitt spun Drew Dollar in between Turns 3 and 4, sending Dollar up the track and straight into the path of an oncoming Richmond. The resulting impact fractured Richmond’s ankle and also broke his tibia, sidelining him for the remainder of the 2021 season and destroying one of the few cars in the fleet. David Gilliland Racing did give a car to the team to make up for it, which was used at Daytona to kick off the 2022 season as the rebranded Richmond Racing. Richmond has again planned to run eleven races, of which Charlotte would be the third.

The Charlotte entry list featured a fairly robust 26 cars for an intermediate track. Matt Wilson and CCM Racing returned after withdrawing from Kansas for Wilson’s series debut, and Ryan Huff returned with his family team. Joe Gibbs Racing fielded a second entry for Brandon Jones in his first of five ARCA races this year, and Bryan Dauzat ran with his Brother-In-Law Motorsports team. Cook Racing Technologies and Christian Rose entered in one of their scheduled races, and Josh White ran the first of his races with Clubb Racing. Fast Track Racing brought in Dick Doheny, Tony Cosentino, Tim Monroe and Tommy Vigh, Jr. to pilot their cars, and Venturini Motorsports fielded Parker Chase and Corey Heim in addition to their full-time drivers.

There was only a single combined practice and qualifying session for the race at Charlotte, and the troubles for the Richmond team began in earnest. The kill switch on the steering wheel was fixed in the “off” position, preventing the car from starting. Remarkably, the team was able to pinpoint the issue and fix it within the practice period, but first lap of practice, the rear panhard bar mount broke, which resulted in the driveshaft shifting and bursting the oil tank open, ending the weekend for good. Because he hit the track for the qualifying session, ARCA still credited him with last on the starting grid and results sheet, showing as a provisional in the former and a "did not start" in the latter.

Brad Smith was the slowest of the 25 cars that took time in qualifying, coming in two and a half seconds behind White. White was the first car to retire from the race, blowing a tire and crashing after completing three laps. Drew Dollar crashed with Daniel Dye and retired the next time by. Monroe and Doheny rounded out the Bottom Five, both falling out with mechanical issues before Lap 20.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
26) #27-Tim Richmond / 0 laps / did not start
25) #03-Josh White / 3 laps / crash
24) #18-Drew Dollar / 4 laps / crash
23) #36-Tim Monroe / 13 laps / transmission
22) #01-Dick Doheny / 16 laps / carburetor

2022 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet, Ford (2)
2nd) Toyota (1)

2022 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Fast Track Racing (2)
2nd) CCM Racing, Jones Racing, Richmond Racing (1)

2022 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP