PHOTO: Dominic Aragon, @DominicAragon
SEASON IN REVIEW
Houston, Texas driver David Starr picked up his first LASTCAR XFINITY Series Championship in 2021, scoring three last-place finishes in twenty-six races during a thirty-three race season.
The 2021 season was Starr’s sixteenth in XFINITY competition. The popular veteran has been competing in NASCAR’s top three series since 1998, when he was driving for Buddy Morrison in the Truck Series. He’d score four wins in that series while running a handful of XFINITY races each year for various small teams. It was Starr who made his Cup debut with the then-new Leavine Family Racing team in 2011, and after other drivers joined the team, he increased his focus on XFINITY with teams like TriStar Motorsports, B.J. McLeod Motorsports, and Jimmy Means Racing.
For the 2021 campaign, Starr would run most of the XFINITY Series schedule and seven Cup starts – including the All-Star Open at his home track in Texas - for Carl Long’s team Motorsports Business Management. By season’s end, the 53-year-old would make at least one start in all three of MBM’s XFINITY cars and both Cup cars. More often than not, he’d run the bright orange-and-white colors of fast food chain Whataburger, which had backed many of his previous XFINITY Series rides. By season’s end, he’d also gain a new backer in FOX News personality Bret Baier, promoting both his shows and books.
During the year, Starr earned a few strong finishes, including a season-best 14th under the lights at Daytona, a 16th at Talladega, and a 17th at Darlington. But he also closed the year as the only driver with three last-place finishes. He first occurred at Dover on May 15, where radio issues and a blown water line caused his car to overheat after only 18 laps, sending him behind the wall. Eight races later in Atlanta on July 10, Starr was running on the lead lap midway through the event when he tangled with Matt Mills in traffic, sending his car hard into the outside wall. Starr then nearly collided with Carson Ware as he pulled into the garage, and relieved a struggling C.J. McLaughlin for rest of the race, finishing 37th. The final run came ten races after that in Talladega on October 2, where he lost a lap early due to a loose plug wire, causing damage to the engine that forced an early trip behind the wall.
The Talladega finish allowed Starr to take the LASTCAR lead from Brandon Jones, who along with Bayley Currey were the only drivers within striking distance of Starr for the LASTCAR title. Starr climbed through the pack at Phoenix and finished 21st while contact from Joe Graf, Jr. sent Jeffrey Earnhardt’s #0 Forever Lawn Chevrolet into the inside wall and out of the race. Earnhardt, who would ultimately leave JD Motorsports over the offseason, had words with Graf in the garage after Graf was wrecked by Sage Karam some time later.
OTHER LASTCAR HEADLINES
For the second-straight time, the last-place finisher of the XFINITY Series race at the Daytona Infield Road Couse was classified incorrectly. After Justin Haley’s crash was listed as a suspension failure the previous August, Natalie Decker’s #23 Red Street Records / Jason Crabb Chevrolet had an oil leak after spinning over rumble strips early. When Decker went to the garage for the leak, she was eliminated under the Damaged Vehicle Policy, and classified as a “crash” in the race results.
The other road courses also proved treacherous. On July 3 at Road America, Spencer Pumpelly’s #6 JD Motorsports Chevrolet slid through a gravel trap early and spent time behind the wall for a transmission change. He eventually returned, trying to pass the wrecked Sam Mayer, only to lose the brakes and back hard into the tire barrier in Turn 1. At the Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit on August 14, no fewer than six drives ran over a rogue speed bump placed in the run-off from Turn 6, destroying several cars on the opening lap including last-place finisher Brandon Jones in the #19 Menards / Atlas Toyota. This was Jones’ third-straight XFINITY last-place finish where he failed to complete the opening lap – something that has now happened four times in his XFINITY career.
Matt Mills was handed the last-place finish at Darlington on May 8 twice – first after his #5 J.F. Electric Chevrolet crashed 44 laps into the event, then again after Noah Gragson’s 4th-place run was reinstated following a disqualification for illegal suspension mounts. Gragson’s penalty was rescinded the following Wednesday, which also reinstated his $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus.
An intense last-place battle played out on June 12 at the Texas Motor Speedway after two different drivers missed the start of the race. As the field rolled off the grid, Jordan Anderson’s #31 Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet wouldn’t fire, and was pushed behind the wall. Back out on the track, Bayley Currey’s #74 Electric Fence Reel Chevrolet stalled on the backstretch and was towed to the garage during the pace laps. Both cars were pointed nose-to-nose in the garage as each crew went to work. Currey’s had a faulty battery which caused a short in the electrical system, necessitating a trickle charger. Anderson’s crew pulled out the bell housing after the clutch failed. Anderson’s crew finished their work first, and the #31 made it onto the track 50 laps down. Currey’s issue proved terminal, and he retired without turning a lap.
C.J. McLaughlin endured a frustrating afternoon a Richmond on September 11, where his #74 Sci Aps Chevrolet had a clutch issue at the start, then was black-flagged by NASCAR for not meeting minimum speed near the end of Stage 2. While trying to serve the penalty, he collided with the car of Jade Buford, resulting in an accident that took McLaughlin out of the race. Both McLaughlin and Currey’s struggles were among the four last-place finishes by Mike Harmon Racing – all from the team’s flagship #74 team.
Twelve drivers scored their first XFINITY Series last-place finishes during the 2021 season, all of them during the year’s first twenty-two races. Alex Labbe’s mid-race crash in the Daytona opener on February 13 was his first in his 80th series start. Brandon Brown’s at Michigan on August 21st was his first in his 108th start, and just weeks before his breakthrough win at Talladega. Grant Enfinger’s last-minute driver change with Brandon Gdovic, who was unsure of his 1.5-mile track experience at Charlotte on May 29, was cut short by a crash, ending Enfinger’s first-ever XFINITY Series start. Stefan Parsons (Nashville on June 19), Mason Massey (July 17 at Loudon) and Kyle Tilley (August 7 at Watkins Glen), all earned theirs driving the #99 for B.J. McLeod Motorsports.
The other first-timers were Natalie Decker (Daytona Road Course on February 20), Tyler Reddick (disqualified for failing post-race heights at Homestead on February 27), Riley Herbst (Las Vegas on March 6), Jesse Little (Phoenix on March 13), Ryan Vargas (Martinsville on April 9), and the aforementioned Spencer Pumpelly (Road America on July 3).
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1st) David Starr (3)
2nd) Bayley Currey, Gray Gaulding, Noah Gragson, Brandon Jones, Brett Moffitt (2)
3rd) Brandon Brown, Natalie Decker, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Grant Enfinger, Joey Gase, Joe Graf, Jr., Riley Herbst, Alex Labbe, Jesse Little, Tommy Joe Martins, Mason Massey, C.J. McLaughlin, Matt Mills, Stefan Parsons, Spencer Pumpelly, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Tilley, Ryan Vargas, Josh Williams, J.J. Yeley (1)
