Ethan Walker picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL ARCA Midget Series career in the ARCA Midget Finale at the Sandusky Speedway when his #56 completed 13 of the 15 laps under power.
The finish came in his 15th career series start. In the SCRL ARCA Midget Series, it's the 1st for car #56 and the 11th where the car was still running. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 1st for the #56 and the 275th where the vehicle was still running.
Entering the brand new ARCA Series's new division, Walker was looking to make a name for himself in his first ever season. Walker finished 9th in his debut race at Toledo, scoring a runner up finish in the very next race at Salem. A 18th at Flat Rock, 3rd at Devil's Bowl, 9th at Kil-Kare, 16th at Indianapolis Speedrome, 19th at Santa Fe, before scoring his second runner up finish of the season at Columbus. A 7th at Grundy County, 11th at Eldora, 19th at New Egypt, 3rd at Baer Field, 14th at Knoxville before finishing 16th in the last round at Salem.
In qualifying, Chakat Silverpaw scored hir first series pole with a time of 15.219 seconds(118.273 mph) while Walker posted a time of 15.439 seconds, 0.220 seconds behind Silverpaw's pole run, placing Walker 12nd on the grid while starting in last was the #11 of Keri Benjamin.
When the command was given for drivers to start their engines and begin their lone pace lap, Walker's car would stall on track and had to be towed back to pit road as the field took the green flag. Walker's team would give their driver four new fresh tires before sending their driver back out onto the track, two laps down from the leaders. Walker would try his best to get at least one of his laps back but wouldn't be able to and with no cautions coming out, Walker would trail from flag-to-flag around the half mile track.
The remaining Bottom Five would finish on the lead lap: 19th was Eldora last-place finisher the #04 of Mario Junqueira, 18th was two time last-place finisher the #16 of Daniel Hunter, 17th was the #12 of Nick Kennedy, 16th was the #3 of Chakat Lightingblaze.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #56 has finished last in the SCRL ARCA Midget Series as well at Sandusky.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
20) #56-Ethan Walker / 13 laps / running
19) #04-Mario Junqueira / 15 laps / running
18) #16-Daniel Hunter / 15 laps / running
17) #12-Nick Kennedy / 15 laps / running
16) #3-Chakat Lightingblaze / 15 laps / running
Dale Guthrie picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL Lucas Oil ARCA Racing Series career in the Winchester ARCA 200 at the Winchester Speedway when his #3 Bob Steele Chevrolet fell out with engine problems without completing any of the 30 laps.
The finish came in his 18th start. In the SCRL Lucas Oil ARCA Racing Series, it's the 1st for car #3 and the 3rd for engine issues. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 18th for the #3 and the 275th where the vehicle was still running.
Entering Season 3 of the ARCA Series, Guthrie had never competed in the SCRL and was looking to have a decent season in hopes of one day competing in the highest SCRL series. In his first career start, Guthrie would shock the world by scoring the pole, as well as leading the first lap before going on to finish a disappointing 24th at Daytona. An 11th at Atlanta, would be followed by a runner up finish at Nashville in his first career short track appearance. He would struggle over the three races with finishes of 29th at Salem, 31st at Talladega and 27th at Charlotte, before scoring a second runner up finish at Gateway. A 19th in the first Pocono race, 34th at Chicagoland, 17th at Lucas Oil, 32nd at Kentucky, before scoring a series record 3rd runner up finish at Iowa. A 37th at DuQuoin in his first dirt track race, 38th at Michigan, then scoring his 4th runner up in the series's second trip to Pocono. A 22nd at Salem would be followed up in a 25th place finish in his first ever race on a road course.
In qualifying at the "World's Fastest 1/2 mile", Greg Torres would score his first career General Tire Pole Award with a time of 20.722 seconds(86.864 mph), while Guthrie would struggle to find any speed during his lap, posting a time of 21.391 seconds(84.148mph), a full two miles per hour behind Torres's speed, placing him 39th. Starting last would be the #69 Messina's / Ingersoll Rand Ford of Ray Dent Jr., 0.673 seconds off Torres's pole winning time.
When the command was given for drivers to start their engines and begin their lone pace lap, Guthrie's car began to smoke as he left pit road, pulling down to the inside of the track and would follow the pace car down while the 39 other drivers took the green flag. Guthrie would make that sharp left turn and pulled behind the wall and toward the garage. As the field raced around the track, Guthrie would exit his car in disgust as the team looked over the car and would quickly discover that the engine had blown up and was beyond repair, with the car being listed as "out" by the 3rd lap.
The remaining Bottom Five would finish on the same lap as the race leader; 39th was Atlanta last-place finisher the #25 ZLOOP Computer & Electronics Recycling Toyota of Joe Jefferson, 38th was Talladega last-place finisher the #23 Allegiant Air Chevrolet of Jack Lagasee, 37th was the unsponsored #29 Hixson Motorsports Chevrolet of Ray Jones and 36th was the unsponsored #17 Roulo Brothers Racing Ford of Marcus Saatchi.
In the SCRLASTCAR Championship battle, the very second Guthrie's retirement was announced, it officially gave the championship to Tony Newman. Even though he only has trailed in two races, Newman has 6 Bottom Five finishes and even if Oriana Dent trailed at Kansas, she would only tie him in terms of last-place finishes, but Newman would win the tie breaker in terms of Bottom Five finishes, 6-5.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #3 has finished last in a ARCA Series race as well at Winchester.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #3-Dale Guthrie / 0 laps / engine
39) #25-Joe Jefferson / 30 laps / running
38) #23-Jack Lagasee / 30 laps / running
37) #29-Ray Jones / 30 laps / running
36) #17-Marcus Saatchi / 30 laps / running
Hunter Blade picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL ARCA Truck Series career in the Lake Erie 50 at the Lake Erie Speedway when his #05 Little Mountain Insurance Ford was involved in a multi-truck crash after 1 of the 20 laps.
The finish came in his 11th career series start. In the SCRL ARCA Truck Series, it's the 1st for truck #05 and the 5th from a crash. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 2nd for the #05 and the 257th from a crash.
Blade was one of ten drivers that were making their SCRL debuts by signing up to compete in the ARCA Series second highest division, the ARCA Truck Series. In his league and series debut, Blade finished 23rd at Toledo, a 16th at Kil-Kare, 19th at Nashville, 20th at Lanier and a 9th at Flat Rock before scoring a career best of 4th in back-to-back races at Salem and Oxford Plains. A 17th at Toledo, 12th at Eldora before finishing a disappointing 22nd in the last round at Mesa Marin.
In qualifying, Blade would post a time of 19.413 seconds(74.177mph) putting him 0.428 seconds off Nick Productions's pole run, which would be his first of the year. Staring last on race day would be the #4 unsponsored Chevrolet of Gatlin Downey, who would be a full three miles slower behind Productions's pole time and 0.810 seconds behind his lap, giving Downey the first last-place start of the year.
When the race started, Downey would trail for the first two turns around the 0.452 mile short track before he knocked the #51 Exxon Chevrolet of Briam Myers into the final spot, a position he would hold for one lap when entering Turn 2, chaos would begin. The #28 ETS / Engine Rebuilders Chevrolet of Al Lagasee would be spun out while running in 15th and would block the track as both Blade and Downey would have nowhere to go, both slamming into his truck, giving all three damage. Blade would quickly pull behind the wall that same lap before Downey would on Lap 2, both listed as being knocked out due to crash damage.
The remaining Bottom Five would finish on the same lap as the race leaders: 24th was Toledo last-place finisher the unsponsored #20 Chevrolet of Dillon Jones, 23rd was the unsponsored #27 Chevrolet of Kyle Patricks and 22nd was the aforementioned #28 of Al Lagasee.
Entering the season finale at Winchester, seven drivers have a mathematical chance of winning the SCRLASTCAR Championship; Chakat Duskwatcher, Dain Martin, Chakat Blizzardmane, Jimmy Potter, Hunter Blade, Leonard Pearson and Jimmy Dawson. Duskwatcher would win the championship out right if anyone but the other six drivers finishes last, while the same could be said if any of the other six do finish last, they could win the championship.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #05 has finished last in the SCRL ARCA Truck Series as well at Lake Erie.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
26) #05-Hunter Blade / 1 lap / crash
25) #4-Gatlin Downey / 2 laps / crash
24) #20-Dillon Jones / 20 laps / running
23) #27-Kyle Patricks / 20 laps / running
22) #28-Al Lagasee / 20 laps / running
Erik Sieg picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL ARCA Sportsman Series career in the Dixieland 200 at the Wisconsin International Raceway when his #22 Raybestos / Supergard Chevrolet completed all 30 laps under power.
The finish came in his 14th start. In the SCRL ARCA Sportsman Series, it's the 1st for car #22 and the 11th where the car was still running. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 16th for the #22 and the 274th where the vehicle was still running.
Sieg was a brand new driver looking to make a name for himself in the SCRL as he was one of several rookies making their SCRL debuts by competing in the ARCA Series's Sportsman division, with a goal of finishing in the top 20 in points and possibly a win. Sieg would be impressive in his debut at Toledo, starting 11th and finishing 12th. Sieg would finished 22nd at Mansfield, 25th at Heartland Park, 18th at Lucas Oil, 22nd at Iowa, 18th at Rockingham, 16th at Winchester before scoring a career best 8th at Palm Beach. A 19th at I-70, 17th at Milwaukee Mile, 26th at Springfield, 22nd at NJMP, 25th at Nashville before finishing a career and series best 3rd in the last round at Salem.
In qualifying, Sieg would post a time of 19.797 seconds(90.923mph) putting him 0.324 seconds off Josephi Krakowski's pole run, which would be his first of the year. Staring last on race day would be Winchester last-place finisher the #7 Miccosukee Resorts & Gaming Chevrolet of Carol Dent, who would be a full two miles slower behind Krakowski's pole time and 0.363 seconds behind his lap, giving Carol the first last-place start of the year.
Carol would remain in the final spot on the track for the first two turns before she moved up and knocked the #66 Lincoln Welders / Bojangles' Dodge of Daryl Lee into last on the first lap. Lee would trail for the first two laps around the half mile track before knocking NJMP last-place finisher the #55 IWX Racing / Jesel Chevrolet of Bulldog67 into last place on Lap 3. Bulldog67 would remain in last for just one lap before he knocked Milwaukee Mile last-place finisher the #29 Snap-On / Whelen Chevrolet of Dilan Ebrahimian into the final spot on Lap 4. Ebrahimian would trail for two laps as well before knocking Nashville last-place finisher the #92 Summit Racing Equipment / CompCams Chevrolet of Jacob Britts into the final spot on Lap 6 but his stay was also two laps as he knocked Rockingham last-place finisher the #11 Melling / Menards Chevrolet of Ray Dent into last on Lap 8, Dent then would knock the #97 John Deere Ford of Joshua Rush into last on Lap 10.
Rush would trail in last for the next three laps before he moved up and knocked Sieg into last for the first time of the night. Sieg would struggle around the half mile track to gain any position over the next eight laps before finally making a move and passing Rush back on Lap 23. Rush would trail behind Sieg as if he didn't make anything happen in the next seven laps, he would trail the field for the first time in over two years. But with two laps to go, Rush got under Sieg on the backstretch and competed the pass coming out of Turn 4, with Sieg unable to gain and position over the final lap, he would trail for the first time in his short career.
Rounding out the Bottom Five were: 28th was the aforementioned #97 of Joshua Rush, 27th was the #32 Baldwin Filters / Comp USA Toyota of Maxwell Hayden, 26th was the #11 of Ray Dent and 25th was the #55 of Bulldog67.
Entering the season finale at North Wilkesboro, four drivers have a mathematical chance of winning the SCRLASTCAR Championship; Andrew Olsen, Muhammad Zain Abdullah, Ray Dent and Erik Sieg. If Olsen or Abdullah finish last at Wilkesboro, they could win the championship outright. If anyone but the four drivers finishes in last, Olsen would win the championship. If Dent or Sieg finishes last and Olsen finishes outside the Bottom Five or Bottom Ten, they could win the championship.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #22 has finished last in the SCRL ARCA Sportsman Series as well at Wisconsin.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
29) #22-Erik Sieg / 30 laps / running
28) #97-Joshua Rush / 30 laps / running
27) #32-Maxwell Hayden / 30 laps / running
26) #11-Ray Dent / 30 laps / running
25) #55-Bulldog67 / 30 laps / running
Cole Nixey picked up the 2nd last place finish of his SCRL ARCA Late Model Series career in the HPS Mechanical/Victory Circle Firecracker 150 at the Mesa Marin Raceway when his #21 Drive Up Super Cleaners Chevrolet completed 29 of the 30 laps under power.
The finish, which came in his 12th career series start, was his first on the circuit since the Salem 100 at the Salem Speedway when he finished under power after 18 of 20 laps, 7 races ago. In the SCRL ARCA Late Model Series, it's the 2nd for car #21 and the 11th where the car was still running. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 23rd for the #21 and the 273rd where the vehicle was still running.
After having trailed for the first time earlier in the year at Salem, Cole would finish 18th at Flat Rock, 12th at Nashville, 14th at Louisville, 9th at South Boston, 10th at Winchester before finishing 9th at Madison in the last round.
In qualifying Draco Drakul would score his fourth career series pole with a time of 21.245, while Cole would struggle a small tad, posting a time of 21.691, 0.446 seconds behind Draco, which would place him 12th on the starting grid, while starting last was Louisville last-place finisher the #15 Chebucto / Fraserway Ford of Carter Joey.
On race day as the field rolled off pit road to begin it's lone pace lap around the half mile track, Cole would pull down to the lower lane of the track, reporting of a flat left front right, and pulled onto pit road following the pace car as the field took the green flag. As the field raced around the half mile track, Cole's team would quickly replace both left side tires and would send their driver back out on the track, already a full lap down. The first caution of the day would come out on Lap 3 giving Cole a chance to get his lap back. When the green flag came back out, Cole would briefly take his lap back but Danyal Gitirokh would pass him and put Cole a lap back down and would never once again have another shot to get his lap back and was the only driver to not finish on the lead lap.
The remaining Bottom Five were: 19th was the #42 of Simon Fox, 18th was the aforementioned #15 of Carter Joey, 17th was the #48 Spray Paint and Equipment Chevrolet of Shannon Lowe and 16th was the #17 Menards Chevrolet of Said Ismail.
Entering the season finale at Lucas Oil Raceway, mathematically four drivers can win the SCRLASTCAR Championship; Carter Friesen, Hanz DeVice, Cole Nixey and Franz DeVice. The possible outcomes for the championship could happen in several ways: if Friesen, Hanz or Cole finishes last at Lucas Oil, they would win the championship out right, if anyone but Friesen, Hanz or Cole finishes last, Friesen would win the championship. Franz has the slimmest chance of winning as he would have to finish last and none of the other three drivers finish in the Bottom Five in order to win the championship.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #21 has finished last in the SCRL ARCA Late Model Series at Mesa Marin.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
20) #21-Cole Nixey / 29 laps / running
19) #42-Simon Fox / 30 laps / running
18) #15-Carter Joey / 30 laps / running
17) #48-Shannon Lowe / 30 laps / running
16) #17-Said Ismail / 30 laps / running
John Hunter picked up the 3rd last place finish of his SCRL ARCA Midget Series career in the ARCAMIDGETRACING.com 50 at the Salem Speedway when his #21 completed 19 of the 20 laps under power.
The finish, which came in his 14th career series start, was his first since the Spring Fling 100 at the New Egypt Speedway when he was involved in a multi-car crash after 4 of the 20 laps, 3 races ago. In the SCRL ARCA Midget Series, it's the 3rd for car #21 and the 10th where the car was still running. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 22nd for the #21 and the 272nd where the vehicle was still running.
After having trailed for just the second time in his career at New Egypt, Hunter would continue to struggle by finishing 19th at Baer Field in the next round before finishing 11th in the last round at Knoxville.
In qualifying, Chakat Lightingblaze scored hir series leading third career pole with a time of 19.612 seconds with John posting a time of 20.104 seconds, a full half second behind Lightingblaze's pole run, placing Hunter 15th on the grid while starting in last was Eldora last-place finisher the #04 of Mario Junqueira.
Junqueira would trail for the first lap around the half mile track before knocking the #11 of Keri Benjamin into last on Lap 2 as Benjamin would trail for the next two laps before knocking Baer Field last-place finisher the #5 of Michael Collins. Collins would struggle around the half mile track as he would lose touch with the drivers in front of him over the next ten laps but with six laps to go John's car slowed as he exited Turn 4 before stalling on the frontstretch, bringing out the caution. John's car would be towed back to pit road and four tires were put on the car and he was sent back out on the track in hopes of the race going back green, but to the disappointment of the fans and the drivers, the race was ended under caution, with John being the lone driver not on the lead lap.
The remaining Bottom Five would finish on the lead lap: 19th was the #5 of Michael Collins, 18th was the #11 of Keri Benjamin, 17th was the #04 of Mario Junqueira and 16th was the #56 Ethan Walker.
With one race remaining, John Hunter has officially locked up the SCRLASTCAR Championship based on having 3 last-place finishes while even if Dave Benjamin or Daniel Hunter finished last at Sandusky, neither could win the championship based on John having more Bottom Five and Bottom Ten finishes.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #21 has finished last in the SCRL ARCA Midget Series at Salem.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
20) #21-John Hunter / 19 laps / running
19) #5-Michael Collins / 20 laps / running
18) #11-Keri Benjamin / 20 laps / running
17) #04-Mario Junqueira / 20 laps / running
16) #56-Ethan Walker / 20 laps / running
Jay Jefferson picked up the 2nd last place finish of his SCRL Lucas Oil ARCA Racing Series career in the Road America 100 at Road America when his #55 Toyota "Let's Go Places" Toyota completed all 5 laps under power.
The finish, which came in his 54th start, was his first on the circuit since the Season 2 ModSpace 125 at the Pocono Raceway when he was involved in a multi-car crash after 5 of the 22 laps, 31 races ago. In the SCRL Lucas Oil ARCA Racing Series, it's the 2nd for car #55 and the 16th where the car was still running. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 7th for the #55 and the 271st where the vehicle was still running.
Entering Season 3 of the ARCA Series, Jay has scored a total of 9 career wins in the entire history of the SCRL, while having scored one career win in the ARCA Series, coming in Season 1 at the Talladega Superspeedway, finishing 35th in the overall points in Season 1. In Season 2, Jefferson would struggle once again throughout the season, finishing 37th in the overall point standings, and would be returning to come back for his third straight season with hopes of finishing better in points. A disappointing 25th at Daytona would be followed with a 21st at Atlanta. Jay would come back with redemption by finishing 10th in the series first short track at the Nashville Fairgrounds, a 15th in the next round at Salem, a disappointing 32nd at Talladega and Charlotte, a 13th at Gateway, a 8th at the first Pocono event, a 5th at Chicagoland, 29th at Lucas Oil, 8th at Kentucky, 6th at Iowa, 29th at DuQuoin, 9th at Michigan, 35th at the 2nd Pocono event before finishing 26th in the last round at Salem.
In qualifying at the four mile road course, Jay would struggle on his one qualifying lap posting a time 129.496 seconds(111.200 mph), a full four and a half seconds off his brother's Joe's pole time, placing Jay in the 32nd position, the worst starting spot of his ARCA career. Starting last would be the #90 Motor Honey / Advance Auto Parts Ford of Max Anderson, nearly a full five seconds off of Joe's pole time.
Anderson would trail around in the final spot for the first six turns before he moved up and knocked the unsponsored #6 Eddie Sharp Racing Chevrolet of Colin Dryburgh, who would trail for the first eight miles of the race. Dryburgh would fight back and would knock the #88 Tricar Ford of Bulut Ozkan into the final spot on Lap 3. Ozkan would remain in last for the next lap before knocking Dryburgh back into last on the final lap. Dryburgh would fight back over the next 14 turns and on the 7th turn, Dryburgh would knock Jay back into last. Over the next seven turns, Jay tried as best he could to get past Dryburgh, but would fail and run out of his time, finishing last for the first time in the ARCA Series in two years.
Rounding out the Bottom Five were: 39th was the aforementioned #6 of Colin Dryburgh, 38th was the unsponsored #29 Chevrolet of Ray Jones, 37th was the #90 of Max Anderson and 36th was the #88 of Bulut Ozkan.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #55 has finished last in a ARCA Series race at Road America.
*This marked only the second time in the ARCA Series the #55 has trailed the field; the most recent time it had happened was in the Season 2 ARCA Texas 500k at the Texas World Speedway when Jay's brother Joe Jefferson's turn in the Venturini Motorsports entry was involved in a multi-car crash after 2 of the 25 laps; 32 races ago.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #55-Jay Jefferson / 5 laps / running
39) #6-Colin Dryburgh / 5 laps / running
38) #29-Ray Jones / 5 laps / running
37) #90-Max Anderson / 5 laps / running
36) #88-Bulut Ozkan / 5 laps / running
Muhammad Zain Abdullah picked up the 2nd last place finish of his SCRL ARCA Sportsman Series career in the Salem 150 at the Salem Speedway when his #77 Jasper / Lucas Oil Dodge completed all 20 laps under power.
The finish, which came in his 13th start, was his first on the circuit since the Tire Kingdom 100 at the Palm Beach International Raceway when he completed all 10 laps under power; 6 races ago. In the SCRL ARCA Sportsman Series, it's the 2nd for car #77 and the 10th where the car was still running. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 11th for the #77 and the 270th where the vehicle was still running.
After having trailed the field for the first time in the series at Palm Beach, Abdullah would finish 16th in the last round at I-70, a 6th at the Milwaukee Mile, a 21st at Springfield, 13th at New Jersey before finishing 15th in the last round at the Nashville Fairgrounds.
In qualifying, Abdullah would struggle in qualfying, putting up a speed of 114.874mph (17.393 seconds), 0.353 seconds off Ray Dent's pole run, which would be his first of the year. Starting last on race day would be the #79 Auto Value / Bumper To Bumper / Lucas Oil Dodge of Kenny Webster, who would be a full three miles slower behind Dent's pole time and 0.407 seconds behind his lap, giving Webster the first last-place start of the year.
Webster would remain in the final spot on the track but would quickly go on the move as the knocked Abdullah into last in Turn 3. Abdullah would remain in the final spot for the first four laps around the half mile track before knocking the #00 Shop Rite / CompCams Chevrolet of Marina Parker into last on Lap 5. Parker would continue to struggle around the half mile track for the next eight laps, before finally getting a run in Turn 3 and knocking Abdullah into last on Lap 14. Abdullah would also struggle to find a groove and room to get back around Parker over the final laps, with the two filling out the final two spots.
Rounding out the Bottom Five were: 27th was the aforementioned #79 of Kenny Webster, 26th was the #25 Pennzoil / Autolite Chevrolet of Grayson Acevedo and 25th was the #32 Baldwin Filters / Comp USA Toyota of Maxwell Hayden.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #77 has finished last in the SCRL ARCA Sportsman Series as well at Salem.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
29) #77-Muhammad Zain Abdullah / 20 laps / running
28) #00-Marina Parker / 20 laps / running
27) #79-Kenny Webster / 20 laps / running
26) #25-Grayson Acevedo / 20 laps / running
25) #32-Maxwell Hayden / 20 laps / running
Chris Kyle picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL Lucas Oil ARCA Racing Series career in the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic at the Salem Raceway when his #32 811 Call Before You Dig / Diamond Equipment Toyota completed all 20 laps under power.
The finish came in his 16th start. In the SCRL Lucas Oil ARCA Racing Series, it's the 3rd for car #32 and the 15th where the car was still running. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 14th for the #32 and the 269th where the vehicle was still running.
Entering Season 3 of the ARCA Series, Kyle is one of the most longest active drivers in the history of the SCRL, having competed since the league's very season all the way 2014 in the then ONL NASCAR Legends Series, making his debut in the series's seven race of the season at the Alabama International Motor Speedway, a race he would start 18th and would finish 16th. Kyle would finish the season 10th in the final point standings despite missing the first six races. In Season 2, Kyle would score his first career in the fall race at Bristol and finished 15th in the overall points standings. Since then, Kyle has raked up nine more career wins, and last year Kyle would finally reach the peak of his racing career, winning his first ever SCRL championship, winning the championship in Season 2 of the SCRL Tim Hortons Canadian Series, a series that is near and dear to his heart in the real racing world.
Despite all his previous success, Kyle had never once competed in the ARCA division, but finally made the jump, signing a one year contract with the Win-Tron Racing team. In his first career start, Kyle qualified an impressive 10th and would finish 5th at Daytona, before struggling to a 35th at Atlanta. A 12th at Nashville Fairgrounds, a 28th at Salem and a 33rd at Talladega would lead into Charlotte, where Kyle would led four laps, the first of his ARCA career, and finished a series and season best 3rd. A disappointing 27th at Gateway, would be followed up with a 4th in the series first event of the season at Pocono, 10th at Chicagoland, 14th at Lucas Oil, a disappointing 27th at Kentucky, 31st at Iowa, 18th at DuQuoin, a 12th at Michigan before finishing a disappointing 19th in the last round at Pocono after getting into a heating battle with Samet Ozkan in the final lap.
In qualifying at the half mile track, Kyle would struggle in qualifying posting a time 17.593 seconds(113.568 mph), a full half second off Jack Lagasee's pole time, placing Kyle in the 39th position, the worst starting spot of his career. Starting last would be the unsponsored #29 Chevrolet of Ray Jones, only a tenth of a second slower then Kyle's time.
As the field took the green flag, Jones, who started on the high side, would quickly pass Kyle in Turn 1, with Kyle trailing for the first lap, before making a move down the backstretch and cleaning Jones in Turn 4 and betting him to the line, giving Jones last on Lap 2. For the next three laps, Jones did everything in his power to get back around Kyle with nothing working, before finally on Lap 5, Jones went to the high side entering Turn 3 and cleared Kyle coming off Turn 4. With three changes for last in just the first six laps, it appeared the battle would last all race long, however due to the tricky one groove surface at Salem, the pass on Lap 6 would turn out to be the final position swap for last, while Kyle would remain close to the back bumper of Jones, Kyle was never able to make a move for the final 14 laps, and was last when the checkered flag waved, a full 13 seconds behind the race leaders.
Rounding out the Bottom Five were: 39th was the aforementioned #29 of Ray Jones, 38th was the #9 Aaron's / Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet of Tom Schmidt, 37th was the #43 Richard Petty Driving Experience Dodge of Pria McShane and 36th was the #42 Crosley Radio Dodge of Sebastian Torres.
To this day, Chris Kyle runs his own YouTube racing league called the ISCR(International Stock Car Racing), and is better known as NR Leagues over on his YouTube channel; http:www.youtube.com/user/NR2003Leagues
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #32 has finished last in a ARCA Series race at Salem.
*This marked only the third time in the ARCA Series the #32 has trailed the field; the most recent time it had happened was in the Season 2 Bank of American 200 Presented by Fox 21/27 at the South Boston Speedway when Keith Stevens picked up the lone last place finish of his own ARCA career when he was involved in a multi-car crash after 11 of the 20 laps; 23 races ago.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #32-Chris Kyle / 20 laps / running
39) #29-Ray Jones / 20 laps / running
38) #9-Tom Schmidt / 20 laps / running
37) #43-Pria McShane / 20 laps / running
36) #42-Sebastian Torres / 20 laps / running
Jacob Britts picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL ARCA Sportsman Series career in the Music City 100 at the Nashville Fairgrounds when his #92 Summit Racing Equipment / CompCams Chevrolet fell out with camshaft problems after completing 8 of the 20 laps.
The finish came in his 13th start. In the SCRL ARCA Sportsman Series, it's the 1st for car #92 and the 1st for camshaft issues. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 5th for the #92 and the 34th for camshaft issues.
Entering the ARCA Series's brand newest division, Britts was one of twelve drivers who was making their SCRL debuts by competing in the ARCA Sportsman Series, with Britts looking to get enough experience to one day compete in higher up SCRL Series. In his SCRL debut, Britts finished a respectable 18th place at Toledo, 18th again in the next round at Mansfield, in the next event Britts would lead six laps around the series first ever road course event at Heartland Park and would finish runner up to Derrick Edison. A 12th place finish at Lucas Oil would be followed up with Britts leading 14 of the event's 25 laps at Iowa and would score his first career win in just his 5th career start. In the next round at Rockingham, Britts would lead 15 of the event's twenty laps but finished runner up to Nitahbk. A 23rd at Winchester, a 16th at Palm Beach, 21st at I-70, 16th at the Milwaukee Mile, 20th at Springfield before finishing 12th in the last round at NJMP.
In qualifying, Britts would struggle just a bit on his lap, putting up a speed of 100.098mph (21.435 seconds), 0.376 seconds off Derrick Edison's pole run, which would be his first of the year. Staring last on race day would be the #26 Jackaroo / Shell Chevrolet of Mark Austin, who would be a full two miles slower behind Edison's pole time and 0.610 seconds behind his lap, giving Austin the first last-place start of the year.
Austin would trail for the first lap around the 0.596 mile short track before making a moving on Lap 2, knocking the #22 Raybestos / Supergard Chevrolet of Erik Sieg into last, but Sieg's stay would only last one lap before he would knock I-70 last-place finisher the #46 Dollar General / Dickies Ford of Frodomar Otts into last on Lap 3. Otts would be in last for only one lap as well, knocking the #16 Motorcraft Quality Parts / WinnDixie Ford of Trevor Collins into last on Lap 4, with Collins knocking the #84 Goulds Pumps / Jani-King Ford of Ryan Rush into last on Lap 5. Rush would also trail for only one circuit before knocking Ryan's brother the #97 John Deere Ford of Joshua Rush into last on Lap 6. Joshua would trail for two circuits before knocking NJMP last-place finisher the #55 IWX Racing / Jesel Chevrolet of Bulldog67 into last on Lap 8.
At this point in the race, Britts had moved up four spots and was running in the 15th spot off Turn 4 when his car began to smoke as he pulled to the inside of the track in a attempt to not get any oil on the track, as he would coast around the track on the apron, as he fell to last entering Turn 1 before coasting back to the pit road before pulling behind the wall. The team would look under the hood and discovered that the camshaft was broken, and with almost half of the race competed, it would take too long to send Britts back out on the track, the car being listed as "out" on Lap 11.
Finishing 28th was the #25 Pennzoil / Autolite Chevrolet of Grayson Acevedo, who was running in the 20th spot with five laps to go when entering Turn 1 the #22 of Erik Sieg lost control entering Turn 2, causing both cars to spin out, sliding up the track and smacking the outside wall. While the spin and contact seemed like minor contact, it was enough that Acevedo would pull behind the wall and retired from the event just five laps from the finish.
As the field was riding around behind the pace car as the officials tried to attempt to end the race under green conditions, two time last-place finisher the #9 Haas Automation / Food City Toyota of Andrew Olsen, who was running in the 9th spot, began to slow as his car started to smoke. Olsen pulled to the pits and then the garage, his car being discovered to have broken a gearbox, and would be retired from the race on the final lap.
The remaining Bottom Five would finish on the same lap as the race leaders: 26th was the aforementioned #55 of Bulldog67 and 25th was the #22 of Erik Sieg.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #92 has finished last in the SCRL ARCA Sportsman Series as well at Nashville.
*This marked the first instance of an ARCA Sportsman Series driver finishing last due to camshaft issues.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
29) #92-Jacob Britts / 8 laps / camshaft
28) #25-Grayson Acevedo / 15 laps / crash
27) #9-Andrew Olsen / 18 laps / gearbox
26) #55-Bulldog67 / 20 laps / running
25) #22-Erik Sieg / 20 laps / running
Arina McShane picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL Lucas Oil ARCA Racing Series career in the ModSpace 150 at the Pocono Raceway when his unsponsored #54 Kurzejewski Motorsports Dodge was involved in a multi-car crash without completing any of the 20 laps.
The finish came in his 15th start. In the SCRL Lucas Oil ARCA Racing Series, it's the 1st for car #54 and the 26th from a crash. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 4th for the #54 and the 256th from a crash.
McShane was one of several drivers making their debut in the ARCA season's third ever season by signing up to drive for the brand new Kurzejewski Motorsports racing team. McShane started off his SCRL career with a 26th place finish in his ARCA debut at Daytona, a 16th at Atlanta, 33rd at Nashville, 34th at Salem, 30th at Talladega, 22nd at Charlotte, 38th at Gateway, 33rd at the first Pocono event, 18th at Chicagoland, before scoring his best finish of the season so far, a 9th at Lucas Oil. A 26th at Kentucky, 34th at Iowa, before not being able to start at DuQuoin due to a practice crash before finishing 13th in the last round at Michigan.
In qualifying at the two and a half mile triangle track, McShane would struggle in qualifying posting a time 36.175 seconds(183.707 mph), it was 0.367 seconds behind Samet Okzan's pole time, placing McShane in the 35th position, the worst starting spot of his career. Starting last would be former all time race winner the #1 ModSpace Ford of Truttle.
Just seconds after the field rolled off pit road to begin their one lone pace lap, the #44 Ansell / Menards Toyota of Riley Spurlytube, who was going to start 39th, stalled on pit road and was forced to be pushed to his stall as the crew looked over the car as the green flag was waved. As the field took the green flag, drivers entered Turn 1 going three wide as the #3 Realtor / DK-LOK Ford of Greg Torres made contact with the #90 Motor Honey / Advance Auto Parts Ford of Max Anderson and the #43 Richard Petty Driving Experience Dodge of Pria McShane, sending all three cars for a spin followed by first Pocono last-place finisher the #19 Battomi-Lawton Insurance Dodge of Sebastian Cucalon who spun out seconds later. As the field went down the long backstretch, the #55 Toyota "Let's Go Places" Toyota of Jay Jefferson made contact with the unsponsored #0 Wayne Peterson Racing Ford of Brock Beard, sending Jay down the track into Talladega last-pace finisher the #23 Allegiant Air Chevrolet of Jack Lagasee, starting off a chain reaction which would involve twenty cars in total, with McShane being unable to go anywhere and ran into a car in front of him while getting hit from behind. McShane would be listed as the last car on track due to not being able to drive back to the garage, along with Kentucky last-place finisher the #11 Hudson Perf / Drivelines / Warrick Tubing Dodge of Tony Newman, the unsponsored #69 Kimmel Racing Ford of Ray Dent Jr. and the #09 Casite.com / ETS Ford of Pritti Shah, all being scored having not completed a lap.
Rounding out the Bottom Five in 36th place was the aforementioned #23 of Jack Lagasee, who was able to limp across the start/finish line before pulling behind the wall and the garage, done for the day but completing one lap.
Up front, the day belonged to Colin Drybrugh, who led 14 of the event's 20 laps, and would score his first career ARCA Series win, joining his son, David, as becoming the first and only father-son to win a race in the SCRL Lucas Oil ARCA Racing Series.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #54 has finished last in a ARCA Series race as well at Pocono.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #54-Arina McShane / 0 laps / crash
39) #11-Tony Newman / 0 laps / crash
38) #69-Ray Dent Jr. / 0 laps / crash
37) #09-Pritti Shah / 0 laps / crash
36) #23-Jack Lagasee / 1 lap / crash
Bulldog67 picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL ARCA Sportsman Series career in the Modspace 100 at the New Jersey Motorsports Park when his #55 IWX Racing / Jesel Chevrolet when he completed 6 of the 7 laps under power.
The finish came in his 12th start. In the SCRL ARCA Sportsman Series, it's the 1st for car #55 and the 9th where the car was still running. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 6th for the #55 and the 268th where the vehicle was still running.
Entering the ARCA Series's brand newest division, Bulldog67 had already built up a very successful career, having been completing since the league's very first race, way back in the ONL NASCAR Legends Series, as he finished 2nd in points to Truttle in Season 1 before coming back stronger in Season 2 and would pick up his first ever championship. Bulldog67's racing career would cool down in the recent years as he focused on his personal and family life, before signing up to compete in racing again several years ago, and picked up right where he left off as he currently is ranked 6th on the all time win list with 15 as he made the decision to compete in the ARCA Sportsman Series. Bulldog67 finished 19th in his series debut at Toledo, before rebounding back strong with a 8th place at Mansfield, 12th in the series first road course event at Heartland Park, 17th at Lucas Oil, 16th at Iowa, 13th at Rockingham, 12th at Winchester, 9th at Palm Beach, before in his 9th career start, Bulldog67 led 12 of the 20 laps to scored his first series win at I-70 Speedway and his 16th overall SCRL win. A disappointing 25th place finish at the Milwaukee Mile and a 5th place in the last round on the dirt at Springfield.
In qualifying , Russell would struggle as he would spin out twice during his lap, putting up a speed of 74.222mph (109.132 seconds), a full twenty four seconds off Joshua Rush's pole run, which would be his first of the year. This secured Bulldog67 with the 29th and final starting spot on race day.
Bulldog67's stay in the final spot would last only three turns as entering Turn 3, Rockingham last-place finisher the #11 Melling / Menards Chevrolet of Ray Dent was racing three wide with points leader the #1 Miccosukee Resorts & Gaming Chevrolet of Celious Wolf and Lucas Oil last-place finisher the #36 O'Reilly Toyota of Derrick Edison, with Dent making contact with Wolf, sending Dent for a spin right in front of the field as the #32 Baldwin Filters / Comp USA Toyota of Maxwell Hayden and the #62 U-Haul / Lucas Oil Dodge of Rocco Twyman would both receive front end damage after making contact with Dent, who would trail the field for the first two laps. Just before the field was able to go back racing, Bulldog67, who had moved up to 25th, began to slow and followed the pace truck down pit road as the field went back racing, as he would pull into his stall, as his team replaced all four tires on his car before sending their driver back out, but he would lose a lap during the slow stop, and with no more cautions or cars having problems, he was the lone driver to not finish on the lead lap.
The remaining Bottom Five were: 28th was the aforementioned #62 of Rocco Twyman, 27th was Springfield last-place finisher the #4 Lumber Liquidators / Sauer's Toyota of Christian Russell, 26th was the aforementioned #11 of Ray Dent and 25th was the #00 Shop Rite / CompCams Chevrolet of Marina Parker.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #55 has finished last in the SCRL ARCA Sportsman Series as well at NJMP.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
29) #55-Bulldog67 / 6 laps / running
28) #62-Rocco Twyman / 7 laps / running
27) #4-Christian Russell / 7 laps / running
26) #11-Ray Dent / 7 laps / running
25) #00-Marina Parker / 7 laps / running
Greg Masin picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL Lucas Oil ARCA Racing Series career in the Corrigan Oil 200 at the Michigan International Speedway when his #92 Fight For Life Chevrolet was involved in a multi-car crash without completing any of the 20 laps.
The finish came in his 14th start. In the SCRL Lucas Oil ARCA Racing Series, it's the 3rd for car #92 and the 25th from a crash. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 4th for the #92 and the 255th from a crash.
Masin was one of several drivers making their debut in the ARCA season's third ever season by signing up to drive for the NTS Motorsports racing team with a goal of having good runs, possibly a win and maybe a top 20 points finish. Masin would qualify 5th in his first career start and would lead 9 of the 20 laps at Daytona but would be shuffled all the way back to 39th by the end of the race. A 26th at Atlanta would be followed by a 38th at Nashville, 35th at Salem, before Masin would survive the chaos at Talladega and finished 18th. A 20th at Charlotte, 15th at Gateway, 14th at Pocono, 15th at Chicagoland before struggling to a 24th at Lucas Oil. Masin would arrive at the 11th race of the season as he would finish a series best 6th at Kentucky. A 16th at Iowa would be followed with Masin's second best finish of the season, a 5th in the last round at DuQuoin.
In qualifying at the two mile track, Masin would struggle in qualifying, while speed wise he posted a 199.032mph (36.175 seconds), it was 0.152 seconds behind Tim Randolph's pole time, placing Masin all the way in the 39th position, the worst starting spot of his career. Starting last however would be the unsponsored #29 Chevrolet of Ray Jones, who just two races earlier had scored his first career SCRL win at Iowa.
As the field took the green flag, drivers already started to make it four wide up front entering Turn 1 before one car backed out of it, but coming into Turn 2, Talladega last-place finisher the #23 Allegiant Air Chevrolet of Jack Lagasee scraped the wall and came back down the track and made contact with the #1 ModSpace Ford of Truttle and would start of a chain reaction as a "Big One" broke out on the Backstretch. With the track being blocked, all the drivers had to either go high or low to try and avoid the crash, with Masin running in the back he hoped the hole would open up by the time he got there, it turned out he was wrong. As he rode behind the #54 Kurzejewski Motorsports Dodge of Arina McShane, Truttle's car spun up the track at the exact moment and destroyed the front end of Masin's car, sending him for his own spin and hitting the outside wall head on before coming to a stop at the entrance of Turn 3. Truttle would limp around to the pits and got minor repairs to his car and would complete two laps before pulling behind the wall, placing 37th. The backstretch was filled with cars destroyed from the wreck, including the unsponsored #17 Roulo Brothers Racing Ford of Marcus Saatchi and the #3 Aluma Aluminum Trailers / AgriGold Chevrolet of Dale Guthire, with all three cars behind scored as having not completed a lap, but Masin was giving the final spot as he was the last car running at the time of the crash.
Rounding out the Bottom Five in 36th place was the #34 Bob Brent's Orchard Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-RAM Chevrolet of Trey Wright, who would be involved in the day's second Big One on Lap 8 as Trey was at the tail end of the crash and got minor damage, only for Jack Lagasee to come along at full speed and hit Wright in the passenger door, sending Wright for a flip in the air before landing on all four wheels. Wright had to be cut from his car and transported to the infield care center before being transported to a local hospital for observation, but was said to be alert and the driver said there was no way he'd be missing the next round at Pocono.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #92 has finished last at Michigan.
*This marked the only the third time the #92 has trailed an ARCA Series race. The most recent time it happened was the Season 2 Barbera's Autoland 150 at the New Jersey Motorsports Park when Aidan Shepherd completed all 8 laps under power; 27 races ago.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #92-Greg Masin / 0 laps / crash
39) #17-Marcus Saatchi / 0 laps / crash
38) #3-Dale Guthire / 0 laps / crash
37) #1-Truttle / 2 laps / crash
36) #34-Trey Wright / 8 laps / crash
Christian Russell picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL ARCA Sportsman Series career in the Allen Crowe 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds when his #4 Lumber Liquidators / Sauer's Toyota completed all 10 laps under power.
The finish came in his 11th start. In the SCRL ARCA Sportsman Series, it's the 1st for car #4 and the 8th where the car was still running. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 13th for the #4 and the 267th where the vehicle was still running.
Entering the ARCA Series's brand newest division, Russell was entering only the third ever full time series in his career, after making his debut in the SCRL NASCAR Legends Series, where he would score three career wins and drive on to win the championship, joining an exclusive list of drivers to win a championship in his debut season. Russell would then travel across the pond to compete in the SCRL Formula 3 Series, scoring a win at Hungaroring and would finish a 5th in the overall point standings. Back in the United States, Russell was quick to sign up and compete in the ARCA's third highest division, and would get off to an early start with a 7th at Toledo, before struggling to a disappointing 27th at Mansfield. A 10th at Heartland Park would begin a five race streak of finishes in the top ten; 4th at Lucas Oil, 8th at Iowa, 3rd at Rockingham and a 4th at Winchester. Russell's streak would end with a 12th at Palm Beach, 24th at I-70 before finishing 19th in the last round at the Milwaukee Mile.
In qualifying , Russell would struggle to fine much speed during his qualifying lap around the one mile dirt track, putting up a speed of 107.852mph (33.379 seconds), a full seven hundredths of a second off Andrew Olsen's pole run, which would be his first of the year. This secured Russell the 20th spot on Monday’s grid. Starting 29th and last in the race for the second race in a row was the #66 Lincoln Welders / Bojangles' Dodge of Daryl Lee, posting a time of 39.392, six seconds off of Olsen's pace after going wide in Turn 1 on his lone qualifying lap.
Lee's stay in the final spot would last for only two turns, much like it had at Milwaukee the race before, as he quickly knocked Milwaukee last-place finisher the #29 Snap-On / Whelen Chevrolet of Dilan Ebrahimian, who would trail for the first lap, before the next circuit around he knocked the #52 Fel-Pro Performance Gaskets Ford of Nitahbk into the final spot on Lap 2. Her stay in the final spot would also last only one lap when she passed the #57 Mazak Machine Tools / 3M Dodge of Terry Lee into the final spot for lap 3. Lee would also remain in last for just one circuit when he knocked Palm Beach last-place finisher the #77 Jasper / Lucas Oil Dodge of Muhammad Zain Abdullah into last on Lap 4.
Abdullah would trail in the final spot for two laps before he knocked Russell into last for the first time on Lap 6. Russell would trail for two laps himself around the one mile track before knocking the #51 Tire Kingdom / Cometic Ford of AJ Jones into the final spot before before the white flag. The two cars raced each other into Turn 1 with Jones making a move past Russell and then past I-70 last-place finisher the #46 Dollar General / Dickies Ford of Frodomar Otts in Turn 3 with Russell unable to gain any spots and would finish both behind Jones and Otts.
The remaining Bottom Five were: 26th was the #22 Raybestos / Supergard Chevrolet of Erik Sieg and 25th was the aforementioned #52 of Nitahbk.
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #4 has finished last in the SCRL ARCA Sportsman Series as well at Springfield.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
29) #4-Christian Russell / 10 laps / running
28) #46-Frodomar Otts / 10 laps / running
27) #51-AJ Jones / 10 laps / running
26) #22-Erik Sieg / 10 laps / running
25) #52-Nitahbk / 10 laps / running
