Eli Bright picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL Strictly Stock Series career at the Charlotte Speedway when his unsponsored #13 Ford was involved in a multi-car accident without completing any of the 15 laps.
The finish came in his first start. After the success of the SCRL Wrangler Jeans Busch Grand National Series and the SCRL Rainbow Dash Truck Series, it was time for the SCRL to create it's number 1 sanctioning series; the SCRL Strickly Stock Series. Much like with the Busch and Truck Series, this league traveled back to 1949, using period cars and tracks to simulate the best way possible to run every track and race as correct as possible even if tracks aren't 100% possible. Eli Bright is one of few drivers to have won in the SCRL, but not truly break out as a star, but had proved he had great talent in the back.
On race day, Bright would roll off starting in the 18th spot while the #11 unsponsored Ford of Simon Fox would start in the last spot as the field took the green and made their way through the first two turns and down the backstretch as the #90 of Colin Dryburgh went wide in Turn 3, running up into Bright, sending both cars into the wall nearly head on as Bright flipped over twice, his car smoking and done for the day after only completing three turns, his car officially listed as "out" by the end of the first lap.
37th went to the #21 of Evan Rudd, he himself involved in the same crash, but was able to limp around the track to complete one lap and be scored higher then Bright. The remaining Bottom Five went to drivers who was taken out in the race ending caution; 36th went to the #23 of Joshua Rush, 35th went to the #01 of Derrick Edision and 34th went to the #8 of Teejay Handley.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #13 had finished last in the Cup Series as well at Charlotte.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
38) #13-Eli Bright / 0 laps / crash
37) #21-Evan Rudd / 1 lap / crash
36) #23-Joshua Rush / 13 laps / crash
35) #01-Derrick Edision / 13 laps / crash
34) #8-Teejay Handley / 13 laps / crash
Ryan Bowyer picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL Wrangler Jeans Busch Grand National Series career on May 6th's Mason Day Paving 200 at the Orange County Speedway when his #88 unsponsored Pontiac completed all 20 laps under power.
The finish occurred in his 17th career series start. In the SCRL Busch Series, it's the 5th for car #88 and the 18th for running. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 9th for Car #88 and 113th for running.
Bowyer is one of many people trying to make a name for themselves in the SCRL, Bowyer has made a few starts in other series but had yet to score that first career win. Bowyer, along with his brother Matt, both made their busch series debut at Daytona earlier in the season, with Ryan finishing 19th and Matt 26th. Since then, Ryan's best finish of the season so far was a 3rd place finish at the first Langley event, followed up by a 4th at Dover a race later, where he led his first ever laps in a busch series race(9) and finished 4th in the previous Orange County race and had high hopes that his string of good finishes would continue in the return trip to Rougemount, North Carolina.
On race day, Bowyer would roll off the field starting last as he would trail the field for the first lap before two-time last place finisher the #63 Ashby Sheet Metal & Machine Pontiac of Maria Valera would take last on Lap 2 and would hold it till Lap 5 when she bumped the #11 J.W. Hunt Produce Pontiac of Al Lagasee to last on Lap 6 and 7 before Ryan Bowyer was dropped back to last on the 8th circuit. As much as Bowyer tried, he would lose ground with the rest of the field and even a late caution couldn't help him as Bowyer would score his first last-place finish in the busch series.
The remaining Bottom Five was filled by drivers who finished on the same lap as race winner Joshua Rush; 32nd went to the aforementioned #11 of Al Lagasee, 31st went to the #42 unsponsored Pontiac of Derek Hamill, 30th went to the aforementioned #63 of Maria Valera and 29th went to the #23 Miller High Life Pontiac of Samet Ozkan.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first time the #88 has finished last at Orange County.
*This is the first time the #88 has finished last in a Busch Series race since May 3, 2017, when Keith Stevens suffered Header problems after completing 4 of the 50 laps of the Season 2 finale the Cardinal 250 at the Martinsville Speedway, 18 races ago.
*This is only the second time Ryan Bowyer has trailed the field in a SCRL sanctioned race; the first coming in Season 1 of the SCRL CatDog Pro Series West race at Willow Springs where he completed all 6 laps under power.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
33) #88-Ryan Bowyer / 20 laps / running
32) #11-Al Lagasee / 20 laps / running
31) #42-Derek Hamill / 20 laps / running
30) #63-Maria Valera / 20 laps / running
29) #23-Samet Ozkan / 20 laps / running
Christian Vargas picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL Wrangler Jeans Busch Grand National Series career on May 3rd's Roses Stores 200 at the South Boston Speedway when his #21 Chattanooga Chew Pontiac was involved in a single-car accident after 16 of 30 laps.
The finish occurred in his 16th career series start. In the SCRL Busch Series, it's the 1st for car #21 and the 19th for crash. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 11th for car #21 and the 179th for crash.
Christian Vargas is a relative rookie when it comes to racing in the SCRL, having never made a single start until this series second season. Vargas finished a respectable 24th in his series and league debut at Daytona and has a best finish of 4th at Langley in the first 15 races as the field travled to the South Boston Speedway for the 3rd time in season two, a track where Vargas's best finish was 11th in the first event.
On race day, Vargas would roll off the field in 32nd while starting last was North Wilkesboro last-place finisher the #45 Luck Stone Pontiac Patrick Smith, a spot he would hold on only during the first two turns as he passed the #88 unsponsored Pontiac of Ryan Bowyer who trailed the field for the first four laps before he passed the #6 Mason Day Paving Chevrolet of Henry Urchman who would trail for the 5th lap before the previous South Boston last-place finisher the #15 Wrangler Jeans Pontiac of Chris Kyle took last and trailed for Laps 6 through 8 before he knocked the #3 unsponsored Pontiac of Jay Jefferson to last on the 9th lap as Jefferson lost touch for the field, if the battle for last was over, Jefferson would have picked up his first last place finish since the Season One Dogwood 500 at Martinsville when he suffered Camshaft problems after completing only 6 of the 50 laps.
Lucky for Jefferson, on Lap 15 he bumped two time last-place finisher the #33 Dalton Chevrolet Dealers Pontiac of Alexio Antonio into last but Antonio's stay was short lived as he knocked the aforementioned #88 of Ryan Bowyer to last, who was trailing the field when the lone caution of the day quickly settled the battle. Vargas at this point had slowly moved up to 28th when he ran high in Turn 1 and Turn 2, his car making contact with the part of the track were it would open to allow haulers to enter the track. Vargas's right front was heavily damaged as the car spun out in Turn 2, bringing out the lone caution of the day. Vargas would limp back to pit road as by the time he had, the car had already fallen back to last and by the end of Lap 17 the car was officially listed as "out" giving the rookie his first last place-finish.
41st went to the aforementioned #15 of Chris Kyle, trapped a lap down due to tire problems late in the event, 40th went to the #68 unsponsored Pontiac of Eric Wayne the only other car who was a lap down, losing a lap in the last five laps due to damage after running into the back of another car while in 15th.
The remaining Bottom Five was filled by drivers who finished on the same lap as race winner Chakat Whitelion; 39th went to the aforementioned #3 of Jay Jefferson and 38th went to the #42 unsponsored Pontiac of Derek Hamill.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first time the #21 has finished last in a Busch Series race as well as at South Boston.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
42) #21-Christian Vargas / 16 laps / crash
41) #15-Chris Kyle / 29 laps / running
40) #68-Eric Wayne / 29 laps / running
39) #3-Jay Jefferson / 30 laps / running
38) #42-Derek Hamill / 30 laps / running
Alexio Antonio picked up the 2nd last place finish of his SCRL Wrangler Jeans Busch Grand National Series career in last Wednesday's L.D. Swain & Son 200 at the Orange County Speedway when his #33 Dalton Chevrolet Dealers Pontiac fell out with piston problems after completing 13 of the 20 laps.
The finish, which occurred in his 15th career series start, was his first on the circuit since April 25, 2018 at Charlotte, 3 races ago. In the SCRL Busch Series, it's the 2nd for car #33 and the 1st for piston. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 2nd for car #33 and the 7th for piston.
After scoring his first career win at Daytona and then his first last place finish at Charlotte, Antonio's career has been a one hit wonder as he finished 32nd at South Boston before scoring a 9th place finish in the last round at Hickory as the series remained in the state of North Carolina for the second race in a row but traveled to Rougemont for the series first ever stop at the 0.375 Orange County Speedway.
On race day, Antonio would roll off the field in 24th while starting last was the #8 TGR Enterprises Pontiac of Eli Bright who would trail the field for the first three laps before Richmond winner the #23 Miller High Life Pontiac of Samet Ozkan fell back to last on the 4th lap and would lose ground with the rest of the field, falling nearly a half lap down when on Lap 13, Antonio, who was running in 27th, began to smoke heading into Turn 1 as drivers swerved to miss the blowing up car as Ozkan stalled on the track bringing out the lone caution of the day. Ozkan's car was towed to the garage as the car was knocked back to last one lap later, the team discovered the problem was a broken Piston, and due to the length of time it would take to repair, the teamed decided to call it a day.
The remaining Bottom Five was filled by drivers who completed all twenty laps under power; 32nd went to the aforementioned #23 of Samet Ozkan, 31st went to two time last-place finisher the #98 Levi Garrett Pontiac of James Stabilito, 30th went to the #17 Aladdin Industries Pontiac of Sammy Sabre Jr. and 29th went to the aforementioned #8 of Eli Bright.
The race marked the first career busch series win for Carter Friesen, who has one last place finish in this series, at South Boston, 8 races ago.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first time the #33 has finished last at Orange County.
*This is the first time "piston" has been listed as the reason for being out in a Busch Series race.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
33) #33-Alexio Antonio / 13 laps / piston
32) #23-Samet Ozkan / 20 laps / running
31) #98-James Stabilito / 20 laps / running
30) #17-Sammy Sabre Jr. / 20 laps / running
29) #8-Eli Bright / 20 laps / running
James Stabilito picked up the 2nd last place finish of his SCRL Wrangler Jeans Busch Grand National Series career in Tuesday's Shoney's 200 at the Hickory Speedway when his #98 Levi Garrett Pontiac completed 19 of the 20 laps under power.
The finish, which occurred in his 14th career series start, was his first on the circuit since February 21, 2018 at Richmond, 12 races ago. In the SCRL Busch Series, it's the 2nd for car #98 and the 17th for running at the finish. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 6th for car #98 and the 112th for running.
After scoring his first last place finish at Richmond, Stabilito's busch career has struggled to a degree as his best finish all season was a pair of 4th place finishes at Greenville-Pickens and in the last round at South Boston as the field entered the 14th race of the season as the series made their second trip of the season at the Hickory Speedway.
On race day, Stabilito would roll off the field in 25th while starting last was the #97 unsponsored Pontiac of Joshua Rush but as the field made their way out of the pits, Stabilito's car stalled on pit road as every one else passed him as the team worked hard to figure out the problem as they found that the front left tire was flat. The team quickly put four fresh tires on their car and sent their driver back out, having already gone one lap down and in last place. Despite a caution coming out around the halfway mark, Stabilito was never able to recover and remained in last place for the entire length of the race.
The remaining Bottom Five was filled by drivers who finished on the same lap as race winner Eli Bright; 32nd went to #6 Mason Day Paving Chevrolet of Henry Urchman, 31st went to the #17 Aladdin Industries Pontiac of Sammy Sabre Jr., 30th went to the #4 unsponsored Pontiac of AJ Jones and finishing 29th was the #88 unsponsored Pontiac of Ryan Bowyer.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first time the #98 has finished last at Hickory.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
33) #98-James Stabilito / 19 laps / running
32) #6-Henry Urchman / 20 laps / running
31) #17-Sammy Sabre Jr. / 20 laps / running
30) #4-AJ Jones / 20 laps / running
29) #88-Ryan Bowyer / 20 laps / running
Chris Kyle picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL Wrangler Jeans Busch Grand National Series career in Monday's Busch 200 at the South Boston Speedway when his #15 Wrangler Jeans Pontiac fell out with engine problems after completing 5 of the 30 laps.
The finish came in his 13th career series start. In the SCRL Busch Series, it's the 1st for car #15 and the 1st for engine. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 5th for car #15 and the 29th for engine.
Coming into Season 2 of the busch series, Chris Kyle is one of the most longest active racers, making his debut way back in Season 1 of the SCRL NASCAR Legends Series and since then has scored seven wins over all series, but had yet to make a start in the busch series. Kyle finished 33rd in his series debut at Daytona and a runner-up finish at Martinsville was Kyle's best finish of the season until the next round at North Wilkesboro where Kyle scored his first career win in his 6th start and in the last round at Charlotte, Kyle finished a respectable 10th.
On race day, Kyle would roll off the field in 39th while starting last was the #51 unsponsored Pontiac of Chakat Silverpaw but by the end of the first lap the #88 unsponsored Pontiac of Ryan Bowyer had fallen back to last as he would trail the field for the first two laps before the #93 unsponsored Pontiac of Brian Fox fell back to last on the third lap before he passed the #7 Mello Yello Oldsmobile of Matt Hamill who would trail the field for Laps 4 and 5 when the battle for the last spot was quickly over. While running in 31st, Kyle's car began to smoke as he quickly turned his car to the inside of the track, smacking the inside wall before his car stalled on the Frontstretch, reporting to his crew that the engine had blown up. During the caution, Kyle's car was towed to the garage and by the end of Lap 6, Kyle was dropped to last, the first retiree of the race.
The remaining Bottom Five was filled up drivers where all taken out in a multi-car crash: 41st went to North Wilkesboro last-place finisher the #45 Luck Stone Pontiac Patrick Smith, 40th went to the #93 unsponsored Pontiac of Brian Fox, 39th went to the aforementioned #7 of Matt Hamill and finishing 38th was the #22 A.G. Dillard Pontiac of Danyal Gitirokh, all drivers taken out in the final caution of the day.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first time the #15 has finished last in a Busch Series race as well as at South Boston.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
42) #15-Chris Kyle / 5 laps / engine
41) #45-Patrick Smith / 19 laps / crash
40) #93-Brian Fox / 20 laps / crash
39) #7-Matt Hamill / 21 laps / crash
38) #22-Danyal Gitirokh / 21 laps / crash
