TRUCKS: Brent Raymer Scores First Last-Place Finish In Two Years

SOURCE: SPEED, Rubbins-Racin Forums

Brent Raymer picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Series career in Wednesday’s O’Reilly 200 at the Bristol Motor Speedway when his #65 County Building Centers / Trans Pecos Trucking Chevrolet fell out with electrical problems after 3 of the race’s 200 laps.

Since the 2008 season, Raymer has made 43 Truck Series starts with his family-owned race team. His best finish in the series came last summer at Pocono, where he came home 16th. However, with manufacturer support scaling back and Raymer’s #85 trucks sponsored almost always by Ford, the team scaled back operations earlier this year following back-to-back DNQs at Daytona and Phoenix. Brent Raymer Racing is currently accepting donations for a return to the track at http://brentraymer.com/

Since then, Raymer has made one other start for owner Joey Sonntag, driving his #65 Chevrolet to a 29th-place finish at Nashville. Wednesday’s race at Bristol would be Raymer’s second start of the season for Sonntag.

Raymer qualified for the race at a speed of 117.862 mph, edging Jennifer Jo Cobb and Norm Benning for the 36th and final spot in the field. He pulled behind the wall after three laps of the race, followed a lap later by current 2011 LASTCAR Truck Series leader Mike Garvey in the #93.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The last time Raymer finished last in a Truck Series race was in the 2009 Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky, where the rear end on his #85 Car Truck & RV / BrentRaymer.com Ford failed after the opening lap. It was Raymer’s second consecutive last-place finish. It’s also his second consecutive last-place finish after starting in last place.
*The #65 has not finished last in a Truck Series race since 1999, when Milan Garrett’s Champion Wheel Ford lost its engine after 13 laps of the 1999 Dodge California Truck Stop 300 at Mesa Marin Raceway.
*The #65 has finished last in a Truck Race at Bristol one other time, when Kenny Allen’s Petroleum World Chevrolet was involved in a crash after 4 laps of the 1997 Loadhandler 200.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #65-Brent Raymer / 3 laps / electrical
35) #93-Mike Garvey / 4 laps / brakes
34) #87-Chris Jones / 54 laps / crash
33) #01-Jake Crum / 61 laps / crash
32) #07-John King / 62 laps / wheel

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Mike Garvey (4)
2nd) Norm Benning, Chris Lafferty (2)
3rd) James Buescher, Chris Jones, Travis Kvapil, Johanna Long, Brent Raymer, Scott Riggs, Greg Seevers, Brad Sweet (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #38-Shane Sieg (4)
2nd) #57-Norm Benning Racing (2)
3rd) #5-Randy Moss, #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #20-Panhandle Motorsports, #31-Turner Motorsports, #32-Turner Motorsports, #65-Joey Sonntag, #75-Norm Benning Racing, #87-Rick Jones, #89-Chris Lafferty, #07-SS Green Light Racing (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (13)
2nd) Toyota (3)