UPDATE: New LASTCAR Statistics Available

PHOTO: @spencertitans

As we prepare for 2018, there are now two new pages of statistics now available here at LASTCAR.info: Last-Place Finishes By Car Number, and Last-Place Finishes By Reason Out. Both have been updated through the completion of the 2017 season with rankings for Cup, XFINITY, Trucks, and all three combined. Both pages will be updated weekly along with the rest of this site’s statistics.

In addition, the existing rankings are now formatted without 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. in order to make each driver's number of last-place finishes more visible.

Last-Place Finishes by Car Number
Among the statistics which stand out are that all currently-available numbers (from #0 to #09) have finished last in at least one Cup and XFINITY Series race. However, in the Truck Series, fifteen numbers have yet to finish last, including the former Germain Racing #30 made famous by Todd Bodine and Kyle Busch Motorsports’ #54. Anchoring the chart are fifty currently ineligible numbers, including three-digit numbers and those mixed with letters. Fifty-four more are unknown, primarily from the early years of the Cup and XFINITY Series.

On the Cup side, four of car #20’s most recent six last-place finishes have all come in the Daytona 500, and all six have come within the first three races of the season. Among the less common numbers is #29, which hasn’t trailed a Cup Series race since September 1996, when Chad Little scored back-to-back lasts at Richmond and Dover. A big reason for this is that Kevin Harvick never finished last in a single Cup points race he ran for Richard Childress Racing from 2001 through 2013. As of this writing, he hasn’t scored one for Stewart-Haas Racing, either – the longest active streak without a single last-place finish.

Jeff Green’s record-breaking last-place streaks are also reflected on the XFINITY Series car number rankings. Five of the top six – #10, #91, #93, #19, and #44 – were numbers Green drove to his six LASTCAR Championships with TriStar Motorsports and RSS Racing. Car #10 has more than double the XFINITY Series last-place finishes of any other number, and the prolific TriStar entry is responsible for more than half of the 121 total last-place finishes for the number in NASCAR history.

Last-Place Finishes by Reason Out
As of this writing, there have been 124 reasons listed for a NASCAR driver to finish last (125 if you include the “unknown” category). Forty-nine XFINITY Series races show the last-place finisher as out by “dnf,” but the reason the driver failed to finish isn’t recorded. Eighty-nine more times – all of them in Cup – there is no designation at all, meaning that it’s unclear whether or not the driver finished under power. Many of these are again from NASCAR’s earliest seasons, and may have been lost to history.

There are some redundant reasons out listed, but I have decided against merging them together. Among these are drivers black-flagged off the track for failing to keep up the pace. The designations older designation “flagged” and newer “too slow” are separate, as well as the broader “parked,” which can also designate a driver black-flagged for reasons other than speed. There are also separate entries for “shocks” vs. “shock” as well as “timing” versus “timing chain,” “gear” versus “rear gear,” “rod” versus “rods,” and so on.

Engine failures and crashes are by far the most common reasons for a driver to finish last, though only in Cup do the engine failures outnumber crashes, and by a margin of 115 finishes. The recurrence of “start-and-parks” in NASCAR is also somewhat hidden in these statistics. “Quit,” last used in Cup in 1993, ranks just twelfth overall. Others frequently used in its place, including “overheating,” “transmission,” “brakes,” and especially “vibration,” all rank much higher.

The stories behind some of the rarest reasons out have already been featured in articles on LASTCAR. The single instance of “No tires” belonged to the late Joe Frasson at Bristol in 1976. The appearance of “valve spring” fell to the late Kenny Irwin, Jr., when he drove for Robert Yates Racing at Talladega in 1998. The only one to arise in a regular weekly article was “rear axle,” which occurred during Blake Koch’s early exit from the Truck Series race at Dover in 2014. Koch’s is the most recent reason out to not be duplicated.

Merry Christmas, everyone, and stay tuned in 2018 and beyond as we update these statistics all season long.

Reason Out Rankings (1949-present)

Last Update: November 5, 2023
(list excludes non-points races)

CUP SERIES

(717) engine

(661) crash 

(119) overheating

(82) transmission 

(79) brakes 

(60) rear end 

(58) quit 

(56) handling 

(47) ignition 

(45) oil pressure 

(43) electrical

(42) clutch

(41) running, vibration

(35) did not start

(31) oil leak 

(29) disqualified

(28) piston 

(25) steering

(21) axle, flagged

(20) driveshaft, fuel pump

(17) rear gear

(16) head gasket 

(15) radiator 

(14) oil line 

(13) carburetor, suspension

(12) bearing

(11) distributor, valve

(10) oil pump

(9) a-frame 

(8) dvp, wheel

(6) hub, spindle

(5) differential, right-front hub, right-rear axle

(4) ball joint, camshaft, con rod, crankshaft, gas line, gasket, oil cooler, power steering, rocker arm, shocks, tie rod

(3) cam, crank, fire, fuel pressure, gas tank, oil pan, parked, sway bar, timing, timing chain, tire, too slow, water pump, wheel bearing

(2) coil, cylinder head, fan, fuel line, fuel tank, mount, push rod, rear hub, right-rear hub, rod, spin out, stalled, tires, wiring, withdrew

(1) alternator, bell housing, brake cylinder, chassis, cylinder, dnf, driver ill, driver injury, engine mount, fan belt, fatal crash, fender, flywheel, freeze pl, fuel leak, gear, header, housing, injury, leak, left-front hub, left-front wheel, left-rear axle, lifter, lug bolts, manifold, mechanical, mud, no reason, no tires, oil seal, oil temperature, right-front wheel, right-rear wheel, rods, shock, spark plug, spin, t bar, time gear, tortion b, track bar, valve spring, windshield 

(85) Unknown

XFINITY SERIES

(388) crash

(278) engine 

(141) vibration

(59) brakes

(57) electrical

(54) transmission

(53) handling

(47) dnf

(42) ignition 

(37) overheating 

(29) rear end

(23) suspension

(19) rear gear

(16) disqualified

(12) oil leak

(10) clutch

(8) fuel pump, oil pump

(6) running

(5) did not start

(4) radiator, valve

(3) dvp, fuel pressure, oil pressure, quit, steering

(2) distributor, driveshaft, mechanical, power steering, rocker arm, shock

(1) alternator, axle, camshaft, carburetor, chassis, head, parked, push rod, spring, too slow, track bar

TRUCK SERIES

(189) crash

(142) engine

(41) transmission

(39) electrical

(34) vibration

(28) brakes

(24) overheating

(22) ignition 

(19) handling

(18) clutch, rear end

(16) suspension

(15) rear gear

(9) mechanical

(8) fuel pump, running

(7) disqualified

(6) driveshaft

(5) axle

(4) oil leak, steering, too slow

(3) parked, oil pump

(2) did not start, oil cooler, oil line, oil pressure, power steering, radiator

(1) battery, chassis, dnf, drivetrain, dvp, fatigue, fuel pressure, rear axle, shock, tire, water pump

ALL THREE SERIES

(1361) crash

(1137) engine 

(215) vibration 

(180) overheating

(177) transmission 

(166) brakes 

(138) electrical

(128) handling

(111) ignition

(107) rear end

(70) clutch

(61) quit

(55) running

(52) disqualified, suspension

(51) rear gear

(50) oil pressure

(49) dnf

(47) oil leak

(43) did not start

(36) fuel pump

(33) steering

(28) driveshaft, piston

(27) axle

(21) flagged, oil pump, radiator

(16) head gasket, oil line

(15) valve

(14) carburetor 

(13) distributor 

(12) bearing, dvp, mechanical

(9) a-frame

(8) power steering, too slow, wheel

(7) fuel pressure, parked

(6) hub, oil cooler, rocker arm, spindle

(5) camshaft, differential, right-front hub, right-rear axle

(4) ball joint, con rod, crankshaft, gas line, gasket, shock, shocks, tie rod, tire, water pump

(3) cam, chassis, crank, fire, gas tank, oil pan, push rod, sway bar, timing, timing chain, wheel bearing

(2) alternator, coil, cylinder head, fan, fuel line, fuel tank, mount, rear hub, right-rear hub, rod, spin out, stalled, tires, track bar, wiring, withdrew 

(1) battery, bell housing, brake cylinder, cylinder, driver ill, driver injury, drivetrain, engine mount, fan belt, fatal crash, fatigue, fender, flywheel, freeze pl, fuel leak, gear, head, header, housing, injury, leak, left-front hub, left-front wheel, left-rear axle, lifter, lug bolts, manifold, mud, no reason, no tires, oil seal, oil temperature, rear axle, right-front wheel, right-rear wheel, rods, spark plug, spin, spring, t bar, time gear, tortion b, valve spring, windshield 

(85) Unknown

Car Number Rankings (1949-present)

Last Update: November 5, 2023
(list excludes non-points races)

CUP SERIES

(65) #66

(48) #19, #55

(45) #7

(43) #4, #37

(42) #11, #77

(41) #14, #41

(40) #1

(39) #10, #23

(37) #18, #34, #43

(36) #33, #47, #78

(35) #6, #9, #20, #87, #98

(34) #8

(32) #15, #17

(31) #12, #51

(30) #27, #44, #49, #50, #52, #88

(29) #2, #25, #31, #42, #70, #74, #75, #97, #00

(28) #22, #32, #36, #93

(27) #40

(26) #26

(25) #90

(24) #30, #45, #48

(23) #5, #21, #24, #53, #64, #71, #91

(22) #83, #09

(21) #28, #67

(20) #46, #68, #96

(19) #0, #3, #29, #38, #60, #62, #99

(18) #13, #95

(17) #16, #72, #86, #01

(16) #59

(15) #80, #89, #02, #06

(14) #54, #57, #81

(13) #79

(12) #84, #94

(11) #39

(10) #35, #61, #63

(9) #73

(8) #85

(7) #56, #69, #76, #82, #04, #05

(6) #92, #08

(4) #65, #03

(3) #58, #110, #120

(2) #07, #100, #118, #171, #188, #421

(1) #1A, #2jr, #4-X, #7A, #12N, #17X, #20W, #22N, #26W, #44.5, #56W, #75N, #80N, #104, #107, #108, #111, #112, #122, #126, #135, #137, #162, #196, #203, #264, #285, #291, #296, #297, #302, #303, #310, #319, #349, #420, #444, #480, #711, #791, #B-29, #J12, #M-1, #X

(33) Unknown

XFINITY SERIES

(74) #10

(45) #93

(32) #19. #91

(31) #44

(27) #49

(24) #52

(23) #88, #92

(22) #0, #90

(21) #4, #27, #38

(20) #61

(19) #1, #6

(17) #35, #46, #66, #74

(16) #26, #28, #47, #99

(15) #16, #36, #89, #01, #07

(14) #7, #8, #9, #17, #41, #45, #05

(13) #5, #18, #23, #55, #75

(12) #20, #60

(11) #11, #13, #15, #24, #77

(10) #3, #22, #34, #39, #40, #78, #84, #96, #04

(9) #12, #14, #32, #43, #48, #50, #62, #97

(8) #25, #51, #64, #70, #79, #85, #87, #98, #02

(7) #33, #42, #56, #63, #71, #00, #08

(6) #21, #58, #68, #72

(5) #2, #29, #31, #53, #54, #57, #81, #86

(4) #37, #59, #67, #73, #82, #03, #09

(3) #83, #94, #95

(2) #30, #69, #76, #80

(1) #65, #06

(16) Unknown

TRUCK SERIES

(49) #0

(23) #63

(22) #93

(21) #10

(19) #23

(17) #38

(16) #6

(15) #1

(14) #57

(13) #20, #25

(11) #50, #74, #87

(10) #9, #14, #21, #34, #44, #02

(9) #12, #33, #46, #72, #07, #08

(8) #4, #8, #27, #36, #40, #45, #52, #75, #00

(7) #11, #13, #15, #22, #24, #81, #86, #89, #95

(6) #26, #28, #51, #73, #83

(5) #7, #16, #19, #42, #47, #65, #66, #78, #84, #90, #06

(4) #5, #17, #32, #35, #41, #43, #71, #85, #88, #98, #99, #03

(3) #18, #29, #49, #53, #59, #68, #77, #04

(2) #3, #31, #37, #54, #58, #60, #61, #62, #91

(1) #2, #30, #48, #55, #70, #76, #82, #92, #97, #05

(0) #39, #56, #64, #67, #69, #79, #80, #94, #96, #01, #09

ALL THREE SERIES

(134) #10

(95) #93

(90) #0

(88) #66

(85) #19

(74) #1

(72) #4

(71) #23, #44

(70) #6

(62) #52, #55

(60) #11, #14, #20, #49

(59) #9, #27, #41

(57) #34, #38, #47, #74, #88, #91

(56) #77

(54) #7, #87

(53) #18

(52) #8, #33, #90

(51) #78

(50) #15, #17, #25, #43, #50

(49) #12, #37

(48) #26, #36

(47) #75

(46) #45, #46

(45) #22, #51

(44) #98, #00

(43) #28

(42) #40 

(41) #24, #32, #42

(40) #5, #63

(39) #21, #97, #99

(38) #70

(37) #13, #16, #89

(35) #2, #31

(34) #48, #71

(33) #57, #60, #02

(32) #61, #72, #01

(31) #3, #35, #64, #83

(30) #53, #62, #92, #96

(29) #68, #86

(28) #95

(27) #29, #30, #84

(26) #81, #07, #09

(25) #67

(23) #59

(22) #05, #08

(21) #39, #54, #79, #06

(20) #85, #04

(19) #73

(17) #80

(15) #94

(14) #56

(12) #82, #03

(11) #58

(10) #65, #76

(9) #69

(3) #110, #120

(2) #100, #118, #171, #188, #421

(1) #1A, #2jr, #4-X, #7A, #12N, #17X, #20W, #22N, #26W, #44.5, #56W, #75N, #80N, #104, #107, #108, #111, #112, #122, #126, #135, #137, #162, #196, #203, #264, #285, #291, #296, #297, #302, #303, #310, #319, #349, #420, #444, #480, #711, #791, #B-29, #J12, #M-1, #X

(49) Unknown

TRIBUTE: Bud Moore Engineering’s twelve last-place finishes tell the story of one of NASCAR’s most celebrated single-car operations

PHOTO: NASCAR Media

A decorated Army veteran who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. A Hall of Fame crew chief and car owner with 958 combined Cup starts and 63 wins over 37 seasons. Bud Moore filled every one of his 92 years with more stories than this or any other article can tell.

As the racing world mourns Moore’s passing on Monday, we at LASTCAR.info look back at the history of Bud Moore Engineering through the team’s last-place finishes, of which there were only twelve. Much like our feature on Robert Yates earlier this year, each finish tells the story of a single-car operation that was one of the strongest in the sport’s history, attracting some of NASCAR’s most famous drivers.

After years as a championship crew chief, Moore opened his team in 1961. Right away, he struck gold with Joe Weatherly, NASCAR’s “Clown Prince of Racing.” Active in Cup since 1951, Weatherly put Moore’s #8 Pontiac into victory lane in his very first attempt, taking the checkers in his qualifying race at Daytona in 1961. The pair would win 20 races together, claiming back-to-back Cup Series titles in 1962 and 1963. Their only last-place finish together came on August 14, 1963 at the Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds, where the duo were on their way to another strong weekend. Weatherly won the pole for the 200-lapper, led the opening 33 laps, then lost the engine while still out front. It was the fifth and final last-place run of Weatherly’s career. Tragically, he would lose his life just five months later in a crash during the race at Riverside. It was the first time NASCAR’s defending series champion lost his life the following year.

Moore’s next driver was Houston native Billy Wade, who like Kevin Harvick years later would find great success in the shadow of tragedy. Just weeks after Weatherly’s crash, Wade finished 10th in his own Daytona qualifier, then 6th in the Daytona 500. During the Northern Tour that summer, he would become the first driver in NASCAR history to score four consecutive Cup Series wins. Like Weatherly before him, Wade scored just one last-place finish in Moore’s equipment, though not for an incident on the track. It came at Martinsville on April 26, 1964, where his Mercury was entered in the Virginia 500. A dispute over the brake ducts on car #1 led to Moore withdrawing his entry. The withdrawal is recorded in the race results as a “did not start” with Wade classified last. Unbelievably, Wade would also lose his life months later in a testing crash at Daytona.

The Moore team would never again lose a driver, and the owner played a key role in improving safety in the sport. Weatherly’s accident was one of several which led to the institution of driver’s side window nets while Wade’s saw changes made to seat belts, specifically the “jockey strap” or “submarine belt” that goes between the driver’s legs. During this period, Moore changed his car number to the #15, which the team would run for the rest of its existence. The team’s driver in 1973 was another sterling talent, Darrell Waltrip. Waltrip was in just his second season then, and after fielding his own cars as a freshman, Moore was the first owner to hire him. With sponsorship from Sta-Power Industries, the pair finished 8th in their first race together, the 1973 Southern 500. Later that month came their only last-place run together, an engine problem after 75 laps at North Wilkesboro on September 23, 1973.

The next two last-place runs both came in 1981, the year NASCAR decreased the standard wheelbase of its cars. Driving the team’s downsized Melling Tool Ford Thunderbirds was 1973 series champion Benny Parsons. Parsons won three times that season, culminating with a 10th-place finish in points, but finished last in both Cup races at Dover. The first came on May 17, the same day that another World War II veteran turned NASCAR team owner, Junie Donlavey, scored his only Cup win after Jody Ridley took the checkers. Parsons’ short day came after a crash with Dave Marcis on Lap 2. Things went no better on September 20, when the Ford overheated after just 31 laps. To date, Parsons is one of only three drivers to sweep both Cup Series last-place finishes at Dover, joining Dick May (1975), Bruce Hill (1976), and Graham Taylor (1992).

On November 21, 1982, still another last-place finish by the Moore team took on added significance. That day’s running of the Winston Western 500 saw the first last-place finish of 31-year-old Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt, who wouldn’t win on a road course until 1995, started 7th in his #15 Wrangler Jeans Ford, but suffered an oil leak after just eight laps. “The Intimidator” would finish last just four more times in Cup – all in his iconic GM Goodwrench Chevrolet, and none after 1992. Ricky Rudd, who shared Earnhardt’s Wrangler sponsorship in 1984, picked up Moore’s next finish on June 17 of that year at Michigan. Just months earlier, Rudd had driven the same car to a gutsy win at Richmond with his swollen eyes taped open following his brutal wreck in the Busch Clash at Daytona.

The next two finishes came with Brett Bodine in 1988, a season which began with another terrifying crash after his Crisco / Motorcraft Ford collided with a tumbling Richard Petty in the Daytona 500. Bodine finished last in the July 2 return to Daytona when he was collected in another six-car pileup off the fourth corner, this time eliminating Cale Yarborough and Alan Kulwicki. The second finish came November 6, when Kulwicki earned his first Cup win in the inaugural race at Phoenix. Bodine was out after 13 laps that day with a blown engine.

Geoffrey Bodine joined the Bud Moore team in 1992, replacing Morgan Shepherd as driver of the team’s red #15 Motorcraft Quality Parts Ford. The team scored back-to-back wins at Martinsville and North Wilkesboro that fall, the latter run without a single caution flag. It was a strong performance after a difficult Martinsville afternoon on April 26, where another engine failure stopped Bodine after 104 laps of the Hanes 500. The next year, Bodine would score Moore’s 63rd and final Cup Series win at Sonoma, doing so in dramatic style. With dirt and debris on the track, Bodine slipped around the road course in the final laps, holding off a determined Ernie Irvan and Ricky Rudd. At the time, Bodine had just completed the purchase of Alan Kulwicki Racing, and would begin his owner-driver effort soon after.

Moore very nearly won again at Sonoma three years later, when road racer Wally Dallenbach, Jr. came on board with sponsorship from Hayes Modems. Dallenbach finished 3rd that day, within shouting distance of Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin. The sponsorship from Hayes was an eleventh-hour deal prior to the Daytona 500, where Dallenbach overcame front valence damage to finish 6th. The team also had the benefit of owner-driver Jimmy “Smut” Means as the crew chief, Means joining the team after he closed his own Cup effort. As it turned out, Sonoma marked the 298th and final top-five finish for Moore. The pair also finished last for the penultimate time at Richmond on March 3, when crash damage ended their day 19 laps into the Pontiac Excitement 400. Following a 25th-place finish in the season standings, it was to be Moore’s final season as a full-time competitor.

After Dallenbach’s departure, Bud Moore Engineering made just seven more starts. With two DNQs and a withdrawal from the Brickyard 400, 1997 marked the first season without one of Moore’s car in the field since 1971. In 1998, the team acquired sponsorship from Rescue Engine Formula and, after a DNQ with Loy Allen, Jr. at Indianapolis, made two starts with Ted Musgrave at Michigan and Darlington. It was the second of these starts on September 6 that Moore picked up his twelfth and final last-place finish. Musgrave lined up 32nd for the Pepsi Southern 500, but dropped a cylinder at the end of a long green-flag run and pulled off the track.

The last Bud Moore car to qualify at Talladega, April 16, 2000.
PHOTO: Bryan Hallman

In 1999, Moore sold his team to Fenley Motorsports, and the renamed Fenley-Moore Motorsports eyed a return to Cup competition in 2000 with Derrike Cope. Still carrying Moore’s iconic #15, the team made its Cup debut at Charlotte on October 11, 1999, where Cope finished 35th. Then, although the team didn’t have one of Ford’s new 2000-model Tauruses at the time, Cope raced the car into the Daytona 500. Following a 19th-place finish with Cope at Atlanta, the team’s final green flag came at Talladega on April 16. That day, Ted Musgrave returned to drive a “throwback” scheme to the white-and-blue Ford that Bobby Allison steered to victory in the team’s lone Daytona 500 triumph in 1978. Musgrave was running in the lead pack when “The Big One” collected him in the final stages.

While the car number 15 has since bounced from team to team (at the end of 2017, it was the Chartered entry for Premium Motorsports), Bud Moore’s legacy will live on. Two of the last three "Throwback" weekends at Darlington saw the #15 decorated as one of Moore's cars. Through both good days and bad, the team’s endurance in changing sport played a critical role in NASCAR history.

SOURCES
*Legends of NASCAR – Billy Wade
*Racing-reference.info

OPINION: Thank goodness the “Junior Singularity” is over

PHOTO: John Harrelson, LAT Images

A few thoughts on Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s retirement, and what it means for NASCAR going forward.

It’s easy to forget just how high expectations were for Junior before February 18, 2001. He won twice in his rookie season in Cup – once more than his father in 1979 – and took his first All-Star Race in dramatic fashion. “Junior Nation” was already well past its founding. But once that final lap happened, everything became so much bigger. From that point on, Junior was now carrying the hopes, dreams, and expectations of two equally-massive fan bases – his own and his father’s. I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been for him, on top of everything else.

From then on, there was was what I call the “Junior Singularity.” The Cup Series became “Junior and Friends,” a weekly show where everyone else in the field – even its newest seven-time champion – played a supporting role. I was told by a friend in the NASCAR merchandise business that Junior outsold every other driver in the field 10-to-1. I believed it, especially when FOX broadcasts were constantly interrupted with a “Nationwide Dale Jr. Performance Report.” Junior was always a story - even if that story involved a terrible final season with DEI, a four-year winless streak, and a worrying series of concussions.

It wasn’t like Big E in the 1990s, when he was presented as one of a number of quirky stars – Wallace, Martin, Jarrett, Irvan, Gordon, and Bodine, to name a few. He stood out, of course, but not in the James Dean kind of way he does today. Some of the best proof of this are those old skits ESPN put together to open their Cup broadcasts. Earnhardt wasn’t the star of all of them, and some didn’t mention him at all. If another driver was the story – such as Rusty Wallace and his short-track dominance in early 1993 – then he carried the narrative instead. Earnhardt’s hardly mentioned at all in the 1992 Hooters 500, widely regarded as NASCAR’s greatest race. For Earnhardt, it was known ’92 was a season to forget, a year where accidents and mechanical issues left him 12th in points.

This isn’t to say that any of this is Junior’s fault – far from it. A big part of his popularity has been the result of things completely out of his control, and he’s consistently steered that celebrity toward charity. From the very beginning, he’s remained humble, compassionate, and about as down-to-earth as one can get. I’ve always found it ironic that the sport’s most popular driver remains a fan of Jimmy Means, a driver who raced without any wins in 455 starts. He’s also a studied student of the sport, not only from spending his youth in the garage, but also his clear dedication to the sport’s history, such as his “Back In The Day” program. I also can’t fault the fans for supporting who they want, nor the media for filling the need for Junior news that they desire. Much larger forces steered both that direction.

But I can say I’m glad that it’s over.

I am thankful that Junior retired on his own terms – not just for himself, but for his sport. I believe that the “Junior Singularity” has distracted too much of us from the state of NASCAR as a whole. We need to look at the lingering effects of the Charter system, how it has continued to prevent start-up teams from forming while doing nothing to prevent a proven winner like Matt Kenseth from being squeezed out of the sport. We need to re-examine how broadcasts are handled in the internet age and create leaner, more efficient, more informative experiences for fans old and new. And, most of all, we need to start talking again about the rest of the field, the big names and the small, who will each play a role in shaping NASCAR’s future. Let’s celebrate that Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson are now the old guard, fending off a rising tide of Chase Elliott, Darrell Wallace, Jr., Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Erik Jones, and many others.

I don’t think anyone really knows Junior. Maybe his family. Maybe his wife. But that’s about it. I don’t know how he’s handled everything thrown at him with such grace. And I can only imagine the relief he now feels with that Axalta Chevrolet in his garage and a baby on the way. I’d like to imagine he’d complement his new career in broadcasting with another NASCAR history show. I can see him in the role of Neil Bonnett when he did “Winners” on TNN, though without that return to Daytona in 1994. But I can’t say what’s right for him, never mind tell him. Nobody can. For perhaps the first time in his life, Junior is free. It’s not a time for sadness. We should be happy for him.

To anyone out there in an 88 shirt, you need to realize that the sky isn’t falling just because one of its stars isn’t on the track. Like Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons, and Buddy Baker before him, you’re gonna enjoy him even more in the booth. And the sport will be better for it.