Long Finishes Last When Engine Fails Early In The Sprint Showdown at Lowe’s

Carl Long finished last in Saturday’s Sprint Showdown at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway when the engine failed on his #46 Romeo Guest Construction Dodge lost the engine after completing 3 of the race’s 40 laps.

In Friday’s practice, Long’s engine blew during a mock qualifying run, forcing him to switch engines before qualifying that afternoon. A mid-afternoon thunderstorm forced the cancellation of Sprint Showdown qualifying, but this ironically worked to Long’s benefit. Since the Showdown was not a points event, the starting lineup was determined by the random draw that set the qualifying order. Long was set to be the 2nd driver to qualify, so his #46 was awarded the outside-pole for the Sprint Showdown. However, Long’s engine change forced him to surrender the spot and start at the back of the largest Sprint Showdown field since 1996. A similar fate befell the polesitter, fellow owner-driver Kirk Shelmerdine, who was forced to the back after damaging his primary car in practice.

Long held his own in the early laps, but when the first caution fell on lap 2, his #46 was on the apron with smoke coming from the left-front fender. Though this appeared to be the result of making contact with another car in traffic, Long pulled behind the wall under yellow with a blown engine.

Ironically, despite the two failed engines, Long was then penalized 200 driver and owner points and was put on a 12-race suspension the following Wednesday when NASCAR ruled his race engine was too big.

The finish marked the first time both Long and the #46 have ever finished last in the Sprint Showdown. Long has three last-place finishes in NASCAR Sprint Cup points races, most recently in the 2005 New England 300 at New Hampshire. It is also the second time the outside-polesitter of the Sprint Showdown has ever finished last: Todd Bodine did the same when an early crash took him out of the 2003 Winston Open.

Also of note, Dave Blaney, the current 2009 leader in last-place finishes, secured sponsorship for the Sprint Showdown, inherited the outside-pole from Long, and contended for the lead for much of the race before finishing 11th.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
35) #46-Carl Long / 3 laps / engine
34) #83-Brian Vickers / 11 laps / crash
33) #19-Elliott Sadler / 25 laps / crash
32) #27-Kirk Shelmerdine / 39 laps / running
31) #57-Norm Benning / 39 laps / running

Gilliland Gets First Last-Place Finish When Fuel Pump Fails at Darlington

David Gilliland picked up the 1st last-place finish of his career in Saturday’s Southern 500 at the Darlington Raceway when his unsponsored #71 TRG Motorsports Chevrolet lost the fuel pump after completing 27 of the race’s 367 laps. The finish came in Gilliland’s 97th career Sprint Cup start.

Gilliland and Kevin Buckler’s TRG (The Racer’s Group) Motorsports team were one of the many pleasant surprises at the opening of the 2009 season. TRG made its first NASCAR Sprint Cup attempt with Mike Wallace in the Daytona 500, but barely missed the show. David Gilliland took over driving duties at Fontana, and since then, the #71 has made every race and has been either in or near the top 35 in owner’s points. However, the team’s first two DNF’s came in consecutive races at Talladega and Richmond, and Gilliland and TRG looked for redemption at Darlington.

Gilliland was 3rd fastest in Friday’s first practice session for the Southern 500 and he was again the fastest of the go-or-go-homers in Happy Hour. The car struggled in qualifying, picking up the 30th starting spot with a speed of 175.441, but the #71 was still the third-fastest go-or-go-homer behind Max Papis and Regan Smith. In the race, Gilliland kept his nose clean through a pair of early cautions, but he pulled behind the wall under green with a busted fuel pump on lap 28. Gilliland did not return to the race.

It is the first last-place finish for Kevin Buckler and TRG and the first for the #71 since Jay Sauter, driving Dave Marcis’ RealTree Chevrolet, fell out after an early crash in the 2002 EA Sports 500 at Talladega.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #71-David Gilliland / 27 laps / fuel pump
42) #09-Sterling Marlin / 38 laps / transmission
41) #66-Dave Blaney / 56 laps / brakes
40) #55-Michael Waltrip / 73 laps / engine
39) #36-Scott Riggs / 101 laps / brakes

2009 RANKINGS
1st) Dave Blaney (3)
2nd) Mike Bliss, Todd Bodine, David Gilliland, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Joe Nemechek, Tony Raines (1)

Blaney Backs Into Wall at Richmond, Extends 2009 Season Lead

Dave Blaney picked up the 8th last-place finish of his career in Saturday’s Crown Royal presents the Russ Friedman 400 at the Richmond International Raceway when his unsponsored #66 Prism Motorsports Toyota was involved in a single-car crash on lap 9 of the 400-lap race.

After missing the previous week’s race at Talladega due to a social obligation, Blaney returned to the Prism Motorsports team at Richmond. Blaney qualified a solid 26th in the 43-car field with a speed of 124.908 mph. Due to rainy weather in the Richmond area, the opening six laps of Saturday’s race were run under the caution flag. On lap 7, the field took the green flag and Blaney worked the high side to get through the field. Unfortunately, he entered turn three too high on lap 9 and spun out, backing his Toyota into the outside wall. Though Blaney was able to slow down enough so that the impact did little damage to the rear of his car, Blaney went behind the wall and did not return to the track.

The race was Blaney’s third last-place finish of the year and his first since last month’s Samsung 500 at Texas. No one else has had more than one this season. This was the first time the Phil Parsons-owned team has left the race with any damage to the car’s sheetmetal. The team’s previous two last-place finishes were because of steering and brake failures, respectively.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #66-Dave Blaney / 8 laps / crash
42) #36-Scott Riggs / 54 laps / electrical
41) #37-Tony Raines / 74 laps / brakes
40) #87-Joe Nemechek / 90 laps / brakes
39) #71-David Gilliland / 92 laps / electrical

2009 RANKINGS
1st) Dave Blaney (3)
2nd) Mike Bliss, Todd Bodine, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Joe Nemechek, Tony Raines (1)

Martin’s Chevy Mangled in Big Wreck at Talladega

Mark Martin picked up the 8th last-place finish of his career in Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at the Talladega Superspeedway when his Kellogg’s / Carquest Chevrolet was involved in a massive crash on lap 7 of the 188-lap race.

Martin was riding high after scoring a tremendously-popular win the week before at Phoenix, snapping a 97-race winless drought in the process. At Talladega, he qualified 7th with a speed of 187.860 and was running around that position as the field moved into turn three on lap 7. It was there that Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon made contact in the higher groove, setting off a massive ten-car pileup. Gordon’s car wobbled down from the outside wall and into Jamie McMurray, who was on the outside of Kevin Harvick and Scott Riggs. The four cars fused together just as Mark Martin tried to squeeze by on the inside. The nose of Riggs’ Toyota clipped the right-rear of Martin’s Chevy, sending Martin straight into the outside wall with more than enough force to lift his rear tires off the ground. Fortunately, Martin and the other drivers involved walked away. A.J. Allmendinger and Kasey Kahne traded the 43rd spot after the race resumed, but both returned to the track. Martin did not, however, and his Chevrolet finished last.

The race was Martin’s first last-place finish at Talladega and his first in a points race since another early crash in the 2007 Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta. Martin is now the highest-qualified driver to finish last in a NASCAR Sprint Cup points race this season and the third to start in the top 10. Rick Hendrick’s #5 team had not finished last since then-rookie Kyle Busch finished last in the 2005 GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan with overheating problems. Busch led 28 laps that day.

The race also featured one of the most incredible upsets in NASCAR Sprint Cup history when Nationwide Series regular Brad Keselowski took Phoenix Racing to victory lane for the first time. The team, owned by James Finch, had finished no better than 40th in its previous four starts this season, including a last-place at Atlanta in March, and had failed to qualify for the other four events. However, the team has never been far from the fight at the restrictor-plate tracks and has two top-fives in the Daytona 500 with Geoffrey Bodine (2002) and Mike Wallace (2007). Keselowski has 5 Sprint Cup starts and, to date, no last-place finishes.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #5-Mark Martin / 6 laps / crash
42) #26-Jamie McMurray / 6 laps / crash
41) #36-Scott Riggs / 6 laps / crash
40) #71-David Gilliland / 6 laps / crash
39) #33-Clint Bowyer / 8 laps / running

2009 RANKINGS
1st) Dave Blaney (2)
2nd) Mike Bliss, Todd Bodine, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Joe Nemechek, Tony Raines (1)

Raines Runs Out of Brakes in Haefele Team’s Debut at Phoenix

Tony Raines picked up the 4th last-place finish of his career in Saturday's Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway when his Quality Concrete Dodge suffered a brake failure after completing 56 of the race’s 312 laps.

The #73 team, owned by Barry Haefele, came together late in the 2009 offseason and, with stock car veteran Mike Garvey behind the wheel, attempted the first three NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Daytona, Fontana, and Las Vegas. When Garvey failed to qualify for these races, the team took some time off and returned at Phoenix with Tony Raines taking over as driver. Raines performed admirably in qualifying, beating five go-or-go-homers with a speed of 131.406 mph. The speed gave the Haefele team its first Sprint Cup start, and they would roll off in the 43rd and final starting spot. In the race, both car and team worked to get up to speed and Raines was lapped midway through the first green-flag run. During the first caution for Sterling Marlin’s crash, Raines pulled behind the wall with brake problems. Marlin returned to the track, but Raines did not, and he finished last as a result.

Besides being Haefele’s first last-place finish as a team owner, the race was Tony Raines’ first last-place finish since he drove Joe Auer’s #51 Marathon Oil Chevrolet in the 2004 UAW-GM Quality 500 at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway. This season, Raines is the second-straight last-place finisher to fall out with brake problems and the third straight to have started in the 43rd spot.

Coming into the Phoenix race, the #73 had not finished last since Steve Moore’s Franklin City Music Park Pontiac lost oil pressure just three laps into the 1982 Atlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta. On the plus side, however, Raines completed the second-most laps of any last-place finisher this season, trailing only Joey Logano’s 79 laps in this year’s season-opening Daytona 500.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #73-Tony Raines / 56 laps / brakes
42) #66-Dave Blaney / 59 laps / brakes
41) #87-Joe Nemechek / 76 laps / rear axle
40) #09-Sterling Marlin / 117 laps / crash
39) #7-Robby Gordon / 243 laps / running

2009 RANKINGS
1st) Dave Blaney (2)
2nd) Mike Bliss, Todd Bodine, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Joe Nemechek, Tony Raines (1)