N’WIDE: Green Gobbled-Up In Early Crash At Charlotte

Mark Green picked up the 8th last-place finish of his Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s Tech-Net Auto Service 300 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway when his #70 WebsterRadiator.com Chevrolet was involved in a multi-car crash on lap 3 of the 203-lap race.

Green qualified a respectable 25th for Saturday’s race at a speed of 181.671 mph, fifth-fastest among the drivers not locked-into the field. However, three laps into the race, Paul Menard spun Steve Arpin out of the top 10 in turn one, and Green was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Green lost control in the high groove and stuffed Mike Wallace into the outside wall, causing extensive right-side damage to both cars. While Wallace returned to the race, Green did not, giving him his first last-place finish of 2010. Green did, however, drive in relief of Brendan Gaughan later in the race as Gaughan was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning after another early crash.

Last-place leader Dennis Setzer finished 39th in the #92 that still leads the 2010 Team Rankings after twelve races.

STATS AND FACTS
*This was Green’s first last-place finish since the 2009 O’Reilly Challenge at Texas, when he and the #49 GetMoreVacations.com Chevrolet went behind the wall two laps into the 200-lap race with handling problems. That finish was the fifth Green picked up that year alone. Also in 2009, Green was the one who ended Johnny Chapman’s three-race last-place streak at Chicagoland after Chapman failed to qualify.
*It was the first time the #70 had finished last at Charlotte since Bosco Lowe lost the engine of his Bailey / Temple Oldsmobile 9 laps into the 1984 Mello Yello 300.
*The #70 had not finished last in a Nationwide Series race since Justin Diercks lost the rear end of his BIOMET/ForeTravel Chevrolet in the 2007 Federated Auto Parts 300 at the Nashville Superspeedway. Like Green’s car on Saturday, Diercks’ car was also owned by Mary Louise Miller.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #70-Mark Green / 3 laps / crash
42) #61-Josh Wise / 5 laps / electrical
41) #91-David Gilliland / 8 laps / crash
40) #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. / 8 laps / crash
39) #92-Dennis Setzer / 13 laps / vibration

N’WIDE DRIVER RANKINGS
1st) Dennis Setzer (4)
2nd) Michael Annett, Johnny Borneman III, Johnny Chapman, David Gilliland, Mark Green, Brian Keselowski, Danny O’Quinn, Jr., Chrissy Wallace (1)

N’WIDE TEAM RANKINGS
1st) #92-K-Automotive Motorsports (5)
2nd) #15-Germain Racing, #41-Rick Ware, #70-Mary Louise Miller, #83-John Borneman, Jr., #90-D’Hont Humphrey Motorsports, #91-D’Hont Humphrey Motorsports, #96-K-Automotive Motorsports (1)