CUP: Chad Finchum first All-Star Open last-place finisher to come home on the lead lap since 2018
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Garage 66 / MBM Motorsports, (@MBMMotorsports)
Chad Finchum finished last in Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Open at the North Wilkesboro Speedway when his #66 AiresTech Ford finished under power and completed all 100 laps, 13.133 seconds back of the leader.
Finchum made his first Cup start of the season two weeks ago in Texas, driving for Carl Long’s rebranded “Garage 66.” Team. HART HVAC & Electric rejoined as sponsor of a distinctive black-and-blue Ford. There, Finchum ran near the back through the closing stages, when he was collected in the day’s biggest accident in Turn 2. While some were critical of Finchum’s late involvement in the accident, Alex Bowman took the blame when his wrecking car slid into Finchum’s path. The result was the same – a 37th-place finish of 38 starters.
For the All-Star Open, Finchum was named as driver, where he’d debut new sponsorship from biomedical firm Aires Tech on the hood of a white car covered with light grey accents similar to the company’s logo. This would kick off a two-race deal which will return in Nashville in June. There, Cooper & Hunter will replace Truan Equipment as the sponsor on the quarter-panels.
Finchum’s was one of just two “open” entries arriving in North Wilkesboro. He was joined by Rick Ware Racing’s #15 for full-timer Cody Ware, whose #51 went to last year’s Daytona winner Harrison Burton for the main event. In practice, Finchum was slowest with a lap of 19.212 seconds (117.114mph), just over a second off the fastest lap. According to the team, Finchum did manage to run consistent 19.20 second laps in his third practice run despite a tight condition. His crew then ranked 34th of the 38 entrants in the pit crew competition, taking no penalties for a 17.075 second entry. But it was a slow lap in qualifying as he secured the final spot on the grid with a lap of just 144.025 seconds (46.867mph).
“Have fun out there, man,” Long’s team told Finchum before the start of the Open. “Appreciate everyone who got us here,” said Finchum as he prepared for the 100-lap event. He took the green on the outside line, 1.762 seconds back of the lead and already battling 17th-place Todd Gilliland’s #34 Overplay Ford, just 0.062 ahead. By Lap 3, Gilliland had pulled away from Finchum, who was 2.841 seconds back of the lead. Finchum’s spotter said he ran well off Turn 4 on Lap 5, but was now about a half-second back of 17th place. By Lap 10, Gilliland had climbed past Cody Ware, whose #15 Schluter Systems Ford was now the rabbit Finchum was chasing. But Finchum was now loose on exit, and by Lap 12 had fallen just under two seconds back of Ware. That gap grew to more than four seconds on Lap 19. By Lap 22, FS1 reported Finchum was running 19.47-second laps while nearly the entire field was in the low 19-second range. On Lap 34, Finchum was the first to be lapped by then-leader Shane van Gisbergen.
On Lap 38, NASCAR reported Turn 4 was clear after Todd Gilliland’s #34 glanced off the wall, then made it to pit road for an unscheduled stop. The stop cost Gilliland two laps, dropping him to last on Lap 39 as he returned to the track. With a caution expected around Lap 50, Gilliland was told by his team to “pedal it until the break,” saving his tires for the final run. That caution came on Lap 52, giving Finchum the “Lucky Dog.” Gilliland still pitted with the rest of the field for a toe change, and was now scored just one down for the next restart. During that yellow, there was some confusion as to where Gilliland needed to line up as Riley Herbst incurred a speeding penalty in Section 7 for his #35 Monster Energy Toyota. The team decided not to switch lanes, still the only driver off the lead lap.
On the Lap 59 restart, Finchum tumbled back to 17th as Herbst cleared both Finchum and Ware. By Lap 69, Finchum was 7.106 seconds back of the lead, and Gilliland was working his way through traffic. By Lap 74, Finchum was already 9.112 back of the lead, and about 2.5 seconds back of 16th-place Ware. Then on Lap 78, Michael McDowell’s #71 Delaware Life Chevrolet bumped Herbst’s #35 up the track in Turns 3 and 4, causing Herbst’s car to glance off the wall with the right-rear. The caution fell, giving Gilliland his lap back and leading to one more round of pit stops. This put Finchum back to last place by Lap 83, and on Lap 84, he was 1.949 back of the lead, already six-tenths back of Gilliland.
In the final laps, Finchum again gradually lost ground. He was 8.320 seconds back of the lead with 10 go, when Noah Gragson’s #4 Rural King Ford fell back to 17th with a power steering issue. Gragson then caught and passed Ware with two to go, when Finchum was 11.433 back of the lead to Ware’s 6.338. When the checkered flag waved, Finchum was 13.133 seconds back of the lead while Ware had re-passed Gragson, Ware 7.13 seconds back of the lead to Gragson’s 7.415. All 18 starters finished the race under power and on the lead lap.
Hocevar wins Open, but Nemechek turns heads with late charge
Pulling off the win was Carson Hocevar in the #77 Gainbridge / WNBA All Star ’25 Chevrolet ahead of a surprising John Hunter Nemechek, who rallied from 8th to 2nd in the final laps with his #42 Family Dollar Toyota. It was a solid day for Legacy Motor Club, reminiscent of the LCQ in the CookOut Clash at Bowman Gray in February, as Erik Jones took 4th in the #43 Dollar Tree Toyota despite late-race contact with the wall while battling Bubba Wallace, whose #23 Logitech Toyota dropped to 8th. Ty Dillon finished 3rd in the #10 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish in the Open for both Finchum and the #66.
*This was only the second time in the history of the Open that the last-place finisher finished under power on the lead lap. The only other occasion was on May 19, 2018 at Charlotte, here Reed Sorenson’s #55 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet was last of the 21 starters.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
18) #66-Chad Finchum / 100 laps / running
17) #4-Noah Gragson / 100 laps / running
16) #15-Cody Ware / 100 laps / running
15) #54-Ty Gibbs / 100 laps / running
14) #7-Justin Haley / 100 laps / running
