CUP: Speed Is First Repeat Last-Placer of 2012 Cup Series Season

SOURCE: Leavine Family Racing Facebook

Scott Speed picked up the 4^th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in Saturday night’s Capitol City 400 presented by Virginia is for Lovers at the Richmond International Raceway when his #95 TWD Drywall Ford fell out with electrical problems after 19 of the race’s 400 laps.

The finish was Speed’s second in as many starts in 2012 and his first since Texas, two races ago. As a result, Speed is the first Cup driver to score more than one last-place finish this season.

Speed qualified 36^th for Saturday’s race at an average speed of 125.839 mph, ranking him fifth among the ten "go-or-go-home" drivers who attempted to qualify. Joining Las Vegas last-placer J.J. Yeley as the other driver who failed to qualify was Kansas last-placer Scott Riggs, who also was the only DNQ from the Nationwide race the previous night.

In the race, it first appeared that Mike Bliss would score his first last-place finish of 2012 in the Randy Humphrey and Mark Smith-owned #19 Toyota. Bliss held the 43^rd spot in the early laps before Speed pulled behind the wall under green, followed four laps later by Bliss. Joe Nemechek, still without a last-place finish in 2012, came home 41^st, but scored an impressive 13^th in the Nationwide race.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is Speed’s second-consecutive last-place finish in a Cup race at Richmond. Last fall, he was involved in an early multi-car crash while driving Dusty Whitney’s #46 Ford.
*The #95 had never before finished last in a Cup race at Richmond.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #95-Scott Speed / 19 laps / electrical
42) #19-Mike Bliss / 23 laps / rear gear
41) #87-Joe Nemechek / 28 laps / brakes
40) #74-Cole Whitt / 29 laps / vibration
39) #98-Michael McDowell / 67 laps / brakes

LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Scott Speed (2)
2nd) Brendan Gaughan, Michael McDowell, David Ragan, Scott Riggs, Reed Sorenson, Josh Wise, J.J. Yeley (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #95-Leavine Family Racing (2)
2nd) #23-R3 Motorsports, #26-Front Row Motorsports, #33-Richard Childress Racing, #34-Front Row Motorsports, #49-Robinson-Blakeney Racing, #74-Turn One Racing, #98-Phil Parsons Racing (1)

LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Ford (5)
2nd) Chevrolet (3)
3rd) Toyota (1)