CUP: Chase Briscoe scores first last-place finish of NASCAR career

PHOTO: Jared Haas at Frontstretch, @RealJaredHaas

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Chase Briscoe picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway when his #14 Magical Vacation Planner Ford was eliminated with crash damage after 160 of 267 laps.

The finish came in Briscoe’s 70th series start. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 41st for the #14, the 639th from a crash, and the 725th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 60th for the #14, the 1,001st for Ford, and the 1,313th from a crash.

The finish also gave Ford the lead in the 2022 LASTCAR Cup Series Manufacturer’s Championship. Ford hasn’t claimed the title since 2013 as Chevrolet has scored it every year since. With two races to go, Ford holds a one-finish lead over Chevrolet.

It was at Homestead on November 17, 2017 that Chase Briscoe scored the first win of his Truck Series career. At the time, he drove for Brad Keselowski Racing with Austin Cindric, and for most of 2018, the two would join Ty Majeski in sharing Roush-Fenway Racing’s #60 entry. All three struggled, but Briscoe found his footing with the Biagi-DenBeste effort, soon to be absorbed by Stewart-Haas Racing. It was with this team Briscoe scored his first XFINITY win in the first race on the Charlotte “Roval,” won again at Iowa the next year, and in 2020 dominated the series with nine victories. Only a sluggish performance in the championship race at Phoenix left Briscoe fourth in the standings, and Cindric as champion.

The following year’s Phoenix finale saw Briscoe complete a challenging rookie campaign in the Cup Series – a year where he nearly won at his home track in Indianapolis before he ran off-course, then crashed in the final race itself. This past spring, the same Phoenix track saw Briscoe return in NASCAR’s new NextGen car. After a thrilling late-race restart against Tyler Reddick, Briscoe came out ahead and scored his first Cup Series victory. He, Reddick, and now Daytona 500 champion Cindric would eventually be among the five first-time winners to have celebrated since, all advancing to the Playoffs.

After taking 27th, 13th, and 14th through the first round of this year’s Playoffs, Briscoe made his way past the first eliminations into the “Round of 12.” There, he finished 5th in a crash-marred Texas race, squeezed out a 10th-place showing in a relatively placid Talladega event, and in the closing laps of the Charlotte “Roval” had done just enough to beat Kyle Larson for the final spot in the “Round of 8.” Heading through the backstretch chicane for the final time, NASCAR concluded teammate Cole Custer checked-up on purpose, blocking the advancing cars of Erik Jones and Austin Dillon. Briscoe made it the rest of the way with now a two-point advantage over Larson, while Custer was levied a 50-point penalty for influencing the outcome. 

Despite the controversy, and team co-owner Tony Stewart’s frustrations, Briscoe arrived last week in Las Vegas, where he turned in a 4th-place finish – his best since the Coca-Cola 600. The run was enough to put Briscoe 6th in the point standings, just nine points from a spot in the “Championship Four.” Homestead – the site of Briscoe’s first Truck Series victory nearly five years ago – would be next. Coming into Sunday’s race, Briscoe had made a combined 183 points-paying starts in NASCAR’s three national series, running 69 in Cup, 86 in XFINITY, and 28 in the Truck Series. Not one had resulted in a last-place finish.

At Homestead, Briscoe’s weekend began with an 8th-fastest time in practice, ranking him fourth among Playoff drivers behind Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, and Ross Chastain. This did not carry over into qualifying, as he ranked just 19th with a lap of 165.996mph (32.531 seconds), ranking him second-slowest of the Playoff guys, just three-thousandths of a second ahead of Chastain.

Securing the 36th and final starting spot was Cody Ware in the #51 Nurtec ODT / United Breast Cancer Foundation Ford. He’d be joined in the back by 29th-place Todd Gilliland, whose #38 EO South Florida Ford had steering issues on race morning, and 31st-place Corey LaJoie in the #7 Built.com Chevrolet. Ultimately, Gilliland crossed the stripe 32nd ahead of 33rd-place LaJoie. The 34th spot fell to Ware’s teammate J.J. Yeley, who debuted a new 360-degree camera on board his #15 Jacob Companies Ford, followed by Ware and new 36th-place runner B.J. McLeod.

McLeod, driving the #78 Frankie Zombie Z222 Motorsport Games Ford, entered the race with a series-leading four last-place finishes in 2022. This meant he could secure the LASTCAR Cup Series Championship by finishing last on Sunday. McLeod crossed the stripe in 36th, 3.379 seconds back of the lead, and fell to 4.069 back at the end of Lap 1. By Lap 3, he caught and passed Ware, but Ware responded by diving under him using the low lane entering Turn 3. Ware was fast at corner entry, but each time, McLeod pulled ahead off Turn 4. It wasn’t until Lap 9 that Ware cleared the #78, just as McLeod was catching Yeley. On Lap 13, Ware dropped Yeley to 35th, and McLeod started to reel him in. But by Lap 21, each of the bottom four runners were a second or more apart.

On Lap 28, McLeod was over three seconds back of Yeley when race leaders Kyle Larson and William Byron moved past to his outside. Yeley was just about to be lapped when, seconds later, John Hunter Nemechek spun the #45 Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota off Turn 2 and made light wall contact with the rear of the car. Nemechek, back in a Cup car for the first time since the 2020 finale, had stepped in for Bubba Wallace following his one-race suspension. Nemechek was fastest in opening practice and qualified 4th, but the incident ultimately dropped him to 27th at the finish.

Briscoe climbs from his car in the garage.
SCREENSHOT: NASCAR.com

When NASCAR waved Yeley by, McLeod was awarded the Lucky Dog, and talked over the crew about an issue in the front of his car. He got his lap back on the 33rd circuit and dropped Nemechek to last on Lap 35, the #45 docked for pitting too soon after his spin. Nemechek got by again on the Lap 36 restart, and McLeod was now watching Yeley and Ware race for position. On Lap 39, McLeod battled Ware on the inside of Turn 1, but Ware held him off. Once again, it was tough work completing the pass. Despite a car that now handled better at the start of the run, it wasn’t until Lap 54 that McLeod passed Ware for 35th, dropping the #51 to last once more. Ware then lost a lap to Larson on the 64th circuit with McLeod now more than a second ahead. On Lap 81, the caution fell to end Stage 1, and Ware apologized to the team for struggling, requesting they go back on their previous adjustments to tighten the car. Ware also said running the low lane was likely burning up his tires.

On Lap 85, McLeod took last from Ware, followed by Gilliland under the continuing caution the next time by. Gilliland had a good restart, dropping Ware back to last on Lap 88, and Ware put McLeod back to 36th on Lap 90. “Starting to think I’m not gonna get the fronts [tires] back,” said McLeod. According to the driver, the car ran well on the first few laps of a run, then struggled for the 30 laps following. This proved disastrous as Sunday’s race saw few cautions, low attrition, and several long green-flag runs. All the while, driver and spotter remarked on how fast Larson’s car was, a Chevrolet that was on its way to leading 199 laps on its way to victory. “Oh yeah, this 5 is putting on a clinic,” said the crew on Lap 118. “He’s in another zip code.”

Green-flag stops followed, and Ware retook last on Lap 122 after he returned to the track. Two circuits later, McLeod pitted from 34th and took over the spot. The lap after, Landon Cassill took 36th after his #77 Zeigler Auto / LoJack Chevrolet had stalled sideways on pit road. Cassill fell three laps down before he returned to the track, still under green. Cassill caught and passed McLeod on Lap 127, and by now all 36 cars were still running within 3 laps of the leader.

The next driver to faulter was Justin Haley, who on Lap 138 pitted his #31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet with a flat right-front tire. The crew then had issues with the right-front single lug, and put on a replacement by hand before locking it down with the gun. Haley returned to the track in 35th, just barely ahead of McLeod, and promptly took 34th on Lap 149.

Briscoe (far left) out of his car in the garage.
SCREENSHOT: NASCAR.com

Around this time, Chase Briscoe had made a miraculous save off Turn 2. But just moments after the replay, the caution fell on Lap 161 for debris down the backstretch. Briscoe had slapped the wall between Turns 1 and 2, and his car took a peculiar stance as it drove back to the pits, smoke trailing from nearly every corner. He made it to pit road, only for the crew to discover they’d broken a control arm. Due to a rule change by NASCAR, teams would not be allowed to make such a repair on pit road. Briscoe backed up from his stall as the team talked about going to the garage. When they realized going to the garage would end their day, they hesitated, and Briscoe came back to his stall. On Lap 164, at the very moment Briscoe took last from McLeod, NASCAR relayed “14 to the garage.” The official hesitated, perhaps considering if it was a mechanical issue that would allow them to return, then said “And that will be DVP on the 14.” 

With that, Briscoe’s day was done. Heading into next week’s final race of the “Round of 8,” Briscoe sits 44 points behind the bubble, making Martinsville a practical must-win to make the “Championship Four.”

The only other incident occurred to Tyler Reddick, whose solid run in the early laps was spoiled by multiple issues. On Lap 245, his #8 3CHI Chevrolet spun off Turn 2 and slammed head-on into the inside wall at the exit used be rescue equipment. Reddick climbed out uninjured, and promptly took over 35th. McLeod ultimately climbed past Ware in the final laps to take 33rd, the two remaining on the same lap. Yeley rounded out the Bottom Five, just behind Gilliland in 31st.

LASTCAR Cup Championship down to two drivers

With two races to go, the battle for the 2022 LASTCAR Cup Series Championship has come down to two drivers. B.J. McLeod remains the leader with four finishes, two more than two-time finishers Corey LaJoie, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Ty Gibbs, and Austin Cindric. Busch, Larson, Wallace, Gibbs, and Cindric needed to finish last in all three remaining races to take the title, and all were eliminated when Briscoe took 36th. Wallace was eliminated when the race started due to his one-race suspension.

LaJoie is the only driver left who can take the title, but needs to sweep the last-place finishes at both Martinsville and Phoenix. Even then, he doesn’t entirely control his destiny:

To stay in contention, LaJoie must first finish last at Martinsville. McLeod will clinch at Martinsville simply if LaJoie doesn’t finish last in that race.

McLeod can also win the title if he finishes Bottom Five at Martinsville, no matter where LaJoie finishes. In this scenario, even if LaJoie finishes last at both Martinsville and Phoenix, LaJoie will still lose a bottom-ten tiebreaker of either 20-17 or 19-17, depending where McLeod finishes in each.

If LaJoie finishes last at Martinsville AND McLeod either gets a Bottom Ten or finishes better than a Bottom Ten, the title fight goes down to Phoenix. There, LaJoie will need to finish last again AND McLeod will have to finish better than a Bottom Five again. This would give LaJoie a bottom-five tiebreaker of 13-12, rendering McLeod’s Bottom Ten total irrelevant.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #14 in a Cup race since March 17, 2019, when Clint Bowyer’s #14 Rush Truck Centers / Haas Automation Ford overheated after 130 laps around Fontana. It was the first for the #14 in a Cup race at Homestead since November 16, 2014, when Tony Stewart’s #14 Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet was involved in a crash after 182 laps.

*Briscoe is only the fourth driver to score his first Cup last-place finish at Homestead, joining Scott Pruett (2000), Matt Kenseth (2003), and Regan Smith (2018).

THE BOTTOM FIVE

36) #14-Chase Briscoe / 160 laps / crash

35) #8-Tyler Reddick / 242 laps / crash

34) #51-Cody Ware / 262 laps / running

33) #78-B.J. McLeod / 262 laps / running

32) #15-J.J. Yeley / 263 laps / running

2022 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Live Fast Motorsports (6)

2nd) 23XI Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing (4)

3rd) Spire Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Racing (3)

4th) Penske Racing, Team Hezeberg, Trackhouse Racing (2)

5th) Kaulig Racing, NY Racing Team, Richard Childress Racing, Rick Ware Racing (1)

2022 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Ford (13)

2nd) Chevrolet (12)

3rd) Toyota (9)

2022 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

XFINITY: J.J. Yeley shows speed at Homestead before wreck results in Ford’s 1,000th NASCAR last-place finish

PHOTO: Jared Haas at Frontstretch, @RealJaredHaas

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

J.J. Yeley picked up the 13th last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Contender Boats 300 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway when his #66 Workpro Breast Cancer Awareness Ford was involved in a multi-car accident after 3 of 200 laps.

The finish, which came in Yeley’s 379th series start, was his first of the season and first in a XFINITY race since October 16, 2021 at Texas, 35 races ago. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 14th for the #66, the 161st for Ford, and the 373rd from a crash. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 84th for the #66, the 1,000th for Ford, and the 1,312th from a crash.

Yeley has remained as busy as ever in 2022, splitting time between the Cup Series and XFINITY Series for both Rick Ware Racing and Carl Long’s program, Motorsports Business Management. In a year that saw both MBM’s cars shut out of the Daytona 500 field – Yeley coming just one last-lap pass from his first 500 start since 2015 – the team has since focused almost entirely on their two-car XFINITY program. While MBM’s #13 team scaled back to part-time, Yeley’s offseason funding for the #66 has been instrumental in keeping that car full-time.

This year, Yeley has most often finished under power and earned several solid finishes. He began the season with a 13th in the Daytona opener, then an 11th in Atlanta, a season-best 8th on the rainy road course in Portland, then a 9th in the August Daytona race. When MBM loaned their NextGen car to Penske Racing after Austin Cindric’s Daytona 500 winner was preserved in the Daytona 500 Experience, the crew got one of Penske’s XFINITY cars for Yeley to run in Texas. There, Yeley qualified 14th and was running among the leaders when he was caught in a pileup not of his making, leaving him a disappointing 31st. GMS Racing has since put a new nose on the Penske car, but it hasn’t been as fast since the wreck.

This was likely the same Ford that Yeley ran at Homestead, where he did show speed early. In a practice session cut short by rain, he ran 15th of the 40 entrants and third-best of the Fords behind Ryan Sieg and Riley Herbst. He improved further in qualifying, running the fastest of all the Fords with a speed of 163.865mph (32.954 seconds). Missing the show were Alex Labbe in the #92 Prolon Controls / Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet and Dillon Bassett in the returning #77 Jerry Hunt Supercenter Chevrolet.

Securing the 38th and final starting spot was C.J. McLaughlin, whose #38 Sci Aps Ford made the field despite running a slower qualifying lap than both DNQs. McLaughlin’s full-time RSS Racing entry made the show ahead of both part-timers that were sent home. No drivers were sent to the back for the start, and McLaughlin remained in the final row for the start next to Julia Landauer in Alpha Prime Racing’s #44 Atem Car Club Chevrolet. “Have fun, race the track,” said McLaughlin’s crew. “We’ll pass a lot of people.”

When the race started, McLaughlin indeed began to climb, and by the end of Lap 1 dropped Landauer to last, 4.675 seconds back of the lead and 0.240 back of new 37th-place runner Patrick Emerling in the #35 Toyota. Landauer said her car jumped out of gear at the start, but quickly climbed out of last place when Kris Wright’s #68 iHeart Radio Chevrolet bounced off the outside wall and made an unscheduled stop on Lap 2. While NASCAR mistakenly reported Wright went behind the wall under the DVP, the #68 returned to the track one lap down on Lap 3, taking over the last spot from Landauer. The next time by saw the battle abruptly end.

Coming off Turn 2 on Lap 4, Yeley was locked in a four-wide battle with Stefan Parsons’ #45 Clear Cryptos Chevrolet to his inside, Jeb Burton’s #27 Larry’s Lemonade Beach Bash Chevrolet to his outside, and Riley Herbst’s #98 Monster Energy Ford even higher. Yeley slid up the track and made contact with the left-front of Burton’s car, steering Yeley into the outside wall and collecting Herbst. The caution fell as Yeley and Herbst made it to pit road along with David Starr, whose #08 Amptricity Ford was likewise put on the 10-minute “Crash Clock.” While Starr and Herbst returned, Yeley’s crew discovered the ball joint on the right-front was damaged, and he pulled behind the wall, done for the day.

Taking the 37th spot was Mason Massey, whose #91 Anderson Power Services Chevrolet twice bounced off the outside wall. On Lap 65, Massey pulled behind the wall with a blown engine, though with some difficulty as he briefly blocked the garage entrance. B.J. McLeod had an electrical issue on his #78 B.J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet, ending his run early in Stage 3. Rounding out the Bottom Five were Kyle Sieg in the #28 CMRroofing.com Ford and Stefan Parsons in the #45 Clear Cryptos Chevrolet, who tangled entering Turn 1. Parsons was running 12th, one lap down, at the time of the incident.

Several underdogs sneak in strong runs amid Playoff drama

Parsons was among a few drivers who turned in strong runs. Kyle Weatherman turned in another fantastic qualifying effort for Jesse Iwuji Motorsports, taking 8th on the grid and climbing as high as 5th in the #34 SELE Foundation Chevrolet, eventually taking 20th. Parker Retzlaff returned to form in his third start for Our Motorsports, taking 16th in the #02 Funkaway Chevrolet. And most impressively, JD Motorsports teammates Bayley Currey and Brennan Poole finished 13th and 14th with Currey’s #4 KSDT CPA Chevrolet ahead of Poole’s #6 Macc Door Systems Chevrolet, the last two cars on the lead lap.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #66 in a XFINITY Series race at Homestead since June 14, 2020, when Stephen Leicht fell out with handling issues after 9 laps.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #66-J.J. Yeley / 3 laps / crash

37) #91-Mason Massey / 62 laps / engine

36) #78-B.J. McLeod / 115 laps / electrical

35) #28-Kyle Sieg / 183 laps / crash

34) #45-Stefan Parsons / 189 laps / crash

2022 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Alpha Prime Racing (4)

2nd) B.J. McLeod Motorsports, JR Motorsports, Motorsports Business Management (3)

3rd) JD Motorsports, Mike Harmon Racing, Our Motorsports, Sam Hunt Racing (2)

4th) Big Machine Racing, Brandonbilt Motorsports, DGM Racing, Jesse Iwuji Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Kaulig Racing, Richard Childress Racing, RSS Racing, SS-Green Light Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2022 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (22)

2nd) Toyota (5)

3rd) Ford (4)

2022 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

TRUCKS: Spencer Boyd prevails in intense last-place battle at Homestead, taking LASTCAR title

PHOTO: Jared Haas at Frontstretch, @RealJaredHaas

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Spencer Boyd picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Saturday’s Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway when his #12 Hair Club Chevrolet fell out with brake issues after 124 of 134 laps.

The finish, which came in Boyd’s 87th series start, was his series-leading third of 2022 and first since Bristol, two races ago. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 9th for the #12, the 29th from brakes, and the 429th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 48th for the #12, the 165th caused by the brakes, and the 1,865th for Chevrolet.

Spencer Boyd arrived in Homestead marking both the Miami venue and Breast Cancer Awareness Month by running a pink version of his Hair Club #12 Chevrolet, a pattern adorned with palm trees. With the new paint scheme was the hope to turn around a rough late-season slide for his Young’s Motorsports effort. His two last-place finishes at IRP and Bristol bookended a 32nd in Richmond and 33rd at Kansas. He then failed to qualify at Talladega, site of his upset victory in 2019. It was the first race he’d missed since Knoxville in 2021, when Kyle Strickler drove in his place.

With 37 drivers entered for 36 spots, Boyd was not in immediate danger of failing to qualify for a second-straight race. He ran 31st fastest in practice, and when qualifying was cancelled due to rain, he secured the 32nd spot on the grid. Sent home was the lowest ranked of three part-time efforts – the #84 Backyard Blues Pools Toyota of Clay Greenfield for Cook Racing Technologies.

Securing the 36th and final starting spot was fellow part-timer Tyler Hill, back in the #5 Hill Motorsports Toyota for the first time since last month’s race in Kansas. He’d be joined at the tail end by three drivers for unapproved adjustments: polesitter Ryan Preece in the #17 Compustar / RaceChoice Ford, Lawless Alan in Al Niece’s #45 AUTOChargit Chevrolet, and Nick Leitz in the #33 Geese Chevrolet for Reaume Brothers Racing. Preece’s penalty moved 3rd-place starter and Talladega winner Matt DiBenedetto to the pole, his #25 Rackley Roofing / WAR Shocks Chevrolet alongside 2nd-place Ben Rhodes in the #99 Kubota Toyota.

Coming into the race, John Hunter Nemechek received an opportunity to make his first Cup start since the end of his difficult 2020 rookie season, this time relieving the suspended Bubba Wallace at 23XI Racing. He looked to secure a Playoff spot with Kyle Busch Motorsports, making it to the “Round of 8” in the #4 Gearwrench Toyota. But while running 9th on Lap 3, Nemechek scraped the outside wall. He still climbed to 5th by Lap 13, only to bounce off the wall again, this time cutting down a tire and forcing him to pit. 

During these same laps, the last spot was traded on Lap 4 by Mason Maggio in the #43 pirate’s Cove Resort & Marina Toyota. Maggio then climbed past Boyd on Lap 14, opening up over a one-second advantage over Boyd’s #12. Bret Holmes, denied the victory at Talladega after a last-minute freezing of the field handed the win to Matt DiBenedetto, also took the spot by Lap 20 in his #32 Golden Eagle / Bridger Aerospace Chevrolet. It wasn’t until Lap 21, after Nemechek returned to the track following his second pit stop, that the #4 took over the last spot. Further up, Holmes was fighting to stay just one lap down, at one point squeezing past race leader Rhodes who broke loose coming off Turn 4.

Nemechek remained in last place when Stage 1 ended, and he remained three laps down on the ensuing run. On Lap 53, Boyd was running in 34th, two laps down, and was being warned by his crew to pick up the pace. “Frankie, we’ve gotta pick the speed up,” the team said on Lap 53, “It’s like Kansas all over again.” Boyd reported a significant loose condition where the right-rear wheel seemed to “lead” into Turns 1 and 2. “I had a couple ‘oh shit’ moments that really hurt my pace,” he radioed. By Lap 64, with Stage 2 now in the books, Boyd had slipped to 35th, just one lap ahead of Nemechek. By now, the team had bolted on old right-side tires – the right-front had 10 laps on it while the right-rear had 13. Boyd made do with the scuffs, and by Lap 66 had passed Mason Maggio to retake 34th.

On Lap 86, Boyd’s crew relayed his lap time at 37.08, telling him to keep it up. Meanwhile, a few other drivers also found trouble. On Lap 80, Playoff contender Grant Enfinger made contact with the Turn 1 wall in his #23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet, forcing an unscheduled stop that dropped him to 31st. Lawless Alan dropped to 35th on Lap 88, losing three laps after serving a pass-through penalty for improper fueling. Alan made another stop on Lap 90, but Nemechek did two laps earlier, keeping the #4 in last with Alan 35th. Bret Holmes’ stop on Lap 95 dropped him to 34th, but he too received a pass-through after the crew realized he’d run through too many pit boxes. Holmes served his pass-through on Lap 98, and by Lap 100 he’d taken last place from Nemechek.

With all trucks still running, pit stops and penalties continued to crowd the Bottom Five. Mason Maggio dropped to 35th after his Lap 102 stop, moving Nemechek up to 34th. Boyd moved to 32nd until he pitted on Lap 101, and took the last spot from Holmes on Lap 108. At the time, Boyd, Holmes, Maggio, and Alan were all on the same lap, meaning Boyd had a shot at catching Holmes for 35th. By Lap 117, Boyd was running faster than both Maggio and Alan, and Holmes was within his sights. On Lap 120, Boyd was a half-second faster than Holmes when Jack Wood, the defending LASTCAR Truck Series Champion, pitted for right-side tires on his #24 Logitech Chevrolet, dropping him to 31st. This put Wood in position to defend his title, needing to finish last at both Homestead and Phoenix to do so.

Then on Lap 129 – just five laps to go – Boyd radioed he had an issue with the right-rear, believing he had a flat tire. He slowed as he came down pit road. Behind him, John Hunter Nemechek’s damaged truck bounced off the Turn 2 wall. “We lost an axle out the right side,” said Boyd’s crew, which pushed him behind the wall with just three laps to go in the race. As the checkered flag fell, Nemechek, too, appeared to have come down pit road, dropping to 35th, one lap behind Alan, who took 34th. Holmes remained 33rd at the finish with Maggio completing the Bottom Five.

At first publication, the unofficial race results did not list a reason out for Boyd, leaving the entry blank. It was later updated to indicate brake issues. Nemechek, despite dropping back at the very end to 35th, was still listed under power in both the unofficial and official results.

With one race still to run, Boyd has locked-up the 2022 LASTCAR Truck Series Championship, having taken the lead from Dean Thompson with this finish. A revision of the standings indicated Boyd had eight Bottom Fives to Thompson's six, meaning Thompson would still lose a tiebreaker at Phoenix with a third last-place finish of his own.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #12 in a Truck Series race at Homestead.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

36) #12-Spencer Boyd / 124 laps / brakes

35) #4-John Hunter Nemechek / 128 laps / running

34) #45-Lawless Alan / 129 laps / running

33) #32-Bret Holmes / 129 laps / running

32) #43-Mason Maggio / 129 laps / running

2022 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) G2G Racing, Young’s Motorsports (4)

2nd) Niece Motorsports, Reaume Brothers Racing (3)

3rd) AM Racing, David Gilliland Racing (2)

4th) Front Row Motorsports, Halmar Friesen Racing, Jordan Anderson Racing, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing (1)

2022 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (12)

2nd) Toyota (6)

3rd) Ford (3)

2022 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: Homestead sees the return of several series newcomers

PHOTO: @MBMMotorsports

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Saturday, October 22, 2022 (1:00 P.M. ET, FS1)

TRUCKS Race 22 of 23

Round of 8: Race 3 of 3

Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead

2020 Last-Place Finisher: Bryant Barnhill

ENTRY LIST

There are 37 drivers entered for 36 spots, meaning one will fail to qualify.

MISSING: #3-Jordan Anderson Racing

As Jordan Anderson continues to recover from his burns suffered in his crash during the early laps at Talladega, his Truck Series team is not entered this week. Myatt Snider continues to drive for Anderson’s XFINITY effort, and now returns to the site of his win in 2021.

RETURNING: #5-Hill Motorsports

The Hill brothers’ second entry returns for the first time since Kansas, and again it is Tyler Hill behind the wheel of the #5 Toyota. Tyler ran 29th his last time out and finished 23rd and 25th in the last two Truck races at Homestead.

MISSING: #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing

Jennifer Jo Cobb is not entered after she finished 32nd in her season debut at Talladega.

MISSING: #13-ThorSport Racing

The Homestead race is not on the schedule for Johnny Sauter and the now part-time #13 entry which came home 25th at Talladega, the last truck on the lead lap.

DRIVER CHANGE: #20-Young’s Motorsports

While the preliminary entry list had no driver listed in place of Parker Retzlaff, who ran 16th in Talladega. That has since changed as Stefan Parsons will make just his third Truck start of the season and first since he ran this same #20 entry to a 22nd-place finish in Nashville.

DRIVER CHANGE: #22-AM Racing

Speaking of Nashville, welcome back that night’s 8th-place finisher Max Gutierrez, who rejoins the AM Racing team for the first time since his 21st-place showing in Pocono. He takes the place of Austin Wayne Self, who finished 30th in Talladega.

MISSING: #28-FDNY Racing

Bryan Dauzat is not entered after early crash damage in a tangle with Dean Thompson left him 35th in Talladega.

DRIVER CHANGE: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing

Nick Leitz seeks his third Truck Series start and first since his last-place finish at Richmond, again driving Josh Reaume’s #33 entry. He does so in place of Canadian racer Jason White, who was among the four DNQs in Talladega.

DRIVER CHANGE: #43-Reaume Brothers Racing

Natalie Decker likewise didn’t qualify at Talladega along with her sponsor Diesel Beverages. Returning to the #43 this week is Mason Maggio, whose third and most recent start came at Kansas, where he finished 32nd in the RBR #33. Maggio has finished under power in all three of his previous starts, each time within eight laps of the leader.

DRIVER CHANGE: #44-Niece Motorsports

For the first time in his young Truck Series career, Chad Chastain will make a Truck Series start in his home state of Florida, seeking to improve on his career-best 30th in both his 2022 starts at IRP and Richmond. The younger brother of Cup Playoff contender Ross Chastain steps in for Bayley Currey, who showed speed early at Talladega before a 21st-place finish. Custom Cooling & Heating Inc. joins as sponsor of his Chevrolet.

DRIVER CHANGE: #46-G2G Racing

Brennan Poole climbs aboard G2G Racing’s #46 entry for the first time since Kanss, where he finished under power in the 34th spot. He takes the place of team co-owner Tim Viens, who failed to qualify last time out at Talladega. Fanttik is the listed sponsor.

CUP INVADERS: None

Saturday, October 22, 2022 (4:30 P.M. ET, USA)

XFINITY Race 31 of 33

Round of 8: Race 2 of 3

Contender Boats 300 at Homestead

2021 Last-Place Finisher: Tyler Reddick

ENTRY LIST

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

DRIVER CHANGE: #6-JD Motorsports

In addition to his Truck Series effort with G2G Racing, Brennan Poole will attempt double-duty with the XFINITY Series at Homestead, taking the wheel of the #6 in place of Ryan Vargas. Vargas, who struggled with transmission issues in Las Vegas en route to a 28th-place finish, indicated he will return next week in Martinsville. Macc Door Systems will return as Poole’s sponsor, as it had during Poole’s most recent start in Texas, where a crash left him 31st.

DRIVER CHANGE: #13-Motorsports Business Management

Timmy Hill has perhaps the most eye-catching paint scheme in the field (along with Jeb Burton's #27 Larry’s Lemonade Beach Bash Chevrolet at Our Motorsports) as he makes his ninth XFINITY start of the year and first since his 28th-place showing on the Charlotte “Roval.” Hill carries sponsorship from GENERX Generators on his Ford as he takes the place of Matt Jaskol, who finished 32nd in Las Vegas. The car also carries a "Florida Strong" decal on the rear decklid in solidarity with the state's victims of Hurricane Ian.

DRIVER CHANGE: #26-Sam Hunt Racing

As dust remains to settle over Kyle Busch’s move from Toyota to Chevrolet, Kyle Busch Motorsports frontrunner Chandler Smith will return to the XFINITY Series this weekend in Sam Hunt Racing’s Toyota, replacing 16th-place Las Vegas finisher John Hunter Nemechek. WearMe and ChargeMe are the sponsors of Smith’s third career XFINTY start and first since his career-best 21st in Dover. Smith has already been announced as A.J. Allmendinger’s replacement at Kaulig Racing’s Chevrolet team next year.

DRIVER CHANGE: #35-Emerling-Gase Motorsports

Patrick Emerling is set to make his 10th start of the season and first since a 27th-place showing under the lights at Bristol, taking the place of 27th-place Las Vegas finisher Jeffrey Earnhardt. This would be Emerling’s first XFINITY start at Homestead.

DRIVER CHANGE: #44-Alpha Prime Racing

Back in the XFINITY Series for the first time since her 36th-place debut in Loudon is Julia Landauer, who brings with her sponsorship from Atem Car Club on the primary Alpha Prime Chevrolet. Landauer takes the place of Rajah Caruth, who finished a solid 20th in Las Vegas after a difficult first few XFINITY Series starts.

WITHDREW: #47-Mike Harmon Racing

By Thursday, Mike Harmon Racing withdrew their entry, having not yet announced a driver after they were not entered at all in Las Vegas.

TEAM UPDATE: #48-Big Machine Racing

ARCA Menards Series Champion Nick Sanchez revealed he will run the #48 for these remaining three races of 2022, coming off a solid 12th-place finish in Las Vegas.

RETURNING: #77-Bassett Racing

Homestead will see the return of part-timers Ronnie and Dillon Bassett with their #77 Chevrolet, which last took the green with Ronnie at Bristol, taking a season-best 28th. Dillon will drive this time as Jerry Hunt Supercenter remains the sponsor.

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

Team owner B.J. McLeod will take the wheel of his #78 to begin a double-duty weekend with the Cup Series, taking the place of 25th-place Las Vegas finisher Garrett Smithley. It will be just the fourth XFINITY race of the year for McLeod as driver, his first since a season-best 26th at Talladega.

RETURNING: #92-DGM Racing

Alex Labbe will return to action this weekend, but this time in Mario Gosselin’s part-time #92, which last time out finished 37th with Josh Williams on the Charlotte “Roval.” While Williams remains in the #36 after his 34th-place finish in Las Vegas, Labbe carries sponsorship from Prolon Controls and shares the Alloy sponsorship with Williams.

DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing with Jeff Lefcourt

After Hailie Deegan’s impressive 13th-place debut in Las Vegas, Joe Graf, Jr. returns along with his Bucked Up Energy sponsorship. This would be Graf’s fourth XFINITY start at Homestead, a track where he finished a strong 16th and 13th in 2020’s double-header.

CUP INVADERS: None

Sunday, October 16, 2022 (2:30 P.M. ET, NBC)

CUP Race 34 of 36

Round of 8: Race 2 of 3

Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead

2021 Last-Place Finisher: Timmy Hill

ENTRY LIST

There are 36 cars entered for as many spots once again, meaning the smallest field ever for a Cup race in Las Vegas will be followed by the smallest ever for Cup in Homestead. The previous mark of 38 was set, then matched the last two years. The Daytona 500 remains the only race in these first 34 with a field of 40 starters.

DRIVER CHANGE: #45-23XI Racing

Following Bubba Wallace’s one-race suspension NASCAR handed down after his tangle with Kyle Larson last week in Las Vegas, John Hunter Nemechek will make a return to the Cup Series in the #45 Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota. Nemechek, who had been considered as Kurt Busch’s relief driver in July before Ty Gibbs was selected, will be making his 40th Cup start and his first since the end of a challenging 2020 rookie campaign with Front Row Motorsports. This will be his third Cup start at the Homestead track, a venue significant both as his home state and the site of his uncle and namesake John Nemehek’s untimely passing in a crash during a 1997 Truck Series race. John Hunter finished 23rd here in 2019, then 19th in 2020.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (October 20, 1996): Robby Gordon picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Winston Cup Series career in the AC-Delco 400 at the North Carolina Motor Speedway when his #40 First Union Chevrolet qualified 7th but backed into the Turn 3 wall on Lap 5 and collected a passing Bill Elliott. All three of Gordon’s Cup starts in ’96 – the fifth, sixth, and seventh of his career – ended early due to crashes.

CUP: Bubba Wallace’s retaliatory wreck may result in more than a last-place finish

ALL PHOTOS: Brock Beard

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Bubba Wallace picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s South Point 400 at the Las Vegas Speedway when his #45 McDonald’s Toyota crashed after 94 of 267 laps.

The finish, which came in Wallace’s 181st series start, was his second of the season and first since Sonoma, 17 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 24th for the #45, the 182nd for Toyota, and the 638th from a crash. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 44th for the #45, the 388th for Toyota, and the 1,131st from a crash.

The Las Vegas weekend began on an emotional note Saturday morning as Kurt Busch announced he would not be running for the rest of this year, nor would he run full-time in 2023. The reason was his concussion suffered in a qualifying crash at Pocono, which put Ty Gibbs into his #45 and ultimately led to Busch declining his medical waiver for the Playoffs. Incidentally, Busch’s announcement also confirmed that Tyler Reddick – signed earlier this summer – would run the #45 next year, his #8 at Richard Childress Racing already the chosen destination for Kurt’s brother Kyle Busch.

Kurt's announcement is the latest chapter in a year whose debate over safety is comparable to that of the 2000 to 2001 seasons. At its center are changes to NASCAR's problematic NextGen car, particularly the disproportionate effect on drivers even in low-speed impacts. This same race, scheduled on the 11th anniversary of Dan Wheldon's tragic death in the IndyCar Series finale at the same track, was also missing the track's most recent Cup Series winner. Alex Bowman took the checkered flag in the spring, setting his own course to the Playoffs, only to be undone by a concussion suffered in a crash at Texas. Bowman had just days earlier tweeted he would not run these next three races during his continued recovery. NASCAR held at least one safety meeting with the drivers during the Vegas weekend, where Noah Gragson finished 11th in Bowman's car.

These same Playoffs saw 23XI Racing change car numbers, meaning Gibbs would run the #23 and Wallace the #45 while keeping their teams intact. This gave Wallace the opportunity to compete for the 2022 NASCAR Owners Championship, which came at the perfect time. In the Playoff race at Kansas, Wallace took his second career victory, pulling a season sweep along with Kurt’s victory on the same track in the spring. While the following races at Bristol, Texas, and Talladega saw him finish no better than 16th, he recovered from an early stop-and-go penalty on the Charlotte “Roval” to take a strong 7th. Vegas would come next.

The preliminary entry list for Sunday’s race showed both Wallace and Ty Gibbs carrying sponsorship from MoneyLion, which also bought a billboard a few blocks down the track on Las Vegas Boulevard. But instead, only Gibbs carried the sponsor with Wallace running the McDonald’s scheme on the #45 for the first time since the number swap. Wallace ran 14th in practice and qualified 9th with a lap of 182.033mph (29.665 seconds), but was still just fifth among the non-Playoff drivers in time trials.

Securing the 36th and final spot was B.J. McLeod, whose #78 Pala Casino Ford was slowest of the Chartered entries occupying the garage. With no drivers sent to the rear, McLeod remained on the outside of the final row with Todd Gilliland’s #38 Ruedebusch Development & Construction Ford. 

When the green flag dropped, McLeod got the jump on Gilliland and closed on Cody Ware’s #51 Nurtec ODT / United Breast Cancer Foundation Ford. But McLeod passed neither car, and remained in the 36th spot at the end of Lap 1. By Lap 5, McLeod, Ware, and Ware’s teammate J.J. Yeley in the #15 ConnectUS Kyocera Ford had lost touch with the pack. Yeley opened an advantage over Ware, but Ware passed him back on Lap 13 as McLeod continued to lose ground. By Lap 21, race leader Tyler Reddick in the #8 Alsco Chevrolet passed McLeod to the inside, and by Lap 26 was running behind 10th-place runner Kyle Busch in the #18 M&M’s Toyota. Further ahead, both Ware and Yeley were still on the lead lap when Yeley dropped Ware back to 35th. Ware was then lapped, followed by Yeley by Lap 32.

Green-flag pit stops shuffled the order, starting with Cole Custer, who pitted his #41 Feeding America / Wow Wow Ford and fell to 36th on Lap 39. Ware’s own pit stop dropped him to last on Lap 45, but Yeley came in for a second stop due to a loose wheel, dropping the #15 to last on Lap 47. Still under green on Lap 67, Yeley bounced off the outside wall, causing damage to control arm, but not the critical toe link. He pitted a third time for repairs and returned to the track noticeably off the pace. He remained under power when on Lap 78, 6th-place Kyle Busch spun into the grass off Turn 4. The ensuing caution ended Stage 1, won by Bubba Wallace.

Larson's car after the tangle with Wallace.

Wallace had a strong car early, taking the lead on Lap 57 from Daniel Suarez in the #99 Kid Rock’s Honky Tonk Chevrolet. Wallace defended the spot through the caution-flag pit stops after Stage 1 and chose the inside line for the restart. But when the race restarted, Suarez passed Wallace high, bringing with him teammate Ross Chastain in the #1 Tootsie’s Chevrolet. By Lap 95, Wallace had dropped to 6th place in a battle with Kyle Larson in the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. Coming off Turn 4, Larson slid up and nearly got into Wallace, causing the #45 to bounce off the outside wall. Wallace then cut hard left, hooking Larson in the left-rear and sending both cars into the outside wall. Caught in the rapidly closing hole between Larson and the wall was Playoff contender Christopher Bell, whose #20 Rheem Toyota spun with damage to the left-rear. Bell made it to pit road while Wallace and Larson climbed from their destroyed cars in the infield grass. Wallace confronted Larson and shoved him many times before he returned to pit road.

Scoring recorded Wallace behind Larson, and the pair dropped to the final two spots behind Yeley sometime during the ensuing caution. At the time, Yeley was five laps down, having pitted two more times by Lap 85 and been shaken out of line on the restart following Busch’s spin. Bell’s crew made lengthy repairs to the left-rear, applying tape and working on the suspension, but their ten-minute “Crash Clock” expired. On Lap 102, Bell pulled behind the wall and up to his hauler, where just a few feet away Larson’s car had been towed back to the garage area. As a Hendrick Motorsports representative instructed the gathering crowd not to take photos, Wallace’s #45 was towed in on Lap 105 – and parked in the stall directly next to Larson’s. Both crews worked quietly as they loaded up. Track security formed up two lines on either side of the bank of haulers, fencing Bell’s car in as well. Wallace walked to his hauler soon after his car arrived in the garage.

As of this writing, NASCAR has reported they will be investigating the incident further this week. Wallace was not called to NASCAR’s hauler after the wreck.

Wallace, Larson, and Bell took the final three spots in the results. Taking 33rd was Ty Dillon, whose #42 Lucky 29 Vodka Chevrolet had suspension issues. In fact, Dillon’s car struggled to make the left turn into the garage. He at first approached at too shallow of an angle, forcing him to stop, then make another turn. Rounding out the group was Landon Cassill, whose #77 Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet caught a toe link in the radiator, then spun and made some contact with the Turn 4 wall with the right-rear. NASCAR officials photographed the right-rear of his car after it stopped behind the hauler. Cassill was uninjured in the incident.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #45 since August 14, 2022, when Ty Gibbs’ run in 23XI’s Jordan Brand Toyota ended with a blown engine after 180 laps around Richmond. The number had never finished last in a Cup race at Las Vegas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

36) #45-Bubba Wallace / 94 laps / crash / led 29 laps / won stage 1

35) #5-Kyle Larson / 94 laps / crash

34) #20-Christopher Bell / 94 laps / dvp

33) #42-Ty Dillon / 237 laps / suspension

32) #77-Landon Cassill / 246 laps / crash

2022 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Live Fast Motorsports (6)

2nd) 23XI Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing (4)

3rd) Spire Motorsports (3)

4th) Penske Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Team Hezeberg, Trackhouse Racing (2)

5th) Kaulig Racing, NY Racing Team, Richard Childress Racing, Rick Ware Racing (1)

2022 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet, Ford (12)

2nd) Toyota (9)

2022 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP