PHOTO: Rick Cashol
SEASON IN REVIEW
Lynden, Washington driver Mike Hurlbert picked up his first LASTCAR Truck Series Championship in 1996, scoring five last-place finishes in twelve starts during a twenty-four race season.
In 1995, Hurlbert and his #11 RPM Racing Ford scored a career-best 16th-place finish in three races at Tucson, I-70, and Colorado, and he failed to finish just three times, including his first last-place finish at Portland due to an oil leak. In 1996, however, Hurlbert failed to qualify for six races - up from two in 1995 - and finished under power just once - a 25th at Mesa Marin on October 14. He did not finish in any his other eleven starts and earned five last-place finishes, setting a single-season record that stood until 1999.
Hurlbert’s first last-place finish of the year came at the Evergreen Speedway on May 11, where the engine let go after 29 laps of the Jerr-Dan / Nelson Truck 200. The next came six races later in Milwaukee on July 6, where Hurlbert carried sponsorship from Bud Light only to lose another engine 3 laps into the Sears Auto Center 200. Back without a sponsor, Hurlbert earned his next finish to races later at Missouri’s I-70 Speedway on July 27, where another engine let go after the opening lap of the Western Auto 200. The fourth finish came three races later in the August 25 running of the Parts America 150 at Watkins Glen, where another engine failed three laps into the race. The record-setting fifth was three races later at New Hampshire, where on September 8, Hurlbert failed to complete a lap of the Pennzoil / VIP Tripleheader due to another engine.
Following a DNQ in the season finale at Las Vegas, Hurlbert pulled out of the Truck Series with 22 career starts over two seasons. He held both the single-season last-place record (5) and the record for the most last-place finishes in Truck Series history (6) until Phil Bonifield beat both in 1999 and 2000.
OTHER LASTCAR HEADLINES
Cup Series veteran Ken Schrader picked up his first Truck Series last-place finish during the season opener at Homestead on March 17, the series’ first points race on a track greater than one mile in length. Schrader’s #52 AC-Delco Chevrolet suffered mechanical problems after 47 laps of the Florida Dodge Dealers 400.
Busch Series racer Dave Rezendes won the Homestead race, plus two others later that season, in a breakout year where he finished 6th in points driving the #7 QVC Ford for Geoffrey Bodine. Rezendes also scored his first last-place finish that year at Portland on May 4 when his #7 crashed after 91 laps of the Craftsman 200.
Mike Chase became the first Truck Series driver to finish last on a road course when on June 9, his #78 Petron Plus Ford suffered mechanical problems after 25 laps of the Lund Look 225 at Heartland Park Topeka’s 1.8-mile course. Two years earlier, the longtime K&N Pro Series West driver was the only West Series racer in the field for the inaugural Brickyard 400, where he finished next-to-last after an early crash.
Rich Bickle competed in his first Truck Series season in 1996 driving for Petty Enterprises in the #43 Cummins Engines Dodge. Bickle scored 5 Top Fives and 9 Top Tens that year, but also earned his first last-place finish at Colorado National Speedway on June 1 when he won his second pole of the year and led 24 laps, only to lose the engine after 98 laps of the Colorado 250. Bickle became the first Truck Series last-place finisher to lead any laps in the same event. A year later, Bickle finished 2nd in Truck Series points on the heels of three wins, ultimately propelling him back to the Cup Series, where he finished a career-best 4th at Martinsville driving for Cale Yarborough.
David Green, the 1994 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Champion, picked up his first Truck Series last-place finish in his second series start, which came at Indianapolis Raceway Park on August 1. Green’s #18 Pennzoil Chevrolet suffered mechanical problems after 7 laps of the Cummins 200, edging Mike Hurlbert for the spot by six laps. As of this writing, Green has made just 9 more Truck Series starts through 2007.
Indianapolis native Kenny Irwin, Jr. made his NASCAR debut in the Truck Series in 1996. Following a 32nd-place finish for owner Mike Mittler at Phoenix, Irwin moved to the Jim Herrick team at Richmond on September 5, where he won the pole and finished 5th. In the season finale at Las Vegas on November 3, Irwin picked up his first last-place finish when his #98 Raybestos Ford lost the engine after the opening lap of the Carquest 420K. Irwin rebounded to win two races in 1997 and finish 10th in points, ultimately leading to his Cup Series debut in 1997 and Rookie of the Year in 1998. Irwin lost his life while practicing in his Cup car at New Hampshire on July 7, 2000.
Ron Hornaday, Jr. won his first of three NASCAR Truck Series Championships in 1996, scoring four wins and finishing in the Top Ten in all but one race that season, all while driving the #16 NAPA Brake Parts Chevrolet fielded by upstart team Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI). Like Skinner the year before, Hornaday has gone on to have a tremendous career, scoring 51 series wins. As of this writing, Hornaday has also yet to finish last in a Truck Series race in more than 300 series starts.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1st) Mike Hurlbert (5)
2nd) Lance Norick (2)
3rd) Kenny Allen, Rich Bickle, Johnny Chapman, Mike Chase, Lonnie Cox, Jimmy Davis, Kelly Denton, Michael Dokken, Walker Evans, David Green, Andy Hillenburg, Kenny Irwin, Jr., Dave Rezendes, Marc Robe, Jerry Robertson, Ken Schrader, Perry Tripp (1)
