N’WIDE: Jeff Green Scores Toyota’s 200th NASCAR Last-Place Finish

SOURCE: @TriStarRaceTeam

Jeff Green picked up the 57th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Friday’s Food City 300 at the Bristol Motor Speedway when his #91 Heroes Behind the Camo / SupportMilitary.org Toyota fell out with a vibration afer he completed 3 of the race’s 300 laps.

The finish was Green’s fourth of 2014 and his first since Fontana, eighteen races ago.  It is the

eleventh for TriStar Motorsports this season.  With ten races to go, the all-time LASTCAR leader now trails teammate Blake Koch by three finishes.  It is the 200th last-place finish by Toyota across all three of NASCAR’s top divisions.

Since Fontana, Green has made ten of the eighteen races with a season-best 18th at Dover in one of three starts driving in relief of teammate Eric McClure in TriStar’s #14 Hefty Ultimate / Reynolds Wrap Toyota.  His other starts came in TriStar’s “start-and-park” entries, #10 and #91, he has shared with Blake Koch.

Bristol would be Green’s 385th Nationwide start and the first for the #91 since Green’s 38th-place run at Talladega in May.  As of Tuesday, he was one of 46 entries for the race - the biggest entry list since 45 showed up at Daytona in July.  John Jackson had been added as the 45th entry, but withdrew by Thursday.  The remaining 45 waged battle for the remaining 40 spots.

Green was the only driver to not participate in the opening practice session, then jumped to 35th in Happy Hour, besting seven “go-or-go-homers.”  In qualifying, he improved further, jumping to 29th with an average speed of 120.588 mph.  Among the five DNQs were LASTCAR Truck Series co-leader Ryan Ellis in Vision Racing’s #37, Iowa last-placer Matt Frahm in The Motorsports Group’s #46, and Milka Duno, who was attempting her first NASCAR start with RAB Racing.

The first 42 laps of Friday’s race were run under the green flag, with Green leading two other drivers to the garage during that stretch.  Green beat Morgan Shepherd by thirteen laps in what was Shepherd’s first start since Iowa, and one lap afer came Kevin Lepage in Mike Harmon’s unsponsored #74 Dodge.  Finishing 37th was Chad Boat, whose #84 Billy Boat Performance Exhaust / CorvetteParts.net Chevrolet was wrecked in a three-car accident on Lap 112.  Rounding out the Bottom Five was Tanner Berryhill in the Vision Racing team car to Ellis’ #37, after Berryhill’s #17 NationalCashLenders.com Dodge was damaged in the Boat wreck.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is Green’s first last-place finish in a Nationwide Series race at Bristol since this race in 2011, when a vibration after 4 laps left him with his record-setting fourth consecutive last-place finish while driving TriStar’s #44 Chevrolet.
*This is the first last-place finish by the #91 in a Nationwide race at Bristol since this race in 2008, when Justin Hobgood’s MSRP Motorsports Chevrolet had ignition problems after he completed just one lap.

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Blake Koch (7)
2nd) Jeff Green (4)
3rd) Matt DiBenedetto, Kevin Lepage (2)
4th) Tanner Berryhill, Ryan Ellis, Matt Frahm, Roger Reuse, Robert Richardson, Jr., Tim Schendel, Jimmy Weller, Josh Wise (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (8)
2nd) #46-The Motorsports Group (5)
3rd) #91-TriStar Motorsports (3)
4th) #17-Vision Racing, #23-R3 Motorsports, #55-VIVA Motorsports / SS Green Light Racing, #74-Mike Harmon Racing, #77-Mike Harmon Racing, #87-Rick Ware Racing, #93-JGL Racing (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (11)
2nd) Chevrolet (8)
3rd) Dodge (4)