CUP: Bristol Night Race sees intense last-place war with Playoff implications
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| PHOTO: @speedwaydigest |
by Brock Beard
LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
Martin Truex, Jr. picked up the 9th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway when his #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota fell out with steering issues after 198 of 500 laps.
The finish, which came in Truex’s 614th series start, was his first of the season and first since September 10, 2018 at Indianapolis, 147 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 25th from steering issues, the 47th for the #19, and the 178th from Toyota. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 32nd from the steering, the 84th for the #19, and the 383rd for Toyota.
Saturday’s race marked the first time Truex has finished last in Joe Gibbs Racing’s #19 entry, a car he took over from Daniel Suarez in the 2019 season following the closure of Furniture Row Racing. That year saw him continue his championship form of the previous two seasons, scoring seven wins and finishing runner-up to his new teammate Kyle Busch. After scoring his lone win of the pandemic-affected 2020 campaign in Martinsville, he won another four times last year and was just one caution – and one pit stop – from beating Kyle Larson’s dominant Chevrolet for his second season title.
But, while still consistent on paper, this year’s campaign in the NextGen car has proven a struggle. Most noticeable has been his poor performance on the road courses – once the bread-and-butter of his best seasons. Following a 7th-place finish in COTA, he was just 26th in Sonoma, 13th in Road America, 21st at Indianapolis, and 23rd in Watkins Glen. While winless in a season with a record number of winners, he scored the second-most points of any winless driver through 26 races. Unfortunately, that still wasn’t quite enough to make the Playoff cut. After both he and challenger Ryan Blaney wrecked at Daytona, Blaney edged him for the spot. At Darlington, where hie led 48 laps only to suffer a late-race water pump failure, he looked on the verge of tears as he recalled the frustrations of this uncharacteristic season.
Truex’s weekend in Bristol began with the 24th-fastest lap of the 36 entrants, then qualified 22nd with a lap of 126.071mph (15.220 seconds).
Rolling off 36th and last was J.J. Yeley in Rick Ware Racing’s #15 World Supercross Championship Ford. While no drivers were sent to the back for pre-race penalties, Yeley still took the green flag one-tenth ahead of 35th-place starter Landon Cassill, who raced in place of Josh Bilicki in the #77 Zeigler Auto / LoJack Chevrolet. By Lap 5, Cassill was still in last, 5.795 back of the lead, and now 0.251 back of new 35th-place runner B.J. McLeod in the #78 Down ‘n Dirty Ford. By Lap 10, Cassill pulled side-by-side with McLeod at the stripe and completed the pass two circuits later. Due to reception issues, McLeod’s crew had trouble checking timing and scoring as they gradually lost touch with Cassill and on Lap 27 became the first car one lap down, passed by polesitter Aric Almirola through Turns 3 and 4.
On Lap 39, Harrison Burton’s #21 Motorcraft Quick Lane Ford bounced off the wall in Turn 4, and two circuits later was told “We’ve gotta change that tire.” As Burton made it to pit road, the caution fell on Lap 43 as Yeley’s #15 also lost a tire and ran slow in the high lane. Yeley, already lapped at the moment of caution, took last from McLeod on Lap 44 as he fell two down. Yeley’s crew checked for evidence of tire rub, only to be told that the tire failed for reasons outside their control. On the restart, Yeley’s car was snapping loose on corner exit, but still ran his fastest lap of the race around Lap 56. By Lap 71, McLeod had also fallen two laps down, but their battle for last soon became a race for 34th.
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| Blaney (center) during his extended stay on pit road PHOTO: Austin Stombres |
On Lap 82, Yeley was warned of a slow car off the corner. This was Austin Cindric, who was running inside the Top Ten when his #2 Freightliner Ford came down pit road with a flat right-front tire. Cindric made clear he didn’t make contact with another driver, and that the tire just went down. The green flag stayed out, and Cindric lost four laps as a result, putting him last on Lap 88 as he met minimum speed. Then on Lap 92, Cindric’s Penske teammate Ryan Blaney found trouble when his #12 Menards / Pennzoil Ford lost a right-front tire and bounced off the Turn 4 wall with Aric Almirola’s #10 Ford BlueOval City Ford spinning into the wall moments later. Blaney made it to pit road, only for the crew to leave the left-rear wheel loose and rolling down pit road. Both Blaney and Almirola’s crew checked the steering and returned to the track with Almirola on the lead lap in 30th and Blaney down to 32nd, one lap down. But Blaney’s damage proved much worse, and by Lap 105, his car was dragging sparks from beneath the rear diffuser. He made a quick pit stop on Lap 113 and fell four laps down, but the issue still wasn’t resolved. The next time by, NASCAR black-flagged Blaney for not meeting minimum speed. The resulting stop caused Blaney to take last from Cindric on Lap 116.
Blaney ended up spending several laps on pit road, sitting in one of the first stalls off Turn 4. He was there on Lap 126, when Stage 1 ended, and on Lap 130, a crewman said he couldn’t reattach the toe link because the suspension was so badly bent. By Lap 143, Blaney’s crew lifted the hood, and on Lap 172 had fallen 60 laps down to the leaders.
Back on track on Lap 173, Bubba Wallace’s #45 MoneyLion Toyota erupted in smoke from behind the right-front, the driver saying he couldn’t turn the car. Wallace pulled into his stall – just a few stalls in front of Blaney’s – and on Lap 183 was joined by teammate Ty Gibbs, citing power steering issues on his #23 Monster Energy Toyota. On Lap 185, Blaney – now 72 laps down – backed up on pit road and became the first car to go behind the wall, where the team’s toolbox was waiting. Gibbs followed by Lap 195 while Wallace returned to the track 20 laps down in 35th.
34) #23-Ty Gibbs OFF
35) #45-Bubba Wallace -20L
36) #12-Ryan Blaney OFF
On Lap 200, as Wallace was making up the ten laps he needed to pass Gibbs, NASCAR relayed that Martin Truex, Jr. had gone behind the wall. Truex reported he’d blown the seal out of the power steering system and lost all the fluid. During his interview, 35th-place Wallace returned to the garage area – just as he caught up to the same lap as 34th-place Gibbs. On Lap 215, Truex’s on-board camera was shut off, his #19 in 33rd a full 18 laps down. On Lap 240, Truex’s car was being loaded on the hauler, and the #19 was declared out on Lap 241. At that moment, he was still just 33rd – the cars of Wallace, Gibbs, and Blaney were still being worked on. Wallace’s crew replaced the entire steering rack.
33) #19-Martin Truex, Jr. OUT
34) #45-Bubba Wallace OFF
35) #23-Ty Gibbs OFF
36) #12-Ryan Blaney OFF
On Lap 257, Blaney was the first to return to the track. After serving a stop-and-go penalty incurred during his earlier repairs for too many crewmen over the wall, he merged into traffic 152 laps down – still in last place, but now under power and catching 23XI Racing teammates Wallace and Gibbs with Truex farther ahead. On Lap 270, the caution fell as Kyle Busch’s #18 M&M’s Toyota erupted in smoke – the result of his second engine failure in three races. Busch promptly pulled into the garage and climbed out, done for the day. Under the ensuing caution on Lap 273, as Busch’s car was pushed to the hauler, Wallace re-fired his engine and returned to the track 91 laps down in 35th place. Wallace immediately passed Gibbs, who was still in the garage, and now in 34th set his sights on Truex with Kyle Busch further ahead.
32) #18-Kyle Busch OUT
33) #19-Martin Truex, Jr. OUT
34) #45-Bubba Wallace -91L
35) #23-Ty Gibbs OFF
36) #12-Ryan Blaney -152L
Then on Lap 277 came the biggest wreck of the night, triggered by a spinning Daniel Suarez in the #99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet. The multi-car pileup aggravated a power steering issue on Alex Bowman’s #48 Ally Chevrolet, sending his smoking car behind the wall on Lap 280. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – clipped by the spinning Suarez – joined him soon after in the #47 Kroger / Thomas’ Chevrolet. The wreck also damaged both Richard Childress Racing teammates Austin Dillon in the #3 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Off Road Chevrolet and Tyler Reddick in the #8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet. Reddick was able to return to the track with the right-front fender removed and cleared the “Crash Clock” on Lap 292. But Dillon’s clock expired with both left-side wheels still off his Chevrolet, ending his night. He pulled behind the wall on Lap 300 – out under the Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP). On Lap 332, NASCAR confirmed Dillon, Stenhouse, and Bowman were out along with Kyle Busch. All four were now positions to be gained by the closing Blaney and Wallace, who were still on track with more than 100 laps to go.
29) #3-Austin Dillon OUT
30) #48-Alex Bowman OUT
31) #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. OUT
32) #18-Kyle Busch OUT
33) #19-Martin Truex, Jr. OUT
34) #45-Bubba Wallace -91L
35) #23-Ty Gibbs OFF
36) #12-Ryan Blaney -152L
On Lap 311, Blaney was within 25 laps of climbing past Ty Gibbs into 35th when Gibbs re-fired his engine and returned to the track. By Lap 317, Gibbs was back up to speed, 132 laps down – 21 laps ahead of Blaney and 15 laps from catching 34th-place Truex. Gibbs passed Truex and on Lap 354, Blaney finally dropped Truex to last, which the #19 would hold for the rest of the night. Blaney would incur a speeding penalty and cut down another tire, but remain on the track to the finish. This was problematic for Playoff contenders Kyle Busch and Austin Cindric, who after both struggled were now competing for the final spot in the “Round of 12.” But while Cindric was still running laps down, Busch was out – and completely at the mercy of the closing Blaney, Wallace, and Gibbs.
29) #3-Austin Dillon OUT
30) #48-Alex Bowman OUT
31) #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. OUT
32) #18-Kyle Busch OUT
33) #45-Bubba Wallace -91L
34) #23-Ty Gibbs -132L
35) #12-Ryan Blaney -156L
36) #19-Martin Truex, Jr. OUT
On Lap 364, Wallace dropped Busch to 33rd, and on Lap 382, Gibbs was within around 20 laps of dropping Busch to 34th. But on Lap 402 – within just five laps of passing Busch – Gibbs pulled behind the wall and up to the hauler, done for the night. When Gibbs came down pit road, Joey Logano fell off the lead lap when his #22 Shell / Pennzoil Ford came down pit road with a flat right-front tire. In the same exact manner as teammate Blaney earlier in the race, Logano spent multiple laps in his stall as his crew attempted a toe link replacement on the right-rear. This may have helped Cindric secure his Playoff spot – but not as much as Blaney’s gradual rise through the field.
29) #3-Austin Dillon OUT
30) #48-Alex Bowman OUT
31) #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. OUT
32) #45-Bubba Wallace -92L
33) #18-Kyle Busch OUT
34) #12-Ryan Blaney -162L
35) #23-Ty Gibbs OUT
36) #19-Martin Truex, Jr. OUT
By Lap 430, Blaney had passed both Gibbs and Kyle Busch. On Lap 463, Logano’s crew still couldn’t get the toe link in place, and instructed Logano to go to the exact same spot in the garage as Blaney for further repairs. But after running a slow lap and pulling in on Lap 469, there were now just 31 laps to go – and likely more than 100 laps of repairs to complete. With that, Logano was done, settling for 27th. Both Wallace and Blaney managed to climb past the wrecked trio of Dillon, Bowman, and Stenhouse, but advanced no further, taking 29th and 30th, respectively. Reddick held onto 25th, but joined Busch, Dillon, and Harvick as the three drivers eliminated from the Playoffs. All three Penske Racing teammates of Cindric, Blaney, and Logano have advanced to the next round.
29) #45-Bubba Wallace -92L
30) #12-Ryan Blaney -162L
31) #3-Austin Dillon OUT
32) #48-Alex Bowman OUT
33) #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. OUT
34) #18-Kyle Busch OUT
35) #23-Ty Gibbs OUT
36) #19-Martin Truex, Jr. OUT
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #19 in a Cup race at Bristol since March 17, 2013, when Mike Bliss’ #19 Humphrey-Smith Racing Toyota fell out with a blown engine after 3 laps of the Food City 500. Bliss also scored the number’s most recent last-place finish in the night race the previous August, where he had power steering issues after 6 laps.
*Truex is only the second driver to finish last in a Cup race at Bristol due to steering issues (as opposed to specifically listed power steering issues). The other was Dave Blaney, whose #66 PRISM Motorsports Toyota fell out after 33 laps of the Food City 500 on March 22, 2009.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #19-Martin Truex, Jr. / 198 laps / steering
35) #23-Ty Gibbs / 265 laps / steering
34) #18-Kyle Busch / 269 laps / engine
33) #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. / 276 laps / crash
32) #48-Alex Bowman / 277 laps / crash
2022 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Live Fast Motorsports (6)
2nd) Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing (4)
3rd) Spire Motorsports (3)
4th) Penske Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Trackhouse Racing (2)
5th) 23XI Racing, Kaulig Racing, NY Racing Team, Richard Childress Racing, Rick Ware Racing, Team Hezeberg (1)
2022 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet, Ford (12)
2nd) Toyota (5)
2022 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
