N’WIDE: Jeff Green Sets New Single-Season Last-Place Record, Secures Third LASTCAR Title

SOURCE: NASCAR Media

Jeff Green picked up the 38th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Friday’s Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at the Richmond International Raceway when his unsponsored #10 TriStar Motorsports Toyota fell out with a vibration after completing 3 of the race’s 250 laps.

The finish was Green’s 12th of the 2012 season, setting a new all-time single-season record for most last-place finishes by a driver in any of NASCAR’s top three divisions. Jeff Fuller, the previous record holder, set the old mark of 11 in 2004. Also, with a lead of ten finishes with just eight races to go in the 2012 Nationwide Series season, Green has locked up his third LASTCAR Nationwide Series title.

As a result, the following five LASTCAR records now all belong to Jeff Green:
*Most NASCAR Last-Place Finishes (43)
*Most NASCAR Nationwide Series Last-Place Finishes (38)
*Most NASCAR Last-Place Finishes In A Single Season (12)
*Tied For Most LASTCAR Nationwide Series Titles (3, Tied With Jeff Fuller)
*Only NASCAR Driver To Score Four Consecutive Last-Place Finishes (August 2011)

Green qualified 18th for the Richmond race at an average speed of 120.622 mph, ranking him third among the 17 "go-or-go-homers" who attempted to qualify. It was the best qualifying run by a Nationwide Series last-placer this season.

For the second consecutive week, it first appeared as though Blake Koch in the #00 would snag the 43rd spot when he trailed the field soon after the start. However, Koch eventually climbed to 37th, by which point Green and the three start-and-park cars from The Motorsports Group had exited the race. Green edged TMG’s Chase Miller in the #46 by three laps to secure the record-setting last-place finish.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Green is the highest-qualified last-place finisher of a Nationwide Series race since 2010, when that year’s LASTCAR champion Dennis Setzer and his #92 K-Automotive Motorsports Dodge qualified 15th in the fall race at Texas, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge.
*Green has swept both last-place finishes in both 2012 Nationwide races at Richmond.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
43) #10-Jeff Green / 3 laps / vibration
42) #46-Chase Miller / 6 laps / overheating
41) #47-J.J. Yeley / 7 laps / brakes
40) #42-Josh Wise / 7 laps / brakes
39) #15-Matt Carter / 11 laps / clutch

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (12)
2nd) Mike Harmon, Kevin Lepage, Chase Miller (2)
3rd) Ryan Blaney, Joey Gase, Stephen Leicht, Danica Patrick, Tony Raines, Scott Speed, Josh Wise (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (12)
2nd) #46-The Motorsports Group, #47-The Motorsports Group, #52-Means Racing, #74-Mike Harmon (2)
3rd) #7-JR Motorsports, #36-Tommy Baldwin Racing, #42-The Motorsports Group, #70-ML Motorsports, #91-TriStar Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (13)
2nd) Chevrolet (12)