XFINITY: Vicente Salas the first XFINITY driver to finish last on a road course while still under power in 25 years
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Alpha Prime Racing, @TeamAlphaPrime
Vicente Salas picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR XFINITY Series career in Saturday’s Pacific Office Automation 147 at the Portland International Raceway when his #45 Prime Bites Mini Muffins Chevrolet finished running, completing 43 of 78 laps.
The finish came in Salas’ second series start. In the XFINITY Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 8th while finishing under power, the 16th for the #45, and the 672nd for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 49th for the #45, the 59th while running, and the 2,010th for Chevrolet.
The 23-year-old from Temecula, California is now embarking on the newest phase of his NASCAR career, one that began in go-karts and continued through late models. He’s been just as active in sim racing, scoring a 2021 win at digital Richmond as part of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. Last year, he made his NASCAR national series debut in the Truck Series, making his debut at COTA for Young’s Motorsports, where transmission woes left him 34th. He then returned in Gateway with the McAnally-Hilgemann team, where he overcame a spin to finish 25th. This year saw him make his XFINITY debut in the series’ return to Rockingham this past April, where he suffered damage on Lap 14 then climbed from last in the 38-car field to a solid 24th-place finish.
As at Rockingham, Salas’ ride for Portland was with Alpha Prime Racing in the #45, which has been driven by six other drivers in the first 24 rounds of the season, most recently with former Kaulig Racing driver Josh Williams. He’d be sponsored by another of team co-owner Caesar Bacarella’s Alpha Prime products with their line of protein mini muffins. His was one of 37 cars entered and would all have a place in the field. In practice, he ranked 34th with a best lap of 76.819 seconds (92.321mph) He then improved to 32nd in qualifying with a lap of 76.049 seconds (93.256mph).
Securing the 37th and final starting spot on the grid was Alex Labbe, whose #07 Lockard Security Chevrolet didn’t complete a lap in qualifying along with Thomas Annunziata, whose #70 Crow Credit Repair Chevrolet outranked Labbe for 36th. Labbe was one of seven drivers who incurred tail-end penalties for unapproved adjustments, joined by 7th-place Nick Sanchez for a snapped axle on his #48 Caroline Jones No Tellin Chevrolet, 13th-place Taylor Gray in the #54 Operation 300 Toyota, 18th-place Harrison Burton in the #25 AirBox Ford, 27th-place Will Brown in the #11 Mobile X Chevrolet, 29th-place Parker Retzlaff in Alpha Prime’s #4 Ziploc Chevrolet, and 33rd-place Josh Williams, this week in the #91 OACEUS Chevrolet for DGM Racing x JIM. Annunziata didn’t turn a lap due to an engine change, which also sent him to the rear.
When the green flag dropped, Labbe was last across the stripe, 7.475 seconds back of the lead. During the first lap, Gray spun his #54 near the back of the pack, dropping him to last, 20.646 seconds back of the lead at the stripe. Ahead of him in 36th was ARCA West Series competitor Takuma Koga, making his series debut in the #35 Macnica Toyota, 18.716 back of the lead. Gray caught and passed Koga by the start of Lap 3, putting Koga in last, 25.372 seconds back to Gray’s 22.151. As Gray steadily worked his way through the rankings, Koga gradually lost more ground, 38.837 behind on Lap 5, 46.308 on Lap 6, 53.016 on Lap 7, 65.093 on Lap 10, and 71.407 on Lap 11. He was then lapped on the 12th circuit by race leader and eventual winner Connor Zilisch.
On Lap 14, 17th-place runner Dean Thompson’s #26 OSU Thompson Pipe Group Toyota suddenly dropped off the pace at the far end of the course, dropping him to 36th in ahead of Koga. He then came down pit road for repairs, letting the lapped Koga make up the ground and drop him to last on Lap 15. The team completed repairs around Lap 21, when he returned to the track seven laps down in 37th. By then, Koga was still a lap down in 36th, and after a spin in Turn 11, Garrett Smithley’s #14 Knight Fire / Dozer Winch Chevrolet lost a lap in 35th.
Salas runs off-course in Turn 11. (PHOTO: Luis Torres, @TheLTFiles)
On Lap 25, the last lap of Stage 1, Koga had just lost a second lap in 36th when Matt DiBenedetto abruptly pulled into the grass in his #99 Viking Motorsports Chevrolet. A fire had broken out near his feet, and his laces became tangled in the pedals, leading to several anxious moments before he finally tumbled out of the car and checked his feet. He was checked and released from the infield care center by Lap 28, apparently out of the race.
By Lap 31, Salas had driven off course on Lap 14 and now pulled behind the wall for a mechanical issue, joining DiBenedetto in the garage area. As Thompson continued to log laps, DiBenedetto took last on Lap 32, showing eight laps down, with Salas about to be caught by Thompson in three laps. Around Lap 46, DiBenedetto surprisingly returned to the track in the same #99 that burned his feet, his car now 21 laps down. The next time by, DiBenedetto made up his deficit to Salas, putting the #45 in last place.
Salas in the garage. (PHOTO: Luis Torres, @TheLTFiles)
Salas didn’t return to the track until Lap 68, 32 laps down, and more than ten laps from catching anyone else before the finish. By then, DiBenedetto had climbed to 34th before falling out with suspension issues, passing two other drivers who fell out due to mechanical issues at the end of Stage 2 - Alex Labbe’s #07 and Will Brown’s #11 – each credited with 49 laps complete. Thompson climbed out of the Bottom Five into 32nd, passing Anthony Alfredo, whose #42 Big Rack Spirits Chevrolet stalled out on track with a busted transmission.
A great day in Portland for Jordan Anderson Racing
Saturday’s race marked the 100th XFINITY start for Blaine Perkins, who came home 9th in the #31 Opti-Coat Chevrolet. This marked his third top-ten finish of the year and first since Talladega in April. Perkins joined both his Jordan Anderson Racing teammates in the Top 10, coming home nose-to-tail with Jeb Burton in 7th in the #27 Opti-Coat Chevrolet and 8th-place Austin Green in the #32 3Dimensional.com Chevrolet.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked the first last-place finish for the #45 in a XFINITY Series race since last fall’s championship race at Phoenix on November 9, 2024, when Stefan Parsons crashed after 61 laps (also in the Mini Muffins paint scheme). The number had never before finished last in a XFINITY race at Portland.
*This was the first time a XFINITY Series driver finished last in a road course race while still under power since June 25, 2000, when David Green’s #34 AFG Glass Chevrolet completed 38 of 82 laps around Watkins Glen.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
37) #45-Vicente Salas / 43 laps / running
36) #07-Alex Labbe / 49 laps / fuel pump
35) #11-Will Brown / 49 laps / suspension
34) #99-Matt DiBenedetto / 56 laps / suspension
33) #42-Anthony Alfredo / 63 laps / transmission
2025 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Kaulig Racing (5)
2nd) Joe Gibbs Racing (4)
3rd) Alpha Prime Racing, SS-Green Light Racing (3)
4th) JR Motorsports, Sam Hunt Racing (2)
5th) Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen, Mike Harmon Racing, Our Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, RSS Racing, Young’s Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (18)
2nd) Toyota (6)
3rd) Ford (1)
2025 LASTCAR XFINITY SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
