XFINITY: Logan Bearden’s electrical woes begin before the race even starts

by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

PHOTO: Steven Taranto, @STaranto92

Logan Bearden picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 presented by Advance Auto Parts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when his #07 Patriot Crew Chevrolet fell out with electrical issues after 37 of 100 laps.

The finish came in Bearden’s 11th series start. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 18th for the #07, the 58th for electrical issues, and the 668th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 29th for the #07, the 144th from electrical woes, and the 2,002nd for Chevrolet.

The 29-year-old from Texas has been around motorsports his whole life. His biography on his website mentions how he watched his father race trackside since he was 11 months old. It was also through racing that Bearden battled through dyslexia in grade school, the goal of improving his grades getting him into his first go-kart. After working his way up the ranks to international competition, he turned his attention to pro modifieds, Super Late Models, and ARCA. In 2021, he made his first Truck Series attempt at COTA and returned to make the race the next two years, finishing 28th and 22nd. His XFINITY debut came last year at Richmond with Bobby Dotter’s SS-Green Light Racing, taking 22nd. This year, he’s stepped up to the series’ big tracks, taking 23rd in Nashville and 27th in his most recent run at Pocono.

At Indianapolis, Bearden’s was one of 38 entries attempting to qualify for as many spots. He ranked 36th in practice with a lap of 58.007 seconds (155.154mph), then ranked 35th in qualifying with a lap of 56.540 seconds (159.179mph). He carried sponsorship from Patriot Crew, an apparel brand based in Austin, with associate backing from Indiana-based Honest Abe Roofing.

Securing the 38th and final starting spot was David Starr in the #35 Alarm Tech Systems Inc. Chevrolet. Thanks to the 38-car entry list, the Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen team had both its cars in the main event for the first time since Atlanta in June. No drivers were sent to the tail end of the field for pre-race penalties, so Starr remained in the final row alongside Dawson Cram, whose hood of his #74 Chevrolet carried a message thanking those who helped the team make it to the track, including Alpha Prime Racing. Also resuming his 15th spot on the grid was Christian Eckes, whose frustrating season continued when smoke billowed from a shorted wire on the dashboard of his #16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet. As the car sat on pit road, the crew climbed aboard to replace the wire, then sent him back on track. Justin Allgaier held the 8th spot in his #7 Hellmann’s Spicy Mayo Chevrolet, but had concerns about overheating due to issues with his cool suit.

Bearden, too, had issues right from the start, practically coasting around the track coming to the green. At the end of Lap 1, he’d already taken last from Starr, and was creeping onto pit road while the leaders came off Turn 4. Coming around to complete Lap 1, Bearden creeping onto pit road. The team had an electrical issue and first looked to replacing the battery and checking the wiring. He didn’t return to the track until Lap 17, when his was still the only car off the lead lap. But the next time by, Bearden said, “Battery’s gonna die at these volts.” He coasted onto the apron and was directed behind the wall by Lap 21. He apparently used the infield road course to make it back to pit road, keeping the caution from falling. There, the team checked on a possible cracked plug, and the driver noted his gauges weren’t working. By Lap 28, attention turned to the alternator, but Bearden couldn’t get enough revs from the engine. He then returned to the track on Lap 32, during the caution that ended Stage 1. By then, Starr had been lapped in 37th, earning him the Lucky Dog while Bearden remained 29 laps down. “We can still get back on the lead lap,” said his team, telling him to have fun. “Never say never.”

From there, the goal was to outlast anyone else who fell out of the race – a challenge for an event with low attrition and only 100 scheduled laps. On the Lap 37 restart, Eckes slid into Nick Sanchez’ #48 Gainbridge Chevrolet, putting Sanchez into the outside wall. Sanchez continued to run until he reported an issue with the right-rear, then cut down a tire, forcing him to pit road on Lap 40. He cut down another tire on Lap 44, forcing an even longer stop that put him five laps down by Lap 50. Bearden continued along, making his own green-flag stop on Lap 54, and was now 31 laps behind, reporting his car was tight center-off. By then, Eckes had also lost a lap with a flat right-front tire, perhaps knocked down from his contact with Sanchez. When Stage 2 ended on Lap 61, Eckes finished just ahead of the leaders, keeping him just one lap behind. By then, only 31 cars were on the lead lap, giving 32nd-place Joey Gase his lap back in the #53 OMP / Bell Chevrolet.

With 34 laps to go, Stage 3 began with Bearden trailing the longer inside line. Again, there was a first-lap incident, this time after Leland Honeyman, Jr.’s #70 Ohio Logistics Chevrolet broke loose racing under Carson Kvapil’s #1 Bass Pro Shops / Clairence Tech Chevrolet, sending Kvapil into the wall. With storm clouds fast approaching, Kvapil stayed out, expecting the race to be called short of the finish, but the rain only delayed the restart until 27 laps to go. By then, Bearden was still in last place, 35 laps down. And with no one else out of the race, he’d all but locked-up the 38th spot. With 25 to go, TheCW’s leaderboard indicated Bearden was behind the wall. He didn’t return to the track, and was declared out with electrical issues.

The rest of the Bottom Five was filled in the final laps, each driver more than 30 laps ahead of Bearden at the time of their exit. Taking 37th was Katherine Legge, whose #32 Desnuda Tequila Chevrolet came in for a late pit stop with 22 laps to go. Three laps later and now five laps behind in 37th, Legge was still on pit road with the crew working behind her left-rear wheel. Expecting the rain to pick up once more, she was declared out. Incredibly, the storms then broke up just short of the track, allowing the race to reach full distance. Taking 36th was Justin Allgaier, who during an intense battle for the lead with Kyle Larson was bumped by Larson off Turn 2, putting him into the wall and ultimately out of the race. Rounding out the Bottom Five were Aric Almirola and Austin Hill, who tangled entering Turn 4 on Lap 91. Almirola first bumped Hill out of the way, allowing Hill to make an incredible save. Then Hill appeared to swerve left into Almirola’s right-rear quarter-panel, sending both cars spinning into the wall. The move also damaged the right-front fender of Sheldon Creed’s #00 Road Ranger Ford, which had just caught the two at the time. Almirola climbed out after a savage head-on hit with the wall, but remarked it was perhaps the hardest hit of his career. Hill incurred a five-lap penalty for aggressive driving and was passed by the damaged Sanchez in the race’s final moments.


Sawalich leads a slew of strong runs for struggling drivers at Indianapolis

William Sawalich in the #18 Starkey Toyota left Indianapolis with a 6th-place finish, marking his third consecutive top-ten run since his career-best 3rd at Sonoma.

Not far behind in 8th came Daniel Dye, whose #10 Champion Container Chevrolet scored its best finish since his seventh and most recent top-ten run of the year in Atlanta this past June.

Dean Thompson also came away with his fifth Top Ten of the year by taking 10th in the #26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota.

One spot behind came Matt DiBenedetto, whose 11th-place run in the #99 Savannah Bananas on the CW Chevrolet earned Viking Motorsports its best run since their season-best 5th in Talladega.

Christian Eckes overcame his dashboard fire and flat tire to finish in 13th, a remarkable rally after his 10th-place finish in Dover last week.

Then in 14th came Parker Retzlaff, who like Eckes has struggled for much of the season in his #4 Dove Men+Care Chevrolet. Retzlaff’s run was his best since Texas back in May.


LASTCAR STATISTICS

*Bearden is the third straight first-time last-place finisher in the last three XFINITY Series races.

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #07 in a XFINITY Series race at Indianapolis, and the first in the series since June 29, 2024, when Patrick Emerling come home five laps down in Nashville.


THE BOTTOM FIVE

38) #07-Logan Bearden / 37 laps / electrical

37) #32-Katherine Legge / 74 laps / electrical

36) #7-Justin Allgaier / 76 laps / crash / led 37 laps / won stage 2

35) #19-Aric Almirola / 90 laps / crash / led 2 laps

34) #21-Austin Hill / 95 laps / running


2025 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Kaulig Racing (5)

2nd) Joe Gibbs Racing (4)

3rd) JR Motorsports, Sam Hunt Racing, SS-Green Light Racing (2)

4th) Alpha Prime Racing, Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen, Our Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, RSS Racing, Young’s Motorsports (1)


2025 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (14)

2nd) Toyota (6)

3rd) Ford (1)


2025 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

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