XFINITY: Loose lug nuts hand DiBenedetto first XFINITY last-place run since 2016

Written By Brock Beard

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

The last-place battle of the day: Leland Honeyman, Jr. (#42) during an early pit stop as eventual DQ Matt DiBenedetto (#38) rolls by. (PHOTO: NASCARuary, @Dm_00514)

Matt DiBenedetto picked up the 17th last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Sci Aps 200 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway when his #38 Sci Aps Ford finished 17th, but was disqualified for a lug nut violation after he competed all 203 laps.

The finish, which came in DiBenedetto’s 80th series start, was his first of the season and first in a XFINITY Series race since November 19, 2016 at Homestead, 247 races ago. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 17th by disqualification, the 22nd for the #38, and the 170th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 56th by disqualification, the 59th for the #38, and the 1,039th for Ford.

Leland Honeyman, Jr. picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Sci Aps 200 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway when his #42 East Coast Lumber and Building Supply Company Chevrolet fell out in a crash after 95 of 203 laps.

The finish came in Honeyman’s 24th series start. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 8th for the #42, the 396th from a crash, and the 644th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 42nd for the #42, the 1,381st from a crash, and the 1,946th for Chevrolet.

When he was last featured in a XFINITY Series article on this site, DiBenedetto had just closed out the LASTCAR XFINITY Series Championship with his 14th last-place finish of the year as a “start-and-park” driver for TriStar Motorsports. He then ran his first of five full-time Cup Series seasons the following year, seeing him jump from BK Racing to Go FAS Racing, then Leavine Family Racing, and finally the Wood Brothers. Each saw him come close to at least one victory, but he remained winless through 248 starts.

In 2022, he landed in the Truck Series at Rackley-W.A.R., where that fall, he did finally take the checkered flag at Talladega. It was his first NASCAR national series victory after 13 years in competition. But this, too, didn’t last. With just three races to go in the 2023 season, he was again out of a ride, parting ways with the Rackley team after 10th-place run at Bristol. His old ride is now driven by Ty Dillon.

DiBenedetto’s current venture in the XFINITY Series seemingly came out of the blue. Since 2016, he’d made just one start in the series, taking 27th in a one-off for Joe Gibbs Racing at Road America in 2019. But after C.J. McLaughlin failed to qualify RSS Racing’s #38 in two of the season’s first four races, DiBenedetto arrived at Richmond. There, the #38 team also took on new branding as Viking Motorsports, though it has remained part of the four-car RSS Racing lineup. He finished 18th in his return at Richmond, 8th at Talladega, and just last week in Iowa prevailed in a three-wide battle to the line to take home a season-best 7th.

For Loudon, whose race carried sponsorship from team backer Sci Aps, both DiBenedetto and RSS Racing team owner Ryan Sieg would run near-identical Sci Aps paint schemes. While Sieg’s #39 Ford carried white door numbers and a “X” icon behind the rear tires, DiBenedetto’s #38 had silver foil numbers and a “Z” behind each rear tire.

During Saturday’s broadcast, USA’s commentator Steve Letarte said Sieg was in the #39 because DiBenedetto this week was running the #38. This was a complete misunderstanding: DiBenedetto has only run the #38 since he joined the team earlier this year. Sieg, meanwhile, has run the #39 in all but ten of his 350 career XFINITY starts dating back to 2013.

DiBenedetto’s was among the 39 entries to attempt the 38-car field. The lone team sent home was Mike Harmon Racing, who along with driver Jade Buford are still looking for their first start of 2024. It was the team’s first attempt since Charlotte and their fourth DNQ of the year.

Securing the 38th and final starting spot was breakout newcomer Carson Kvapil, whose part-time JR Motorsports entry was classified last, his #88 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet joined by 37th-place Cup regular Alex Bowman in the “all-star” Hendrick Motorsports #17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. Joining them in the back was 24th-place Parker Retzlaff, whose #31 Funkaway Chevrolet incurred an inspection violation. The penalty also led to the ejection of his car chief, cost him pit selection next Saturday in Nashville, and meant he’d have to serve a stop-and-go penalty after the green flag.

Continuing rain led to damp conditions, and the field took the green on wet weather tires. When they did, Matt DiBenedetto’s 10th-place #38 Sci Aps Ford was slow coming up to speed, leading to a mid-pack stack-up that damaged the splitter on Ryan Ellis’ 16th-place #43 United Construction & Forestry Chevrolet. The incident didn’t draw the caution, so Retzlaff served his penalty and took over the 38th spot. He returned to the track and clawed his way toward the next car in line. He was saved by a caution on Lap 10 when NASCAR threw a competition caution on the now-dried track. The officials had teams switch back to dry tires, and Retzlaff made up the last of his 3.727-second deficit to the field.

During pit stops on Lap 14, the spot fell to Garrett Smithley in the #4 Trophy Tractor Chevrolet, then the next time by teammate Armani Williams in the #6 Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism Ford. Williams’ car was actually fielded by Carl Long’s team Motorsports Business Management, which withdrew the #66 to be raced by Chad Finchum. It marked just the second time Johnny Davis’ team didn’t field a General Motors entry. The other was a similar joint effort with Sam Hunt Racing’s Toyota effort on the Charlotte “Roval” in 2021. Honeyman made a second stop that dropped him to 37th, but Williams remained in last as he lost a lap during the yellow.

On the Lap 17 restart, Williams remained in last, hoping to earn the Lucky Dog with a quick caution. On the 24th circuit, he nearly hit the wall off Turn 4, trying to maintain pace to avoid a second lost lap. Two laps later, NASCAR took note of Patrick Emerling, whose #07 Laquerre’s Power Sports Chevrolet dropped off the pace o the frontstretch. “It just quit like the ignition’s out,” said Emerling as he dropped to 37th. NASCAR had Emerling stay in the bottom lane, but the car soon stopped on the track, forcing the caution to fall on Lap 29. Since Emerling lost a lap just before the caution, Williams was denied the “Lucky Dog.”

Under yellow a push truck came to the scene. At first, it appeared the truck would try and bump-start Emerling’s car, but the team directed that the car be brought to pit road. On Lap 30, Emerling took over last, then pulled behind the wall the next time by. The crew made quick repairs, then sent him out on Lap 33, five laps down, mere seconds before the race restarted. Another quick caution for Parker Kligerman’s spin off A.J. Allmendinger’s nose drew the next caution on Lap 35, dropping Kligerman’s #48 Big Machine Spiked Lite Coolers Chevrolet down pit road and awarding Williams his lap back in 37th.

For the Lap 39 restart, NASCAR instructed Emerling to line up last in line as the only driver multiple laps down. He soon gained one of his laps back when Stage 1 ended on Lap 46, listing him four down. At the time, the driver reported the #07 was tight in the center, but still running faster than the next five cars in front of him. Frustrated, he asked his crew if they wanted to run scuffed tires, but the crew bucked him up, saying, “Don't give up now, all we need is four more yellows.”

Back under green on Lap 53, 35th-place runner Nathan Byrd was black-flagged for a restart violation, forcing his #92 ClearCore Solutions Chevrolet to serve a pass-through that dropped him to 37th by Lap 61, when he lost a lap and thus took the “Lucky Dog” spot from Emerling. During the run, Emerling’s crew checked with their driver to make sure the brake fans were on. He remained in 38th when Stage 2 ended on Lap 91. By then, he sounded fed-up on the radio, reporting the car was still tight in the center and loose off. Multiple other drivers lost a lap during that run, keeping him well out of contention to get any more of his laps back.

Under this caution, the last-place battle ended in unusual fashion. At the time, Honeyman was some distance behind the field, catching up entering Turn 3. Just past the apex, his car spun out, then hooked to the right, hitting the wall with the right-front wheel. He made it down pit road with the right-front wheel wobbling side to side. The driver radioed that he felt a vibration before the spin, thinking his tire was cording. In the pits, the crew relayed the right-front spindle had broken, damaging the tie rod and causing a fluid leak. A tow truck was summoned, towing Honeyman’s car backwards behind the wall, and the #42 took over last two circuits later. During that time, the team asked whether their trip to the garage was a mechanical issue, meaning they could return, or from a crash, meaning their day was over. They were soon declared out, and the USA broadcast showed a replay of the incident on Lap 105.

Nathan Byrd took home 37th, his #92 collected in a wreck with Hailie Deegan’s #15 VIVA Tequila Seltzer Ford in Turns 1 and 2. Taking 36th was Ellis’ #43, who was ultimately parked on pit road when the right-side door was ripped open in a later incident, causing the required door foam to fall onto the track. Emerling finished under power in 35th, six laps down, while Williams’ #6 rounded out the group in 35th after at least two more incidents. The second of these incidents, which left Williams with both right-side tires flat, shuffled the running order and briefly put 38th-place starter Carson Kvapil in the lead. On the 20-year anniversary of his father Travis winning a Truck Series race at the same Loudon track, Carson finished 5th as Christopher Bell scored his fourth Loudon win in as many attempts.

Meanwhile, Matt DiBenedetto came home 17th, which would have been his third-best finish of the year. That is, until post-race inspection, where NASCAR officials found three loose lug nuts on the right-rear wheel. Per the rulebook, DiBenedetto was disqualified, dropping him to 38th place. This kept Honeyman from his first XFINITY Series last-place finish, bumping Williams from the Bottom Five and Glen Reen from the Bottom Ten.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #38 in a XFINITY Series race since November 4, 2023, when Kyle Sieg secured his own LASTCAR Championship with early crash damage in Phoenix. The number had never before finished last in a XFINITY race at Loudon.

*This also marks the second time in three years the last-place finisher at Loudon has been decided by disqualification, following the double-DQ of Landon Cassill and Noah Gragson in 2022.

*This was DiBenedetto’s second last-place finish in a XFINITY Series race at Loudon. The other occurred on July 12, 2014, when his Curtis Key owned #46 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet pulled behind the wall with brake issues after 1 lap.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #38-Matt DiBenedetto / 203 laps / disqualified

37) #42-Leland Honeyman, Jr. / 95 laps / crash

36) #92-Nathan Byrd / 185 laps / crash

35) #43-Ryan Ellis / 196 laps / dvp

34) #07-Patrick Emerling / 197 laps / running

2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Joey Gase Motorsports (3)

2nd) DGM Racing, Jordan Anderson Racing, JR Motorsports (2)

3rd) Alpha Prime Racing, Kaulig Racing, Motorsports Business Management, RSS Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing (1)

2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (9)

2nd) Ford (3)

3rd) Toyota (2)

2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

Brock Beard https://lastcar.info
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