TRUCKS: Hard luck continues for Tommy Joe Martins at Kansas

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin' Forums

Tommy Joe Martins picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s Toyota Tundra 250 at the Kansas Speedway when his #44 Diamond Gusset Jeans Chevrolet fell out with suspension issues after 26 of 170 laps.

The finish, which came in Martins’ seventh series start, was his second of the year and first since the Daytona opener, two rounds ago.

After selling his ride to Austin Wayne Self for last month’s race at Martinsville, both Self and Martins made the field for the race.  Martins did not participate in Thursday’s opening session, 22nd of 32 in the second, and 25th of 33 in Happy Hour.  His best run came in qualifying, where he timed in 19th at a speed fo 172.822 mph.  It was a tremendous effort for the #44 team, who had to repair their truck after suffering damage to the rear clip in practice.

Two trucks missed the race.  Norm Benning and his #6 Chevrolet have now missed all four races in 2016, and this time were just three-tenths of a second short.  Joining him was fellow owner-driver Mike Harmon, whose #74 Premium Motorsports Marketing / RaceDaySponsor.com Chevrolet was a second off the pace.

Starting 32nd and last on the field was Spencer Gallagher in the #23 Alamo Chevrolet for GMS Racing.  Gallagher was on a fast lap in qualifying, having turned in the second-best lap in practice, but aborted his timed run when he scraped the outside wall in Turns 3 and 4.  On Lap 2, he was passed by rookie Rico Abreu, whose #98 SafeLite Toyota had a lose rear trunk lid panel after he, too, made contact with the wall.  Abreu returned to the competition, and was soon passed for last by Ryan Ellis, whose #1 CorvetteParts.net Chevrolet was down 18 circuits when the caution clock expired on Lap 44.

At that same moment, Martins was also struggling.  An early flat tire, followed by engine troubles dropped him 15 laps behind in the first 44 circuits.  Ellis returned to the track to complete a handful more laps, eventually climbing to 30th.  Martins, however, was unable to come back out, leaving him with a disappointing 32nd.  Between Martins and Ellis was 31st-place Parker Kligerman, who had a hard Turn 4 crash on Lap 50 in his #92 BTS Tire / Valvoline / Solid Rock Carriers Ford.

The last two members of the Bottom Five were 29th-place Jordan Anderson, whose #66 DoodyCalls Chevrolet tangled with Mike Bliss on Lap 79, and 6th-place starter John Hunter Nemechek, who lost 29 laps when he collided with John Wes Townley off Tun 4, the contact triggering Kligerman’s hard crash.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marks the first last-place finish for both Martins and the #44 in a Truck Series race at Kansas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
32) #44-Tommy Joe Martins / 26 laps / suspension
31) #92-Parker Kligerman / 48 laps / crash
30) #1-Ryan Ellis / 52 laps / suspension
29) #66-Jordan Anderson / 82 laps / crash
28) #8-John Hunter Nemechek / 141 laps / running

2016 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Tommy Joe Martins (2)
2nd) William Byron, Johnny Sauter (1)

2016 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Tommy Joe Martins (2)
2nd) GMS Racing, Kyle Busch Motorsports (1)

2016 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (3)
2nd) Toyota (1)

9/30/01: Casey Atwood crashes on first lap of Kansas inaugural

SOURCE: Adam Pretty, Getty Images

On September 30, 2001, Casey Atwood picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Winston Cup Series career in the Protection One 400 at the Kansas Speedway when his #19 Dodge / UAW Dodge crashed on the first of 267 laps.  The finish came in Atwood’s 30th series start.

At the turn of the Millenium, expectations for Cup rookies were higher than ever.  Two years earlier, Tony Stewart scored three wins in his rookie campaign, tying the 1987 record set by the late Davey Allison.  One year earlier, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won two points races and the All-Star event, and was out-foxed for the rookie title by Coca-Cola 600 winner Matt Kenseth.  The 2001 rookie class promised to be the strongest one yet, including open-wheel turned Busch driver Jason Leffler and Truck Series stars Kurt Busch, Ron Hornaday, Jr., and Andy Houston.

Over the 2001 offseason, Atwood was one of the favorites to dominate the rookie battle.  Three years earlier, during the Busch Series race at his home track in Nashville, the 17-year-old Atwood took the pole, led nearly one-third of the distance, and finished second behind Mike McLaughlin.  Two years earlier, the 18-year-old scored his first two Busch Series victories at Milwaukee and Dover, the former a last-lap bump-and-run on race leader Jeff Green.  Just one year before, when he finished a career-best 8th in the Busch standings, the 19-year-old signed with former crew chief Ray Evernham, who was set to start a two-car Cup team in 2001.  In his third Cup start at Homestead, Atwood started 5th and finished 10th.  With that, Evernham set Atwood as Bill Elliott’s teammate for 2001.  Both would be running brand-new Dodges, a manufacturer whose return to the series Evernham had spearheaded.

But through the first 27 rounds of the 2001 season, Atwood struggled.  He rolled into Kansas just 30th in points with just two top-ten finishes, both coming in the previous five races.  The rookie battle, meanwhile, had been taken over by a late addition.  In the aftermath of Dale Earnhardt’s tragic death in the Daytona 500, Kevin Harvick had taken the controls of the GM Goodwrench Chevrolet, and had claimed two victories of his own.  While Atwood wasn’t far off the pace of the rest of his rookie class - coming into Kansas, Kurt Busch was just four spots ahead of him in 26th - many couldn’t help but perceive his season as a disappointment.

The September 30 race was the first NASCAR event held at the Kansas Speedway, which that year joined Chicagoland Speedway on the calendar to increase the schedule to its current 36 races.  Atwood timed in 5th, his best start since Pocono that July.

Starting 43rd in the race was Hut Stricklin in the #90 Hills Brothers Coffee Ford for longtime car owner Junie Donlavey.  Stricklin had missed eight of the season’s first 28 races, but finished a season-best 6th at Michigan in June - the team’s best finish in more than three years.  Stricklin only held the spot for a matter of seconds.

As the field headed into the first corner, 4th-place starter Stacy Compton’s #92 Kodiak Dodge cut down on Atwood’s #19, sending Atwood’s Dodge spinning up the track.  12th-place starter John Andretti, stuck in the high lane, had nowhere to go and collided with the left-front of Atwood.  Ricky Craven spun to the inside in the ensuing chain-reaction, but returned to the track with Andretti.  Atwood was the only driver involved who was done for the day.  Craven came home 21st.  Andretti ended up 39th, 121 laps behind.

Between Atwood and Andretti in the Bottom Five were 42nd and 41st-place Todd Bodine in Travis Carter’s #66 Kmart Blue Light Special Ford and Ward Burton in Bill Davis’ #22 Caterpillar Dodge, who tangled and crashed in Turn 2 on Lap 69.  Bill Elliott, Atwood’s teammate, joined him in the 40th spot.  After leading 33 of the first 55 laps, Elliott’s engine let go, handing him his first DNF of the season.

In the closing stages of the 2001 season, Atwood’s performance picked up.  He won his first pole at Phoenix, then two weeks later in his return to Homestead led 52 laps and was in position to win before Bill Elliott slipped by with five circuits to go.  With only a 26th-place rank in points to show for it, however, Evernham replaced Atwood with Jeremy Mayfield for 2002.  Atwood spent one season driving Evernham’s expansion team, the #7 Sirius Satellite Radio Dodge co-owned by Jim Smith, but the finishes still weren’t there.  35th in points at season’s end, Atwood returned to the Busch Series.  He’s only run two Cup races since.

Atwood’s most recent start in NASCAR’s top three divisions came on November 14, 2009 at Phoenix, where he came home 41st in Wayne Day’s #85 31-W Insulation / CertainTeed Chevrolet.  Today, Atwood, now 35, still runs late models and lives in the Nashville area.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Atwood’s only last-place finish in 75 career Cup starts.
*This was the first last-place finish for the #19 in a Cup Series race since February 23, 1997, when Loy Allen, Jr.’s #19 Child Support Recovery Ford fell out with clutch issues after he completed 68 laps of the Goodwrench Service 400 at Rockingham.  Allen’s car was fielded by TriStar Motorsports, which is still active in the XFINITY Series today.
*Atwood was the first driver to finish last without completing a lap since that February’s race at Rockingam, where Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s #8 Budweiser Chevrolet wrecked out of the Dura Lube 400.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #19-Casey Atwood / 0 laps / crash
42) #66-Todd Bodine / 67 laps / crash
41) #22-Ward Burton / 67 laps / crash
40) #9-Bill Elliott / 134 laps / engine / led 33 laps
39) #43-John Andretti / 146 laps / running

SPONSORED: Twisted Tea Gives Race Fans a Chance to Get their Face in the Race

Drinkers Can Enter Contest Where a Race Fan’s Photograph will be Painted on a Racecar for Race Day

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – As a sponsor of Richard Petty Motorsports for three years, the team at Twisted Tea knows at least two things first-hand: nothing goes better with watching a race than a cold Twisted Tea, and NASCAR fans are among the most loyal in the world of professional sports.

To celebrate this, Twisted Tea is leading up to the Talladega race with “Get Your Face in the Race” – a contest where a race fan’s photograph will be emblazoned on a racecar for race day. In this case, painted on Twisted Tea’s No. 44 Ford Fusion driven by Brian Scott, for the Darlington, South Carolina race in September 2016. The lucky winner will get to attend the race with three friends courtesy of Twisted Tea and see their face go around the track live that day.

“There is no better time to enjoy Twisted Tea, the smooth and refreshing hard iced tea that tastes like real iced tea, than during a race, or cheering on the drivers while watching the race at home. Based on the creativity we see in our drinkers who submit photos every year for our back labels, we expect this to be a high-octane competition,” said Robert Vail, member of the Twisted Tea team. “We know there are plenty of people out there passionate about both Twisted Tea and NASCAR and will want to know about this unique opportunity to get closer to the track.”

Twisted Tea is asking entrants to show their passion for racing as well as their love of Twisted Tea, and the winner will be chosen from photos that will be judged on creativity, cleverness and uniqueness. In addition to getting their face painted on the racecar, the winner will also win on-site bragging rights and be able to invite three friends to come along to Darlington.

To learn more about the submission process and for rules, go to: http://twistedtea.com/twisted-racing/get-your-face-in-the-race. The contest began on April 1, 2016 and ends on May 15, 2016 and entries are accepted online. Fans must be 21 years of age or older to enter.

Brian Scott will be driving Twisted Tea’s No. 44 Ford Fusion at the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on May 1, 2016. Coverage airs at 1 p.m. ET on FOX.

About Twisted Tea Brewing Company

Twisted Tea Brewing Company was founded in 2001 on the twisted promise that a hard iced tea should taste like real iced tea. Since 2001, our tea makers (yes, their job is as cool as it sounds) have been committed to brewing a hard iced tea that not only tastes like real iced tea but also delivers an incredibly smooth and refreshing drinking experience. Twisted Tea brews more than 10 styles and is continuously searching for the best flavors to introduce to its drinkers. In 2016, it released Twisted Tea Bourbon Barrel, a light and refreshing tea with a splash of Bourbon flavor. For more information, visitwww.twistedtea.com

About Richard Petty Motorsports

A performance and marketing driven company, Richard Petty Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and successful business entrepreneur Andrew Murstein, is one of the most recognized brands in all of motorsports. With a history of over 200 wins and business partnerships with national and global leaders, today the race operation fields two teams in competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with drivers Aric Almirola and Brian Scott. Almirola will return to the iconic No. 43 Ford with partners Smithfield Foods, STP, United States Air Force and the "Fresh From Florida" campaign. Scott will make his debut with the team and drive the Petty Family No. 44 Ford. Albertsons Companies, Shore Lodge, Twisted Tea and GoBowling.com will join Scott as he competes for Rookie of the Year in his first full-time season in the Sprint Cup Series. Richard Petty Motorsports will also field the No. 43 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR XFINITY Series with driver Jeb Burton, who will compete for Rookie of the Year in his first full-time season in the No. 43 J. Streicher Ford. The team is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C.

No purchase necessary. Contest open to US residents who are 21 years +. 1 Grand Prize – to have your face on the Twisted Tea Car during a 2016 Race and a trip for you and three (3) guests to attend the race, ARV $10,000.00.  Contest begins on 4/1/16 and ends 5/15/16. To enter visit Twistedtea.com and enter your name, address, email address, telephone number and date of birth, and a photo of you being a little twisted.   Five (5) finalists will be chosen from all Contest Entrants by a panel of five (5) Twisted Tea Team members and judged on the following criteria:  creativity and uniqueness of photo, alignment with Twisted Tea’s values and entrants’ passion for racing.  The five (5) finalist photos will be posted on twistedtea.com on 5/15/2016-5/20/2016.  The finalist with the highest number of votes on 5/20/2016 will be the Grand Prize Winner. For official rules visit twistedtea.com or email officialrules@twistedtea.com. Void where prohibited.

Twisted Tea® is a registered trademark of Boston Beer Corporation.

CUP: Open Team Roundup - Talladega

SOURCE: NASCAR

For the first time in 2016, all four Open teams finished on the lead lap and inside the Top 20, each among the last survivors of a chaotic afternoon in Talladega.  Three teams picked up their best finishes of the season and two led at least one lap, but none left the track unscathed.

QUALIFIED

#21 Wood Brothers Racing
Driver: Ryan Blaney
Started 19th, Finished 9th

Ryan Blaney was back to his Las Vegas and Bristol form on Sunday with an added dose of perseverence.  Though he never led, he hovered just on the outside of the Top 10 for most of the day, avoiding all of the early crashes.  It wasn’t until Lap 162, when Kurt Busch nudged Jimmie Johnson into Paul Menard in Turn 1, that trouble found him.  Caught on the inside line, Blaney slowed and was rear-ended by Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., then spun into the grass.  The crew taped him up and bandaged together the rear bumper, and on Lap 170, he scored the Lucky Dog.  Blaney suffered more damage in the following wreck involving Matt Kenseth, but in the final three-lap sprint managed to come home 9th.

This Saturday at Kansas, Blaney returns to a track where he finished 7th last October - the second-best finish by the team at the track behind Ricky Rudd’s runner-up to Joe Nemechek in 2004.

#55 Premium Motorsports
Driver: Michael Waltrip
Started 33rd, Finished 12th

Michael Waltrip returned for his second restrictor-plate race of the season, moving from BK Racing’s #83 to Premium Motorsports’ #55 driven previously by Reed Sorenson.  The high and low point of Waltrip’s day came within seconds of each other.  Waltrip’s PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Toyota stayed out under the first caution and led the field to green on Lap 58.  One lap later, when he’d slipped back to 5th, Waltrip was bumped by Martin Truex, Jr. entering Turn 3, sending him hurtling full-speed down the apron.  Waltrip spun as he re-entered the track, but somehow avoided serious damage.  Casey Mears and Aric Almirola, clipped by Waltrip, weren’t so lucky.  From then on, Waltrip remained just behind the lead pack all the way to the finish.  He somehow avoided all the wrecks and came home 12th.  It was the best Cup finish by owner Jay Robinson since Waltrip finished 19th in the 2014 Coke Zero 400.

Next week will mark Premium Motorsports’ first start at Kansas since 2014, when Joe Nemechek finished 31st in the spring race and Mike Wallace ranked 34th in the fall.

#35 Front Row Motorsports
Driver: David Gilliland
Started 39th, Finished 17th

Third among the Open teams at the finish, 2013 runner-up David Gilliland was actually the closest of the group to snatching away victory from Brad Keselowski.  The weekend began as a redemption of sorts, the Californian bouncing back from his DNQ in the season-opening Daytona 500 to make his first Cup start of the year in Front Row’s non-chartered #35.  Unlike Daytona, he had sponsorship this time, too, as Shaw’s Southern Belle Frozen Foods adorned his Ford.  Gilliland ran inside the Top 20 for most of the race, despite damage to the nose of his car suffered in Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s wreck on Lap 51.  Gilliland never once required the Lucky Dog.  In fact, when the white flag flew, he raced up to 3rd with a shot at Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch.  Unfortunately, he was shaken out of the draft on the backstretch, sent plummeting to the rear on the inside line.  Still, it was Gilliland’s best finish since he came home 17th at Pocono last August.

With the #35 only entered at Daytona and Talladega, it seems likely it will only return - if at all - at the season’s return trips to both tracks.  However, it is this writer’s opinion that the car could return at Sonoma this June, where Gilliland has also recorded strong runs.

#98 Premium Motorsports
Driver: Cole Whitt
Started 36th, Finished 18th

Cole Whitt led a lap of his own - the 131st, during the caution for Kasey Kahne’s hard crash - yet didn’t seem to run as strong as the other four Open teams during the race itself.  That said, he actually was in position to be the top Open team after Gilliland fell through the pack.  After running back in the pack for most of the afternoon, Whitt made his move in the final three laps, finding himself in the middle of a three-wide pack two carlengths ahead of Ryan Blaney.  When racing Landon Cassill for a spot inside the Top 10, the two made contact, sending Whitt into the right-rear of Kevin Harvick.  The contact sent Whitt spinning across the track as Harvick hit the outside-wall.  Still, the caution coming out seconds before Keselowski reached the stripe kept Whitt ahead of three other lead-lap cars - Bobby Labonte, Greg Biffle, and Michael McDowell.

Were it not for Waltrip’s 12th-place finish, Whitt’s 18th-place run would have been a new best-ever for Premium’s team owner Jay Robinson.  Regardless, it was Whitt’s best finish of the season - topping his 26th-place run at Fontana - and is tied for the third-best in Whitt’s 94 Cup starts.

DID NOT QUALIFY

#30 The Motorsports Group
Driver: Josh Wise
Season Stats: 8 Starts, 2 DNQs

The Motorsports Group now stands 0-for-2 in qualifying at restrictor-plate races for 2016.  Driver Josh Wise was the slowest in qualifying, seven-tenths of a second behind the next Open car of David Gilliland.  If driver and team bounce back at Kansas, it will be the team’s first start at the track.  Wise’s best Kansas finish in six starts was a 26th driving for Front Row Motorsports in the spring of 2013.

DID NOT ENTER

#26 BK Racing
#40 Hillman Racing
#59 Leavine Family / Circle Sport Racing
#93 BK Racing

None of the other Daytona 500 DNQs attempted the race at Talladega, including Hillman Racing, who had traditionally turned in strong runs when Landon Cassill drove for them.  Ryan Ellis, who ran the #93 last week at Richmond, is expected to return for a handful more races this year, including Indianapolis in July and Texas in November.

CUP: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gives #88 first Talladega last-place finish since 1980

SOURCE: Jerry Markland, Getty Images

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. picked up th 9th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career in Sunday's GEICO 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway when his #88 Nationwide Chevrolet fell out after a pair of crashes after he completed 63 of 188 laps.

The finish, which came in Earnhardt’s 587th series start, was his first of the season and first since last year’s CampingWorld.com 500 at Phoenix, 42 races ago.

Last fall at Talladega, Earnhardt was eliminated from Chase contention in a controversial finish where Kevin Harvick’s crash and Joey Logano’s restart cost him a “must-win” victory.  This year at Daytona, Earnhardt brought that same car - Chassis 88-872, nicknamed “Amelia,” and looked for another strong run.  Again, he contended, leading 15 laps before he wrecked off Turn 4 with just 29 circuits remaining.  “Amelia” was reported to be a total loss, but last week, word came that the Hendrick team had fixed it.  And so, with Earnhardt 7th in points with three runner-up finishes at Atlanta, Texas, and Bristol, Earnhardt and “Amelia” eyed their first victory of the season.

Earnhardt began the weekend just 32nd in the opening practice session despite running the most laps - 37.  He then bounced back in Happy Hour with the 7th-fastest speed, and in Saturday’s qualifying, earned the 3rd starting spot with a lap of 192.424 mph.

The 40th starting spot in Sunday’s field went to David Ragan, whose #23 BK Racing entry carried sponsorship from Schulter Systems - Ragan’s third different backer in three weeks.  During the pace laps, Ragan was joined by Ryan Newman, sent to the rear for unapproved adjustments, and Tony Stewart, for a driver change.  After his return last Sunday at Richmond, Stewart honored his doctor’s request to step out of his car at the earliest possible moment.  XFINITY Series regular Ty Dillon qualified the car, and then climbed aboard during the first caution on Lap 51.

That same Lap 51 caution also ultimately determined the last-place battle.

On Lap 1, Ragan passed David Gilliland for the 40th spot.  Gilliland was making his first Cup attempt since he missed the show for the Daytona 500, having secured the 39th starting spot in Front Row Motorsports’ non-chartered #35.  Ryan Newman’s penalized #31 took it on Lap 2, followed by Stewart on Lap 3 and Michael Annett on Lap 5.

Annett held 40th until the first round of green-flag stops on the 36th go-round, when Carl Edwards trailed in his #19 ARRIS Toyota.  Austin Dillon took it on Lap 37 after his stop, then Paul Menard on Lap 38.  Menard’s #27 Moen / Menards Chevrolet tangled with Danica Patrick’s #10 Aspen Dental Turbocharged Tooth Fairy Chevrolet when Patrick tried to get into her pit stall.  The contact caved-in the right-front of Menard’s car and damaged the rear of Patrick’s.  Menard passed Patrick on Lap 39, then Annett retook 40th on Lap 45.  Annett was still trailing - and a lap down - when the aforementioned Lap 51 caution occurred.

That time by, Earnhardt had yet to lead a lap, but was still in the middle of the lead pack.  Coming off Turn 2, Earnhardt cut left, then lost control and hooked right, catching teammate Kasey Kahne’s #5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet.  The two cars continued toward the outside wall, narrowly missing Patrick’s #10 and instead clipping the left-front of Matt DiBenedetto’s #83 Dustless Blasting Toyota.  Under the yellow flag, the order of the three cars placed Kahne behind Earnhardt and DiBenedetto, and the #5 took 40th from Annett on Lap 52.

Of these three drivers, DiBenedetto returned to the track first on Lap 61, dropping Earnhardt from 38th to 39th.  Kahne came out next on Lap 91, and Earnhardt took 40th for the final time on Lap 92.  Though both Kahne and Earnhardt were more than 40 laps down to the leaders, the last-place battle wasn’t settled until Lap 111, when something on Carl Edwards’ #19 broke, sending him hard to the right into the passing Earnhardt, destroying both cars.  Kahne and DiBenedetto also fell out in later incidents: Kahne’s #5 apparently broke a tie rod and hit the wall on Lap 129 while DiBenedetto lost the engine.

Earnhardt, Kahne, and DiBenedetto finished 40th, 39th, and 36th, respectively.  Joining them in the Bottom Five was 38th-place Michael Annett, whose #46 Pilot / Flying J Chevrolet slammed a gap in the backstretch wall flush with the driver’s side during a seven-car melee on Lap 97.  37th went to Chris Buescher, whose #34 Love’s Travel Stops / CSX Play It Safe Ford was hooked by Annett in the same crash and tumbled wildly down the backstretch.  All drivers involved in these and the total ten cautions on the afternoon walked away without serious injuries.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s first last-place finish in a Cup race at Talladega.
*This was Hendrick Motorsports’ first last-place finish in a Cup race at Talladega since April 26, 2009, when Mark Martin’s #5 Carquest / Kellogg’s Chevrolet crashed after 6 laps of the Aaron’s 499.  Brad Keselowski, who also won Sunday, claimed his first checkered flag in Cup that day.
*This was the first last-place finish for the #88 in a Cup race at Talladega since May 4, 1980, when Darrell Waltrip’s Gatorade Oldsmobile broke a cam after 4 laps of the Winston 500.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. / 63 laps / crash
39) #5-Kasey Kahne / 82 laps / crash
38) #46-Michael Annett / 94 laps / crash
37) #34-Chris Buescher / 95 laps / crash
36) #83-Matt DiBenedetto / 98 laps / crash

2016 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Reed Sorenson, Josh Wise (2)
2nd) Aric Almirola, Matt DiBenedetto, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kyle Larson, Ryan Newman, Cole Whitt (1)

2016 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Premium Motorsports (3)
2nd) The Motorsports Group (2)
3rd) BK Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports (1)

2016 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (8)
2nd) Ford, Toyota (1)