SEASON IN REVIEW
Auburn, Massachusetts driver Jeff Fuller picked up his first LASTCAR Busch Series Grand National Division Championship in 2003, scoring seven last-place finishes in thirteen starts during a thirty-four race season. Both Fuller and runner-up Justin Ashburn shattered Davey Johnson’s single-season last-place record of four set back in 1990.
The winner of 31 races in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour from 1985 through 1994, Fuller made one-off starts in the Cup and Busch Series Grand National Division in 1992, finishing 29th in his Cup debut at Richmond and 26th in his Busch debut at Rockingham. From 1995 through 1999, Fuller focused on the Busch Series Grand National Division. On August 23, 1996, Fuller scored his first and only series win at Bristol when he won from the pole in longtime car owner Tad Geschickter’s #47 Sunoco Chevrolet.
Fuller rejoined the Cup Series in 2000 for a run at Rookie of the Year as driver of Eel River Racing’s #27 Viagra Pontiac. However, the 43-year-old driver lost his ride to Mike Bliss just six races into the season, ultimately sending him back to Busch. The next year, Fuller made his first Busch start for 1992 NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division Champion and owner-driver Joe Nemechek. Debuting a new second team, #88, Fuller finished 42nd at Fontana when a vibration stopped him after 42 laps.
In 2003, Fuller drove for four different teams. On February 15, he started with a 24th-place finish at Daytona for owner Danny Bost, and at Nashville on April 12 finished 18th for Stanton Barrett. Though Fuller finished a season-best 15th for Nemechek at Bristol on August 22, he parked in his other five starts for NEMCO Motorsports driving #88 Cellular One Chevrolets and Pontiacs, and all but one of them were last-place finishes.
Fuller’s first last-place finish for NEMCO came at Talladega on April 5, when his Pontiac fell out with handling woes after 2 laps - just moments before a massive pile-up collected half the field on Lap 9. The next came at Charlotte on May 24, where a vibration was to blame on his Chevrolet after 2 laps of the Carquest Auto Parts 300. The third finish was just two races later at Nashville on June 7, where another vibration stopped his #87 Hills Brothers / Pick ‘n Save Chevrolet 7 laps into the Trace Adkins Chrome 300, and the fourth at Daytona on July 4, where yet another vibration ended his Pontiac’s race 4 laps into the Winn-Dixie 250.
In the second half of the season, Fuller moved to drive #97 NRA Foundation Chevrolets for a team owned by Terry Allen. Fuller failed to finish in all five of those starts, and he scored another three last-place finishes. The first of those came at Kansas on October 4, where he fell out with a vibration after 3 laps of the Mr. Goodcents 300. The next was the following week at Charlotte on October 11, where handling woes stopped him 10 laps into the Little Trees 300. Then four races later at Rockingham came the record-setting seventh when a vibration ended his day after 3 laps of the Target House 200 on November 8.
In 2004, Fuller would break his own record running the full season in NEMCO’s #88.
OTHER LASTCAR HEADLINES
Justin Ashburn, the 21-year-old runner-up in the 2003 LASTCAR title chase, was competing in his first Busch Series Grand National Division season. He drove for longtime car owner Wayne Day in 13 of his 14 starts - he drove for Bost Motorsports in the Cabela’s 250 at Michigan on August 16 following one of his 11 DNQs. Ashburn scored all six of his last-place finishes that year in Day’s #61 31-W Insulation Chevrolets at Darlington, Milwaukee, Loudon, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Dover, and Phoenix. Ashburn made just 16 more Busch starts through 2009 with a best finish of 14th driving for Day at Talladega in 2005.
On October 25, 18-year-old Kyle Busch scored his first last-place finish driving the same NEMCO Motorsports equipment as Joe Nemechek and Jeff Fuller. Busch was competing in his sixth series start at Atlanta in the Aaron’s 312 when his #87 ditech.com Chevrolet lost the engine after 2 laps. Earlier that year, Busch scored a pair of 2nd-place finishes at Charlotte and Darlington, setting the stage for his move to Hendrick Motorsports to replace series champion Brian Vickers in 2004.
Mike Potter continued Means Racing’s presence in the LASTCAR standings, scoring three last-place finishes in ten starts with the team. The 54-year-old driver finished last at Nashville, Dover, and Darlington. In 2001, Potter rejoined the Means team to finish 41st at Indianapolis Raceway Park, his first Busch start since 1982. It was also Potter’s first NASCAR start since he drove for Means in his 60th and final Cup Series race at Darlington in 1993, when he finished next-to-last in the #53 Hurley Limo Ford during the TranSouth 500. Finishing last that day in Darlington was ARCA veteran Norm Benning in his first, and so far, only Cup Series start. Benning’s #63 O’Neil Racing Oldsmobile fell out with handing woes after the first lap. That Darlington race is more well-known as the final Cup start for 1992 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Alan Kulwicki, who finished 6th that day, then was killed four days later in a private plane crash.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1st) Jeff Fuller (7)
2nd) Justin Ashburn (6)
3rd) Jimmy Kitchens, Mike Potter (3)
4th) Mike Harmon, Joe Nemechek, Brian Weber (2)
5th) Casey Atwood, Kyle Busch, Wayne Edwards, Shane Hall, John Hayden, Damon Lusk, Josh Richeson, Jason Schuler, Bryan Tyler (1)
