Virgin Australia LASTCAR Championship: March 2014

Monday 31 March 2014

Tander continues rare last-place apparences at Tasmania

Garth Tander picked up his 10th last place finish of his career when his #2 SP Tools Holden commodore finished under power, 11 laps down in the 10^th race of the year, and 3^rd at Launceston.

The race for last place was a wrestling match between Robert Dahlgren in the #34 Valvoline Volvo, Jack Perkins in the #18 Jeld-Wen Ford, both falling a lap down early and although both got their lap back, multiple cars lost a lap and Dale Wood in the #21 Wilson Security holden fell behind Robert Dahlgren to trail the field.

Dale Wood then held last place until late in the race when Garth Tander in the #2 Holden Racing Team Holden went into the garage with brake dramas, and fell behind Dale Wood for last.

Rounding out the bottom five was Dale Wood, Robert Dahlgren, James Moffat in the #360 Norton Hornet and Todd Kelly in the #7 Nissan Altima.

The bottom five

Garth Tander	73 Laps	Running
Dale Wood	83 Laps	Running
Robert Dahlgren	83 Laps	Running
James Moffat	83 Laps	Running
Todd Kelly	83 Laps	Running

Lastcar Standings

Ford: 4

Nissan: 3

Holden: 3

Mercedes, Volvo: 0

Todd Kelly: 3

Scott Pye: 2

David Reynolds, David Wall, Dale Wood, Nick Percat, Garth Tander: 1

Contact with “the enforcer” nets Percat last place at Tasmania

Nick Percat picked up his 1st last place finish of his career when his #222 Coates Hire Holden retired with crash damage after 8 of the race's 42 laps. The finish came in Percat's 3rd start.

After a penalty for a safety infringement, Craig Lowndes started the race in the rear. Will Davison then fell to the rear initially after bogging himself in the sand on the opening lap. A resulting melee between James Courtney, Robert Dahlgren, Michael Caruso, Russsell Ingall damaged several cars. Nick Percat then made contact with Russell Ingall on lap 8, sending both cars off the road and damaging the steering on the #222, and while he tried to complete the race, the car was too damaged to continue.

Rounding out the bottom five, and all the rest finished under power, Rick Kelly who got spun off the road late in the race by Chazz Mostert, Will Davison after his first lap bogging, and both Dale Wood and Russell Ingall who both suffered pit-lane penalties.

The bottom five

Nick Percat	8 Laps	Crash
Rick Kelly	40 Laps	Running
Will Davison	40 Laps	Running
Dale Wood	41 Laps	Running
Russel Ingall	41 Laps	Running

Lastcar Standings

Ford: 4

Nissan: 3

Holden: 2

Mercedes, Volvo: 0

Todd Kelly: 3

Scott Pye: 2

David Reynolds, David Wall, Dale Wood, Nick Percat: 1

Kelly Brothers trails field at Launceston as Todd takes V8 LASTCAR lead

Todd Kelly picked up his 15th last place finish of his career when his #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Nissan Altima retired with Suspension issues after 13 of the race's 42 laps. The finish came in Todd's 186^th start, and puts Todd Kelly into the lead of the 2014 V8 Lastcar championship.

Shane Van Gisbergen spent much of the early part of the race trailing the field after suffering a Mechanical Black Flag for loose bodywork. Van Gisbergen would recover, however and finish 12. Just before half-way Rick Kelly ran wide, and when he re-joined the track, he cut off Dean Fiore's #88 Dodo holden, Fiore was forced to go down and hit Todd Kelly, breaking the Upright on the #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Nissan, ending his race. After Todd's retirement Shane Van Gisbergen inherited second-last, which he held until Rick Kelly, Todd's team-mate, lost the brakes coming into turn 6, spinning off the track and causing the first caution of the race. Although he got rescued from the sand, he retired shortly afterwards.

The final three spot were fiercely fought, but the final three went to David Reynolds, who suffered a de-laminated tire on lap 35, Jack Perkins who tangled with Michael Caruso, resulting in a drive-through penalty for Jack, and Michael Caruso.

The Bottom Five

Todd Kelly	13 Laps	Suspenion
Rick Kelly	19 Laps	Brakes
David Reynolds	41 Laps	Running
Jack Perkins	42 Laps	Running
Michael Caruso	42 Laps	Running

Lastcar Standings

Ford: 4

Nissan: 3

Holden: 1

Mercedes, Volvo: 0

Todd Kelly: 3

Scott Pye: 2

David Reynolds, David Wall, Dale Wood: 1

Sunday 16 March 2014

Todd Kelly ties Scott Pye for V8 LASTCAR lead

Todd Kelly picked up his 14th last-place finish of his career when his #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Nissan Altima retired with Engine issues after 6 of the race's 12 laps. The finish came in Todd's 185^th start.

The field had contracted to 23 cars after Dale Wood's #21 Holden Commodore and Chazz Mostert's #6 Pepsi Max Ford Performance racing ford withdrew due to crash damage. Todd Kelly was running well along with the other Nissan's at the non-championship event at Albert Park. Todd Kelly was running mid-pack when he started leaking coolant out of the front of his car, and he parked at the exit of turn 8 to prevent damage to the engine.

Rounding out the bottom five was Robert Dahlgren, James Moffat, Todd's team-mate Rick Kelly and 5-time champion Jamie Whincup, all caught in a 5-car crash on lap 8.

The Bottom Five

Todd Kelly	6 Laps	Engine
Robert Dahlgren	8 Laps	Crash
Rick Kelly	8 Laps	Crash
Jamie Whincup	8 Laps	Crash
James Moffat	8 Laps	Crash

Lastcar Standings

Ford: 4

Nissan: 2

Holden: 1

Mercedes, Volvo: 0

Scott Pye, Todd Kelly: 2

David Reynolds, David Wall, Dale Wood: 1

A hard crash ends Dale Wood's no last place finish streak.

Dale Wood picked up his 1st Last-Place finish of his career when his #21 Britek/BJR racing holden commodore retired with Crash Damage on the opening lap of the race's 12 laps. the finish came in his 22nd start.

This is Dale Wood's first full season, all previous years have been either part-time or endurance drives. On the opening lap Garth Tander turned Chazz Mostert around. Dale Wood, unsighted ran into the right-rear corner panel of the #6 Pepsi Max ford, ending the race for both of them. Neither car made it back to the pit-lane.

Rounding out the bottom five is Scott Pye in the Dick Johnson Racing #16, who was also damaged in the crash, Jason Bright in the #8 Brad Jones racing Holden who retired with Throttle Issues, and Will Davison in the #9 Erebus Mercedes, who finished under power on the lead lap.

The Bottom Five

Dale Wood	0 Laps	Crash
Chazz Mostert	0 Laps	Crash
Scott Pye	3 Laps	Crash
Jason Bright	4 Laps	Throttle
Will Davison	12 Laps	Running

Lastcar Standings

Ford: 4

Nissan, Holden: 1

Mercedes, Volvo: 0

Scott Pye: 2

David Reynolds, David Wall, Todd Kelly, Dale Wood: 1

Scott Pye takes V8 LASTCAR Lead after trailing the field again in race 2

Race 2 Albert Park Non-championship round

All five who finished last in race 1 also finished in the bottom five in race 2, the only difference is that Russel Ingall finished in the bottom five instead of David Reynolds.

The Bottom Five

Scott Pye	11 Laps	Running
Jack Perkins	12 Laps	Running
David Wall	12 Laps	Running
Russell Ingall	12 Laps	Running
Dale Wood	12 Laps	Running

Lastcar Standings

Ford: 4

Nissan: 1

Holden, Mercedes, Volvo: 0

Scott Pye: 2

David Reynolds, David Wall, Todd Kelly: 1

Scott Pye trails the field at Albert Park

Race 1 Albert Park Non-championship round

The bottom five for race 1 is Scott Pye, David Reynolds, David Wall, Dale Wood and Jack Perkins, all running on the lead lap.

The Bottom Five

Scott Pye	10 Laps	Running
David Reynolds	10 Laps	Running
David Wall	10 Laps	Running
Dale Wood	10 Laps	Running
Jack Perkins	10 Laps	Running

Lastcar Standings

Ford: 3

Nissan: 1

Holden, Mercedes, Volvo: 0

David Reynolds, David Wall, Todd Kelly, Scott Pye: 1

Monday 3 March 2014

Nissan prevents Ford's clean sweep of last place at Adelaide

Source: www.v8supercars.com.au

Todd Kelly picked up his 13th last place finish of his career in the Clipsal 500 third race when his #7 Jack Daniels Nissan Altima retired with Throttle issues after 2 of the race's 78 laps. The finish came in Todd's 184^th start.

Todd Kelly qualified in 14^th for the third race of the weekend. Initially Robert Dahlgren was in last after an oil leak in qualifying. The Oil Leak would eventually end Dahlgren's race. On lap 3 Todd Kelly, then slowed with an issue with the throttle, which caused his engine to idle.

Rounding out the bottom five was Will Davison, who moved to Erebus Motorsports #9 in the off season, who crashed into the turn 8 wall after contact with James Moffat's #360 Norton Hornet, Robert Dahlgren who retired due to issues with the Oil Tank and Chazz Mostert and Scott Pye who was part of a six-car crash on lap 13 which saw Jason Bright flip spectacularly in turn 1, also tangling six other cars, including Mostert and Pye.

The Bottom Five

Todd Kelly	2 Laps	Throttle
Will Davison	9 Laps	Crash
Robert Dahlgren	12 Laps	Oil Tank
Scott Pye	13 Laps	Crash
Chazz Mostert	13 Laps	Crash

Lastcar Standings: Manufacturer

Ford: 2

Nissan: 1

Holden, Mercedes, Volvo: 0

Lastcar Standings: Drivers

David Reynolds, David Wall, Todd Kelly: 1

Driveshaft failure ends Wall's race in turn 12

Source: richardsf1.com

David Wall picked up his 5^th Last Place finish of his career in the Clipsal 500 Second Race when his #17 Wilson Security Racing ford retired with a broken Driveshaft after 37 of the race's 39 laps. The finish came in David Wall's 33^rd start.

David Wall is in his 3^rd full-time year in the main game for Wilson Security Racing. He has had a tough two years, finishing outside the top 20 in both years. Early on it was Robert Dahlgren who spent much of the race in the rear as he struggled to adjust to the V8 Supercars. James Courtney then fell to the rear after an incident between him, Scott Pye and Lee Holdsworth which tore the left-front door off of his car. Dale Wood then fell to the rear when his bonnet popped, and that is where Wood stayed until the penultimate lap when Wall suffered a broken Driveshaft, ending his race.

Rounding out the bottom five is Wall's team-mate Dale Wood, Robert Dahlgren in his second start in the V8 Supercars, Jack Perkins and Jason Bright.

The Bottom Five

David Wall	37 Laps	Driveshaft
Dale Wood	39 Laps	Running
Robert Dahlgren	39 Laps	Running
Jack Perkins	39 Laps	Running
Jason Bright	39 Laps	Running

V8 Lastcar Standings: Manufacturer

Ford: 2

Holden, Nissan, Mercedes, Volvo: 0

V8 Lastcar Standings: Driver

David Reynolds, David Wall: 1

Lap 1 crash leads to last-place finish for David Reynolds

Source: www.zimbio.com

David Reynolds picked up his 4^th Last Place finish of his career in the Clipsal 500 Adelaide's first race when his #55 Bottle-O Racing Ford retired with crash damage after 12 of the race's 39 laps. The finish came in Reynold's 60^th round start.

David Reynolds qualified 22^nd out of a field of 25 cars for the first race. Chazz Mostert had Power Steering fliud leaking from his car before the start, and although he started the race, he fell to the rear after he slid on the oil and crashed into the turn 5 barrier. In the resulting melee David Reynolds made contact with another car, damaging the steering on the #55 Bottle-O ford. The steering then snapped heading into turn 11 on the same lap, sending Reynolds into the wall. Both cars limped into the lane, but Mostert got into the pit-lane first, gifting last to David Reynolds. Both cars eventually returned to the racetrack, but neither completed enough laps to be classified as finishers.

Rounding out the bottom five were rookies Nick Percat and Dale Wood, both of whom were part of a 3-car melee at turn 9 on lap 23 also involving Michael Caruso in the #36 Norton Hornet, and Robert Dahlgren in his debut race in the V8 Supercars, who had to make multiple pit-stops for handling issues.

David Reynolds	12 Laps	Crash
Chazz Mostert	21 Laps	Power Steering
Dale Wood	32 Laps	Running
Nick Percat	35 Laps	Running
Robert Dahlgren	38 Laps	Running

Lastcar Standings: Manufacturer

Ford: 1

Holden, Nissan, Mercedes, Volvo: 0

Lastcar Standings: Driver

David Reynolds: 1

Introduction

Welcome to the 2014 V8 Lastcar championship. This is not an award that anyone wants to get, because it tracks the number of last place finishes drivers in the V8 Supercars field have during the season.

So let's begin with Adelaide

How Juniorgeneric defines a Last-Place finisher

Australian V8 LASTCAR'S Official Definition of a "Last-Place Finisher" (LPF)

For the purposes of the Australian V8 LASTCAR championship rankings and statistics, a "Last-Place Finisher" (LPF) is a driver(s) who, after qualifying for a V8 Supercars Championship Points-Paying race, the result must be confirmed from official sources, or unofficial sources failing that. Only one driver (or two in a endurance race) can be classified as the LPF for that race.

Meeting those requirements, the LPF can be any driver classified as such for any reason, including, but not limited to.
1) A "did not start" although it should be noted that there is a difference between my definition of "did not start" and Brock Beard's definition of "Did not Start".
For example, in Bathurst 2015 Chazz Mostert and Cameron Waters' #6 Pepsi Max Ford had a huge accident during practice that injured Mostert and all but wrote off the car. Car #6 was withdrawn, and therefore I don't count Mostert and Waters as finishing last. Under Brock Beard's definition, however, Mostert and Waters would have finished last instead of David Wall and Chris Pither.
2) An entrant who encounters an event once the race has started which prevents the driver(s) from finishing ahead of any other qualified entrants, including both DNFs and drivers who finish under power but laps down*

*Only when all the cars in the race are running ahead of the LPF

3) A decision to “start and park” the driver’s entry (Extremely rare in V8 Supercars)
(4) a disqualification handed down by V8 Supercars and/or track officials that subsequently classifies the driver(s) in the final position behind the unofficial LPF.

Australian V8 LASTCAR shall not consider the LPF as anything else, including but not limited too
1) Any DNQ's
2) Any driver's who's car withdrew before the race start.
3)The lowest-ranked driver who finishes the race under power (unless all cars finished under power, actually quite common in V8 Supercars)
4) A driver(s) who finished last initially, however post-race disqualifications usurped the spot.
5) A driver(s) who may be catagorised as finishing last for exhibition events (I may bring these back at some point in the near future, I need more accurate numbers for the events before I start them up again)
6) Anything in non-V8 Supercar Main game (again, insufficent historical data)
7) A driver who was running last when the checkered flag fell, however because they greeted the checkered flag but a drive who was in front of them at the end of the race, however was not running at the end of the race. In that instance the driver who doesn't finish the race will fall behind the driver whom is still running at the end of the race.

In the rare event where official results or a preponderance of unofficial results are later updated with more accurate information about who was the LPF for that event, Australian V8 LASTCAR rankings and statistics shall be updated to reflect that change.