TRUCKS: Caleb Roark beats Wayne Edwards on track and ties him in LASTCAR Truck Series rankings; record streak extends to four in a row
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| SOURCE: @NascarWeeWee |
The finish, which came in Roark’s 31st series start, was his sixth of the season and a record-setting fourth in a row. With five races to go, Roark needs just one more last-place finish to lock up his second-consecutive LASTCAR Truck Series title.
In addition, Roark now ties Wayne Edwards for the second-most last-place finishes in series history, and is now just one finish away from tying Johnny Chapman’s series record of 14. Curiously, Edwards also competed in Saturday’s race. Edwards’ #49 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet was eliminated in a crash after 48 laps, leaving him 28th.
Roark was one of 32 drivers on the preliminary entry list for Las Vegas, but the grid was soon pruned one spot short of a full field. Mike Harmon, competing in the XFINITY Series race, had originally entered a #74 RAM for ARCA driver Tim Viens to race in the event. However, perhaps in response to Jordan Anderson’s late arrangement to drive the Obaika Racing #97 in Dover’s XFINITY race, Viens was moved to Anderson’s ride in Bolen Motorsports’ #66 Chevrolet. The truck brought to the track appeared to be one of Harmon’s, if not painted that way - flat black with white printed numbers and Harmon’s sponsorship from Vermont Bucks Football.
Roark only turned one lap in practice, trailing the 30 drivers who competed in Happy Hour with a lap 4 seconds off the pace of session leader Rico Abreu. He once again picked up sped in qualifying with a lap of 157.036mph, but was still more than 3.6 seconds off the pole, leaving him last in the field. And four laps into the race, Roark was first behind the wall, securing the last-place spot uncontested.
30th went to Carlos Contreras, who on Saturday made his fourth start of the year in his own #71 American Club / RaceTrac Chevrolet. Contreras’ run ended after just nine laps with a vibration. Tim Viens made it 29 laps before an oil leak pulled the Bolen / Harmon truck off the track, leaving him 29th. 28th went to the aforementioned Wayne Edwards, eliminated in the night’s only crash on Lap 51, with Roark’s team owner Jennifer Jo Cobb rounding out the field with persistent suspension issues on her #1 Waldo’s Painting / Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet.
In a race where two Fords decided the win, Chevrolet swept Saturday’s entire Bottom Ten.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first last-place finish for Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing at Las Vegas since September 28, 2013, when Chris Lafferty’s #0 Koma Unwind Relaxation Drink Chevrolet fell out with transmission issues after 2 laps of the Smith’s 350.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
31) #10-Caleb Roark / 4 laps / electrical
30) #71-Carlos Contreras / 9 laps / vibration
29) #66-Tim Viens / 29 laps / oil leak
28) #49-Wayne Edwards / 48 laps / crash
27) #1-Jennifer Jo Cobb / 74 laps / suspension
2016 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing (6)
2nd) Kyle Busch Motorsports, Tommy Joe Martins (2)
3rd) AWS Racing, Bolen Motorsports, Brandonbilt Motorsports, GMS Racing, Jim Rosenblum Motorsports / FDNY Racing, MAKE Motorsports, Norm Benning Racing, ThorSport Racing (1)
2016 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (14)
2nd) Toyota (4)
2016 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
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