SEASON IN REVIEW
Auburn, Massachusetts driver Jeff Fuller picked up his third LASTCAR Busch Series Championship in 2005, scoring three last-place finishes in seventeen starts during a thirty-five race season. Fuller fell well short of breaking his single-season record of eleven in 2004, but still became the first driver in any NASCAR division to score three consecutive LASTCAR titles after a bottom-five tiebreaker with Shane Hall was settled 8-6.
Fuller’s car number changed from #88 to #7 in 2005, and with partial sponsorship from both Big Boar Customs, Race Babe, Skindrux, and Smart Cabling Solutions, he was able to finish under power in six of his seventeen starts with a season-best finish of 24th at Dover on September 24. Fuller failed to qualify for eight more races, including one for owner Gregg Mixon at Las Vegas, and his eleven DNFs left him with an average finish of 36.1, including three last-place finishes.
Fuller’s first two last-place runs of the year came in the first two races of the season, both driving a yet-unsponsored #7 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet. First, in the season-opening Hershey’s Take 5 300 at Daytona on February 19, his car overheated after 3 laps, and on February 26 in Fontana, a vibration ended his run after 4 laps of the Stater Brothers 300. The third finish did not come for another 26 races - the September 9 running of the Emerson Radio 250 at Richmond. Fuller’s #7 Big Boar Customs Chevrolet fell out with brake problems after 23 laps.
Four races later at Memphis, title runner-up Shane Hall equaled Fuller’s three last-place finishes when his #28 Mighty EZY Ford fell out with brake problems 27 laps into the Sam’s Town 250. However, with just seven starts that season, Hall trailed Fuller in bottom-fives and was unable to win the tiebreaker at season’s end. Hall rebounded to take the 2006 LASTCAR Busch Series title.
After 2005, Fuller never raced more than three Busch Series races a season. His 188th and final series start came in the final race at Memphis on October 24, 2009 where his #87 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet overheated after 52 laps of the Kroger On Track For The Cure 250. In 2010, Fuller parked Nemechek’s #97 Toyotas at Daytona and Talladega, finishing last in both his First Gatorade Duel on February 11 and at the October 31 running of the Amp Energy Juice 500, his 14th and most recent Cup start.
OTHER LASTCAR HEADLINES
On March 6, the Busch Series raced on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City for the first time, with Martin Truex, Jr. winning the 80-lap race around the 2.518-mile road course. Finishing last for the first time that day was inaugural 2007 NASCAR Mexico Series Champion Rafael Martinez, whose #0 Davis Motorsports Chevrolet failed to complete a lap of the Telcel Motorola 200 presented by Banamex.
Mexican racing legend Adrian Fernandez made the first six of his ten Busch Series starts in 2005 and finished last for the first time at Texas. Fernandez’ #5 Lowe’s / Spectrum Spectracide Chevrolet crashed after 15 laps of the O’Reilly Challenge on November 5. Fernandez has not raced in the Busch Series since the tour last raced in Mexico City in 2008. His best finish in the series was a 9th in the 2007 running of that event.
Four-time NASCAR Truck Series Champion Ron Hornaday, Jr. picked up his first Busch Series last-place finish at Atlanta on March 19 when his #30 Smith & Wesson Chevrolet was involved in a two-car accident after two laps of the Aaron’s 312. Hornaday is currently still active in the Truck Series and has four Busch Series wins in 184 series starts.
2003 NASCAR Busch Series Champion Brian Vickers picked up his first last-place finish at Darlington on May 6 when his #57 Pizza Hut Chevrolet started outside-pole for the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 only to crash after the opening lap. Vickers lost the 2004 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award to Kasey Kahne in 2004, then won his first Cup race at Talladega in 2006 before he moved from Hendrick Motorsports to Team Red Bull.
Jimmie Johnson had yet to win the first of his five consecutive NASCAR Cup Series Championships in 2005, but he scored his first Busch Series last-place finish at Charlotte on October 14 when his #48 Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools Chevrolet won the pole but never led a lap, crashing by himself after 29 laps of the Dollar General 300.
Mike Harmon scored the final Busch last-place finish for Pontiac at Nashville on March 26 when his #54 Global Pigeon Supply Pontiac lost the engine after 35 laps of the Pepsi 300.
On April 16, Johnny Sauter finished 14th in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas, but was then disqualified for an oversized carburetor on his #1 Fleet Pride / Yellow Dodge. The disqualification dropped him to last in the running order, taking the final spot from Cup regular Tony Stewart, who had wrecked his #33 Outdoor Channel Chevrolet after 27 laps.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1st) Jeff Fuller [8 B5s], Shane Hall [6 B5s] (3)
2nd) David Gilliland, Shane Hmiel, Johnny Sauter, Brad Teague (2)
3rd) Johnny Benson, Jr., Derrike Cope, Kerry Earnhardt, Adrian Fernandez, Steve Grissom, Mike Harmon, Chris Horn, Ron Hornaday, Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Jason Keller, Justin Labonte, Ashton Lewis, Rafael Martinez, Brandon Miller, Donnie Neuenberger, Bryan Reffner, Clay Rogers, David Stremme, Brian Vickers, Tyler Walker, J.J. Yeley (1)
