by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Dawson Cram picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Focused Health 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway when his unsponsored #74 Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet after engine trouble after 18 of 163 laps.

The finish, which came in Cram’s 27th series start, was his second of the year and first since Pocono, five races ago. In the XFINITY Series standings, it was the 19th for the #74, the 282nd from engine trouble, and the 647th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 59th for the #74, the 1,146th from the engine, and the 1,956th for Chevrolet.

Since the hard crash on Lap 2 that resulted in Cram’s last-place finish at Pocono, Atlanta marked just the second attempt since for the Mike Harmon Racing team. Last week at Darlington, the team joined a 38-car entry list as a post-entry, bringing back the Bob Keselowski “throwback” scheme they attempted to run last year. Unfortunately, they wound up the lone DNQ. This week, for the first time since August 3, 2019 at Watkins Glen, there were fewer entrants than starting spots for a XFINITY Series race – 37 cars for 38 positions. This guaranteed everyone a place in the field, including Cram, a bonus as no practice would be held. Cram ran the same car from Darlington, and one of its only logos was on the TV panel for the Collins Model Garage. With it, he secured the 31st starting spot with a lap of 33.097 seconds (167.508mph).

Securing the 37th and final starting spot was Kyle Weatherman, who, due to a flat left-rear tire on his qualifying lap, was the only driver to not turn a time in qualifying. Weatherman’s #91 Brand South Africa Chevrolet incurred a redundant tail-end penalty, and would be joined by four other drivers with tail-end penalties for unapproved adjustments: 6th-place A.J. Allmendinger in the #16 Campers Inn RV Chevrolet, 34th-place Ryan Ellis in the #43 Pella Windows and Dors Chevrolet, 26th-place Brennan Poole in the #44 Hackett Truck Sales Chevrolet, and 36th-place Jeremy Clements, whose #51 Fly and Form Structures Chevrolet was a “throwback” scheme to Mark Martin’s iconic Valvoline Ford from 1998-1999.

Prior to the start, NASCAR.com’s mobile leaderboard showed Garrett Smithley in the 37th spot on the grid, though his #45 Vet The Vote Chevrolet was classified 30th in qualifying. This was properly reset to show Weatherman in last by the green flag. Weatherman crossed the stripe 3.545 seconds back of the lead with the penalized drivers of Clements, Ellis, Poole, and Allmendinger running nose-to-tail, staggering them between the cars on the other line.

At the end of Lap 1, the spot fell to Leland Honeyman, Jr., whose #42 Randco Industries Chevrolet was 3.548 behind the leader. Honeman’s gap increased to 4.552 on Lap 3, though he was still less than a tenth behind 36th-place David Starr in the #14 Saniserv / Byron Superstore Chevrolet. By Lap 4, the spot fell to Morgen Baird in the #53 Alro Steel Ford. Making his series debut in a car the Joey Gase Motorsports team entered at Martinsville, Baird was 4.931 back of the lead on Lap 3 and 6.404 back on Lap 4, already four-tenths back of teammate Mason Maggio, the new 36th-place runner in the #35 Chevrolet. Maggio’s car had been unsponsored for much of the week until last-minute backing from Bill Roberts Electrical. On Lap 5, when Cram slipped to 36th, that gap remained at four-tenths, 6.980 from first to last. Baird rejoined teammate Maggio on Lap 6, and by Lap 7, the two were just over one-tenth of a second apart, 9.636 seconds behind the leader.

On Lap 11, just as the two Gase cars fell over 10 seconds back of the lead, Ryan Sieg slowed from 7th spot as a wire came loose on the dashboard of his #39 Sci Aps Ford. As Sieg pulled to the apron, Anthony Alfredo’s #5 Beyond Type 1 Chevrolet bounced off the Turn 2 wall in heavy traffic, cutting down a tire and forcing him to pit road. As Alfredo completed his stop, Sieg’s car nearly stopped just beyond pit entrance at Turn 3, drawing the first caution of the day. Repairs were completed under yellow, but by then, Sieg had fallen to last place, two laps down ahead of Alfredo, one lap behind in 36th. Alfredo got his lap back under the yellow, and the race restarted on Lap 17 with Sieg in last place.

On Lap 18, Cram was running around the 32nd spot, five seconds back of the lead, when he started to slow off Turn 2 with smoke trailing from behind his car. He made it to the apron without drawing the caution and ducked onto pit road, losing a lap in the process. By the time he took last place from Sieg, the #74 was behind the wall, done for the day.

Finishing 36th was Sam Mayer, who looked strong early in the #1 High Rock Vodka Chevrolet before he crossed the nose of Taylor Gray’s Toyota on the frontstretch. The impact appeared to damage the fuel cell, which leaked into Turn 1 and briefly caught fire. Matt DiBenedetto took 35th after a mid-race oil line rupture on the #38 Rema Ford, followed shortly by C.J. McLaughlin for a blown engine on his #07 Main Street Auto Chevrolet. Morgen Baird rounded out the Bottom Five. He lost 21 laps in the garage for repairs to the front end, but managed to complete his series debut under power.

Underdogs show perseverance, tenacity at Atlanta

In the race’s frantic final laps, several drivers were in position to earn strong runs. Driving an unmarked #26 Toyota for Sam Hunt Racing, Corey Heim climbed into the Top Five and was in position to try for victory when he bounced off the wall in Turn 2, dropping him to 5th. Lawless Alan also showed speed as he had in Michigan, running 5th in the final laps in what looked to be the best run by AM Racing all season. But contact from A.J. Allmendinger routed him out of the way, leaving his #15 Deal Badger Ford in 13th. Both Anthony Alfredo and Ryan Sieg bounced back from losing laps in the early stages to fight among the leaders in the final moments. Alfredo wound up 14th while Sieg was swept up in a late-race crash, putting him 32nd. And after his issue in qualifying that left him last on the grid, Kyle Weatherman recovered nicely to finish in 11th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #74 in a XFINITY Series race at Atlanta.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

37) #74-Dawson Cram / 18 laps / engine

36) #1-Sam Mayer / 77 laps / crash

35) #38-Matt DiBenedetto / 80 laps / oil line

34) #07-C.J. McLaughlin / 112 laps / engine

33) #53-Morgen Baird / 142 laps / running

2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Joey Gase Motorsports (4)

2nd) JR Motorsports (3)

3rd) AM Racing, DGM Racing, Jordan Anderson Racing, Mike Harmon Racing, SS-Green Light Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (2)

4th) Alpha Prime Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Kaulig Racing, Motorsports Business Management, RSS Racing (1)

2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (15)

2nd) Ford (6)

3rd) Toyota (3)

2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP