CUP: Rookie Omar Gutierrez crashes out early at Vernon

Omar Gutierrez picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL Grand National Series career in Race 6 at the Vernon Fairgrounds when his #60 Oldsmobile was involved in a multi-car accident after 1 of the 20 laps.

The finish came in his 6th career series start. In the SCRL Grand National Series, it's the 1st for car #60 and the 6th from a crash. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 2nd for the #60 and 283rd from a crash.

Omar was one of many drivers making not only their SCRL Grand National Series debuts but their SCRL debut by signing up to complete in the second ever season, and would sign up to complete full time. Omar would finish a disappointing 26th at Daytona Beach, 9th at Charlotte, 23rd at Langhorne, 15th at Martinsville before finishing a career best 2nd to AJ Jones at Canfield.

The entry list for the fourth time this season would be only the part-time drivers, as the track wasn't big enough to fit all the full and part-time drivers.

In qualifying, Jeremy Ickle would score his first career pole with a time of 26.130 seconds. Omar would struggle around the half mile dirt track, posting a time of 26.858, while he was only 0.728 seconds off Ickle's time, it would place Omar in 29th, the worst starting position of the season for him. Starting last in the race was the #59 Lincoln of Zachary Fitzwater, who posted a time of 27.040, 0.910 seconds behind Ickle's pole winning time.

Johnston McClellan stalls on the Backstretch.

On race day, Fitzwater would trail for the first turn until the battle for last almost ending as the #1 Fabulous Hudson Hornet Hudson of Johnston McClellan, who had started in 21st, slowed coming out of Turn 2, before stalling on the Backstretch, bringing out the race's lone caution. Had McClellan's team not able to get him back out on track, he would have gotten his first career last-place finish, but his team was able to look over the car and saw it had only suffered a flat left front tire, and sent their driver back out onto the track, one lap down. As McClellan's car was being towed to the pits, Omar would run into the back of the #97 of Brent Davison, causing damaged to the radiator with enough force that his day was done and pulled behind the wall, being scored having completed one lap, while McClellan knocked him back to last on Lap 3.

Rounding out the Bottom Five were drivers who finished on the same lap as the race leaders; 29th was the #87 Griffin Motors / Darlington Intl. Raceway Oldsmobile of Doug Hart, 27th was the #3 of Chris Henry and 26th was the #15 of Joe Jefferson

SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS

*This was the first time the #60 has finished last in a Grand National Series race as well at Vernon.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

30) #60-Omar Gutierrez / 1 lap / crash

29) #1-Johnston McClellan / 19 laps / running

28) #87-Doug Hart / 20 laps / running

27) #3-Chris Henry / 20 laps / running

26) #15-Joe Jefferson / 20 laps / running