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

Jordan Anderson picked up the 6th last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s RAPTOR King of Tough 250 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway when his #32 EasyCare Chevrolet fell out with steering issues after 98 of 169 laps.

The finish, which came in Anderson’s 22nd series start, was his first of the season and first in a XFINITY Series race since April 22, 2017 at Bristol, 226 races ago. In the XFINITY Series last-place rankings, it was the 4th from steering issues, the 10th for the #32, and the 634th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 34th from steering problems, the 42nd for the #32, and the 1,925th for Chevrolet.

Since he was last featured as a XFINITY Series last-place finisher in 2017, when he was “start-and-parking” in a fifth straight race for RSS Racing, Anderson has grown Jordan Anderson Racing from a single-truck effort using a small hauler to a multi-car program challenging the XFINITY Series’ biggest teams. Just last week in Daytona, Anderson scored a career-best 4th-place finish under the lights at Daytona, one spot behind teammate Parker Retzlaff. It was another big step for both driver and team, who previously finished runner-up in two separate Truck Series races at Daytona against two different ThorSport drivers. It’s an effort all the more remarkable after Anderson suffered serious burns in his fiery crash at Talladega in 2022, after which he’s returned to racing – even bringing Larry McReynolds out of retirement as crew chief.

At Atlanta, a mechanical issue kept Anderson from completing a qualifying lap in his #32 at Atlanta, but with exactly 38 drivers entered for as many spots, he retained the final place on the grid. He’d be joined by six drivers sent to the back for unapproved adjustments, including both his teammates Parker Retzlaff in the #31 FVP / Bommarito.com Chevrolet (from 24th) and Jeb Burton in the #27 State Water Heaters Chevrolet (from 25th). The others were 18th-place Brandon Jones in the #9 Menards / Atlas Roofing Chevrolet, 33rd-place Joey Gase in the #35 NCPC Race Against Crime Chevrolet, 34th-place Ryan Ellis in the #43 Classic Collision Chevrolet, and 37th-place Patrick Emerling in the #07 SIMFORGE Chevrolet.

Just prior to the green flag, Anderson decided to voluntarily retake his 38th spot on the grid behind the penalized drivers, but his spotter soon told him that Ellis’ #43 had dropped back behind him again. The two lines were also uneven – the inside line much longer than the outside – which further shuffled the order. Crossing the line for the first time, Ellis had taken over last place, 4.837 seconds back of the lead, with Garrett Smithley now 37th in JD Motorsports’ #6 Savoy Automobile Museum Chevrolet. Smithley, who did not incur a pre-race penalty, lined up behind the docked Patrick Emerling in 36th with Anderson now up to 35th.

By Lap 2, Anderson had retaken the last spot and had dropped a full 1.381 seconds behind Ellis, already 6.049 behind the leader. That gap between the final two cars increased to 2.563 on Lap 3 and 3.290 on Lap 4. That time by, problems found Josh Williams, who cut down a left-rear tire on his #11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet. Williams’ car was reportedly smoking since the start, and was barely able to slow in front of the fast-closing traffic from behind. Without a caution, he made it to pit road for the tire change and on Lap 8 returned three laps down, still complaining of the smell of smoke in the center of the corner. By Lap 11, Williams saw smoke in the car, though the team couldn’t see it on the track, and the smoke was getting worse the faster he ran. Anderson, meanwhile, completely lost touch with the pack and on Lap 18 was lapped by himself as he ran the inside of Turn 2. On the 25th circuit, Williams reported another tire going down, and came in for the crew to raise the track bar four rounds. This didn’t fix the issue, and now seven laps down, he reported the fender was still rubbing on the tire. When Stage 1 ended on Lap 41, Williams’ crew called for a wheel spacer and to tighten the track bar bolt as tight as they could. This was done on two separate stops, which also allowed for repairs to the fender and a four-tire change. Williams made another stop on Lap 45 to ensure the lug nuts were tight.

On Lap 48, Williams reported no smoke in the cockpit, but did feel a vibration. The team told him to keep running where he was. Williams then reported his car still pulled up well in the draft, but unfortunately was too far from contention to gain much ground. Williams remained in last through the next few cautions, including J.J. Yeley’s spin in the #14 Chevrolet after a bump from Kyle Weatherman exiting the quad-oval, then an unscheduled stop by C.J. McLaughlin’s #38 Viking Motorsports Ford. Neither incident drew a caution, nor did John Hunter Nemechek, who bounced off the Turn 4 wall during a stack-up in the outside lane, damaging the right side of his #20 Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota. Nemechek returned to the track on Lap 71 two laps down in 36th with McLaughlin in 37th and Williams still last. Nemechek made a second stop on Lap 79, dropping him four laps down into 37th behind McLaughlin, then cleared away more damage under the Stage 2 caution on Lap 81.

Williams remained in last for the Lap 88 restart as all 38 drivers were still under power. But just 11 laps later, Anderson slowed off Turn 2, just as the leaders were about to lap him once more. Anderson slowed down pit road with a flat left-front tire, sparks dragging from the car’s bodywork. In so doing, he incurred a commitment line violation and returned to the track in 36th, four laps down. Anderson was told the tire was likely cut down by debris he ran over due to damage on the inside sidewall. On Lap 104, and already six laps down, Anderson then radioed “I need to go behind the wall – I broke something here.” Two laps later, he pulled down pit road and into the garage, citing an issue with something in the front of the car. The team tweeted it was suspension damage resulting from the tire, though the results indicated “steering” as the official reason. “We’re done then?” asked a member of the crew. “Yeah, I think so. I appreciate it, guys.” Anderson finally took last from Williams on Lap 107, then was declared out on Lap 116.

Williams climbed no higher than 37th, two spots behind McLaughlin. Kyle Sieg split the pair after he and Dawson Cram both incurred penalties for racing below the double-yellow line. Sieg ultimately drafted with McLaughlin in the closing laps, placing his #28 Night Owl Ford in 36th. Smithley rounded out the Bottom Five.

Some underdogs survive fuel mileage gamble in Atlanta

Fuel mileage shook up the order in the final laps, costing a dominant Jesse Love his first series victory after leading 157 of the 169 laps. Scoring an impressive 3rd was Shane Van Gisbergen in only his second career XFINITY Serie start driving the #97 WeatherTech Chevrolet. Anderson’s driver Parker Retzlaff continued to impress with a 5th-place run ahead of owner-driver Jeremy Clements in the #51 One Stop / All South Electric Chevrolet – Clements’ first top-ten finish since his win at Daytona in 2022. Anthony Alfredo spun his #5 Chapman Fence Chevrolet during one of the race’s early cautions and recovered nicely to finish in 7th, his best run since Martinsville last fall. And one spot behind Alfredo came Jeffrey Earnhardt, whose season debut in Sam Hunt’s #26 ForeverLawn Toyota yielded an 8th.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #32 in a XFINITY Series race since March 17, 2007, when Michael Waltrip’s #32 Camping World Toyota crashed after 16 laps at this same Atlanta track. That race marked the first XFINITY Series last-place run for Toyota.

*Anderson is the first driver to finish last in a XFINITY Series race due to steering issues since October 15, 2022 at Las Vegas, when Ryan Sieg dropped out after 32 laps in his #39 CMRroofing.com / A-Game Ford.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #32-Jordan Anderson / 98 laps / steering

37) #11-Josh Williams / 159 laps / running

36) #28-Kyle Sieg / 164 laps / running

35) #38-C.J. McLaughlin / 164 laps / running

34) #6-Garrett Smithley / 165 laps / running

2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) DGM Racing, Jordan Anderson Racing (1)

2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (2)

2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP