N’WIDE: Jeff Green Clinches Third Consecutive LASTCAR Nationwide Title
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| SOURCE: motorsport.com |
The finish was Green’s eleventh of 2013 and his first since Iowa, six races ago. Green extends his LASTCAR lead to eight finishes over Blake Koch, and has thus clinched the 2013 LASTCAR Nationwide Series championship with seven races still to go. It’s Green’s third-consecutive LASTCAR title. If Green finishes last in any two of those remaining seven races, he will also break the single-season last-place record he set in 2012.
Green’s finish came in his first race back in the #10 TriStar Motorsports team following a four-race stint in the fully-funded #14 Hefty / Reynolds Wrap Toyota. Green’s best run in that stretch was a season-best 16th last month at Bristol. The #14's regular driver, Eric McClure, returned to his ride at Chicago, having recovered from a sudden kidney failure that sidelined him for those races.
During those four races, Green’s #10 was driven by Cole Whitt, who finished 14th at Bristol in a fully-funded effort, and in the other three “start-and-park” runs by The Motorsports Group driver Chase Miller. Miller failed to finish last in any of his starts, though he twice finished 39th at Mid-Ohio and Richmond. Miller did not have a ride at Chicago.
Green secured the 40th and final starting spot for Saturday’s race. His qualifying time was disallowed due to a technical infraction. Missing the race were Josh Wise in The Motorsports Group’s #42, Carl Long in the Rick Ware #15, and Daytona last-placer Morgan Shepherd in his #89.
At the start of the race, the leaderboard indicated that Juan Carlos Blum in the #23 VMP Nutrition / Oleofinos Ford would edge Green for the spot. However, Blum rejoined the race while Green fell to the last spot.
Rounding out the Bottom Five were J.J. Yeley, last week’s last-placer in the #46 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet, Blake Koch with his eighth-consecutive Bottom Five in SR2's #00 Toyota, Tanner Berryhill who made his first start since Indianapolis by driving his family’s “start-and-park” #37 Dodge, and the Mike Harmon-owned #74 Dodge of Kevin Lepage.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was Jeff Green and the #10 TriStar team’s second last-place finish in a Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland. The other took place on July 22, 2012, when Green fell out with a vibration after 4 laps of the STP 300.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #10-Jeff Green / 3 laps / vibration
39) #46-J.J. Yeley / 4 laps / rear gear
38) #00-Blake Koch / 7 laps / transmission
37) #37-Tanner Berryhill / 21 laps / electrical
36) #74-Kevin Lepage / 30 laps / fuel pump
LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (11)
2nd) Blake Koch (3)
3rd) Joey Gase (2)
4th) Tanner Berryhill, Johanna Long, Eric McClure, Michael McDowell, Robert Richardson, Jr., Morgan Shepherd, Dexter Stacey, Mike Wallace, Josh Wise, J.J. Yeley (1)
LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (11)
2nd) #00-SR2 Motorsports (3)
3rd) #52-Jimmy Means Racing (2)
4th) #14-TriStar Motorsports, #17-Vision Racing, #23-R3 Motorsports, #27-SR2 Motorsports, #42-The Motorsports Group, #46-The Motorsports Group, #70-ML Motorsports, #89-Shepherd Racing Ventures, #92-KH Motorsports, #01-JD Motorsports (1)
LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (19)
2nd) Chevrolet (5)
3rd) Dodge, Ford (1)
