XFINITY: Chad Finchum disqualified after 27th-place finish at Richmond

PHOTO: Brian Wertman, thanks @nascarcatholic

Chad Finchum picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Friday’s Go Bowling 250 at the Richmond Raceway when his #61 Smithbilt Homes Toyota finished 27th, but was disqualified after completing 246 of 250 laps.

The finish, which came in Finchum’s 93rd series start, was his first of the season and first since May 25, 2019 at Charlotte, 46 races ago. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 12th disqualification, the 17th for the #29, and the 141st for Toyota. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 29th for the #61, the 38th from disqualification, and the 343rd for Toyota.

Timmy Hill picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Friday’s Go Bowling 250 at the Richmond Raceway when his #66 CrashClaimsR.us Toyota fell out with a vibration after 4 of 250 laps.

The finish, which came in Hill’s 205th series start, was his second of the season and first since August 22, the opening round of the Dover double-header, four races ago (LINK). In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 12th for the #66, the 141st from a vibration, and the 141st for Toyota. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 76th for the #55, the 215th from a vibration, and the 343rd for Toyota.

Late last year, Finchum scored a surprising 15th-place finish at Texas, which still stands as the best finish by Carl Long’s underdog XFINITY team Motorsports Business Management (MBM) on a mile-and-a-half oval. While he missed the cut for this year’s Daytona 500, he’s quietly become perhaps the most consistent driver on MBM this season. He began the year with seven-straight finishes inside the Top 25, lifting him as high as 19th in the point standings, then earned a season-best 16th in the first round of the Kentucky double-header.

Then, just last week, Finchum campaigned one of the most head-turning “throwback” schemes at Darlington. Honoring both Jerry Nadeau and the now-defunct Elliott-Marino Motorsports, Finchum’s #13 Camry was decorated like the FirstPlus Financial Ford Taurus from the 1998 Winston Cup season. In the race, Finchum battled for the Lucky Dog all the way to the finish, taking 20th at the checkered flag. It was the best finish ever for the scheme at Darlington – when it last ran in ’98, Nadeau finished 31st in the spring race while Dennis Setzer ran 29th in the Southern 500.

For Richmond, The MBM team swapped car numbers for all three of their drivers, giving Finchum the #61 number that’s been shared with Hattori Racing Enterprises and driver Austin Hill. In place of the Hattori-backed Supra, Finchum would drive MBM’s bright yellow Toyota Camry, a car which in past years has run several road course races.

Timmy Hill, one of Finchum’s teammates at MBM, drew the 37th and final starting spot. In place of the blue-and-gold Carl Long “throwback” scheme Stephen Leicht ran last week in Darlington, Hill would run the white-and-gold scheme the team ran earlier this season. Leicht moved to the #13, which still carried Hill’s sponsorship from RoofClaim.com. Prior to the green flag, Hill would be joined by two teams due to pre-race penalties – Matt Mills from 22nd for unapproved adjustments on his #5 J.F. Electric Chevrolet and Joey Gase, who was swapped in for 31st-place J.J. Yeley in SS-Green Light Racing’s #07 Donate Life Virginia Chevrolet.

When the race started, Hill dropped behind both Mills and Gase, retaining the 37th starting spot for the green flag. On the break, Hill was 5.08 seconds back of the lead, and by Lap 3 had dropped a full 1.523 seconds back of 36th-place Kyle Weatherman in the #47 Honor and Sacrifice Chevrolet. By Lap 5, the team was counting Hill down to his pit stall, then was instructed to pull into the garage. The radio went silent at that point, and NASCAR didn’t report the #66 was behind the wall until Lap 10. NASCAR reported Hill out of the race on Lap 32.

Timmy Hill's #66, which was originally credited with last place.
PHOTO: @MaryMuncie

Overall, it had been a rough evening for the MBM trio. Stephen Leicht dropped out with an axle issue after 88 laps, and his car chief was ejected, unable to participate in the second round of the double-header. Leicht took 35th in the unofficial results, one spot ahead of Myatt Snider, whose #93 Superior Essex Chevrolet was turned into the inside wall on the backstretch following the Lap 42 competition caution. Rounding out the Bottom Five were Colby Howard, who stalled on the track on Lap 15 and lost 27 laps in the garage before he returned to action during the competition yellow. Jeb Burton also suffered mechanical issues on his #8 State Water Heaters Chevrolet, nixing a strong top-ten run at his home track, but also managed to finish under power in 33rd.

Finchum easily earned the best finishing position of the MBM trio, taking the 27th spot, four laps down. That changed around 10:26 P.M. local time, when it was revealed Finchum’s car had failed the rear heights phase during post-race inspection. The result dropped Finchum to last place, putting all three MBM cars in the Bottom Five, and bumping Jeb Burton out of the group. Finchum will likewise start last on Saturday for the second round of the double-header.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #61 in an XFINITY Series race since June 30, 2018, when Kaz Grala and Fury Race Cars, LLC got their only last-place finish together at Chicagoland following electrical issues on his #61 Kiklos / IT Coalition Ford after just 1 lap of the Overton’s 300.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

37) #61-Chad Finchum / 246 laps / disqualified

36) #66-Timmy Hill / 4 laps / vibration

35) #93-Myatt Snider / 46 laps / crash

34) #13-Stephen Leicht / 88 laps / axle

33) #15-Colby Howard / 220 laps / running

2020 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Motorsports Business Management (6)

2nd) Joe Gibbs Racing (3)

3rd) JD Motorsports, Jimmy Means Racing, JR Motorsports, Mike Harmon Racing, Shepherd Racing Ventures, SS-Green Light Racing (2)

4th) B.J. McLeod Motorsports, Jeremy Clements Racing, Kaulig Racing (1)

2020 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (15)

2nd) Toyota (9)

2020 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

TRUCKS: Mechanical gremlins cause Cobb and Decker to fight to even start Richmond race

PHOTO: Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing's Facebook Page

Jennifer Jo Cobb picked up the 8th last-place finish of her NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career in Thursday’s ToyotaCare 250 at the Richmond Raceway when her #10 Fastener Supply Company Chevrolet fell out with clutch issues without completing any of the 250 laps.

The finish, which came in Cobb’s 204th series start, was her first of the season and first in the series since June 17, 2017 at Gateway, 77 races ago. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, this was the 18th from clutch issues, the 20th for the #10, and the 393rd for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 68th from a clutch, the 126th for the #10, and the 1,742nd for Chevrolet.

Cobb has continued to fight to keep her underfunded owner-driver effort competitive in the Truck Series, battling both to make the field and to outlast her competition. Last summer, a qualifying crash at Michigan by teammate Daniel Sasnett left her with just one race-ready truck for the short tracks and larger tracks, her teammate’s backup #0 nowhere near ready. The only other truck in the garage was only for the superspeedways. When it ran at Talladega, she flat-spotted her only set of tires after a spin. That alone would have ended her race had it not been for fans who paid her tire bill. Talladega also saw her best finish since 2014 when she finished 11th in 2018, one month after a 12th-place run in Las Vegas.

Without practice or qualifying after the season’s second round, 2020 has been particularly challenging for underfunded teams. While her team was all but guaranteed a starting spot after she DNQ’d for the season’s first two rounds at Daytona and Las Vegas, she had shelved her second #0 truck, making her runs in the primary #10 more critical for the team’s success. Unfortunately, she’s seen an uptick in DNFs since the resumption of the season, failing to finish five races coming into Richmond after just two in all of 2019. She’s also finished no better than 26th.

The next race marked the first Truck Series race at Richmond since 2005, three years before Cobb’s first series start. While Cobb had never run her truck at Richmond, she had once before attempted an XFINITY race in September 2011. Unfortunately, she failed to qualify her #13 HipChixFundraisers.com Dodge, turning the slowest lap in time trials. The team hoped for better results this time around. According to Cobb’s radio traffic on Thursday, the team had replaced their old engine from the Daytona road course with a rebuilt motor, but used the old bell housing from the Daytona motor to link it to their Jasper transmission.

Cobb was set to start 31st, but when the command came to fire engines, there were problems immediately. During the pace laps, Cobb was sitting in the middle of pit road, the crew attending to the truck. She received a push from the tow truck, damaging the rear bumper, but the clutch continued to slip. With great difficulty, the team pushed her back to her pit stall and looked under the hood. Cobb said it felt like her transmission was stuck in neutral. After the rest of the field rolled down pit road for speed checks, she was pushed behind the wall. NASCAR indicated “10 to the garage, mechanical” an instant after the green flag. Instantly, she took last place from Tim Viens, who was slated to start last in the #83 Trump 2020 Chevrolet.

But Cobb wasn’t the only driver to miss the start. Four stalls behind Cobb, Natalie Decker was also sitting in her pit stall with the hood up on the #44 Ruedebusch Development Chevrolet, dropping her from 27th to 35th, one spot ahead of Cobb. The team cited an electrical issue with dashboard on Lap 3, just as Josh Reaume dropped off the pace down the backstretch in the #00 Motorsports Safety Group Toyota. Reaume actually beat both Cobb and Decker to the garage area on Lap 8, putting him laps ahead of the pair, who had each yet to complete even one circuit.

What ensued was a battle between both Cobb and Decker to return to the track. On Lap 13, Decker’s crew examined the battery. Two laps later, Cobb’s team believed they had a transmission issue, but didn’t have a replacement on hand. Decker was pushed behind the wall on Lap 19, when Cobb’s team believed they would have to replace both the transmission and the drive shaft. On Lap 23, Cobb requested her phone from her helmet bag so she could contact both her father, Joe Cobb, and also track down the transmission specialist. “Bearing might be stuck in the tranny” was Joe’s response on Lap 58. On Lap 30, with the #10 now on four jack stands, the crew began to wonder if the clutch was the issue instead. Four laps later, Decker’s crew was looking for a replacement battery from their two teammates at Niece Motorsports.

On Lap 46, Decker pulled onto the track for the first time, and on Lap 50 finally completed her first lap of the race. But after completing just seven laps, the electrical problem had resurfaced, and she went back behind the wall a second time. Cobb, meanwhile rallied the troops under the caution flag. “This is what it is right now,” she said, “No need to be ranting and raving.” Truth be told, Cobb’s crew sounded much calmer than Decker’s over the radio, particularly as the #44 crew struggled to find the right tools. Even so, Cobb couldn’t help but be disappointed. “It's like I'm cursed here,” she said on Lap 55, “I've been here twice, and I've never made a lap at this damned place.”

On Lap 60, Cobb’s team pulled the transmission and readied the rivet gun, all the while further examining the clutch issue. The transmission didn’t appear damaged, so they decided not to try and get a backup transmission from Austin Wayne Self’s #22 team. By Lap 72, the crew set to work piecing the truck back together, but the crew knew few drivers had fallen out of the race. Josh Reaume had since returned with Decker soon on her way back out. The only retiree had been Tim Viens, whose #83 was spun by teammate Ray Ciccarelli, then parked under the Damaged Vehicle Policy despite not hitting anything. Cobb climbed out of the truck on Lap 80 while Decker returned to action on Lap 95. Decker, meanwhile, was worried about a strange burning smell in her truck, which the team said was caused by new paint.

On Lap 119, just short of the halfway point, Cobb’s team changed strategy. “Are you saying we’re done?” someone asked. “Yes, sir,” was the answer. “I don’t blame you one bit.” On Lap 130, NASCAR confirmed that Cobb was out of the race with clutch issues. Decker ultimately climbed past Viens into 34th while Reaume ended up 32nd, both of them still under power at the finish. The only other DNF of the race was that of Danny Bohn, who suffered electrical issues of his own on the #30 North American Motor Car / Sierra Delta Toyota.

Despite the struggles for many of the series’ underdogs, two others enjoyed brilliant runs. For the second-straight week, Timmy Hill finished 9th in his unsponsored #56 Chevrolet, and this time picked up a stage point with a 10th-place finish in Stage 2. This marked the first back-to-back Top Tens for the Hill Motorsports team since their debut last year. Equally impressive was Codie Rohrbaugh, who ran as high as 5th before taking home 6th in the #9 Pray For Joshua Chevrolet. After the CR7 Motorsports team skipped both rounds at Dover and Gateway to rebuild his fleet following three crashes over the summer, Rohrbaugh earned his best finish since his career-best 3rd in the Daytona opener, and his best-ever on a non-superspeedway.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for both the #10 and Cobb in a Truck Series race at Richmond.

*This was the first time the last-place finisher of the Truck race at Richmond fell out with clutch issues since September 4, 1997, when Ernie Irvan picked up the first last-place run of his Truck career after 18 laps in the #28 Federated Auto Parts Ford during the Virginia Is For Lovers 200.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

36) #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb / 0 laps / clutch

35) #83-Tim Viens / 50 laps / dvp

34) #44-Natalie Decker / 155 laps / running

33) #30-Danny Bohn / 175 laps / electrical

32) #00-Josh Reaume / 217 laps / running

2020 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Reaume Brothers Racing (4)

2nd) Norm Benning Racing, ThorSport Racing (2)

3rd) CMI Motorsports, DGR-Crosley, FDNY Racing, Halmar Friesen Racing, Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing, Niece Motorsports, Spencer Davis Motorsports (1)

2020 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (9)

2nd) Ford (4)

3rd) Toyota (3)

2020 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: The trucks return to Richmond to lead off a four-race weekend

PHOTO: @joshbilicki

Thursday, September 10, 2020
TRUCKS Race 16 of 23
ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond
2005 Last-Place Finisher: Johnny Sauter

ENTRY LIST

The Truck Series returns to Richmond for the first time since 2005 with a list of 36 drivers for 40 spots – the same sized field that last ran here. Johnny Sauter, currently tied for the 2020 LASTCAR Truck Series lead, finished last that September night when his #43 Menards / Energizer Chevrolet fell out with crash damage after 100 laps of the Cheerios Betty Crocker 200.

TEAM UPDATE: #7-All Out Motorsports

TEAM UPDATE: #17-DGR-Crosley

It was reported this week that DGR-Crosley has acquired the Owner Point ranking for All Out Motorsports’ #7 team, which has been conspicuously absent since Korbin Forrister’s most recent series start in the first round of the Kansas double-header. The point swap secures David Ragan’s #17 a spot in the field, which is as yet unnecessary as fewer than 40 trucks have entered the last nine consecutive races, including this one. Select Blinds sponsors Ragan this week.

DRIVER CHANGE: #24-GMS Racing

Sam Mayer ran a strong 4th in his most recent series start at Gateway, and this week returns for the first time since then. He takes the place of Greg Biffle, who made his series return last week in Darlington and took 19th. AWA is the listed sponsor of the Mayer truck.

DRIVER CHANGE: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing

Josh Bilicki and his longtime sponsor Insurance King are back in the Truck Series, taking the place of Darlington last-place finisher Bryant Barnhill. This will be Bilicki’s first Truck Series start since the season’s second round in Las Vegas, where he himself finished last.

DRIVER CHANGE: #40-Niece Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #45-Niece Motorsports

This week’s big news was that Trevor Bayne’s return to NASCAR at Darlington wasn’t a one-off – he now takes the place of Ty Majeski in Niece’s #45. The move opens the #40 for a returning Carson Hocevar, who last steered the entry at Gateway to 15th place.

DRIVER CHANGE: #41-Cram Racing Enterprises

Ryan Huff returns to the Truck Series for the first time since his series debut in the second round of the Kansas double-header, and this time will give the new Cram team its third series start. He previously drove for Josh Reaume, and took 19th in the Kansas event. Huff takes the place of Dawson Cram, whose Tim Flock “throwback” ended up 33rd at Darlington after an early crash.

DRIVER CHANGE: #44-Niece Motorsports

Natalie Decker makes her tenth start of the season and first since her 28th-place run in Gateway, taking the place of Bayley Currey, who took 12th in the Cale Yarborough “throwback” truck. Ruedebusch Development is the listed sponsor for the #44 Chevrolet.

RETURNING: #49-CMI Motorsports

RETURNING: #83-CMI Motorsports

Both of Ray Ciccarelli’s trucks return to action this weekend – the #49 for the first time since Gateway, and the #83 for the first time since Dover. Ciccarelli himself will run the #49, run most recently by Roger Reuse, while Tim Viens will roll off from the last starting spot in the #83.

CUP INVADERS: None

Friday, September 11, 2020

XFINITY Race 24 of 33

Go Bowling 250 at Richmond

2019 Last-Place Finisher (Spring): Jeff Green

ENTRY LIST

There are 37 drivers entered for 40 spots – the same number as last week.

DRIVER SWAP: #5-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #99-B.J. McLeod Motorsports

B.J. McLeod and team will once again play musical chairs this week in Richmond. First off, Matt Mills and Vinnie Miller will swap rides this week with Mills in the #5 and Miller in the #99.

DRIVER CHANGE: #6-JD Motorsports

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

In addition, B.J. McLeod himself moves back to Johnny Davis’ #6, taking the place of Ryan Vargas, who isn’t entered. McLeod thus opens the #78 for a returning Mason Massey, who makes his first XFINITY start since the Kentucky double-header. 

DRIVER CHANGE: #8-JR Motorsports

Jeb Burton rejoins the XFINITY Series for the first time since his 7th-place finish at Dover, and will again run the State Water Heaters paint scheme. He takes the place of Daniel Hemric, whose John Andretti “throwback” finished last at Darlington after an early crash.

DRIVER SWAP: #13-Motorsports Business Management

DRIVER SWAP: #61-Motorsports Business Management

DRIVER CHANGE: #66-Motorsports Business Management

Timmy Hill returns to the XFINITY Series this week and will this time run the #66, bumping Stephen Leicht to the #13, which moves Chad Finchum back to the #61. Finchum bumps out Austin Hill, who isn’t entered after a strong 9th-place run last Saturday. Finchum’s 20th-place finish in the Jerry Nadeau “throwback” car last week was his best finish since the first round of the Kentucky double-header, eight races previous, and was his third-straight finish of 25th or better.

DRIVER CHANGE: #21-Richard Childress Racing

Kaz Grala makes his third XFINITY start of the year and first since his season-best 4th-place finish at Road America. He takes the place of Anthony Alfredo, whose was at the center of the early Darlington wreck that ended Daniel Hemric’s race.

DRIVER CHANGE: #54-Joe Gibbs Racing

JGR’s part-time Cup invader team is back again with Kyle Busch taking the place of Denny Hamlin, and Starburst Duos taking the place of Sport Clips as sponsor. Busch has completed all 5,513 laps he’s ever run in 22 career XFINITY starts at Richmond dating back to 2004. He’s won six XFINITY races there, hasn’t finished outside the Top 10 since 2006, and has never once failed to finish.

DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing

J.J. Yeley returns to the XFINITY Series for the first time since Homestead, where he ran a season-best 11th for the same SS-Green Light Racing team. This time, he takes the place of David Starr, who was involved in a late-race accident at Darlington.

CUP INVADERS: #54-Kyle Busch

Sunday, September 12, 2020 (2:30 P.M. Eastern)

XFINITY Race 25 of 33

Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 250 at Richmond

2019 Last-Place Finisher (Fall): Mike Marlar

ENTRY LIST

There are 36 drivers entered in Sunday’s second round of the double-header for the XFINITY Series, with one very significant team missing---

MISSING: #54-Joe Gibbs Racing

Kyle Busch is not entered, and will thus be unable to sweep both XFINITY victories this weekend.

CUP INVADERS: None

Sunday, September 12, 2020 (6:00 P.M. Eastern)

CUP Race 28 of 36

Round of 16: Race 2 of 3

Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond

2019 Last-Place Finisher: Erik Jones

ENTRY LIST

After this year’s spring race at Richmond was scrubbed during the pandemic, the second round of the Playoffs will be at a track where the series has yet to run in 2020. The list shows 38 drivers entered for 40 spots, down one car from last week. It is the 13th short field in 28 races this season.

MISSING: #7-Tommy Baldwin Racing

Josh Bilicki is not entered after a 32nd-place finish last Sunday in the Tom Baldwin “throwback” car, but will focus on his Truck Series effort with Josh Reaume (see above). Incidentally, this will be only the second Cup race Bilicki has missed out of the last seven.

DRIVER CHANGE: #77-Spire Motorsports

Reed Sorenson, who had been entered last week in Darlington before he was swapped for Ross Chastain, is again entered in the #77 this week. According to Mike Davis of Dirty Mo Media, Chastain edged J.J. Yeley for the 29th spot at the end of last week’s Southern 500, where each driver was running seven laps down.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (September 10, 1988): Five years before he became Dale Earnhardt’s crew chief at Richard Childress Racing, Andy Petree picked up the first last-place finish of his NASCAR Busch Series career in the Commonwealth 200, the first-ever NASCAR race run on Richmond’s current three-quarters-of-a-mile layout. Petree started 24th in the #4 Lambert Racing Oldsmobile, but was involved in an accident after only nine laps. It was Petree’s first of five series starts. His last, which came driving for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. at Martinsville on October 16, 1994, yielded him his best finish of 16th.

ARCA: Inaugural Lebanon race sees first-time last-place finisher

PHOTO: @StartAndParkCar / @nascarcatholic via Travis Braden on Facebook

by William Soquet

LASTCAR.info Guest Correspondent

Tim Monroe scored the first last-place finish of his ARCA Menards Series career in Saturday’s Zinsser SmartCoat 200 at Lebanon I-44 Speedway when his #10 Fast Track Racing Chevrolet exited the race with brake problems after 4 of 200 laps.

The finish came in Monroe’s second career start.

Fast Track Racing crew member Tim Monroe has recently been given the opportunity to jump behind the wheel for the team in two events this season. The University of Northwestern Ohio student also races UMP modifieds at tracks like Shadyhill Speedway, Farmer City Raceway and Lincoln Speedway. He has been racing since at least the late 2000s, starting in small go-karts and working his way up through the ranks to outlaw karts and modifieds. He made his series debut for Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing (FTR) at the Daytona road course with an all-UNOH-student crew servicing his #11 machine. He did not complete a lap in the race due to electrical problems but was not credited with last place as Bryan Dauzat did not start the race and was scored in last.

This time around, thirteen other drivers joined Monroe for the first ARCA Menards Series race at Lebanon I-44 Speedway. Fast Track Racing kept its other two drivers the same as last week as Mike Basham piloted the #10 and last week's last-place finisher Owen Smith drive the #11. Perhaps the only surprising name to see on the entry list was road racer Kris Wright, as the former 24 Hours of Daytona driver was again entered in a Chad Bryant Racing Chevrolet. Hattori Racing Enterprises elected not to enter Max McLaughlin in the race, and Rev Racing did not enter any cars either. Thad Moffitt was once again absent from the list, leaving DGR-Crosley at two entries for the race. Despite Lebanon being a former track where the K&N Pro Series West raced, Bill McAnally Racing did not make the trip out to Missouri with its fleet of three entries. Not formally included on the entry list was former ARCA underdog and winner Brandon McReynolds, who is serving as a driver coach for Taylor Gray after helping Noah Gragson find success in NASCAR.

As the ARCA Menards Series was not racing with any national series at Lebanon, there was a full slate of practice and qualifying. Owen Smith put his machine 14th on the chart, about 2.5 seconds behind practice leader Hailie Deegan. Monroe then took the bottom spot in qualifying, running a lap of 17.4 seconds. He was not quite three seconds behind polesitter Bret Holmes.

At the drop of the green, Monroe was the last car in the running order. He was nine seconds back after two laps, and retired after four laps. Owen Smith avoided going 4-for-4 on career starts and last-place finishes by finishing 12th. He completed 39 laps before dropping out with brake issues. Brad Smith finished in between the two as the only other car to retire, citing handling as his reason out with 35 laps complete. Tim Richmond was the last car running in 11th, ten laps in arrears at the remainder of the race. Mike Basham completed the Bottom Five, finishing seven laps down.

Just outside the Bottom Five was Chandler Smith, who had what can be described as the "No Good, Terrible, Very Bad Lebanon Race." After Hailie Deegan spun him in turn one early in the race, Smith limped around a full circuit on a cut tire, damaging the front suspension. He spun again avoiding another Deegan incident, and fell two laps down. While running arguably the same time as the leaders, Smith was turned by Bret Holmes, a move that the Venturini Motorsports driver claimed came from crew chief Shane Huffman. Holmes did not directly refute the claim. An incident with Kris Wright later meant that Smith “hit for the cycle” and lost a total of two laps for repairs, the latest in a string of frustrating races between ARCA and the NASCAR Truck Series for Smith.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
14) #11-Tim Monroe / 4 laps / brakes
13) #48-Brad Smith / 35 laps / handling
12) #10-Owen Smith / 39 laps / brakes
11) #06-Tim Richmond / 190 laps / running
10) #12-Mike Basham / 193 laps / running

2020 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (9)
2nd) Toyota (4)
3rd) Ford (1)

2020 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Fast Track Racing (7)
2nd) Wayne Peterson Racing (2)
3rd) Brother-In-Law Motorsports, DGR-Crosley, Kimmel Racing, Reeves Racing, Russ Lane Racing (1)

2020 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

CUP: James Davison the first to finish last in both the Indianapolis 500 and Southern 500

PHOTO: @RickWareRacing

James Davison picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in the Cook Out Southern 500 at the Darlington Raceway when his #53 Signing Day Sports / Tom Sneva Throwback Chevrolet fell out with a blown engine after 162 of 367 laps.

The finish came in Davison’s 8th series start. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 21st for the #53, the 697th from engine trouble, and the 794th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three divisions, it was the 26th for the #53, the 1,093rd from engine trouble, and the 1,741st for Chevrolet.

Davison is perhaps the last of his kind in today’s Cup Series – an open-wheel star looking to transition into heavy stock cars. Back in 2008, the likes of Dario Franchitti, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Patrick Carpentier looked to compete against the top drivers in NASCAR’s Cup Series, but few stayed for multiple seasons or found much success. Davison, a six-time starter of the Indianapolis 500, and runner-up to J.R. Hildebrand in the 2009 Indy Lights Championship, made his first NASCAR start in the XFINITY race at Road America in 2016. Driving for Mario Gosselin’s DGM Racing, he finished on the lead lap in the 19th spot. This scored him three rides with Joe Gibbs Racing, where he ran a best of 4th at Mid-Ohio. He also embraced NASCAR’s past, running two different paint schemes inspired by “Days of Thunder.”

Davison was slated to make his Cup debut at Talladega this past June, but NASCAR didn’t afford him the same opportunity Jacques Villeneuve had in 2007, so B.J. McLeod took his place. The debut came the following week in Pocono, where he’d run both rounds of the double-header in Spire Motorsports’ #77 Oil Fire Whiskey Chevrolet. He finished 34th and 30th in both rounds, coming home with the car in one piece. From there, he joined the three-car rotation at Rick Ware Racing. He tied his career-best 30th on the Daytona road course, and only last week had his first Cup DNF, crashing out late in the race on the Daytona oval.

For Darlington, Davison would again have an opportunity to run a “throwback” paint scheme. Carrying sponsorship from Signing Day Sports, who backed him in his debut with the Ware team at Loudon, he’d run a dark brown paint scheme reminiscent of the #53 Simoniz Chevrolet from 1983. The reference was appropriate, as that car was driven by another open-wheeler who raced NASCAR in Tom Sneva. Just months after taking the checkered flag in the Indianapolis 500, Sneva earned his career-best 7th-place finish in this particular brown paint scheme during the 1983 Daytona 500. For Sunday’s race, Davison started 36th.

Rolling off 39th and last was Davison’s teammate Joey Gase, who ran the 1971 Bobby Allison red-and-gold throwback on his #51 ASC / Agri Supply / Carolina Cooker Ford. Three other teams would join him in the back for the start. The first was Ross Chastain, who replaced the entered Reed Sorenson in Spire Motorsports’ red-white-and-blue #77 Chevrolet slated to start 34th. The car, sponsored by Dirty Mo Media, was a tribute to Dale Earnhardt and his #77 Chevrolet Malibu he raced for Johnny Ray at Atlanta in 1976. The other was Ryan Blaney, who was penalized from 7th after his #12 Menards / Maytag Ford was found with an unsecured five-pound weight inside the car during pre-race inspection. Blaney’s car was decorated similar to Menards’ ARCA and Cup cars from 2003, including the first Cup car Paul Menard raced at Watkins Glen. Austin Dillon incurred an unapproved adjustment penalty after his crew mistakenly had the left side tires on the right side, and vise-versa, requiring a change on his Junior Johnson throwback-themed #3 American Ethanol Chevrolet. He’d been slated to start 12th.

When the race started, Blaney and Dillon were ahead of both Chastain and Gase, who started in the final two spots with Gase still in 39th. Gase remained in the last spot through Lap 15, when the leaders put him the first car one lap down. Under the competition caution on Lap 25, the driver tried to figure out the right volume level on the radio as trouble found Timmy Hill. Driving the #66 RoofClaim.com Toyota, decorated to resemble Phil Parsons’ Skoal Bandit ride, the car looked sharp, but had issues with the alternator. On Lap 30, Hill took last from Gase as the crew attended to the battery. On Lap 58, Hill’s crew said they were preparing to replace the alternator in the garage, and told him to turn off the air conditioner. He then pulled into the garage on Lap 62 for repairs. By Lap 75, the team began piecing the #66 back together, and he returned to action 25 laps down. The team had also taken time to adjust air pressures during the repairs, and set to work adjusting their remaining tires.

The ensuing run saw all 39 drivers still under power until around Lap 173, when Davison’s car wouldn’t fire on pit road. The next time by, the #53 pushed behind the wall. Davison said he felt the engine starting to lay down on the previous run, and also estimated the temperature had spiked to 300 degrees. The team thought Davison picked up debris on the nose, but saw nothing on the front grille. By Lap 184, Davison’s team confirmed they were done for the day. NASCAR relayed the message on Lap 193, reporting that engine issues were to blame. During this, Hill closed the gap on Davison, and took the last spot on Lap 194.

Finishing 38th was Bubba Wallace, whose #43 CashApp / Richard Petty D.K. Ulrich Throwback Chevrolet had issues leaking fluid early in the event, then spun on the apron. He pulled behind the wall on Lap 198 and was ultimately done for the night, citing transmission issues. Corey LaJoie took 37th after he rear-ended another car on a late-race restart in the #32 Trump 2020 Ford. John Hunter Nemechek crashed out in the #38 Citgard / Elliott Sadler 1999 Throwback Ford on Lap 245, leaving him out of the race in 36th. Rounding out the group was Timmy Hill, who after his alternator and battery issues, was ultimately felled by overheating issues.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the third consecutive last-place finish for Rick Ware Racing, one each with their three primary teams: the #51 (Dover), #27 (Daytona), and #53 (Darlington). The team also fields the former Premium Motorsports #15 with rookie Brennan Poole. With one more last-place finish next week in Richmond, the Ware team can tie JTG-Daugherty's streak of four last-place finishes in a row this summer.

*Davison has also become the first driver to finish last in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Southern 500. Davison finished last in both the 2018 and 2020 runnings of the Indy 500.

*This was the first last-place finish for the #53 in a Cup race at Darlington since September 6, 1992, when Johnny McFadden’s #53 Means Racing Pontiac quit after 3 laps of the Mountain Dew Southern 500.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

39) #53-James Davison / 162 laps / engine

38) #43-Bubba Wallace / 217 laps / transmission

37) #32-Corey LaJoie / 234 laps / crash

36) #38-John Hunter Nemechek / 245 laps / crash

35) #66-Timmy Hill / 296 laps / overheating

2020 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) JTG-Daugherty Racing (6)

2nd) Rick Ware Racing (5)

2nd) Motorsports Business Management (3)

3rd) Chip Ganassi Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Penske Racing (2)

4th) Beard Motorsports, B.J. McLeod Motorsports, Front Row Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Leavine Family Racing, StarCom Racing, Tommy Baldwin Racing (1)

2020 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (18)

2nd) Toyota (5)

3rd) Ford (4)

2020 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP