XFINITY: Transmission issues hand Preston Pardus first last-place finish for #50 since 2013
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Preston Pardus, @PrestonPardus
Preston Pardus picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Blue Cross NC 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway “Roval” Road Course when his #50 Chinchor Electric Inc. Chevrolet fell out with transmission issues after 7 of 68 laps.
The finish, which came in Pardus’ 32nd series start, was his first of the season and first in a XFINITY Series race since June 1, 2024 at Portland, 49 races ago. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 10th for the #50, the 55th from transmission issues, and the 676th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 51st for the #50, the 181st from transmission issues, and the 2,016th for Chevrolet.
The “Roval” saw Pardus and his family’s team make their second-ever start back in 2019, where they qualified 16th and finished on the lead lap in 27th. He’s since gradually built his team while also earning track time with team owners Mario Gosselin and Bobby Dotter. All three of Pardus’ top-ten runs came with Gosselin, including a best of 7th on this same “Roval” in 2021. These road courses have remained the bread-and-butter for the Spec Miata star, although he’s also finished on the lead lap in both his oval starts at Martinsville, taking 18th in 2021 and 24th last fall. This year’s season-best finish of 29th came at the Chicago Street Course, which was also the most recent start for Pardus Racing’s #50.
Pardus and team made their return to the track on Saturday as one of 42 entrants for 38 available spots. Most critically, they were also one of the four who needed to qualify for the race on speed, ranking next-to-last on provisionals. Pardus put up a fast lap in his 20th and final lap during practice, jumping to 15th with a speed of 87.241 seconds (94.084mph). He then secured 19th in qualifying despite a slightly faster lap of 86.735 seconds (94.633mph).
The four teams sent home after qualifying were Garrett Smithley in the #14 ThermoTech Chevrolet, Thomas Annunziata in the #70 Bayshore Mortgage Chevrolet, Austin J. Hill in the #35 Southern Ohio Equipment Company Chevrolet, and Jordan Anderson Racing crew member Andrew Patterson, who was attempting his NASCAR national series debut in the #32 Winsupply / SCS Gearbox Chevrolet. For Annunziata, it was only the second DNQ of the year for Cope Family Racing, their first since COTA in March.
Securing the 38th and final starting spot was Daniel Dye, who in practice snapped the rear axle after wheel-hopping his #10 bproauto Chevrolet. This handed Dye one of five tail-end penalties for unapproved adjustments, joined by 26th-place Parker Retzlaff in the #4 Spinjoy Chevrolet, 34th-place Anthony Alfedo in the #42 Roth ID Tag Chevrolet, 32nd-place Josh Williams in the #45 Optum Chevrolet, and 36th-place Jeremy Clements in the #51 Harrison’s Chevrolet. Also sent to the back was 30th-place Jeb Burton, driver of the #27 SpotOn / Purina Dog Chow Chevrolet, who missed driver introductions.
By the end of Lap 1, Sage Karam had dropped to 37th, his #53 NFPA Toyota 15.418 seconds back of the lead and nearly two seconds behind 36th-place Kyle Sieg in the #28 Bannon Home Inspection Ford. But the last spot had already fallen to Dean Thompson, who pitted his #26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota after a sluggish opening lap. Thompson was shown 25.286 seconds back of the lead as he crossed the stripe to reach his pits in Stall 14 on the Turn 1 side. He returned to the track 52.749 seconds back of the lead, but still on the lead lap.
Meanwhile, last-place starter Daniel Dye continued to have trouble after he tangled with Anthony Alfredo’s #42 coming off Turn 7, forcing Dye to pit road for an extended stop. Dye was 59.140 seconds back of the lead when he pulled into Stall 24 just short of the finish line. He too returned to the track and by Lap 6 was shown 66.330 seconds back of the lead, 11 full seconds behind the now 37th-place Thompson. During his run, Dye reported a loose brake hose on the track, but NASCAR didn’t throw the caution. On Lap 8, Dye’s team told him to “pull his lever up” as he was wheel-hopping too hard into the chicane.
That same time by, Pardus was running 24.454 seconds back of the lead, which based on intervals at the time would have placed him around the 16th spot. He soon dropped to 37th, then to last place on Lap 10. Pardus was the first to lose a lap to the leader as he pulled into the garage area using the Cup entrance off Turn 4 of the oval. Over the radio, Pardus reported something felt like it was coming apart on his car, and that his gauges weren’t showing any rpms. The crew grabbed some jack stands, but there was little radio traffic after this.
Back on track, Dye fell 20 seconds back of the now 36th-place Thompson before losing a lap on Lap 13. On Lap 15, Playoff contender Harrison Burton’s #25 DEX Imaging Ford fell off the pace on the frontstretch, then stalled while trying to pull behind the wall at an opening off Turn 3, drawing the first caution of the evening. Burton returned to the track on Lap 20, six laps down, and on Lap 21 completed his first lap since the issue with a time of 889.073 seconds (just under 15 minutes). The next time by, Josh Williams pulled his #45 behind the wall, having had to serve a stop-and-go penalty during the early laps. Williams returned to the track on Lap 26 when he was five laps down, and had just been passed by Burton for 36th when Williams broke down a second time and pulled to the side of the track, drawing the next caution. “Yeah, the pump probably broke and it broke the cable,” said Williams’ crew, who watched as the #45 received a push behind the wall.
Finally, on Lap 31, NASCAR’s official in the garage relayed the first retiree from the race. The message broke up, but when he repeated, it said Pardus was out with transmission issues. Williams was declared out on Lap 36. Dye, Thompson, and Burton completed the Bottom Five.
Austin Green nearly steals the show at the Roval
Overshadowed by the implications of a Playoff cutoff race, Austin Green once again improved on his career-best 4th at Sonoma last year, this time qualifying 10th and making his way into the Top Five late, ultimately finishing a close 2nd to a dominant Connor Zilisch. As with Pardus, Green was one of the four drivers needing to qualify for the race on time as he piloted the part-time #87 3Dimensional Services Chevrolet fielded by Jordan Anderson Racing and Peterson Racing Group. This is already his second top-five finish and eighth top-ten run in just 19 career starts these last two seasons.
Also frequently impressive on the road courses was Kaz Grala, who in only his fourth start of the season – including the last-ever for Our Motorsports back at Dover – earned a 4th-place finish in Sam Hunt Racing’s #24 Overplay Games Toyota. This marked Grala’s best finish since this same race two years ago, and ties his career-best finish. In fact, this is fourth time he’s finished 4th in a XFINITY Series race.
Connor Mosack, who has also made starts for Sam Hunt, tied his own career-best in the 2023 Roval race by finishing 5th, this time in a one-off for JR Motorsports in the #9 CLT Wholesale Chevrolet. This was only his second career top-five finish in just 31 career XFINITY starts.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #50 in a XFINITY Series race since September 28, 2013, when Danny Efland’s #50 Defiant Whiskey Chevrolet had a vibration after 4 laps around Dover.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
38) #50-Preston Pardus / 7 laps / transmission
37) #45-Josh Williams / 20 laps / fuel pump
36) #10-Daniel Dye / 44 laps / transmission
35) #26-Dean Thompson / 62 laps / running
34) #25-Harrison Burton / 64 laps / running
2025 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Kaulig Racing (5)
2nd) Joe Gibbs Racing, SS-Green Light Racing (4)
3rd) Alpha Prime Racing (3)
4th) JR Motorsports, Sam Hunt Racing (2)
5th) DGM Racing x JIM, Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen, Jordan Anderson Racing, Mike Harmon Racing, Our Motorsports, Pardus Racing, Richard Childress Racing, RSS Racing, Young’s Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (22)
2nd) Toyota (6)
3rd) Ford (1)
2025 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
