CUP, N’WIDE: Josh Wise The First NASCAR Driver In Two Years To Finish Last Twice In One Weekend
Last weekend, Riverside, California driver Josh Wise became the first driver since Dave Blaney in 2009 to finish last in both a Cup and Nationwide Series race at the same track on the same weekend. In 2009, Blaney scored both 43rd-place runs for owner Phil Parsons, driving MSRP Motorsports’ #91 Chevrolet in the Nationwide race
and PRISM Motorsports’ #66 Toyota in the Cup event.
Unlike Blaney, however, both of Wise’s finishes were the first he scored in either series.
On Saturday, Josh Wise picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s
Ford EcoBoost 300 at the Bristol Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #42 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet fell out with electrical problems after completing 3 of the race’s 300 laps. The finish came in Wise’s 81st series start.
Wise qualified 35th at a speed of 118.877 mph, ranking him twelfth among the sixteen “go-or-go-homers” who attempted to qualify. Having qualified behind 28th-place Jeff Green, a two-time last-placer in 2012, Wise ended up with 43rd when he followed Green to the garage after three laps. All four of the first Nationwide Series last-place finishers this season have all fallen out after completing exactly three laps.
Chase Miller and Scott Speed, two of Wise’s three teammates from the Curtis Key-owned team, also exited during the first ten laps and finished 40th and 41st, respectively. Erik Darnell, in Key’s flagship #40, finished a respectable 21st.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The last time the #42 finished 43rd in a Nationwide Series race was in 2009, when Kevin Hamlin’s Smith Iron Works Dodge qualified 10th, but suffered electrical problems and did not complete a lap of the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway. Car #42 had never before finished last in a Nationwide race at Bristol.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #42-Josh Wise / 3 laps / electrical
42) #10-Jeff Green / 3 laps / vibration
41) #47-Scott Speed / 6 laps / vibration
40) #46-Chase Miller / 7 laps / brakes
39) #27-J.J. Yeley / 15 laps / brakes
LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (2)
2nd) Mike Harmon, Josh Wise (1)
LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (2)
2nd) #42-The Motorsports Group, #74-Mike Harmon (1)
LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet, Toyota (2)
The next day, Wise picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Sunday’s
Food City 500 at the Bristol Motor Speedway when his #26 Morristown Drivers Service Ford fell out with a spindle problem after completing 16 of the race’s 500 laps. The finish came in Wise’s 7th series start.
Wise qualified 37th at a speed of 122.380 mph, ranking him third among the “go-or-go-homers” behind David Stremme and Dave Blaney. This allowed Wise to make the third consecutive start of his rookie season after veteran Tony Raines drove his #26 during last month’s Daytona 500. However, as a result of his early exit, Wise has yet to finish under power in any of his three starts. His best Cup finish remains a 37th at Dover last fall, when he drove Larry Gunselman’s #37 MaxQ Motorsports Ford.
Starting next to Wise on Sunday was Reed Sorenson, who was tabbed as a late replacement for Stacy Compton in Compton’s Turn One Motorsports team. Sorenson qualified next to Wise in 38th, securing the team its first-ever start in its first attempt. However, Sorenson also left the race early, but one lap after Wise.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first time a NASCAR Sprint Cup last-place finisher fell out with spindle problems since June 8, 1967, when Wendell Scott’s unsponsored 1965 Ford fell out 51 laps into the East Tennessee 200 at the Smoky Mountain Raceway in Maryville, Tennessee. Scott was one of only 20 cars to race that day on the half-mile dirt track, and Richard Petty was the winner.
*The last time the #26 finished 43rd in a Cup points race was in 2008, when Jamie McMurray’s Crown Royal Ford finished under power, but 133 laps down, in the 2008 Food City 500. To date, that is McMurray’s only last-place finish in Cup Series competition.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #26-Josh Wise / 16 laps / spindle
42) #74-Reed Sorenson / 17 laps / vibration
41) #23-Scott Riggs / 26 laps / vibration
40) #87-Joe Nemechek / 57 laps / brakes
39) #99-Carl Edwards / 245 laps / running
LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell, David Ragan, Josh Wise, J.J. Yeley (1)
LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #26-Front Row Motorsports, #34-Front Row Motorsports, #49-Robinson-Blakeney Racing, #98-Phil Parsons Racing (1)
LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (3)
2nd) Toyota (1)
Unlike Blaney, however, both of Wise’s finishes were the first he scored in either series.
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| SOURCE: NASCAR Media |
Wise qualified 35th at a speed of 118.877 mph, ranking him twelfth among the sixteen “go-or-go-homers” who attempted to qualify. Having qualified behind 28th-place Jeff Green, a two-time last-placer in 2012, Wise ended up with 43rd when he followed Green to the garage after three laps. All four of the first Nationwide Series last-place finishers this season have all fallen out after completing exactly three laps.
Chase Miller and Scott Speed, two of Wise’s three teammates from the Curtis Key-owned team, also exited during the first ten laps and finished 40th and 41st, respectively. Erik Darnell, in Key’s flagship #40, finished a respectable 21st.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*The last time the #42 finished 43rd in a Nationwide Series race was in 2009, when Kevin Hamlin’s Smith Iron Works Dodge qualified 10th, but suffered electrical problems and did not complete a lap of the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway. Car #42 had never before finished last in a Nationwide race at Bristol.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #42-Josh Wise / 3 laps / electrical
42) #10-Jeff Green / 3 laps / vibration
41) #47-Scott Speed / 6 laps / vibration
40) #46-Chase Miller / 7 laps / brakes
39) #27-J.J. Yeley / 15 laps / brakes
LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (2)
2nd) Mike Harmon, Josh Wise (1)
LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (2)
2nd) #42-The Motorsports Group, #74-Mike Harmon (1)
LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet, Toyota (2)
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| SOURCE: motorsport.com |
Wise qualified 37th at a speed of 122.380 mph, ranking him third among the “go-or-go-homers” behind David Stremme and Dave Blaney. This allowed Wise to make the third consecutive start of his rookie season after veteran Tony Raines drove his #26 during last month’s Daytona 500. However, as a result of his early exit, Wise has yet to finish under power in any of his three starts. His best Cup finish remains a 37th at Dover last fall, when he drove Larry Gunselman’s #37 MaxQ Motorsports Ford.
Starting next to Wise on Sunday was Reed Sorenson, who was tabbed as a late replacement for Stacy Compton in Compton’s Turn One Motorsports team. Sorenson qualified next to Wise in 38th, securing the team its first-ever start in its first attempt. However, Sorenson also left the race early, but one lap after Wise.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first time a NASCAR Sprint Cup last-place finisher fell out with spindle problems since June 8, 1967, when Wendell Scott’s unsponsored 1965 Ford fell out 51 laps into the East Tennessee 200 at the Smoky Mountain Raceway in Maryville, Tennessee. Scott was one of only 20 cars to race that day on the half-mile dirt track, and Richard Petty was the winner.
*The last time the #26 finished 43rd in a Cup points race was in 2008, when Jamie McMurray’s Crown Royal Ford finished under power, but 133 laps down, in the 2008 Food City 500. To date, that is McMurray’s only last-place finish in Cup Series competition.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #26-Josh Wise / 16 laps / spindle
42) #74-Reed Sorenson / 17 laps / vibration
41) #23-Scott Riggs / 26 laps / vibration
40) #87-Joe Nemechek / 57 laps / brakes
39) #99-Carl Edwards / 245 laps / running
LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Michael McDowell, David Ragan, Josh Wise, J.J. Yeley (1)
LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #26-Front Row Motorsports, #34-Front Row Motorsports, #49-Robinson-Blakeney Racing, #98-Phil Parsons Racing (1)
LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (3)
2nd) Toyota (1)