PREVIEW: Rookies, Canadians, and two last-place title bouts take center stage at ISM Raceway

PHOTO: @jjyeley1

Friday, November 9, 2018
TRUCKS Race 22 of 23
Round of 6, Race 3 of 3
Lucas Oil 150 at ISM
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Mike Senica

ENTRY LIST
The preliminary entry list showed just 31 trucks for 32 spots, threatening the first short field since last fall at Talladega. That changed late Tuesday as MB Motorsports’ #63 became the 32nd entry (see below).

MISSING: #0-Jennifer Jo Cobb
Jennifer Jo Cobb has elected not to enter her second truck, the #0 Chevrolet which was withdrawn last week in Texas for driver Camden Murphy.

MISSING: #7-All Out Motorsports
All Out Motorsports is not making the trip west to Phoenix, one week after Reid Wilson failed to qualify at Texas. Wilson, who was swapped in for Korbin Forrister, is also not entered.

DRIVER CHANGE: #8-NEMCO Motorsports
DRIVER CHANGE: #87-NEMCO Motorsports
John Hunter Nemechek returns to the #8 this week, and father Joe moves back to the #87 in place of Timmy Hill, who isn’t entered. With the “start-and-park” strategy often employed by the #87, Joe Nemechek could be in position to take the 2018 LASTCAR Truck Series title outright with a last-place run on Friday. If Nemechek does not trail on Friday, it could go down to Homestead, depending on who is actually entered. Of the 15 other drivers still in contention, just one is entered this week – runner-up Bayley Currey in the #63 (see below).

MISSING: #9-CR7 Motorsports
A third team missing from the Texas entry list is CR7 Motorsports, whose driver Codie Rohrbaugh drove his #9 Ford to a 17th-place finish in Texas.

MISSING: #12-Young’s Motorsports
DRIVER CHANGE: #20-Young’s Motorsports
Randy Young’s team shuffles its driver lineup once again. Tyler Young moves from the #12, which isn’t entered this week following a crash in Texas, to the #20. Young takes the place of Tanner Thorson, who isn’t entered after he ran 21st in Texas.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Premium Motorsports
Welcome back Stefan Parsons, who eyes his second Truck Series start and his first since his debut in the night race at Bristol, where he ran 17th. Then as now, Parsons drives for Premium Motorsports, whose team owner Jay Robinson acquired father Phil Parsons’ Cup team back in 2015. Parsons takes the place of Mike Harmon, who will instead focus on his XFINITY Series effort in the #74 Chevrolet with Veterans 4 Child Rescue as sponsor.

DRIVER CHANGE: #17-DGR-Crosley
Tyler Ankrum rejoins the DGR-Crosley effort for the first time since his series debut at Martinsville, two races ago, where he ran 18th in the #54. This time around, he drives the #17 piloted last week by David Gilliland. As at Martinsville, May’s Hawaii joins as sponsor along with the logos for DGR-Crosley and Crosley Brands.

RETURNING: #19-Bill McAnally Racing
Despite the Toyota backing and the Joe Gibbs Racing-styled number, this truck is not a Joe Gibbs or KBM entry. It is fielded by Roseville, California-based Bill McAnally Racing, longtime competitors in the K&N Pro Series West. This marks the first time McAnally has fielded an entry in one of NASCAR’s top three series since June 27, 2004, when they made their lone Cup start with Austin Cameron at Sonoma. McAnally himself made three Cup attempts as both driver and owner at Sonoma and Phoenix in 1996 and 1997, but made none of those races. BMR has been absent from the Truck Series since this same race on October 26, 2001, when Brendan Gaughan ran 13th in a Dodge. Driving this week is Derek Kraus, a four-time winner with McAnally in the West Series this year, and 4th in the series standings. Longtime team sponsor NAPA Auto Parts backs the effort.

DRIVER CHANGE: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing
Although Josh Reaume was the listed driver on the preliminary chart, Catchfence already reported on Sunday that Canadian driver Jason White would be returning to the team for the first time since his series debut at Mosport in August, where he drove to a 23rd-place finish. Sponsorship will come from YourGMCTruckStore.com and Zimmer Auto Group.

MISSING: #35-NextGen Motorsports
Brennan Poole finished a solid 15th at Texas in NextGen Motorsports’ first Truck Series start. However, both driver and team aren’t entered this week.

DRIVER CHANGE: #38-Niece Motorsports
Following a crash at Martinsville that prevented him from attempting to qualify at Martinsville last month, Landon Huffman is back in the #38 Chevrolet, taking the place of Cup regular Ross Chastain, 26th in Texas. The truck enjoys local backing the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

RETURNING: #46-Kyle Busch Motorsports
Christian Eckes and KBM’s #46 team also return for the first time since Martinsville, where they drove to a 9th-place finish. Mobil 1 rejoins as primary sponsor for the first time since his standout performance at Gateway in June.

DRIVER CHANGE: #49-Premium Motorsports
D.J. Kennington prepares to turn double-duty at Phoenix as he takes the place of Reed Sorenson in Jay Robinson’s #49 SobrietyNation Chevrolet. Though Kennington has been a regular competitor at Phoenix in recent years, this is actually his first Truck Series start at the track since 2013, when he finished last after an early crash while driving for Rick Ware.

DRIVER CHANGE: #54-DGR-Crosley
Riley Herbst is back for his fourth Truck Series start and his first since Las Vegas, where a crash left him a season-worst 29th. It will be his first start for DGR-Crosley since Bristol, where he ran 15th. He takes the place of Texas last-placer Bo LeMastus with returning sponsorship from Advance Auto Parts, Terrible Herbst, and NOS.

RETURNING: #63-MB Motorsports
The 2018 LASTCAR Truck Series Championship took another interesting turn late Tuesday when Mike Mittler’s MB Motorsports joined the entry list to keep the field at a full 32 trucks. Driving is current championship runner-up Bayley Currey, who drove D.J. Copp’s #83 last week and will once again run double-duty with the XFINITY Series (see below). A last-place finish by the #63 would give Currey the season lead, forcing Joe Nemechek to trail at Homestead to take it back.

DRIVER CHANGE: #83-Copp Motorsports
Taking Currey’s place in the #83 is Dawson Cram, set to make his third Truck Series start and his first at a track other than Martinsville. His season-best remains a 17th in this year’s spring race at the paperclip, when he was driving the #50 for Beaver Motorsports. RGS Products, which backed Cram in the fall Martinsville race, rejoins as sponsor.

MISSING: #97-JJL Racing
Jesse Little finished a strong 7th in Texas. However, with his new sponsorship from Skuttle-Tight not returning until next week’s Homestead finale, both driver and team are not entered this week.

RETURNING: #99-MDM Motorsports
Chase Purdy is still another driver rejoining the circuit for the first time since the fall Martinsville race, where he ran 21st. The Matthew Miller-owned Chevrolet will again be sponsored by Bama Buggies.

MISSING: #04-Roper Racing
Cory Roper and the Roper Racing entry are also not entered this week following their crash midway through last week’s Texas race.

CUP INVADERS: None.

Saturday, November 10, 2018
XFINITY Race 32 of 33
Round of 8, Race 3 of 3
Whelen Trusted to Perform 200 at ISM
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Gray Gaulding

ENTRY LIST
There are once again 40 drivers entered for 40 spots, one week after the XFINITY Series had its first short field since 2014.

DRIVER CHANGE: #8-B.J. McLeod Motorsports
Welcome back Tommy Joe Martins, who we haven’t seen on the XFINITY circuit since Indianapolis in September, where he ran 27th in B.J. McLeod’s #78. This week, he takes Ray Black, Jr.’s spot in the #8 Chevrolet and looks to improve on his 27th-place run in the spring race here driving the same car.

DRIVER CHANGE: #13-Motorsports Business Management
Although the preliminary entry list has Carl Long in the #13 and Timmy Hill in the #66, both cars will actually have rookies making their first-ever XFINITY Series starts. The #13 Dodge will go to Tyler Hill, Timmy’s younger brother, who will make his first-ever start across NASCAR’s top three series. The younger Hill made four ARCA Racing Series starts for Andy Hillenburg at the end of this year’s season, closing out the year with a season-best 7th in the season finale at Kansas. Timmy Hill, who drove the #13 last week, will instead focus on the Cup side of the MBM effort (see below).

TEAM UPDATE: #45-JP Motorsports
Following Josh Bilicki’s hard crash at Texas, JP Motorsports has both its cars, #45 and #55, entered this week. The Texas lineup remains the same with Bilicki in the #45 Toyota and Bayley Currey in the #55 Toyota.

DRIVER CHANGE: #66-Motorsports Business Management
As for MBM’s #66, it was reported on October 12 that Akinori Ogata will be making his XFINITY Series debut in the Phoenix race with sponsorship from SEAVAC – USA, LLC on his Toyota. Born in Kanagawa, Japan, Ogata takes the place of Bobby Earnhardt, 34th after a crash in Texas. Ogata has seven previous Truck Series starts, including a pair at Phoenix, finishing 29th in 2014 and 27th in 2015.

TEAM UPDATE: #89-Shepherd Racing Ventures
Morgan Shepherd will also be back in action following his own crash at Texas. As chronicled by team member Brian Wertman, JD Motorsports once again stepped up, preparing Shepherd’s black-and-gold #89 Chevrolet in their shop. The team loaded up Shepherd’s hauler and headed out to the track on Tuesday.

DRIVER CHANGE: #90-DGM Racing
The large Canadian contingent competing in all three NASCAR races this weekend will include a returning Donald Theetge, who made his XFINITY Series debut this past July in Loudon. Then as now, he will drive for fellow countryman Mario Gosselin in the #90 Chevrolet with backing from car dealerships Mercedes-Benz St-Nicolas and Circuit Acura. He takes the place of Brandon Brown, who ran 18th at Texas, the first car one lap down.

CUP INVADERS: None.

Sunday, November 11, 2018
CUP Race 35 of 36
Round of 8, Race 3 of 3
Can-Am 500 at ISM
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Kyle Larson

ENTRY LIST
There are 39 drivers entered this week at the ISM Raceway, down two cars from last week in Texas. It marks the first short Cup field since Dover, five races ago, and is the 19th short field in 2018.

DRIVER CHANGE: #6-Roush-Fenway Racing
Following Trevor Bayne’s final Cup start in the #6 last week, Matt Kenseth takes over, one year after his most recent Cup win. Following Kurt Busch’s bobblehead last week in Texas, the ISM Raceway will be giving out Kenseth bobbleheads to the first visitors to the new “INfield” on Sunday.

DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Premium Motorsports
In addition to his Truck Series run, D.J. Kennington and Premium Motorsports join forces for Sunday’s race with sponsorship from APC and Northern Provincial Pipelines. He takes the place of Reed Sorenson, who carried new sponsorship from Sustainable Quarry Crypto Mining to a 33rd-place finish at Texas. Kennington made his Cup debut in this same race two years ago, driving Premium’s #55 to a 35th-place finish.

TEAM UPDATE: #23-Front Row Motorsports / BK Racing / NY Racing Team
J.J. Yeley tweeted pictures of his car with new sponsors SHE Beverage Company and Arizona-based Prestige Billiards. However, as pointed out by LASTCAR.info Guest Contributor William Soquet, the pictures raised some interesting questions about who exactly is fielding his entry. The Toyota’s nose carries logos for both BK Racing, acquired by Front Row Motorsports in August, and the NY Racing Team, the #7 team Yeley briefly drove for in May and June. This is strange as both BK and NY's branding has been virtually absent from the series for months. On top of this, while the car is still listed with Front Row’s Bob Jenkins as team owner, there is no Front Row logo on the car’s nose.

TEAM UPDATE: #48-Hendrick Motorsports
The black "Lowes For Pros" scheme is done for the year. Phoenix sees Jimmie Johnson run the first of two consecutive throwback paint schemes honoring his partnership with Lowe's. On tap this week is the blue "Power of Pride" scheme that Johnson ran at Homestead in 2001.

DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Rick Ware Racing
While no driver was originally listed in the #51 one week after Joey Gase’s 37th-place finish in Texas, the list was updated Tuesday with Cody Ware back behind the wheel of the #51 Jacob Companies Ford. Ware eyes just his fourth Cup start of the season, his first since Talladega last month, and his first-ever in a Cup Series race at Phoenix.

TEAM UPDATE: #66-Motorsports Business Management
After the team was forced to withdraw at Texas since NASCAR deemed their team a part-time effort and thus, needed to run a new “sealed” engine that they didn’t have, team owner Carl Long said his Cup effort may be done for 2018. However, Long posted on Facebook on Tuesday that the team will be making the trip to the ISM Raceway, where Timmy Hill will again drive the #66 Toyota. Hill is thus still in contention to take the 2018 LASTCAR Cup Series title (see below).

DRIVER CHANGE: #72-TriStar Motorsports
One week after Corey LaJoie extended his lead in the 2018 LASTCAR Cup Series Championship, Cole Whitt returns to the #72 this week with Standard Plumbing Supply as sponsor. While not entered, LaJoie can still lock-up the LASTCAR title on Sunday if Timmy Hill does not finish last. Gray Gaulding, the only other driver mathematically in contention, is not entered, and will be eliminated from the battle if he remains so.

MISSING: #96-Gaunt Brothers Racing
A difficult close to the season for the Gaunt Brothers continues as they’re not entered for this weekend’s race. Although Jeffrey Earnhardt and Xtreme Concepts, Inc. were slated to run 13 of the season’s final 14 races, the deal appeared to fall apart coming into Martinsville. That weekend, D.J. Kennington drove to a 27th-place finish, followed by Parker Kligerman’s 31st in an unsponsored car last week in Texas.

DRIVER CHANGE: #97-Obaika Racing
Tanner Berryhill was announced Wednesday to make his first Cup race in the Obaika Racing #97. Obaika reported earlier this fall that they would be running all three of the final Cup races of the season. The team broke through last week in Texas, in part because of the bizarre withdrawal of MBM’s #66, and David Starr finished 39th after several trips to the garage. Team owner Victor Obaika has five previous XFINITY Series starts at Phoenix with a best of 28th by Josh Bilicki in the fall of 2016.

MISSING: #99-StarCom Racing
Also not entered this week is StarCom Racing’s second “open” car, the #99 that Kyle Weatherman steered to a 34th-place finish at Texas. Weatherman’s Texas car began the week largely unsponsored, instead carrying logos for a StarCom Racing Fan Experience program similar to the VIP Racing Experience promoted by Premium Motorsports. Following the withdrawal of MBM’s #66, a deal was worked out where Weatherman’s car was wrapped in Rewards.com graphics. Landon Cassill remains in StarCom’s Chartered #00, a week after one-off sponsorship from Brookshire’s carried him to a 35th-place finish.

LASTCAR STAT OF THE WEEK
On top of the track’s grand re-opening as the ISM Raceway, Sunday’s Cup race comes five days after the 30th anniversary of the Phoenix track’s inaugural event. It was on November 6, 1988 that the late Alan Kulwicki took his first checkered flag and completed his famous “Polish Victory Lap” around the one-mile oval. Since then, car #7 made all but two fall Phoenix races – 2004 and 2012 – and has been fielded under various team owners, predominately single-car operations like Geoff Bodine Racing, Ultra Motorsports, Robby Gordon Motorsports, and Tommy Baldwin Racing. Through it all, the number has just one last-place finish at Phoenix – October 31, 1993, when Geoff Bodine’s Family Channel Ford was collected in a three-car accident during the Slick 50 300. D.J. Kennington drives the #7 this weekend for Jay Robinson’s two-car team Premium Motorsports.

CUP: Corey LaJoie on the brink of first LASTCAR title with fifth last-place finish of 2018

PHOTO: @NASCAR

Corey LaJoie picked up the 7th last-place finish of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #72 Gas Monkey Garage / Havoline Chevrolet finished under power, 68 laps down, after 269 of 337 laps.

The finish, which came in LaJoie’s 56th series start, was his series-leading fifth of the 2018 season and his first since Michigan, 11 races ago. In the Cup Series last-place rankings, it was the 17th for car #72, the 35th where the driver finished running, and the 755th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 32nd for the #72, the 45th where the car was still running, and the 1,635th for Chevrolet.

Since his most recent last-place finish, LaJoie has started all but two races – Cole Whitt’s runs at the Roval and Martinsville – and turned in a season-best 16th at Las Vegas in September. The TriStar Motorsports team has also raced with an increasing variety of primary sponsors, creating a variety of eye-catching paint scheme for the #72 Chevrolet. Blockchain firm Dragonchain rejoined the team at Las Vegas and Kansas in addition to competitors ARK.io and BCT. Factor One Source backed the team at Dover while longtime NASCAR sponsor Winn Dixie followed LaJoie at Talladega. Texas would mark the debut of Richard Rawling’s hot rod shop Gas Monkey Garage, in partnership with Havoline Motor Oil. Rawlings tweeted three different paint schemes for fans to select. The winner was a bright green paint scheme with the Gas Monkey logo occupying a large part of the space over the rear of the car, including the “opera windows.” While the wrap originally covered these windows, NASCAR ultimately stepped in and forced those windows to be uncovered.

At the Fort Worth track, LaJoie turned in the 34th-best time in opening practice, 37th in the second, and 34th in Happy Hour. He took 37th in qualifying with a lap of 188.824mph (28.598 seconds), second-slowest among the Chartered drivers. Slowest of that group was 39th-place Joey Gase, teamed with Rick Ware Racing for the first time.

With 41 drivers entered for 40 spots, one team would miss the cut. At Texas, that team was Motorsports Business Management (MBM), which suffered a costly incident at Martinsville where their #66 Rewards.com Toyota caught fire following an engine failure. Timmy Hill returned with another #66, but despite running fast enough to make the cut in practice, never turned a lap in Round 1.

As team owner Carl Long revealed on Saturday, NASCAR classified MBM as a part-time team, which made them subject to a rule where the #66 had to run a sealed engine once for every three starts. This proved disastrous for the #66 team, which had run full-time since July and thus thought they were not subject to the rule. Without running a sealed engine since Dover, four races prior, Hill had to run a sealed engine at Texas, but the team didn’t have one. Thus, NASCAR prevented Hill from taking a time in qualifying, forcing their withdrawal. It was a staggering blow to the MBM effort as Long has no more sealed engines to run the final two Cup rounds of 2018 at Phoenix and Homestead. It also prevented Hill from joining Ross Chastain in running all three races last weekend in Texas. By race day, Rewards.com would ultimately jump to StarCom Racing’s second car, the #99 Chevrolet driven by Kyle Weatherman.

Hill’s loss was the Obaika Racing team’s gain. After their team failed to qualify for their first Cup attempt last month in Talladega, David Starr returned to the #97 Toyota at his home track. Although Starr put up the slowest lap of the session at 181.305mph (29.784 seconds), three-tenths off the next-fastest car, the team made the show, securing the 40th and final starting spot. In addition to Space Grill, which backed the Obaika car at Talladega, Starr’s car carried new sponsorship from the RV General Store on the sides, and after qualifying, Sam’s Dock joined on the hood. Sunday would mark the second time in Starr’s career that he gave a Cup team its first start. On April 9, 2011, he gave Leavine Family Racing’s #95 their first green flag, finishing 38th. Regan Smith put the #95 in the 28th spot for Sunday.

Six drivers incurred pre-race penalties and would join Starr at the back of the pack. Unlike in XFINITY practice, none of these were due to accidents in practice and qualifying. Engine changes dropped Daniel Suarez (started 19th in the #19 Arris Toyota), Chris Buescher (21st in the #37 Clorox Chevrolet), and Playoff contender Martin Truex, Jr. (13th in the #78 Bass Pro Shops / 5-hour Energy Toyota) while Matt DiBenedetto (31st in the #32 Can-Am / Wholey Ford) changed a transmission.

The final two pre-race penalties came moments before the start. On the grid, Aric Almirola was found to have an illegal body modification to the right-rear of his #10 Smithfield Spirals Ford, dropping him from 4th. Also, Jimmie Johnson had to surrender the 23rd spot for failing inspection. However, NBCSN later reported that Johnson failed twice and not three times, meaning that the penalty shouldn’t have been incurred. It was an ignominious end for the final start of Jimmie Johnson’s black #48 Lowe’s For Pros Chevrolet. He will run throwback schemes in these final two rounds at Phoenix and Homestead.

When the race went green, the final two starters were Joey Gase in Ware’s #51 Donate Life Texas Ford and David Starr in the Obaika #97 Toyota. Starr pulled ahead of Gase at the stripe, and the #51 continued to lose ground – 7.125 seconds back of the leader after one lap, 11.471 after three, and 21.833 after eight.

But, as on Saturday, trouble had found its way up front. On the very first lap, a first-turn maneuver by eventual race winner Kevin Harvick forced a close side-by-side battle between outside-polesitter Clint Bowyer in the #14 Rush Truck Centers / Mobil Delvac 1 Ford and 6th-place Denny Hamlin in the #11 FedEx Office Toyota. Bowyer broke loose and made contact with Hamlin. Hamlin’s car trailed smoke early, then dropped back through the field until he pitted for fresh tires and minor repairs on Lap 10. It was thus Hamlin and not Gase who was the first to lose a lap. In fact, he was already in danger of losing a third lap when he rejoined the race. Bowyer stopped moments later for his own share of the damage, dropping him two laps and placing him 39th. The pair managed to climb no higher than 26th and 30th.

The pair did climb, however, with Hamlin finally passing Starr on Lap 21. By that point, Starr had been behind the wall for around three laps, the crew looking over a developing engine issue and also making adjustments. The team managed to get their car back on the track on Lap 34, during a competition caution brought on by rains the night before. Now 16 laps down, Starr continued on until Lap 50, when he pulled back in the garage with the engine sounding sour. He returned once more on Lap 65, 32 circuits back, keeping all 40 cars on the track through Stage 1.

It wasn’t until Stage 2 that LaJoie joined the last-place battle. Up until then, he’d run a couple laps down, but was told he was running laps that were competitive to the leaders. That changed when the #72 pulled behind the wall with what TriStar Motorsports’ twitter described as “fuel assessment issues.” These repairs, which focused on the fuel cell, proved particularly time-consuming. By Lap 92, he was in 38th, four laps down, and while still in the garage on Lap 126 took last place from Starr. But, like the Obaika team, TriStar made sure to get their driver back in the race, which was accomplished on Lap 150. At the time, LaJoie was 24 laps behind 39th-place Starr, who was himself 26 laps behind Gase in 38th.

Starr made another bid for the spot with just 37 laps to go when he slid high in Turn 2 and spun out, managing to avoid the inside wall. By the time the #97 recovered, Starr was now just 18 laps from taking last from LaJoie. Four laps into the ensuing restart, Matt DiBenedetto looked to challenge for a Bottom Five. Six laps down around the 30th spot, DiBenedetto checked-up when Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher tangled in front of him on the backstretch. The #32 Ford cut left and slammed head-on into the inside wall. DiBendetto walked away uninjured, but his car was destroyed – ultimately the only one of the 40 starters to fail to finish.

In the end, DiBenedetto dropped only to 38th. Six laps down with less than 30 laps to go, there were barely enough laps left to close within half the distance to LaJoie, who fell 68 laps behind. LaJoie secured the spot when 39th-place Starr was still running with 18 laps to go, and the two remained in the final two positions. Behind 38th-place DiBenedetto was Gase, 20 laps back of the leaders, and rounding out the Bottom Five came J.J. Yeley in the #23 Maximum Elevation Off-Road Toyota. Yeley’s car along with Starr’s made it two former BK Racing Toyotas in the Bottom Five.

CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE
With two races to go, LaJoie takes a two-finish lead in the 2018 LASTCAR Cup Series Championship. The only two drivers still in position to challenge him for the title are Timmy Hill and Gray Gaulding, who both outmatch LaJoie in Bottom Fives and Bottom Tens. Both Gaulding and Hill’s only path to the title require them to finish last in both the final rounds in Phoenix and Homestead. Unlike Gaulding, who could still mathematically lose a Bottom Five tiebreaker, Hill has an insurmountable margin in both Bottom Fives and Bottom Tens, meaning a tie will be enough to clinch. This battle may end sooner than expected, however, as both Hill and Gaulding are not confirmed entries for those two races.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*LaJoie set a new record for most laps complete by a Cup Series last-place finisher at Texas. The previous record was set a decade ago by Juan Pablo Montoya. On November 2, 2008, Montoya was involved in a controversial late-race accident with David Gilliland that ended his day after 262 laps – just seven laps fewer than LaJoie’s run. Gilliland, at the time driving for Yates Racing, was parked shortly after for aggressive driving.
*This marked the first last-place finish for both LaJoie and car #72 in a Cup Series race at Texas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #72-Corey LaJoie / 269 laps / running
39) #97-David Starr / 287 laps / running
38) #32-Matt DiBenedetto / 300 laps / crash
37) #51-Joey Gase / 317 laps / running
36) #23-J.J. Yeley / 321 laps / running

2018 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) TriStar Motorsports (5)
2nd) StarCom Racing (4)
3rd) Motorsports Business Management, Premium Motorsports, Rick Ware Racing (3)
4th) BK Racing, Front Row Motorsports, Furniture Row Racing, Penske Racing (2)
5th) Chip Ganassi Racing, Germain Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, JTG-Daugherty Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports, Roush-Fenway Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2018 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (18)
2nd) Ford, Toyota (8)

2018 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

XFINITY: JD Motorsports lends a helping hand to a struggling Morgan Shepherd at Texas

PHOTO: Brian Wertman, @BrianWertman

Morgan Shepherd picked up the 19th last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #89 Visone RV Chevrolet fell out with electrical problems after 4 of 200 laps.

The finish, which came in Shepherd’s 440th series start, was his second of the season and first since Richmond, four races ago. In the XFINITY last-place rankings, it was the 12th for car #89, the 50th from electrical trouble, and the 517th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 34th for the #89, the 120th for electrical trouble, and the 1,634th for Chevrolet.

Shepherd, who turned 77 last month, faces new challenges as he closes out his 35th season in the XFINITY Series. In an interview with Dustin Albino, the veteran expressed concern over 2019. As of the October 24 article, Shepherd did not have a composite body car ready for Daytona, and needs to raise between $50,000 and $75,000 to make a run at it. This on top of NASCAR’s inexplicable second field reduction in seven years, this time from 40 to 38. The reduction seems specifically geared toward excluding owner-drivers like Shepherd, although coming into Texas, the veteran had only started 39th or 40th in four of his previous 18 starts in 2018. But it was in Texas that Shepherd faced yet another hurdle.

Shepherd was among the 40 drivers entered for as many spots in Saturday’s race, and unfortunately, was one of several to find trouble. In opening practice, after turning a single lap of just 123.108mph (43.864 seconds), Shepherd ran too high in Turns 1 and 2 and scrubbed the outside wall. The car lost control at corner exit, sending it sliding into the inside wall. The car spun nearly 180 degrees before it struck the barrier with the right-front, lifting the entire car off the ground. While Shepherd was checked and released from the infield care center, his car was totaled.

Shepherd's car after the practice crash.
PHOTO: Brian Wertman, @BrianWertman

As one of a handful of small XFINITY Series teams with just one car at the track, Shepherd faced the very real possibility of withdrawing from the race. That is, until JD Motorsports stepped in. The team, which already had four drivers entered in the race, offered Shepherd a backup car that was prepared for ARCA driver Quin Houff, who raced the team’s #15 Chevrolet. By late Friday, photos by Shepherd crewman Brian Wertman showed this red machine carried Shepherd’s gold rims, the #89 on the rear TV panel, but Houff’s name on the roof rails. By race day, the car carried white numbers on the doors, red tape covered Houff’s name with Shepherd’s signature, and the car ran black rims, likely from the JD team. It would mark the first time team owner Johnny Davis had five cars entered in a single XFINITY Series race.

Other drivers weren’t so lucky. The unforgiving barriers also caught Josh Bilicki, whose #45 Prevagen Toyota broke something in Turns 3 and 4 and struck the outside wall at over 170mph. While Bilicki was unhurt, the JP Motorsports team also didn’t have a backup car for either him nor Bayley Currey in the #55. While the driver tweeted that he was looking to work out a deal similar to Shepherd’s, it never came to pass. The JP team elected to swap driver numbers on Currey’s #55 to the #45, which was higher in Owner Points. Thus, both Bilicki and the #55 team withdrew, though driver and car weren’t entered together.

The result of all this was the first 39-car XFINITY Series field since August 16, 2014, when 39 cars took the green at Mid-Ohio. Shepherd took the final spot as both he and Ty Majeski in the #60 Ford didn’t turn laps in Round 1 (Shepherd trailing the #60 in Owner Points). Majeski was still another driver to strike the wall, his incident occurring during qualifying. Both Majeski and Ross Chastain (qualified 23rd in the #4 JD Motorsports Chevrolet) incurred unapproved adjustments penalties. Shepherd’s backup car was one of five, soon to be joined at the rear by Austin Cindric (8th-place starter in the #22 Discount Tire Ford), Joey Gase (30th in the #35 Sparks Energy Inc. Chevrolet), David Starr (32nd in the #52 Whataburger Chevrolet), and Bayley Currey, whose number swap from Josh Bilicki’s #45 counted as a backup car even though he remained in the same vehicle.

As the ragged field of repaired machines and backup cars accelerated past the starting line, trouble this time broke out up front. For the second-straight XFINITY race, the leaders tangled, threatening another Lap 1 pileup. Battling Shane Lee’s #3 Childress Vineyards Chevrolet for the lead, polesitter Christopher Bell in the #20 GameStop / NBA 2K19 Toyota lost control and spun up the track. Unlike Kansas, the rest of the field managed to avoid serious damage with only Spencer Gallagher and John Hunter Nemechek losing control but avoiding any contact.

Under the ensuing caution, Nemechek’s #42 Romco Equipment Chevrolet took last from Shepherd. At the end of Lap 2, Austin Cindric took the spot as he pitted his backup #22 Discount Tire Ford, then dropped Ryan Reed to 39th by passing his #16 Drive Down A1C / Lilly Diabetes Ford on pit road. Cindric retook last the next time by with a second stop, at which point Shepherd had climbed his way to 34th. Shepherd then retook last on Lap 5 when he pulled behind the wall. At that same moment, Bobby Earnhardt spun Carl Long’s #66 Copeland Insurance Agency / HABCO Toyota off Turn 4, but didn’t draw the yellow at first. Earnhardt made it to pit road and dropped to 38th, one lap in front of Shepherd. While Shepherd didn’t return to action, Earnhardt did on Lap 10, ultimately climbing out of the Bottom Five before a wreck left him 34th.

The 38th spot fell to Jeff Green, whose #93 RSS Racing Chevrolet retired with brake trouble as Earnhardt rejoined the race. In 37th came Dover last-placer Stephen Leicht, running B.J. McLeod’s #99 Chevrolet. McLeod himself took 36th in JD Motorsports’ #01 Chevrolet, out with electrical problems and putting two Davis cars in the Bottom Five. Rounding out the group came Timmy Hill, a vibration cited on Carl Long’s #13 OCR Gaz Bar Toyota for Motorsports Business Management.

As at Kansas, the underdogs of the XFINITY Series lurked just outside the Top 10, led by Las Vegas winner Ross Chastain, recovered from his pre-race penalty to finish 11th in the top-finishing JD Motorsports entry. Ryan Sieg overcame a spin to come home 12th, two spots ahead of last year’s Road America winner Jeremy Clements and three in front of Green’s teammate J.J. Yeley. Chad Finchum enjoyed a 17th to follow his strong 16th in Kansas with Brandon Brown, Ray Black Jr., and Garrett Smithley rounding out the Top 20. Just missing out was Bayley Currey, who finished a career-best 21st in the renumbered #45 Rollin Smoke BBQ / Touched By Pros Toyota.

As of this writing, Shepherd is planning on returning to action this weekend at the ISM Raceway. Wertman tweeted on Monday that JD Motorsports has again come to the rescue with the black-and-gold #89 being worked on in the Davis shop. Perhaps such help can go a long way toward keeping Shepherd on the track both this season and beyond.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for both Shepherd and car #89 in an XFINITY Series race at Texas.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #89-Morgan Shepherd / 4 laps / electrical
39) #93-Jeff Green / 10 laps / brakes
38) #99-Stephen Leicht / 32 laps / fuel pump
37) #01-B.J. McLeod / 44 laps / electrical
36) #13-Timmy Hill / 56 laps / vibration

2018 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) RSS Racing (14)
2nd) B.J. McLeod Motorsports, JP Motorsports (3)
3rd) JR Motorsports, Roush-Fenway Racing, Shepherd Racing Ventures (2)
4th) Fury Race Cars LLC, Jeremy Clements Racing, JGL Racing, Mike Harmon Racing, SS-Green Light Racing (1)

2018 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (23)
2nd) Ford, Toyota (4)

2018 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

TRUCKS: Bo LeMastus wrecks out early on a forgettable night for DGR-Crosley team

PHOTO: FS1

Bo LeMastus picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Sunday’s JAG Metals 350 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #54 Crosley Brands / DGR-Crosley Toyota was involved in a single-truck accident after he completed 2 of the night’s 147 laps.

The finish came in LeMastus’ 12th series start. In the Truck Series last-place rankings, it was the 1st for truck #54, the 32nd for Toyota, and the 148th from a crash. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 19th for the #54, the 306th for Toyota, and the 1,168th from a crash.

At 55 years old, Bo LeMastus is not your typical newcomer to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The CEO of Crosley Brands has been an owner-driver in the ARCA Racing Series since 2013, most often campaigning the #42 with his Crosley company as sponsor. His only full-time ARCA season came in 2015, where he finished a strong 5th in the championship, and his best series finish was a 6th at Daytona in 2016.

This year, LeMastus joined forces with NASCAR veteran David Gilliland to form DGR-Crosley, a two-truck operation for 2018. As part of the deal, both the full-time #54 Toyota and part-time #17 Toyota would carry sponsorship from Crosley Brands and LeMastus would run a partial schedule in both trucks. LeMastus began his year in the #54, where a mid-race crash left him 30th. He would also debut the #17 team at Charlotte, only to DNQ, then bounce back with a 26th-place run at Texas in the spring.

Coming into the fall return to Texas, nine other drivers (not counting LeMastus and Gilliland) had made at least one start for DGR-Crosley in 2018, many of them looking to follow the pair into national competition: Tyler Ankrum, Kyle Benjamin, Tyler Dippel, Chris Eggleston, Riley Herbst, Justin Marks, Matt Mills, Zane Smith, and Chris Windom. Benjamin have the team its best finish to date, a runner-up to John Hunter Nemechek in the spring race at Martinsville. But for Texas, it would again be the team owners driving the #54 and #17 with LeMastus in the former and Gilliland in the latter.

The preliminary entry list for Friday stood at 35 cars earlier in the week, but by Wednesday, Jennifer Jo Cobb withdrew her second truck, the #0 Chevrolet, which was to go to Monster Jam competitor Camden Murphy. Still, with 34 trucks entered for 32 spots, there promised to be a tight battle to avoid becoming one of the two sent home. In the end, those drivers were Reid Wilson, who took Korbin Forrister’s seat in All Out Motorsports’ #7 Tru North Chevrolet, and Josh Reaume, back behind the wheel of his own #33 Reaume Brothers Racing Chevrolet. Reaume was faster than all but two of the five drivers locked-in on Owner Points.

LeMastus, who ran 15th in opening practice 23rd in Happy Hour, took the 20th spot in qualifying with a lap of 183.968mph (29.353 seconds).

Taking the 32nd spot was fan favorite Jordan Anderson, who debuted a new black paint scheme for his #3 Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet. The chassis, designated No. 007, put up the slowest lap of the session with a speed of 158.117mph (34.152 seconds), but made it in on Owner Points. Anderson was one of four drivers who incurred pre-race tail-end penalties for unapproved adjustments following incidents in practice and qualifying, joined by Todd Gilliland (started 12th in the #4 JBL / SiriusXM Toyota), Ben Rhodes (16th in the #41 The Carolina Nut Co. Ford), and Bayley Currey (#83 United Automotive Chevrolet).

At the start of the race, the 32nd spot went to Timmy Hill, who after being denied a Cup start at Texas, turned in a career-best run in Truck Series qualifying. Hill had been swapped in for Joe Neemchek as driver of NEMCO Motorsports’ returning #87 Fleetwing Chevrolet, often a “start-and-park” paired with John Hunter Nemechek’s flagship #8. Hill put up the 10th-fastest time in Round 1 and settled for 11th in Round 2 after Todd Gilliland had an incident in qualifying. Unfortunately, the night proved short for Hill, who pulled behind the wall in the early laps. But it was LeMastus who prevented Hill’s weekend from ending with a last-place finish.

As Hill prepared to exit the race, nearly 8 seconds back of the lead on Lap 2, LeMastus was running around the 16th position when he lost control in Turns 1 and 2, then backed into the outside wall. As the caution flew, LeMastus let his car roll backwards down the banking and drove back to pit road with the rear clip crunched around the rear wheels. Unfortunately, his night was done.

Moments after securing their first last-place finish, DGR-Crosley’s night turned from bad to worse. David Gilliland wrecked the #17 shortly after the ensuing restart, leaving him a disappointing 30th. Ahead of Gilliland and 31st-place Hill came Anderson’s “007,” which overheated after only 30 laps, leaving him 29th, while fellow owner-driver Cory Roper rounded out the Bottom Five after his #04 Preferred Industrial Contractors Ford was collected in the night’s biggest pileup on Lap 40. For Gilliland, Anderson, and Roper, it was their first bottom-five finish of the season.

CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE
With two races to go, the 2018 LASTCAR Truck Series Championship remains wide open. All drivers with at least one last-place finish are still mathematically in contention. The leader remains Joe Nemechek, the first of five drivers with two last-place finishes, who leads all drivers with nine Bottom Fives. Only a finish by Nemechek at Phoenix will lock-up the title this Friday as no one below him could win a tiebreaker. Among those with two last-place finishes, runner-up Bayley Currey has the most Bottom Tens with 11, but a last-place finish at Phoenix still won’t be enough if Nemechek trails at Homestead. For the 11 drivers with one last-place finish, the only path to the title is to sweep both Phoenix and Homestead – Norm Benning has matched Currey’s 11 Bottom Tens, but cannot beat Nemechek on Bottom Fives and thus must take the title by the most finishes outright.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first-ever last-place finish for the #54 in Truck Series history. It came in the number’s 113th series start, dating back to the first-ever Truck Series points race at Phoenix in 1995, when Steve McEachern finished 28th. As of this writing, there are 14 other currently available truck numbers that have yet to finish last in the series.
*LeMastus’ finish prevents Chevrolet from sweeping every last-place finish for a second-straight Truck Series season. It’s the first time a Toyota (and a non-Chevrolet) finished last in a Truck Series race since the 2016 finale at Homestead, when Ryan Truex fell out after 49 laps with engine trouble.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
32) #54-Bo LeMastus / 2 laps / crash
31) #87-Timmy Hill / 5 laps / rear gear
30) #17- David Gilliland / 14 laps / crash
29) #3-Jordan Anderson / 30 laps / overheating
28) #04-Cory Roper / 40 laps / crash

2018 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) MB Motorsports (6)
2nd) Beaver Motorsports, Copp Motorsports (3)
3rd) NEMCO Motorsports (2)
4th) Clay Greenfield Motorsports, DGR-Crosley, Mike Harmon Racing, Norm Benning Racing, Reaume Brothers Racing, TJL Racing, Young’s Motorsports (1)

2018 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (20)
2nd) Toyota (1)

2018 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: Entry list musical chairs kicks into overdrive in Texas

PHOTO: @j66anderson

Friday, November 2, 2018
TRUCKS Race 21 of 23
Round of 6, Race 2 of 3
JAG Metals 350 at Texas
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Tommy Joe Martins

ENTRY LIST
There are 34 trucks entered for the 32-truck field, but it’s a different cast of characters that will be arriving in Texas. Two teams will miss the race.

WITHDREW: #0-Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing
Camden Murphy was set to climb aboard Jennifer Jo Cobb’s second truck for the first time since his entry was withdrawn last month in Las Vegas. He was to take the place of Ray Ciccarelli, who endured back-to-back DNQs in the following two rounds at Talladega and Martinsville. However, the team was withdrawn by Wednesday.

TEAM UPDATE: #3-Jordan Anderson Racing
Fan favorite Jordan Anderson will carry a different look this week as his Bommarito Chevrolet will be a black truck in place of its traditional white, a chassis dubbed "007."

MISSING: #6-Norm Benning Racing
After failing to qualify for the last three consecutive races and four of the last five, Norm Benning and his #6 are not even entered this week in Texas, the first time he hasn’t made the trip for a Truck Series race all season. This marks the first time Benning’s entry hasn’t been entered in a Truck Series race since the 2016 finale at Homestead, and the first time for the driver since the fall Martinsville race that same year.

RETURNING: #7-All Out Motorsports
Reid Wilson brings his sponsorship from TruNorth to the All Out team, the third different truck he’s been entered in this season. He takes the place of Korbin Forrister, who ran all ten of All Out’s starts this season, including their most recent entry at Talladega, where he ran 15th.

RETURNING: #9-CR7 Motorsports
Codie Rohrbaugh rejoins the Truck Series for the first time since his series debut earlier this summer at Bristol, where he ran 16th. Then as now, he drives his own truck under the CR7 banner with Grant County Mulch as sponsor on his Chevrolet.

RETURNING: #12-Young’s Motorsports
Randy Young brings the #12 team back to the track and puts Tyler Young behind the wheel, his first entry since the spring race at the Texas track, where he ran a strong 7th in the team’s #20. The #20 remains in the hands of Tanner Thorson after brake trouble saddled the dirt tracker with a 31st-place finish in Martinsville.

DRIVER CHANGE: #15-Premium Motorsports
Mike Harmon makes a rare Truck Series start for a team not his own as he takes Brad Foy’s spot in Jay Robinson’s #15 Chevrolet. Foy finished 28th last week in his Truck Series debut. Harmon anticipates his seventh Truck Series start of the season and first since Mosport, where his own #74 finished 31st. Harmon has not been entered in the series since his team withdrew at Las Vegas.

DRIVER CHANGE: #17-DGR-Crosley
Cup Series veteran David Gilliland is back in the Truck Series for the first time since Talladega, taking Kyle Benjamin’s spot in the truck he owns. It will be David’s first Truck Series start at Texas since this same round in 2009, when he started 5th and finished 35th for ThorSport after early rear end trouble.

MISSING: #23-GMS Racing
Maury Gallagher’s team leaves the #23 team at the shop, leaving Timothy Peters without a ride this week. Peters ran 10th at Martinsville, two weeks after taking the checkers in Talladega.

DRIVER CHANGE: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing
Following a rough outing for Chad Finley, who crashed early at Martinsville, Josh Reaume rejoins his team as both driver and ownerfor his first series start since Michigan back in June. Reaume finished 25th in the series’ most recent trip to Texas earlier this year.

NEW TEAM: #35-NextGen Motorsports
MISSING: #75-Henderson Motorsports
NextGen makes the move from the K&N Pro Series – and a limited run in XFINITY – to join the Truck Series for the first time. Parker Kligerman to drive the #35 Inspectra Thermal Solutions Toyota, moving from the Henderson #75 team, which isn’t entered this week. UPDATE: Make that Brennan Poole, who returned to competition for opening practice in place of Kligerman in the #35. Poole has just one previous Truck Series start - 2015 at Las Vegas driving for GMS.

DRIVER CHANGE: #38-Niece Motorsports
Ross Chastain takes over for for Landon Huffman, who DNQ’d following an accident at Martinsville. Chastain is set to run a triple-header for the third time this season, combining his runs with JD Motorsports in XFINITY and Premium Motorsports in Cup (see below).

DRIVER CHANGE: #49-Premium Motorsports
Reed Sorenson pulls double-duty this week, taking D.J. Kennington’s place in the #49 SobrietyNation Chevrolet for Jay Robinson’s Premium Motorsports. Sorenson will run as Chastain’s teammate on the Cup side this Sunday (see below).

DRIVER CHANGE: #54-DGR-Crosley
Bo LeMastus rejoins the Truck Series for the first time since his accident at Talladega. He takes the place of Tyler Ankrum, who ran 18th in the #54 Toyota last week in Martinsville. LeMastus finished 26th at Texas earlier this year.

MISSING: #63-MB Motorsports
Kyle Donahue earned a respectable 22nd-place finish last week in Martinsville, completing all the laps including Laps 60-63 in solidarity with team owner Mike Mittler’s battle with cancer. Unfortunately, both Donahue and team are not entered this week.

DRIVER CHANGE: #83-Copp Motorsports
Bayley Currey takes the place of Dawson Cram in D.J. Copp’s entry and will run double-duty with the XFINITY Series, where he continues to drive JP Motorsports’ #55 Toyota. Currey ran a season-best 16th in his most recent Truck Series start in Las Vegas, and is assured a start in the XFINITY race following a DNQ in Kansas.

RETURNING: #87-NEMCO Motorsports
Joe Nemechek was originally scheduled to join his son John Hunter on the track as he brought out the #87 Chevrolet with sponsorship to be determined. However, Timmy Hill was swapped in by Wednesday with sponsorship from Fleetwing. Hill will join Ross Chastain in a bid to run all three races this weekend, combined with Motorsports Business Management's XFINITY and Cup efforts.

RETURNING: #97-JJL Racing
Jesse Little is back and will run both Friday’s race and the Homestead finale with new sponsorship from Skuttle-Tight. It promises to be Little’s eighth Truck Series start of the season and his first since a 15th-place showing in Las Vegas.

MISSING: #99-MDM Motorsports
Matthew Miller’s MDM team isn’t entered this week, days after Chase Purdy earned a 21st-place run at Martinsville.

RETURNING: #04-Roper Racing
Another team rejoining the circuit is Cory Roper’s effort in the #04 Preferred Industrial Contractors Inc. Ford. Roper eyes his first series start since Las Vegas, where a late-race crash left him 25th.

Saturday, November 3, 2018
XFINITY Race 31 of 33
Round of 8, Race 2 of 3
O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas
2017 Last-Place Finisher: John Jackson

ENTRY LIST
The XFINITY Series returns to action after taking the Martinsville weekend off, and sees an entry list of 40 cars, down from the 43 last time out in Kansas.

DRIVER CHANGE: #8-B.J. McLeod Motorsports
Ray Black, Jr. in for Jairo Avila, Jr. Sponsorship will come from ISOKERN Fireplaces & Chimneys. It will be Black’s 10th XFINITY start of the season and first since he carried the ISOKERN brand to a 26th-place run on the Roval, a collaborative effort between McLeod and Mike Harmon. The rest of the McLeod lineup stays the same with Vinnie Miller in the #78 and Stephen Leicht is still entered in the #99. McLeod himself remains in the JD Motorsports #01.

MISSING: #26-Tullman Walker Racing
Max Tullman and his team closed out their 2018 schedule at Kansas, where they were unable to pass inspection in time to qualify. Driver and team are surely looking ahead to 2019 with plans still to be determined.

MISSING: #37-RSS Racing
DRIVER CHANGE: #38-RSS Racing
The Sieg team will field three cars, down from the four at Kansas, leaving the #37 that debuted at Kansas. Yeley moves from the #37 back to his #38, taking the place of Angela Ruch, who isn’t entered. Jeff Green remains in the #93 while Ryan Sieg carries new sponsorship from the athletics department of East Texas Baptist University on the #39.

DRIVER CHANGE: #66-Motorsports Business Management
Carl Long regains his seat in the #66 this week, following Bobby Dale Earnhardt’s solid 27th-place finish despite a fuel pump failure in Kansas. Long has made seven XFINITY starts in 2018, most recently at Dover, where he finished 36th in the #13. Timmy Hill remains driver of the #13 and will pull triple-duty in MBM’s #66 Cup car – likely a different chassis following a scary engine fire at Martinsville. UPDATE: Bobby Earnhardt is once again in the #66. Long will not race.

DRIVER CHANGE: #90-DGM Racing
Brandon Brown jumps in for Josh Williams, who ran 24th in Kansas. Texas also sees the return of the Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes sponsorship, which Brown ran to a 22nd-place run in his most recent series start at Dover.

MISSING: #98-Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi DenBeste
Chase Briscoe isn’t entered, and neither is the #98 team, following the disastrous first lap pileup at Kansas that eventually left him 30th.

Sunday, November 4, 2018
CUP Race 34 of 36
Round of 8, Race 2 of 3
AAA Texas 500 at Texas
2017 Last-Place Finisher: Gray Gaulding

ENTRY LIST
There are 41 drivers entered for 40 spots this week, meaning that one team will miss the show for the first time since earlier this month in Talladega.

DRIVER CHANGE: #6-Roush-Fenway Racing
Texas will mark the end of Trevor Bayne’s fourth and final season in Roush-Fenway’s #6 Ford, which next year will be driven by Ryan Newman. AdvoCare Rehydrate will back the effort. Bayne takes the place of Matt Kenseth, who will return at Phoenox and Homestead, closing out the season and perhaps his career one full year after his final start with Joe Gibbs Racing.

DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Premium Motorsports
Reed Sorenson’s aforementioned double-header comes driving Jay Robinson’s #7 Chevrolet in place of Hermie Sadler, who suffered brake issues at Martinsville and left with his first last-place finish in the series since 2006. Sorenson has 18 previous Cup starts at Texas dating back to 2006 with a track-best 13th his first time out.

SPONSOR UPDATE: #23-Front Row Motorsports
J.J. Yeley remains in the #23 Toyota, and again brings on a new sponsor: truck accessory company Maximum Elevation Off-Road.

DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Rick Ware Racing
DRIVER CHANGE: #99-StarCom Racing
DRIVER CHANGE: #00-StarCom Racing
Two Chevrolet teams shuffle their lineups this week, starting with XFINITY Series regular Joey Gase, who moves from the #00 at StarCom to Rick Ware Racing’s #51, replacing Jeb Burton, who isn’t entered. Donate Life Texas backs Gase's run in what will be a Ford in place of Martinsville's Chevrolet. It will be the 7th different Cup team Gase has driven for in only 30 series starts. Landon Cassill returns to his familiar #00, leaving open the #99 for the return of Kyle Weatherman. It will be Weatherman’s first Cup start at Texas. Cassill welcomes sponsorship from Brookshire Co. to celebrate the company's 90th anniversary.

DRIVER CHANGE: #72-TriStar Motorsports
Corey LaJoie returns in place of Cole Whitt, who ran 24th in his final start of the season at Martinsville. A fan contest concluded over the team’s paint scheme at Texas with Gas Monkey Garage and Havoline, settling on a bright green paint scheme with the logo covering the car’s opera windows.

DRIVER CHANGE: #96-Gaunt Brothers Racing
Jeffrey Earnhardt was expected to drive last Sunday at Martinsville, but was swapped out for D.J. Kennington prior to the opening practice. This week, the team is again digging into their 2018 lineup, putting Parker Kligerman behind the wheel. Kligerman hasn’t started a Cup race at Texas since the spring of 2014, when he ran 40th for the now-shuttered Swan Racing.

RETURNING: #97-Obaika Racing
Victor Obaika returns to try and get his team into a Cup race for the first time following their unsuccessful run with David Starr at Talladega. Starr is back and looks to break through at his home track.

LASTCAR STAT OF THE WEEK
The incident that eliminated Timmy Hill from last Sunday’s race in Martinsville should have more likely been categorized as a “fire” rather than as a mere engine failure, as his Toyota erupted in flames headed down the backstretch. “Fire” has been the officially-listed reason for three last-place finishes, all of them in Cup. The most recent one came in the 1977 Daytona 500, where Bobby Wawak suffered severe burns to his hands after a fuel line came loose. The first of the other two occasions occurred August 22, 1956 at the Norfolk (Virginia) Speedway, where Joe Bll McGraw exited after 7 laps in his #14 1956 Ford. The other was on May 6, 1962 at the Concord (North Carolina) Speedway, where 1960 Cup Champion Rex White made it just one lap in his 1962 #4 Chevrolet.