XFINITY: Jeff Green scores 90th NASCAR last-place finish
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| SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin' Forums |
The finish, which came in Green’s 423rd series start, was his second of the season and second in a row. When combined with his five last-place runs in Sprint Cup, Green now has a record 90 last-place finishes across NASCAR’s top three divisions.
Green and his #10, the scheme unchanged since Atlanta, were one of 42 entrants for the Las Vegas weekend. He didn’t participate in the opening practice on Friday, but turned in the 31st-best time in Happy Hour after just two laps. He then secured the 31st starting spot for the second-consecutive week, this time with a lap of 172.342 mph.
Missing the race were Todd Peck, one week after he put B.J. McLeod’s #99 Ford into its first race of the season, and Derrike Cope. After Cope’s hard crash late in Friday’s practice, the #70 crew threw everything at their Ehydrate Drink Mix / Ice Aid Chevrolet to get it ready for qualifying, even reportedly receiving help from Premium Motorsports’ Sprint Cup team. Unfortunately, Cope was still unable to turn a lap in time trials and was sent home for the second time in 2016.
Starting 40th in Saturday’s race was Derek White, whose orange #13 OCR Gaz Bar Dodge had previously been made available for a pay driver to come on board. He was joined at the back by Stanton Barrett, whose unsponsored #15 Rick Ware Racing Ford was qualified by Ryan Ellis, and David Starr, for unapproved adjustments on TriStar’s #44 Zachry Toyota. Nearing the end of the first lap, all three had passed Josh Reaume, the last-minute replacement for Dylan Lupton in RSS Racing’s unsponsored #93 Chevrolet.
Coming off Turn 4, however, Daytona last-placer Ryan Preece made contact with the outside wall and nudged the door of Corey LaJoie’s #24 JGL Young Guns Toyota. LaJoie crossed the nose of Jeb Burton to his inside and spun into the grass, drawing the first caution of the day. LaJoie pitted for repairs, briefly moving him past Reaume for 40th, but Green pulled into the garage area during the caution, securing him the last-place finish before the race restarted on Lap 7.
Finishing 39th was Morgan Shepherd, who despite pulling out with overheating issues has now qualified for the first three XFINITY Series races of the season for the first time since 2011. 38th went to Reaume, who pulled behind the wall with brake issues one lap after Shepherd. Carl Long also left during the opening green flag run, his #40 www.A1Tickets.ca Toyota out with suspension issues after 24 circuits. Rounding out the group was Derek White himself, who drew the second caution of the afternoon when a loose wheel eluded the grasp of his pit crew during a green-flag stop. White struggled with speed and handling, but still finished under power in an XFINITY Series race for the first time since Texas last fall.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked Jeff Green’s third consecutive last-place finish in an XFINITY Series race at Las Vegas. All three came while driving TriStar Motorsports’ #10 Toyota.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #10-Jeff Green / 2 laps / rear gear
39) #89-Morgan Shepherd / 12 laps / overheating
38) #93-Josh Reaume / 13 laps / brakes
37) #40-Carl Long / 24 laps / suspension
36) #13-Derek White / 127 laps / running
2016 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (2)
2nd) Ryan Preece (1)
2016 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) TriStar Motorsports (2)
2nd) JD Motorsports (1)
2016 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (2)
2nd) Chevrolet (1)
