N’WIDE: Jeff Green Scores Third Last-Place Finish In Four Kentucky Races

SOURCE: @KPokrefky

Jeff Green picked up the 59th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at the Kentucky Speedway when his #10 Heroes Behind the Camo / SupportMilitary.org Toyota fell out with a vibration after he completed 3 of the race’s 200 laps.

The finish was Green’s sixth of the 2014 season, his first since Atlanta, two races ago, and his third in five races.  With six races to go, Green now stands two finishes behind teammate Blake Koch for the LASTCAR Nationwide Series title.

Green was one of three drivers who did not participate in Friday’s opening practice at the Kentucky Speedway, but he ran a solid 30th in final practice, more than enough to best the one team that was going to miss the race.  In qualifying, Green backed up his run by timing in 32nd at an average speed of 166.857 mph.  Missing the race by a half-second was Carl Long, whose #13 OCR Gaz Bar Dodge ended up with its third DNQ in the last five races.

Starting in last on Saturday was Mike Harmon, who after his crash at Richmond now drove a white #74 WCIParts.com Dodge in place of his typical black.  After the first lap, Harmon was passed by Josh Reaume, whose #87 Lilly Trucking of Virginia Chevrolet started 39th.  On Lap 3, Green pulled behind the wall, just two laps before the first caution fell for Harrison Rhodes’ Turn 4 spin in James Carter’s #72 Chevrolet.  Under the caution, Ryan Ellis pulled out of the race in The Motorsports Group’s #46 Chevrolet.

One lap after the restart, both Harmon and Reaume pulled out, followed eight laps later by Morgan Shepherd in his #89 Racing With Jesus / Courtney Construction Chevrolet, his second bottom-five finish in the last three races.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is Green’s third last-place finish in the last four Nationwide Series races at Kentucky, a track he swept last season.  It is also the fourth in five races for TriStar’s #10 team, which includes Charles Lewandoski’s finish in the 2012 running.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #10-Jeff Green / 3 laps / vibration
39) #46-Ryan Ellis / 6 laps / vibration
38) #74-Mike Harmon / 9 laps / transmission
37) #87-Josh Reaume / 9 laps / rear gear
36) #89-Morgan Shepherd / 17 laps / vibration

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Blake Koch (8)
2nd) Jeff Green (6)
3rd) Kevin Lepage (3)
4th) Matt DiBenedetto (2)
5th) 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 (11)
2nd) #46-The Motorsports Group (5)
3rd) #91-TriStar Motorsports (3)
4th) #74-Mike Harmon Racing (2)
5th) #17-Vision Racing, #23-R3 Motorsports, #55-VIVA Motorsports / SS Green Light Racing, #77-Mike Harmon Racing, #87-Rick Ware Racing, #93-JGL Racing (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (14)
2nd) Chevrolet (8)
3rd) Dodge (5)