CUP / XFINITY: Josh Wise sweeps both last-place finishes at Texas
Josh Wise swept both last-place finishes in the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series races at Texas. Wise accomplished this once more in his career at Bristol in 2012, when he drove for Front Row Motorsports in Cup and The Motorsports Group in XFINITY.
On Friday, Wise picked up the 4th last-place finish of his XFINITY Series career in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #93 RSS Racing Chevrolet fell out with brake issues after he completed 8 of 200 laps.
The finish, which came in Wise’s 144th series start, was his first since August 9, 2014, when his unsponsored #46 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet fell out with brake issues after 3 laps of the Zippo 200 at The Glen, 51 races ago.
Wise was making just his second XFINITY Series race of the season, following a 39th-place finish in one-off for Motorsports Business Management at Fontana. RSS Racing’s second team, #93, has so far attempted the full season, but has finished under power only twice, most recently a season-best 19th with Dylan Lupton at Phoenix. Wise joined an entry list of 42 competitors which was then pared to 41 following the withdrawal of Morgan Shepherd. With 41 drivers going for 40 spots and the #93 having missed two races, Wise would have to make the field on speed.
Wise didn’t participate in the opening practice session, ran 32nd in Happy Hour, and improved further to the 28th spot in qualifying with an average speed of 183.181 mph. Surprisingly, the lone DNQ on the day was all-time last-place leader Jeff Green, whose #10 TriStar Motorsports Toyota missed a spot on speed by three-tenths of a second. It was Green’s first DNQ in the XFINITY Series since last July at Daytona.
Starting 40th on Friday was Todd Peck, once again running the former Rick Ware #15 X-treme pH Sports Water Ford he’d been driving since Phoenix. The first caution for Daytona last-placer Ryan Preece’s spin on Lap 2 dropped the #01 G&K Services Chevrolet to last. Soon after the restart, however, Wise pulled behind the wall with brake issues and claimed the last-place finish.
39th went to Carl Long, now without a partner after the indefinite suspension of Motorsports Business Management co-owner Derek White. Long’s #40 Truxx Outfitters Dodge pulled behind the wall with engine trouble while second-year Cup driver Matt DiBenedetto took the helm of his team car, the #13 Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit / Truxx Toyota, finishing 32nd. 38th went to Jeff Green’s TriStar teammate J.J. Yeley in the #14 ZAK “Official Fuel dditive of NASCAR” Toyota, citing clutch issues after 40 laps. Peck pulled off the track 2 circuits later. Rounding out the group was Rick Ware’s #25 Lilly Trucking Chevrolet with which Cody Ware scored his worst finish of the season.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first last-place finish for the #93 in an XFINITY Series race since June 21, 2014, when Kevin Lepage’s unsponsored #93 JGL Racing Dodge broke a rear gear on the opening lap of the Gardner Denver 200 Fired Up By Johnsonville at Road America.
*This is Wise’s first last-place finish in an XFINITY Series race at Texas.
*This is the first XFINITY Series last-place finish for RSS Racing.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #93-Josh Wise / 8 laps / brakes
39) #40-Carl Long / 9 laps / engine
38) #14-J.J. Yeley / 40 laps / clutch
37) #15-Todd Peck / 42 laps / overheating
36) #25-Cody Ware / 85 laps / electrical
2016 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (3)
2nd) Matt DiBenedetto, Ryan Preece, Josh Wise (1)
2016 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) TriStar Motorsports (4)
2nd) JD Motorsports, RSS Racing (1)
2016 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (4)
2nd) Chevrolet (2)
Then on Saturday, Wise picked up the 7th last-place finish of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in the Duck Commander 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway when his #30 CrawfestNB.com Chevrolet was involved in a single car crash that ended his night after 178 of 334 laps.
The finish, which came in Wise’s 134th series start, is his first since this spring’s race at Atlanta, five races ago. Wise and The Motorsports Group become the first two-time last-place finishers of the 2016 Cup season.
Thanks in part to 39 and 40-car entry lists since the team’s DNQ for the Daytona 500, The Motorsports Group has made every race since. The team had also finished under power in every race but last week’s engine failure at Martinsville and earned a season-best 34th at Phoenix.
At Texas, Wise was slowest in both practices, but was 39th in qualifying with an average speed of 184.963 mph. His car also carried sponsorship on the hood for the first time in 2016: an upcoming crawdad festival in New Braunfels, Texas.
Starting last for the second consecutive week was Reed Sorenson, once again driving Premium Motorsports’ new unsponsored second team. A lengthy rain delay forced a green-yellow start late Saturday night, during which time Sorenson actually lost the spot to Chase Elliott on Lap 3. Elliott’s #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet had qualified 4th, but a transmission change after qualifying sent him to the rear for the start. When the green flag finally flew on Lap 5, Elliott disposed of Sorenson, and the #55 was the first to be lapped on Lap 19.
Wise, who was running next-to-last for most of the early stages, first took the 40th spot when Sorenson moved by on Lap 36. Eleven circuits later, Wise’s #30 was also the first to lose a second lap to the leaders, then a third on Lap 67. Sorenson retook 40th on Lap 98 as both black Chevrolets continued to gradually lose laps to the leaders. Around Lap 110, during a round of green-flag stops, Wise clipped the commitment cone and was penalized, costing him another lap and retaking 40th from Sorenson. Wise then made contact with the outside wall, went to the garage on Lap 172, and came back out more than 10 laps behind on Lap 191. The damage Wise sustained in his first brush with the wall must have broken something in the right-front, for on Lap 212, the #30 clobbered the Turn 3 wall, ending his night.
Finishing 39th was Greg Biffle, whose #16 Kleen Performance Ford slammed the Turn 2 wall. 38th and 37th went to two of the 13 drivers involved in a backstretch pileup on the restart following the Biffle wreck: Clint Bowyer’s lapped #15 Visine Chevrolet and Brian Vickers’ #14 Tax Act Military Files Free Chevrolet were among the 13 drivers involved in a backstretch pileup. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Sorenson, who came home under power, 19 laps down.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first last-place finish for both Wise and the #30 in a Cup race at Texas.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #30-Josh Wise / 178 laps / crash
39) #16-Greg Biffle / 286 laps / crash
38) #15-Clint Bowyer / 289 laps / crash
37) #14-Brian Vickers / 290 laps / crash
36) #55-Reed Sorenson / 315 laps / running
2016 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Josh Wise (2)
2nd) Aric Almirola, Matt DiBenedetto, Kyle Larson, Ryan Newman, Cole Whitt (1)
2016 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) The Motorsports Group (2)
2nd) BK Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, Premium Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports (1)
2016 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (5)
2nd) Ford, Toyota (1)
 |
| SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin' Forums, FS1 |
The finish, which came in Wise’s 144th series start, was his first since August 9, 2014, when his unsponsored #46 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet fell out with brake issues after 3 laps of the Zippo 200 at The Glen, 51 races ago.
Wise was making just his second XFINITY Series race of the season, following a 39th-place finish in one-off for Motorsports Business Management at Fontana. RSS Racing’s second team, #93, has so far attempted the full season, but has finished under power only twice, most recently a season-best 19th with Dylan Lupton at Phoenix. Wise joined an entry list of 42 competitors which was then pared to 41 following the withdrawal of Morgan Shepherd. With 41 drivers going for 40 spots and the #93 having missed two races, Wise would have to make the field on speed.
Wise didn’t participate in the opening practice session, ran 32nd in Happy Hour, and improved further to the 28th spot in qualifying with an average speed of 183.181 mph. Surprisingly, the lone DNQ on the day was all-time last-place leader Jeff Green, whose #10 TriStar Motorsports Toyota missed a spot on speed by three-tenths of a second. It was Green’s first DNQ in the XFINITY Series since last July at Daytona.
Starting 40th on Friday was Todd Peck, once again running the former Rick Ware #15 X-treme pH Sports Water Ford he’d been driving since Phoenix. The first caution for Daytona last-placer Ryan Preece’s spin on Lap 2 dropped the #01 G&K Services Chevrolet to last. Soon after the restart, however, Wise pulled behind the wall with brake issues and claimed the last-place finish.
39th went to Carl Long, now without a partner after the indefinite suspension of Motorsports Business Management co-owner Derek White. Long’s #40 Truxx Outfitters Dodge pulled behind the wall with engine trouble while second-year Cup driver Matt DiBenedetto took the helm of his team car, the #13 Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit / Truxx Toyota, finishing 32nd. 38th went to Jeff Green’s TriStar teammate J.J. Yeley in the #14 ZAK “Official Fuel dditive of NASCAR” Toyota, citing clutch issues after 40 laps. Peck pulled off the track 2 circuits later. Rounding out the group was Rick Ware’s #25 Lilly Trucking Chevrolet with which Cody Ware scored his worst finish of the season.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first last-place finish for the #93 in an XFINITY Series race since June 21, 2014, when Kevin Lepage’s unsponsored #93 JGL Racing Dodge broke a rear gear on the opening lap of the Gardner Denver 200 Fired Up By Johnsonville at Road America.
*This is Wise’s first last-place finish in an XFINITY Series race at Texas.
*This is the first XFINITY Series last-place finish for RSS Racing.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #93-Josh Wise / 8 laps / brakes
39) #40-Carl Long / 9 laps / engine
38) #14-J.J. Yeley / 40 laps / clutch
37) #15-Todd Peck / 42 laps / overheating
36) #25-Cody Ware / 85 laps / electrical
2016 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green (3)
2nd) Matt DiBenedetto, Ryan Preece, Josh Wise (1)
2016 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) TriStar Motorsports (4)
2nd) JD Motorsports, RSS Racing (1)
2016 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (4)
2nd) Chevrolet (2)
 |
| SOURCE: NASCAR Media |
The finish, which came in Wise’s 134th series start, is his first since this spring’s race at Atlanta, five races ago. Wise and The Motorsports Group become the first two-time last-place finishers of the 2016 Cup season.
Thanks in part to 39 and 40-car entry lists since the team’s DNQ for the Daytona 500, The Motorsports Group has made every race since. The team had also finished under power in every race but last week’s engine failure at Martinsville and earned a season-best 34th at Phoenix.
At Texas, Wise was slowest in both practices, but was 39th in qualifying with an average speed of 184.963 mph. His car also carried sponsorship on the hood for the first time in 2016: an upcoming crawdad festival in New Braunfels, Texas.
Starting last for the second consecutive week was Reed Sorenson, once again driving Premium Motorsports’ new unsponsored second team. A lengthy rain delay forced a green-yellow start late Saturday night, during which time Sorenson actually lost the spot to Chase Elliott on Lap 3. Elliott’s #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet had qualified 4th, but a transmission change after qualifying sent him to the rear for the start. When the green flag finally flew on Lap 5, Elliott disposed of Sorenson, and the #55 was the first to be lapped on Lap 19.
Wise, who was running next-to-last for most of the early stages, first took the 40th spot when Sorenson moved by on Lap 36. Eleven circuits later, Wise’s #30 was also the first to lose a second lap to the leaders, then a third on Lap 67. Sorenson retook 40th on Lap 98 as both black Chevrolets continued to gradually lose laps to the leaders. Around Lap 110, during a round of green-flag stops, Wise clipped the commitment cone and was penalized, costing him another lap and retaking 40th from Sorenson. Wise then made contact with the outside wall, went to the garage on Lap 172, and came back out more than 10 laps behind on Lap 191. The damage Wise sustained in his first brush with the wall must have broken something in the right-front, for on Lap 212, the #30 clobbered the Turn 3 wall, ending his night.
Finishing 39th was Greg Biffle, whose #16 Kleen Performance Ford slammed the Turn 2 wall. 38th and 37th went to two of the 13 drivers involved in a backstretch pileup on the restart following the Biffle wreck: Clint Bowyer’s lapped #15 Visine Chevrolet and Brian Vickers’ #14 Tax Act Military Files Free Chevrolet were among the 13 drivers involved in a backstretch pileup. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Sorenson, who came home under power, 19 laps down.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first last-place finish for both Wise and the #30 in a Cup race at Texas.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #30-Josh Wise / 178 laps / crash
39) #16-Greg Biffle / 286 laps / crash
38) #15-Clint Bowyer / 289 laps / crash
37) #14-Brian Vickers / 290 laps / crash
36) #55-Reed Sorenson / 315 laps / running
2016 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Josh Wise (2)
2nd) Aric Almirola, Matt DiBenedetto, Kyle Larson, Ryan Newman, Cole Whitt (1)
2016 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) The Motorsports Group (2)
2nd) BK Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, Premium Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports (1)
2016 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (5)
2nd) Ford, Toyota (1)
