PREVIEW: Kansas sees several drivers return to action after absences

PHOTO: @Utechcorpsoft

Saturday, October 17, 2020 (4:00 P.M. Eastern)

TRUCKS Race 20 of 23

Round of 8: Race 1 of 3 

Clean Harbors 200 at Kansas

2019 Last-Place Finisher: Inaugural Race

ENTRY LIST

After taking the Roval weekend off, the Truck Series returns to action as part of a Saturday double-header. There are 36 drivers entered for 40 spots, down two entries from Talladega.

MISSING: #8-NEMCO Motorsports

Joe Nemechek is not entered after he was collected in the early wreck at Talladega, finishing 37th.

MISSING: #9-CR7 Motorsports

Codie Rohrbaugh is not entered after second-straight strong superspeedway finish, this time taking 5th at Talladega.

DRIVER CHANGE: #17-DGR-Crosley

Hailie Deegan will make her first start in NASCAR’s top three series, taking the place of Korbin Forrister in the same David Gilliland-owned team that fields her ARCA Menards Series entry. Deegan arrives currently 3rd in the ARCA standings heading into today’s season finale.

DRIVER CHANGE: #24-GMS Racing

While Chase Purdy had been slated to run this truck again, news broke on October 9 that David Gravel will instead run the ChevyGoods.com Chevrolet, bearing the same Hendrick-styled number font made famous by Jeff Gordon. Gravel finished 10th in his series debut earlier this year at Michigan.

MISSING: #28-FDNY Racing

Bryan Dauzat is not entered after team ran both Kansas double-headers in the summer, then finished a season-best 21st last week in Talladega.

DRIVER SWAP: #33-Reaume Brothers Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #00-Reaume Brothers Racing

Josh Bilicki returns to the Truck Series for only the fourth time this year and first time since Bristol, where he finished 26th. He’ll drive the #33, moving team owner Josh Reaume to the #00 in place of Jason White, who isn’t entered after a 25th-place performance in Talladega. Reaume will himself also kick off a double-header Saturday with the XFINITY Series (see below).

DRIVER CHANGE: #40-Niece Motorsports

Ryan Truex returns to the Truck Series for the sixth time in 2020 and first time since the fall race in Las Vegas. He takes the place of Bayley Currey, who finished 15th at Talladega.

DRIVER CHANGE: #44-Niece Motorsports

Colin Garrett, who we’ve seen compete five times this year for Sam Hunt Racing’s XFINITY Series team, makes just his second Truck Series start and first since a 21st-place finish last year at Las Vegas’ fall race. He takes the place of Kaz Grala, who ran a strong 9th in Talladega.

SPONSOR UPDATE: #45-Niece Motorsports

After nearly winning Talladega, Trevor Bayne will run the rest of the 2020 season in the Niece #45. To mark this occasion, Bayne will be sponsored by Mahalo Coffee Roasters, his own coffee shop founded during his brief hiatus from NASCAR.

DRIVER SWAP: #49-CMI Motorsports

RETURNING / DRIVER SWAP: #83-CMI Motorsports

Ray Ciccarelli will field both of his trucks after the #83 was withdrawn last week in Talladega. Ciccarelli will himself run the #83, moving Tim Viens to the flagship #49.

DRIVER CHANGE: #52-Halmar-Friesen Racing

Welcome back 11-time Truck Series race winner Timothy Peters, who on Saturday will make his first series start since the 2019 race at Talladega. The opportunity arose when a scheduling conflict meant Stewart Friesen couldn’t compete in Saturday’s race, which was rescheduled from Friday. Christopher Bell had originally been Friesen’s replacement, but that changed because NASCAR deemed him ineligible as a backup driver.

DRIVER CHANGE: #56-Hill Motorsports

Tyler Hill will run a pink version of the Hill Motorsports entry in what will be his 10th start of the year and first since Las Vegas. He takes the place of Gus Dean, who crashed out at Talladega with a 30th-place finish.

RETURNING: #75-Henderson Motorsports

Parker Kligerman returns to action for the first time since his season-best 4th-place run under the lights at Bristol.

MISSING: #97-Diversified Motorsports Enterprises

Robby Lyons is not entered after he finished 26th in DME’s return to the series at Talladega.

CUP INVADERS: None

Saturday, October 17, 2020 (7:00 P.M. Eastern)

XFINITY Race 30 of 33

Round of 8: Race 1 of 3

Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas

2019 Last-Place Finisher: Ryan Truex

ENTRY LIST

There are 36 drivers entered for 40 spots in this week’s XFINITY race, down two entries from the “Roval.”

DRIVER SWAP: #13-Motorsports Business Management

DRIVER SWAP: #66-Motorsports Business Management

After Timmy Hill finished 19th on the “Roval” with teammate Stephen Leicht in 24th, the two drivers have swapped rides with Hill in the #13 and Leicht in the #66.

MISSING: #16-Kaulig Racing

A.J. Allmendinger and the third Kaulig entry are not entered after his thrilling win in the rainy “Roval” race.

MISSING: #17-Rick Ware Racing

After back-to-back weeks of career-best finishes in NASCAR’s top two divisions, including an impressive 7th in the rain last Saturday, Cody Ware will not run this weekend’s XFINITY race, and neither will RWR’s XFINITY team.

DRIVER CHANGE: #21-Richard Childress Racing

Anthony Alfredo is back behind the wheel of RCR’s #21 with Andy’s Frozen Custard as sponsor. He takes over for Kaz Grala, who ran strong early at the “Roval” before a wreck and suspension issues left him 31st.

DRIVER CHANGE: #47-Mike Harmon Racing

In addition to running his own entry in the Truck Series race, Josh Reaume will make his first XFINITY start since July 13, 2018 at Kentucky, making his first-ever start for Mike Harmon. Taking the place of Kyle Weatherman, who wrecked out early at the “Roval,” he’ll carry sponsorship from GPS Tab.

DRIVER CHANGE: #74-Mike Harmon Racing

After a strong performance during the opening stages of last week’s “Roval” race, Gray Gaulding is back out of the #74, bringing back Bayley Currey for the first time since his 25th-place showing in the fall race at Las Vegas. Currey ran 23rd in the most recent Kasnas race earlier this year.

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

Vinnie Miller returns after missing the “Roval” race, taking the place of 13th-place Josh Bilicki in the #78 Koolbox Toyota.

DRIVER CHANGE: #90-DGM Racing

Last week, Preston Pardus made his way into the Top 10 at the “Roval” before a tangle with Justin Haley left him just 32nd at the finish. Dexter Bean takes Pardus’ place this week with Sleep Well and Alpha Prime as sponsors. It’s Bean’s first start since the fall race at Las Vegas, where he ran 29th.

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

Jesse Iwuji goes from pit reporter to driver again, in for C.J. McLaughlin, who ran 29th on the “Roval.” The eRacing Association will be Iwuji’s sponsor for his first XFINITY start since his 26th-place finish in his series debut at Road America earlier this summer.

DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing

Coming off back-to-back top-ten finishes at two radically different tracks, the second Bobby Dotter entry will see David Starr take the place of Jade Buford with American Rebel Safes as sponsor. This will be Starr’s first XFINITY start since his 34th-place run at Darlington.

CUP INVADERS: None

Sunday, October 18, 2020

CUP Race 33 of 36

Round of 8: Race 1 of 3

Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas

2019 Last-Place Finisher: Ryan Newman

ENTRY LIST

There are 40 drivers entered for as many spots in Sunday’s race, up two entries from the “Roval.” This marks only the 17th “full” field in 2020, and the first since Bristol, four races ago.

RETURNING: #7-Tommy Baldwin Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Rick Ware Racing

One day after running the Truck Series race, Josh Bilicki and his Insurance King sponsorship move from XFINITY back to the Cup Series, and the TBR team returns to Cup action for the first time since the Bristol night race. In so doing, Bilicki moves from the #51, which wrecked on the final lap last week, and Joey Gase returns to drive that car.

DRIVER SWAP: #27-Rick Ware Racing

DRIVER CHANGE: #77-Spire Motorsports

J.J. Yeley moves from the #77 to the #27, replacing Gray Gaulding, who isn’t entered this week. Stepping into the Spire entry is a returning Reed Sorenson, who also makes it back to Cup for the first time since Bristol. Marwin Sports sponsors Sorenson this week.

RETURNING: #49-Motorsports Business Management

A late addition to the Cup field this week is MBM’s second entry, which returns for the first time since their last-place finish at Las Vegas three weeks ago. Once again, Chad Finchum will drive with LasVegas.net as sponsor.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (October 16, 1955): Jimmy Pardue picked up the first last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career when his #24 1955 Chevrolet fell out with hub failure after 10 of 200 laps at Martinsville. This was also the first last-place finish for the #24 in Cup Series history.

CUP: Scuffed tires carry Timmy Hill from last to fifth at the end of Stage 1 before engine lets go

PHOTO: @mlharvey00

Timmy Hill picked up the 14th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Bank of America 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway “Roval” when his #66 RoofClaim.com Toyota fell out with engine problems after 57 of 109 laps.

The finish, which came in Hill’s 124th Cup start, was his series-leading fifth of the season and first since Richmond, four races ago. With four races remaining, Hill has broken his tie with Ryan Preece, and now holds a one-finish over him, two finishes over Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Preece’s teammate at JTG-Daugherty Racing.

In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 61st for the #66, the 167th for Toyota, and the 698th for an engine. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 79th for the #66, the 349th for Toyota, and the 1,094th from an engine.

While still dealing with mechanical gremlins on the Cup Series side, finishing 37th in the next two rounds after his most recent last-place finish, Hill was again very strong on the superspeedway last week in Talladega. Driving a Ford for the first time since the Daytona 500 in collaboration with Go FAS Racing, Hill battled inside the Top 10 for much of the race before crossing the stripe in 15th. It was the second-best finish of Hill’s entire Cup career, trailing only his 14th-place showing at Indianapolis in 2017.

At the Charlotte “Roval,” Hill would again pull double-duty with the XFINITY Series, driving MBM’s #66 Toyota on Saturday. There, he finished 19th for his third Top 20 finish in the series out of the last four races. He did so despite heavy rains that proved a stumbling block for teams both bigger and smaller than his, which must have instilled confidence for Sunday’s main event, where more rain was anticipated. Hill drew the 27th spot in the RoofClaim.com entry.

Rolling off 38th and last was Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., whose early wreck last week in Talladega put his pink #47 Kroger Chevrolet into the final spot. Joining him in the rear were 29th-place Josh Bilicki, who was swapped in for Joey Gase in the #51 Rich Mar Florist / Lemons of Love Chevrolet, and 14th-place Erik Jones for unapproved adjustments. Jones’ #20 Craftasman ACE / CMN Toyota wouldn’t fire at the command to start engines, and the penalty was incurred when a crewman had to reach into the car to get it started. 

Coming to the green flag, at least four more drivers dropped to the rear voluntarily: 22nd-place Brennan Poole in the #15 Remember Everyone Deployed Chevrolet, 33rd-place J.J. Yeley in the #77 BetterForYourHealth.com Chevrolet, 25th-place Quin Houff in the #00 Sim Seats Chevrolet, and Timmy Hill. Of these drivers, Yeley slotted into the last spot, and was among the four drivers trailing the field on the opening lap.

From there, the last spot changed several times. On Lap 3, Yeley raced past Houff, opening up a 0.632-second gap between the two drivers. By Lap 4, Yeley had also passed Hill, and Houff dropped Hill to last for the first time on Lap 6. The next time, when Poole dropped to 37th, Hill trailed the #15 by 4.258 seconds. The issue was tire degradation as during this time the damp track started to dry, and the team debated whether to change to dry-weather slicks. The MBM team also considered looking under the hood on their next stop as the driver expressed concerns over his ability to reach full throttle. 

Hill held the last spot through the competition caution on Lap 11, and with all 38 starters still on the lead lap, pit stops shuffled the bottom of the order. Rick Ware Racing’s James Davison in the #53 Tilson Chevrolet took it first, followed by his teammate Bilicki, who held last for the Lap 13 restart. Bilicki got a better start than Hill, however, and the #66 was once again in last place. Hill then caught Bilicki two laps later and passed him, but on Lap 16 the pair moved past the spun #6 Castrol Ford of Ryan Newman. That time by, Newman had dropped to 6.317 seconds back of Bilicki, and set to work reeling in the tail end of the field.

On Lap 17, as Newman caught Bilicki for 37th, several drivers began to pit for slick tires, starting with Jimmie Johnson in the #48 Ally Chevrolet and Christopher Bell in the #95 Rheem Toyota. Johnson took over last on Lap 17. Two circuits later, Johnson was reeling in new 37th-place runner Michael McDowell in the #34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford, but both of them moved past Stenhouse, who took over last on Lap 19. Stenhouse then dropped Gray Gaulding to last on Lap 20, passing his #27 Panini America Ford as he, too, pitted for slicks. It was then Gaulding who dropped Denny Hamlin to last after Hamlin’s #11 FedEx Ground Toyota following a spin in Turn 6. Hamlin was barely able to return to the track and had minor damage to his car.

The next last-place challenger was John Hunter Nemechek, whose #38 Citgard Ford spun into the barriers, damaging the right side of his car and eventually causing the hood to come loose. Stuck in the wet grass, he lost at least a lap trying to pull back on track. Just before he was about to receive a push from a service truck, he finally pulled back onto the speedway, by which point he was shown at least two laps down. By this point, however, Timmy Hill had stayed out on scuffed tires during a pit sequence, and was running as high as 3rd place. On Lap 25, right when Nemechek cleared the “Crash Clock,” Hill lost two spots to Matt DiBenedetto and William Byron, but held on to finish 5th.

“Thanks for the TV time, Timmy,” said Carl Long over the radio. “Yes, sir!” answered the driver. Only then was Hill told he had scuffed tires on during that run. "I could've won the stage!" he laughed.

While Hill enjoyed his strong run - which would have awarded him stage points had he not declared for the XFINITY Series in 2020 – another underdog team was struggling. J.J. Yeley incurred a one-lap penalty for pitting outside the box. Unfortunately, the Spire Motorsports team was having radio trouble, and for much of the race couldn’t hear their driver over the static. NASCAR reminded the team he had to serve the penalty, which he served on Lap 29, and he returned a lap down in 37th.

By Lap 45, Nemechek was still in last with Yeley holding 37th, but more problems awaited the #77. Yeley was spun by Davison entering the backstretch chicane, then spun himself in Turn 6, slapping the wall in much the same way as Nemechek. The impact resulted in heavy damage to the right-rear, and two pit stops were required to clear the fenders and cut away some debris. The second stop was required after the fender continued to rub as Yeley ran on the oval’s banked turns. Even after all this, Yeley managed to stay out of last place, remaining just ahead of Nemechek in 37th.

On Lap 52, as Yeley’s crew voiced their frustrations after missing out on the “Lucky Dog,” the driver reported a bad vibration in the front of the car. The team said there was nothing they could do, and Yeley had to deal with it as best he could to the finish. On Lap 54, during a tight battle in Turn 6, the damaged Hamlin rear-ended Hill, who was rammed by Davison, leaving Hamlin and Davison with the worst damage of the three. Davison’s crew managed quick repairs for a second time, following left-rear damage suffered earlier, and cleared the “Crash Clock” soon after Hamlin on Lap 56.

Finally, on Lap 58, Hill slowed while still on the lead lap, and NASCAR officials watched him to make sure he made it to pit road. The crew reported smoke from the exhaust pipes, but still looked over the car before going to the garage that same lap. Running 34th on the lead lap at the time, Hill soon took over last place from Nemechek on Lap 63, and was declared out by NASCAR on Lap 69.

Finishing 37th was Brennan Poole, whose #15 broke down on the apron in the late stages, and was the only other retiree, citing suspension issues. Nemechek and Yeley climbed to 36th and 35th, respectively, with Matt Kenseth’s #42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet left in 34th after he stuffed the nose of his car into the barriers during the final laps.

In addition to Hill’s breakout performance in Stage 1, others who finished back in the order each threatened strong finishes of their own. Ryan Preece, Hill’s closest LASTCAR contender, led eight laps in the #37 Maxwell Houses For Heroes Chevrolet before the leaders caught him on Lap 82, leaving him 14th. Ty Dillon in the #13 GEICO Chevrolet had his second strong run in a row after his 3rd-place finish in Talladega, working out the right tire strategy in the opening stage to lead five laps of his own, but a mid-race slide into the barriers ultimately left him 23rd. Christopher Bell in the #95 Rheem Toyota was likewise battling to get Leavine Family Racing a win after their disappointing last-place run at Talladega, leading six laps before taking 24th. These were among the 32 drivers, including Michael McDowell, who spun in the final laps, who all finished on the same circuit as the leader.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #66 in a Cup Series road course race since November 18, 1984, when Phil Parsons' #66 Skoal Bandit Chevrolet fell out with a broken shock after 15 laps of the Winston Western 500 at Riverside. Curiously, it was Hill who honored Parsons with a throwback scheme to his Skoal car at Darlington just last month.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #66-Timmy Hill / 57 laps / engine

37) #15-Brennan Poole / 95 laps / suspension

36) #38-John Hunter Nemechek / 105 laps / running

35) #77-J.J. Yeley / 108 laps / running

34) #42-Matt Kenseth / 108 laps / running

2020 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) JTG-Daugherty Racing (7)

2nd) Motorsports Business Management (6)

3rd) Rick Ware Racing (5)

4th) Chip Ganassi Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Leavine Family Racing, Penske Racing (2)

5th) Beard Motorsports, B.J. McLeod Motorsports, Front Row Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, StarCom Racing, Tommy Baldwin Racing (1)

2020 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (19)

2nd) Toyota (9)

3rd) Ford (4)

2020 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

XFINITY: Brett Moffitt scores first NASCAR last-place finish as several underdogs surprise in the Roval’s rainstorm

PHOTO: @OurMotorsports

Brett Moffitt picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Drive for The Cure 250 Presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina at the Charlotte Motor Speedway “Roval” when his unsponsored #02 Robert B. Our Co. Chevrolet fell out because of a crash after 2 of 68 laps.

The finish occurred in Moffitt’s 28th series start. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 5th for the #02, the 558th for Chevrolet, and the 338th from a crash. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 29th for the #02, the 1,229th for a crash, and the 1,749th for Chevrolet.

Coming into 2020, Moffitt had 59 Truck Series starts with 11 wins and the 2018 title, plus 45 Cup starts, highlighted by a career-best 8th-place finish in the 500-mile Atlanta race in 2015, when he was driving for Michael Waltrip Racing. In comparison, he’d been a much more infrequent competitor in the XFINITY Series, making just three starts with a best of 9th for RAB Racing in Iowa back in 2012. In each of those starts, he had never once finished last.

That changed when GMS Racing, his current Truck Series team owners, scaled back their XFINITY program at the end of 2019. The team was purchased by Chris Our and Andy Seuss, who rebranded the team Our Motorsports. Through his connection with GMS, Moffitt was originally slated to run four races to get the team off the ground with Seuss sharing the ride with other drivers after. That changed again when Seuss parted ways in July without making a start, and Moffitt had made all but four of the first 28 starts. 

Both driver and team have struggled this season. While Moffitt has gone without a Truck Series win this year, both his entry and the #02 XFINITY team have struggled with sponsorship. At Homestead, Moffitt was collected in early wrecks in both series, and the #02 team had to rent a backup car from B.J. McLeod Motorsports, which was then parked by Jairo Avila, Jr. But there have also been bright spots – Moffitt remained 5th in the Truck Series points in October, and he’d earned six top-ten finishes on the XFINITY side with a series-best 5th at Talladega in June. 

Both driver and team hoped for another strong performance at the “Roval,” where the No. 02 had once again had no primary or associate sponsorship. Even the Robert B. Our, Co. logos weren’t added, leaving a plain white car with pink door and roof numbers in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Three pink ribbons were also added to the car next to the door number in honor of Bernadette Simpson, Deanne Miller, and Florence Stephens, each a breast cancer survivor. Moffitt drew the 19th starting spot.

Taking the 38th and last spot on the grid was Cody Ware, who one week after a career-best 19th-place Cup finish at Talladega would bring Rick Ware Racing back to the XFINITY Series for the first time since last year. Ware would carry sponsorship from Thriv5, which has run several times on RWR’s Cup cars this summer, and field the same #17 from their 2019 effort with Mike Harmon Racing, this time on a Ford Mustang. No drivers would join him in the back for pre-race penalties, but 29th-place B.J. McLeod in the #4 Swenson Chevrolet dropped to 36th as the field crossed the stripe for the first time. Ware remained last at that moment with C.J. McLaughlin, who needed a push from NASCAR after the command to start engines, running 37th in McLeod’s own #99 Hyundai Material Handling Chevrolet. 

Ware remained in last place for only a moment as Matt Mills made an unscheduled stop in the #5 J.F. Electric Chevrolet. As someone on the team called for a flat-head screw driver, NASCAR reported someone had spun out, drawing the caution. This was Moffitt, whose car was smoking on the backstretch on Lap 2. After the chicane, he entered Turns 3 and 4 when the right-rear tire went down, sending him spinning to the apron. Moffitt continued to roll and made it to his pit stall under yellow, and received fresh tires. He managed to return and complete a second lap, but said something was “broke out of it, it’s still moving.” With that, Moffitt pulled into the garage area, then to the transporter, and on Lap 3 was retired from the race under the Damaged Vehicle Policy.

By falling out so early, Moffitt never needed to use either of his two sets of rain tires, and avoided the chaos when a rain storm descended on the track around Lap 13. At that point, all 37 of the remaining starters were still running and on the lead lap. That changed when Kyle Weatherman plowed his #47 Thin Gold Line Solutions / #BackTheBlue Chevrolet into the wall, the first of three incidents he’d be involved in during the next few minutes. Weatherman ended up in 37th, just ahead of Austin Hill, whose #61 AISIN AW Toyota was one of at least four different drivers who piled into the same spot in the infield portion of the course, including Matt Mills, who briefly held last place after his unscheduled stop. Mills returned to action along with Tommy Joe Martins and Ryan Vargas to climb out of the Bottom Five.

Taking 35th was Justin Haley, who crunched the nose of his #11 Leaf Filter Gutter Protection Chevrolet when he piled into a barrier soon after the red flag, his car pinned beneath the wrecked #90 Chinchor Electric / Danus Chevrolet of Preston Pardus. Pardus, fresh off a thrilling victory in the SCCA Runoffs in Road America for Spec Miatas, was himself battling for a Top Ten when he was collected, ultimately taking 32nd. Rounding out the Bottom Five was the #92 General Formulations / Star Tron Chevrolet of Josh Williams, Pardus’ teammate, who took 34th when he slammed the Turn 1 SAFER barrier after contending for a Top 5 for much of the first 36 laps.

Alex Labbe, third of the DGM trio in the #36 Can-Am Chevrolet, turned in one of the biggest underdog performances of the day, continuing to build on his impressive road racing resume. After battling inside the Top 5 well into the late stages, Labbe slid off course and struck the barrier with his right-front fender. In the final laps, he clawed his way back into the Top 10, then jumped to 4th in overtime – his first top-five finish in his 75th series start.

Cody Ware, who started last in the aforementioned #17, ran around the 19th spot for most of the day, then after spinning in Turn 1 began to work his way toward the front during the final stage. He was up to 13th with 15 to go, then 8th for the final restart in overtime, where he made it past the spinning Chase Briscoe to take the 7th spot. Following his career-best Cup performance, this was Ware’s best-ever in XFINITY, outdoing his 15th-place run in the Mid-Ohio race in 2014. It’s also tied for the second-best finish in the RWR team’s entire XFINITY career, which covers 444 combined starts dating back to 1995. Only Kevin O’Connell, 3rd at Road America in 2014, finished better.

Finally, Jade Buford broke through with his own first career top-ten finish, taking 8th in SS-Green Light Racing’s #07 Big Machine Distillery Chevrolet. Making only his fourth series start after taking 14th, 19th, and 16th in his previous three road course starts, Buford made his way into the Top 10 at the end of Stage 2, securing his first stage point, and remained in the conversation until the final laps. This also follows-up Garrett Smithley’s 8th-place run for the same team just last week in Talladega.

The rain also presented opportunities for several other drivers to run strong, at least for a portion of the event. Gray Gaulding looked to give Mike Harmon Racing their second top-ten of the year, and beat Buford for 9th at the end of Stage 2, then climbed into the Top 5 during the final stage. But a chicane penalty combined with radio issues dropped his #74 CountOnMeNC.org Chevrolet to the 28th spot, ultimately out with electrical issues.

Stephen Leicht ran strong at the start of the race in Motorsports Business Management’s #13 Jani-King Toyota, and like Buford, looked to continue his series of strong runs on the road courses in 2020. But when he ran out of fuel at the end of Stage 1, then was pushed down pit road, he could only take 24th at the finish. With four races to go, Leicht remains the leader in the 2020 LASTCAR XFINITY Series championship by just two finishes over seven drivers. However, with 15 Bottom Fives to Kyle Weatherman's next-closest total of 10, Leicht can only lose the title if one of those seven drivers finish last in three of the remaining four races. Leicht can clinch the title either if this doesn't happen, or if he finishes last one more time.

Myatt Snider battled his way to 2nd in the final laps, but spun at the exit of Turn 1 and ended up 13th in RSS Racing’s #93 The Original Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet. Kody Vanderwal put Jimmy Means’ #52 Space Shuttle Inn Chevrolet up to 13th in the closing stages, but was shuffled back to 20th. And Brandon Brown’s Playoff bid ended in spectacular fashion when, while running 9th in the final laps, his #68 Ray’s Siding Chevrolet ran off-course and splashed wheels-deep into a massive puddle, putting him 26th. 

Hermie Sadler's #02 wrecked at IRP in 2004
SCREENSHOT: video posted by Michael McIntyre

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This was Moffitt's first last-place finish in 151 combined NASCAR Cup, XFINITY, and Truck Series points race starts dating back to 2012.

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #02 in an XFINITY Series race since August 7, 2004. On that day, Hermie Sadler’s #02 East Tennessee Trailers Chevrolet was collected in a two-car accident with Brian Tyler after Shane Hall’s car lost an engine in Turns 3 and 4 six laps into the Kroger 200 Presented by Tom Raper RVs at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #02-Brett Moffitt / 2 laps / crash

37) #47-Kyle Weatherman / 13 laps / crash

36) #61-Austin Hill / 13 laps / crash

35) #11-Justin Haley / 34 laps / crash

34) #92-Josh Williams / 36 laps / crash

2020 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Motorsports Business Management (8)

2nd) Joe Gibbs Racing, JR Motorsports, Mike Harmon Racing (3)

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

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

2020 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (18)

2nd) Toyota (11)

2020 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

PREVIEW: Road course specialists set to mix it up with Playoff contenders in return to Roval

IMAGE: @joshbilicki

Saturday, October 10, 2020

XFINITY Race 29 of 33

Round of 12: Race 3 of 3

Drive For the Cure 250 at the Charlotte Roval

2019 Last-Place Finisher: J.J. Yeley

ENTRY LIST

There are 38 drivers entered in Saturday’s cutoff race for the XFINITY Series, up one entry from last week in Talladega.

DRIVER CHANGE: #4-JD Motorsports

DRIVER SWAP: #15-JD Motorsports

B.J. McLeod returns to action this week after stepping out of his JD Motorsports entry for the first time since Road America. This time, he drives the #4 for the first time this season, taking the place of Jesse Little. Little moves to the #15 in place of Colby Howard, who isn’t entered following his 36th-place finish in Talladega.

DRIVER CHANGE: #13-Motorsports Business Management

MBM will only make one driver swap on the XFINITY side as Stephen Leicht looks to continue his steady runs on the road courses this year, taking the place of Chad Finchum, who isn’t entered. Jani-King will sponsor the #13 Toyota.

RETURNING: #17-Rick Ware Racing

For the first time this year, Rick Ware Racing will field an XFINITY Series entry, putting Cody Ware behind the wheel after his career-best 19th-place finish in the Cup race at Talladega. Recall that RWR also entered the #17 in the first months of the 2019 season in conjunction with Mike Harmon Racing, who eventually took over and made it their current second team, the #47. Jacob Construction will sponsor Ware this weekend.

DRIVER CHANGE: #21-Richard Childress Racing

Kaz Grala goes from “super sub” as a relief driver in both the Cup and Truck Series to his regular part-time ride with RCR, taking the place of Anthony Alfredo in the #21 reudebusch.com Chevrolet. Always a standout on the road courses, it will be Grala’s first start in the series since the doubleheader in Richmond, where he ran 9th in both races.

DRIVER CHANGE: #47-Mike Harmon Racing

Kyle Weatherman and the “Back the Blue” paint scheme return to MHR this Saturday, along with backing from Thin Gold Line Solutions. This will be Weatherman’s first-ever start in an XFINITY race at Charlotte – he has yet to start on either the oval or the “Roval.”

DRIVER CHANGE: #74-Mike Harmon Racing

Bayley Currey will not be joining Weatherman on the MHR ticket this weekend as Gray Gaulding had already been revealed as the team’s driver of the #74. Gaulding, who was noticeably absent from the lineup last week in Talladega, will carry a new teal paint scheme on the Harmon entry with backing from Visit North Carolina and CountOnMeNC.com (COMNC). Gaulding finished 29th in this race last year driving for Bobby Dotter.

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

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

Welcome back C.J. McLaughlin, who on Saturday will make his first XFINITY start since this year’s opener at Daytona, where he ran 27th for RSS Racing. This time around, he drives for B.J. McLeod in the #99 with sponsorship from Hyundai Material Handling. This moves Josh Bilicki from the #99 to the #78 Toyota, bumping out Vinnie Miller, who isn’t entered. Bilicki will again carry his longtime sponsor Insurance King.

DRIVER CHANGE: #90-DGM Racing

With top-ten finishes in two of this season’s three road courses in 2020, and in addition to racing his Spec Miata in the SCCA Runoffs in Road America, Preston Pardus is back to rebound from a late crash on the Daytona infield road course that left him a disappointing 31st. He will again drive for DGM Racing, but this time in the flagship #90, taking the place of Caesar Bacarella. Chinchor Electric and Danus will sponsor Pardus once more.

DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing

A dark horse among the “road ringers” this Saturday has to be Jade Buford, who returns to action after finishing 14th, 19th, and 16th in his first three XFINITY Series starts. Big Machine Distillery will again back his #07 Chevrolet as Buford eyes his first career Top Ten. He takes the place of Garrett Smithley, who earned a Top Ten of his own with a sterling 8th-place finish in Talladega.

CUP INVADERS: None

Sunday, October 11, 2020

CUP Race 32 of 36

Round of 12: Race 3 of 3

Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Roval

2019 Last-Place Finisher: Erik Jones

ENTRY LIST

There are 38 drivers entered in Sunday’s race, one fewer than at Talladega. This marks the 16th short field in 32 races this season – exactly half the schedule so far.

DRIVER CHANGE: #27-Rick Ware Racing

While Cody Ware will run RWR’s XFINITY car, Gray Gaulding will pull double-duty, rejoining the Cup Series for the ninth time this year and first since Las Vegas, two weeks ago. He will again drive the #27 Ford.

DRIVER CHANGE: #51-Rick Ware Racing

Although the preliminary entry list showed Joey Gase entered this week following his strong 17th-place run in Talladega, Josh Bilicki will also turn the double in an RWR car, his own first since a 36th-place run in Las Vegas. Bilicki will be sponsored by Rich Mar Florist and Lemons of Love.

MISSING: #62-Beard Motorsports

Brendan Gaughan made what was perhaps his final start in the Cup Series last week in Talladega, where a heartbreaking tangle with Kyle Busch left him a disappointing 35th. As of this writing, both driver and team’s plans for 2021 and beyond are still to be announced.

MANUFACTURER CHANGE: #66-Motorsports Business Management

Timmy Hill returns to a Toyota this week after he ran a Ford for the second time in 2020, taking a strong 15th in Talladega.

DRIVER CHANGE: #77-Spire Motorsports

J.J. Yeley returns to action after he was swapped out for Cody Ware in Talladega, and this time drives the #77 – the same team he last ran in his most recent start in Las Vegas. He takes the place of Justin Haley, who finished a strong 11th last Sunday. The BetterForYourHealth.com colors will return to the team once more.

Saturday, October 17, 2020

TRUCKS Race 20 of 23

Round of 8: Race 1 of 3 

Kansas 200 at Kansas

2019 Last-Place Finisher: Inaugural Race

The Truck Series takes the week off and returns to Kansas for the third time this year. The race, originally slated for Friday, will instead lead off a double-header with the XFINITY Series.

TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (October 8, 1988): Former Cup Series Rookie of the Year contender Joe Millikan scored the first last-place finish of his NASCAR Busch Grand National Series career in the All Pro 300 on the Charlotte oval. Millikan was making just his third of only five series start in Howard Thomas’ #00 Thomas Brothers Country Hams Oldsmobile when he was eliminated in a multi-car crash along with Bobby Labonte and Morgan Shepherd after 3 laps. Millikan rounded out a 44-car starting grid which saw another 12 drivers fail to qualify, including both Donnie and Davey Allison.

ARCA: Wayne Peterson continues yearly late-season title hunt at Springfield

PHOTO: @DriverBradSmith

by William Soquet

LASTCAR.info Guest Correspondent

Wayne Peterson finished last for the 47th time in his ARCA Menards Series career in Saturday’s Illinois Truck and Equipment Allen Crowe 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack when his #0 GreatRailing.com Chevrolet did not start the race.

The finish was Peterson’s first since Winchester, two races ago. The finish came in Peterson’s 115th series start.

In 2018, 2019, and 2020, Peterson’s starts in the ARCA Menards Series have skewed towards the end of the season. He won LASTCAR ARCA Menards Series championships in 2018 and 2019 and is looking to make a run at the 2020 championship, as he currently sits second in the championship standings to Owen Smith on a tiebreaker.

The initial entry list for the only dirt race of 2020 released with eighteen cars. Traditional dirt ringers Ryan Unzicker and Kelly Kovski were on the list, as well as a four-car team for Fast Track Racing featuring Alex Clubb in the #01, Mike Basham in the #10, Tim Monroe in the #11 and Owen Smith in the #12. Eric Caudell and Will Kimmel returned as part of their limited schedules, and Corey Heim filled out the Venturini Motorsports lineup in the #20 car.

Clubb’s entry withdrew before on-track activity began, leaving seventeen cars in the field. Fifteen cars took a time in the half-hour practice, of those that did, Peterson was the slowest, clocking in at just over 66 seconds on what was likely a lap just to make sure there were no mechanical gremlins in the car. In qualifying, Peterson was the only driver that did not take a time. Eric Caudell was sixteenth-fastest; his lap of 42 seconds was about eight seconds off of Unzicker’s pace.

Peterson’s car was on the grid for driver introductions but the 82-year-old’s machine was not included in any of the pace lap television shots. He was later listed as a “did not start” by Racing-Reference.

Caudell pulled off after six laps, followed by Owen Smith two laps later. Will Kimmel retired with damage just shy of the quarter-race mark, and Brad Smith parked with clutch issues after thirty laps, rounding out the Bottom Five.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
17) #0-Wayne Peterson / 0 laps / did not start
16) #7-Eric Caudell / 6 laps / suspension
15) #12-Owen Smith / 8 laps / brakes
14) #69-Will Kimmel / 23 laps / accident
13) #48-Brad Smith / 30 laps / clutch

2020 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (12)
2nd) Toyota (6)
3rd) Ford (1)

2020 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Fast Track Racing (9)
2nd) Wayne Peterson Racing (5)
3rd) Brother-In-Law Motorsports, DGR-Crosley, Kimmel Racing, Reeves Racing, Russ Lane Racing (1)

2020 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP