TRUCKS: Koch Ties Setzer With Homestead Last-Place Finish, But Setzer Claims Season Title

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Blake Koch picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career in Friday’s Ford EcoBoost 200 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway when his #0 Driven2Honor.org Ford fell out with transmission problems after he completed 3 of the race’s 140 laps.

The finish was Koch’s third of the season and his second in a row, tying him with Dennis Setzer for the most last-place finishes in the 2012 Truck Series campaign. However, Setzer clinched the LASTCAR Truck Series Championship earlier this season based on the Bottom Five tiebreaker that Setzer led with a final score of 12-5.

Koch qualified 31st for Friday’s race at an average speed of 160.867 mph, ranking him ninth among the thirteen "go-or-go-homers" who attempted to make the field. Dennis Setzer was not entered in the race; his #38 was driven by Chris Jones. In the race itself, Koch’s truck beat Jones to the garage by seven laps, securing the tying last-place finish in the final race of the year.

This marked the third-straight year that the LASTCAR Truck Series Champion did not start the final race of the year. Mike Garvey was not entered in the Homestead races when he claimed his two titles in 2010 and 2011.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for the #0 in a Truck Series race at Homestead since 2008, when Kevin Lepage’s ASI Limited Chevrolet lost the clutch after two laps of the Ford 200.
*This was the first time a Ford finished last in a Truck Series race at Homestead since 2004, when Jon Wood’s #50 roushracing.com Ford was involved in a two-truck wreck with Kelly Sutton after the opening lap of the Ford 200.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #0-Blake Koch / 3 laps / transmission
35) #38-Chris Jones / 10 laps / brakes
34) #20-Dusty Davis / 28 laps / clutch
33) #99-Bryan Silas / 43 laps / crash
32) #09-John Wes Townley / 118 laps / running

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP - FINAL
1st) Blake Koch, Dennis Setzer (3)
2nd) Johnny Chapman, Clay Greenfield, Brandon Knupp (2)
3rd) T.J. Bell, Jeb Burton, Rick Crawford, Grant Enfinger, Chris Fontaine, Chris Jones, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Jason Leffler, Brennan Newberry, Scott Riggs (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP - FINAL
1st) #0-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #38-RSS Racing (4)
2nd) #27-Hillman Racing (2)
3rd) #5-Wauters Motorsports, #10-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #14-Bob Newberry, #18-Kyle Busch Motorsports, #25-Hillman Racing, #60-Turn One Racing, #68-Clay Greenfield Motorsports, #84-Chris Fontaine, #86-Clay Greenfield Motorsports, #74-Mike Harmon, #00-Rick Lind, #07-Ken Smith (1)

LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP - FINAL
1st) Chevrolet (12)
2nd) Ford (5)
3rd) RAM (3)
4th) Toyota (2)