XFINITY: Ryan Vargas’ engine lets go during competitive last-place battle in Richmond’s early laps
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Ryan Vargas, @RyanVargas_23
Ryan Vargas picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s ToyotaCare 250 at the Richmond Raceway when his unsponsored #32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet fell out with engine issues after 18 of 250 laps.
The finish, which came in Vargas’ 69th series start, was his first of the season and first in a XFINITY Series race since May 21, 2022 at Texas, 60 races ago. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 11th for the #32, the 279th for engine issues, and the 638th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 43rd for the #32, the 1,139th for the engine, and the 1,932nd for Chevrolet.
Coming into the 2024 season, Vargas hadn’t started a XFINITY Series race since October 29, 2022, when he finished 29th at Martinsville. It was his most recent start in the #6 for JD Motorsports, with whom he earned both his top-ten finishes at Texas and Daytona and turned heads with sponsorship from TikTok. Last year saw him branch out in more ways than one. He made his first seven Truck Series starts with On Point Motorsports, earning a series-best 8th-place finish in just his second race. He also earned the opportunity to race in Europe, competing for Germany’s 3 Friends Racing. The effort was so successful that Vargas is now preparing to run the full NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (Pro) schedule this year with his returning sponsor Critical Path Security.
Vargas made his XFINITY Series return earlier this month at Phoenix, where Jordan Anderson Racing invited him to drive the team’s third entry, the #32 Chevrolet. Anderson himself had finished last in the car at Atlanta, one week after an impressive 4th-place showing in the Daytona opener. Vargas finished 37th after suspension issues in Phoenix, one week after Sage Karam’s run in Las Vegas placed him 36th. The team then rebounded in COTA in a collaborative effort with the Peterson Racing Group, resulting in a strong 7th-place finish for Austin Green, son of NASCAR XFINITY Series champion and current series official David Green.
For Richmond, the Anderson team didn’t have a driver listed for the #32 until midweek, when Vargas was announced to reprise his role from Phoenix. Running without a primary sponsorship on a black Chevrolet, Vargas was one of 38 drivers for as many spots after the withdrawal of Motorsports Business Management’s #66. Vargas began the weekend 29th in opening practice, then qualified 30th with a lap of 116.394mph (23.197 seconds).
Securing the 38th and final starting spot was Joey Gase, whose #35 NCPC Race Against Crime Chevrolet spun and hit the wall early in practice. The team managed repairs, but couldn’t participate in qualifying, so they were the only team to not register a lap in the session. Gase would also incur a redundant tail-end penalty for the repairs. With no other drivers sent to the tail end prior to the start – including 13th-place Sammy Smith, whose #8 Pilot Flying J Coffee Chevrolet needed a push off the grid – Gase took the green the last car on the outside line, 3.676 seconds back of the lead.
The early laps saw a competitive last-place battle. By Lap 2, Gase was side-by-side with late model legend Bubba Pollard, who was making his NASCAR national series debut in JR Motorsports’ #88 Rheem Chevrolet. At the stripe, the two were just 0.064 second apart. Pollard fought back by Lap 4, jumping to 36th and leaving Gase last, 0.156 behind Garrett Smithley in the #6 Long Drink Chevrolet. Smithley was himself a late addition to the field as another XFINITY debut – that of Morgen Baird – was delayed after Baird’s wife went into labor. On Lap 5, Gase dropped Smithley to last by 0.191 second, but Smithley stayed in touch with Gase as he dropped still another newcomer to 38th place – Logan Bearden in the #14 Bearden Automotive Chevrolet. On Lap 7, Bearden was now side-by-side with Smithley, the pair separated by just 0.087 second. Smithley began to pull away, opening the gap to 0.256 on Lap 8, then 0.440 on Lap 11. But Bearden found his rhythm and on Lap 14 pulled back alongside Smithley, the two just 0.016 apart at the line. Bearden completed the pass the next time by, opening up a gap of his own at 0.173.
Meanwhile, Vargas had slipped to 36th by Lap 13 and was soon caught by Bearden and Smithley, who on Lap 17 dropped the #32 to last. The next time by, Vargas was still within shouting distance of Smithley and Bearden when a fire erupted behind his left-front wheel, and his car veered to the right. Vargas kept the car out of the wall as he slowed onto the apron, stopping just short of the starting line. Under the ensuing first caution of the race, Vargas climbed out from his now-smoking Chevrolet. The car was towed to the garage, and the crew packed up. On Lap 30, the team informed the spotter they were done for the day. “Darn it,” he said in response. NASCAR declared Vargas out on Lap 63.
Also declared out in the same NASCAR message was outside-polesitter Brandon Jones, who also lost an engine heading into Turn 1, sending his #9 Menards / NIBO Chevrolet spinning into the outside wall. Jones’ fluid, which briefly caught fire as he attempted to restart the car, also caught Ryan Sieg, whose #39 Sci Aps Ford slipped and backed into the wall some distance behind. Repairs dropped Sieg off the lead lap, though he made up the distance as the “Lucky Dog” at the end of Stage 1 and finished 32nd.
Attrition remained higher than usual for Richmond for the rest of the race. Taking 36th was Patrick Emerling, who on Lap 127 was declared out for brake issues on his #07 Southern Tier Security Chevrolet. Sheldon Creed took a surprising 35th after the right-rear axle seal failed, causing him to trail smoke and forcing an unscheduled pit stop. Creed’s #18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota was pushed behind the wall with “brakes” the listed reason out. Meanwhile, all three of Creed’s teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing swept the top three finishing positions.
It looked like Blaine Perkins would finish in the Bottom Five after his #29 AUTOPARKIT.com Ford stalled on the apron exiting Turn 2 and went behind the wall. But he returned to the track on Lap 114, at which point he was 65 laps down in 36th place. After passing both Emerling and Creed, he passed one more car in the final ten laps to take 33rd. This was none other than last-place starter Joey Gase, who made the highlight reel after contact from Dawson Cram’s #4 TeamJDMotorsports.com Chevrolet sent Gase backing into the Turn 2 wall. Gase climbed out uninjured, then ripped the TV panel from his #35 and threw it at Cram’s passing car, causing it to slide over the greenhouse. Gase expressed frustration over Cram, who made one of his first XFINITY starts for Gase’s team, and said this would change his own team’s plans to field two cars next Saturday in Martinsville. Cram apologized for the incident, saying it was unintentional, and went on to finish a season-best 25th.
Bubba Pollard finishes 6th in debut, Brennan Poole’s charge in Stage 1 stuns the field
Bubba Pollard clawed his way up from the last-place battle to finish a strong 6th, one of only nine drivers on the lead lap. Taylor Gray’s own XFINITY debut yielded a strong 3rd-place finish for Joe Gibbs Racing while Logan Bearden’s run for SS-Green Light Racing saw him one lap down in 22nd.
Further back, Brennan Poole came home a distant 28th, two laps down, but in Stage 1 had the underdog rally of the race. Taking a page from team co-owner Tommy Joe Martins’ run at the same track in September 2021, Poole took on tires during the Brandon Jones caution and charged from 29th to 2nd by the end of the stage.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #32 in a XFINITY Series race at Richmond.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
38) #32-Ryan Vargas / 18 laps / engine
37) #9-Brandon Jones / 42 laps / engine
36) #07-Patrick Emerling / 95 laps / brakes
35) #18-Sheldon Creed / 118 laps / axle
34) #35-Joey Gase / 171 laps / crash
2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jordan Anderson Racing
2nd) DGM Racing, JR Motorsports, Kaulig Racing (1)
2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (5)
2024 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
