N’WIDE: Jeff Green Scores Second Straight Loudon Last-Place Finish

SOURCE: NASCAR Media

Jeff Green picked up the 46th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s CNBC Prime's The Profit 200 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #10 TriStar Motorsports Toyota fell out with a vibration after he completed 3 of the race’s 213 laps.

The finish was Green’s eighth of 2013 and his first since Kentucky, two races ago.  With sixteen races to go this season, Green is already just five finishes away from beating his own single-season last-place record of twelve he set last season.

Green qualified 25th for Saturday’s race at an average speed of 127.902 mph, ranking him 3rd fastest behind Matt Kenseth and Billy Johnson among the twelve “go-or-go-homers” who attempted to qualify.  Three cars failed to qualify: Daytona last-placer Morgan Shepherd, Mike Harmon in his #74, and Michigan last-placer Dexter Stacey in his #92.

For the second-straight race, however, Stacey’s team arranged for another team to withdraw so Stacey could make the race.  While Green withdrew last week at Daytona, Saturday’s withdrawal was Carl Long in the #15 Rick Ware Racing-prepared Ford.  Green was thus able to start Saturday’s race.

Radio communications indicated that Green was driving his primary car for next week’s race in Chicago.  Green fell to the rear in the early laps, then pulled off the track, resulting in a last-place finish.  For the sixth time this year, two cars from The Motorsports Group finished a close 38th and 39th.  Drivers J.J. Yeley (#46) and Josh Wise (#42) fell out four and seven laps, respectively, after Green.

The remaining two spots in the Bottom Five went to SR2 Motorsports with Blake Koch in the #00 and Brett Butler in the #24.  On Lap 43, Butler slammed the outside wall with the driver’s side of his #24 entering turn three, but was uninjured.  The car made it to the halfway point before it pulled behind the wall for good.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the second-consecutive last-place finish for both Green and the #10 TriStar Motorsports entry in a Nationwide Series race at New Hampshire.  Last year, Green fell out after two laps with a vibration.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #10-Jeff Green / 3 laps / vibration
39) #46-J.J. Yeley / 7 laps / vibration
38) #42-Josh Wise / 10 laps / brakes
37) #00-Blake Koch / 99 laps / brakes
36) #24-Brett Butler / 100 laps / crash

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (8)
2nd) Tanner Berryhill, Joey Gase, Blake Koch, Johanna Long, Eric McClure, Michael McDowell, Robert Richardson, Jr., Morgan Shepherd, Dexter Stacey (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (8)
2nd) #14-TriStar Motorsports, #17-Vision Racing, #23-R3 Motorsports, #27-SR2 Motorsports, #52-Jimmy Means Racing, #70-ML Motorsports, #89-Shepherd Racing Ventures, #92-KH Motorsports, #00-SR2 Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (13)
2nd) Chevrolet (2)
3rd) Dodge, Ford (1)