LASTCAR Summer Catch-Up: Truck Series

Brandon Knupp, #27 Hillman Racing Chevrolet SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin'

The parity that characterized the first part of the 2012 LASTCAR Truck Series Championship continued into the summer as there has yet to be a repeat last-placer this season.

In the Lucas Oil 200 at the Dover International Speedway, Dennis Setzer scored his 3rd career last-place finish in his #38 RSS Racing Chevrolet when he fell out with a vibration after 2 of 147 laps. His most recent finish came last season at Atlanta, where his #93 S&W Services Chevrolet lost its brakes after six laps.

At the Winstar World Casino 400k at the Texas Motor Speedway, Brandon Knupp took a turn in the unsponsored #27 Hillman Racing Chevrolet shared with newcomer Jeb Burton. Knupp fell out after two laps with ignition problems, scoring the 3rd last-place finish of his career, and gave the team the lead in the LASTCAR Truck Series Owner’s Championship.

The next race was the UNOH 225 at the Kentucky Speedway. There, Scott Riggs scored his second last-place finish, his first since Kansas in the spring, and went on to sweep the weekend in Saturday’s Quaker State 400. Riggs was driving the #86 @ClayGreenfield RAM, racing as the start-and-park teammate of Clay Greenfield, who finished 18th, the first truck one lap down. This was the first last-place finish for the #86 since 2007, when Kevin Lepage’s 888-KARPORT.com Chevrolet overheated after 8 laps at Michigan. Lepage’s truck was owned by Phil Bonifield, an 11-time Truck Series last-placer and 1999 LASTCAR champion.

In the American Ethanol 200 at the Iowa Speedway, Brennan Newberry scored the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career when his #14 NTS Motorsports Chevrolet was involved in a single-truck accident after completing 5 of the race’s 200 laps. The finish came in the 22-year-old newcomer’s 6th career start.

Finally, last week saw Johnny Chapman score his 11th career last-place finish in the American Ethanol 225 at the Chicagoland Speedway when his #07 Wear Your Gear / bobber.info Toyota fell out with a vibration after 2 laps. By scoring his first last-place finish since the season-ending 2011 Ford 200 at Homestead, Chapman is now tied with Phil Bonifeld and Mike Garvey for the second-most last-place finishes in Truck Series history. All three trail leader Wayne Edwards by two finishes.

Also at Chicagoland, current all-time LASTCAR leader Jeff Green made his first Truck Series start since 2008, and finished 35th, falling out the same lap as last-place finisher Johnny Chapman.

As the standings show, the LASTCAR Truck Series Championship remains anybody’s race, although the #27 Hillman Racing team still holds a one-finish advantage in the Owner’s Championship due to the finishes of Jeb Burton and Brandon Knupp.

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeb Burton, Johnny Chapman, Rick Crawford, Grant Enfinger, Clay Greenfield, Brandon Knupp, Jason Leffler, Brennan Newberry, Scott Riggs, Dennis Setzer (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #27-Hillman Racing (2)
2nd) #14-Bob Newberry, #18-Kyle Busch Motorsports, #38-RSS Racing, #60-Turn One Racing, #68-Clay Greenfield Motorsports, #86-Clay Greenfield Motorsports, #74-Mike Harmon, #07-Ken Smith (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (6)
2nd) RAM, Toyota (2)