Virgin Australia LASTCAR Championship: October 2023

Sunday 29 October 2023

First lap pileup leaves Slade last on the Gold Coast

Original by Supercars, edited by me.

Tim Slade picked up the 12th last-place finish of his career when his #23 Nulon Chevrolet was involved in a 5-car crash that ended his race without completing a single lap of the 2nd race on the Gold Coast. The finish came in Slade's

Tim Slade is a veteran of the sport, having run for several teams over his 14-season career. He started at Paul Morris Motorsports in 2009, then moved to James Rosenberg Racing from 2010 to 2013, campaigning a Mercedes in 2013 before moving to Walkinshaw Racing with James Rosenberg in 2014. When James closed his team in 2014, Slade stayed with Walkinshaw Racing until 2016 when he moved to Brad Jones Racing. He lost his ride to Todd Hazelewood in 2020 but returned to the main game with the newly founded Blanchard Racing Team for 2021 and 2022.

In 2023, Slade moved to PremiAir Hire Racing. He was 16th in Practice 1 but slipped to 19th in Practice 2 before rising slightly to 18th in Qualifying.

Jack Smith in the #4 SCT Logistics Chevrolet started the race in the rear, but at Turn 4 Lap 1 Declan Fraser in the #56 Tradie Ford bounced teammate James Courtney in the #5 Snowy River Caravans Ford and Tim Slade in the #23 Nulon Chevrolet into the fence. Macauley Jones in the #96 Pizza Hut Chevrolet was collected immediately after, bouncing him into teammate Jack Smith in the #4 SCT Logistics Chevrolet, ending the races for Courtney, Slade, and Jones. Out of the trio, Slade was left last. The Bottom Five was rounded out by the final retirement, Scott Pye in the #20 Hino Chevrolet after crashing out late due to an incident at Turn 1 with James Golding in the #31 Nulon Holden, and Anton De Pasquale in the #11 Shell V-0Power Ford who started slowing on Lap 70 and would lose 4 laps with Electrical issues.

The Bottom Five

Tim Slade	0 Laps	Crash
Macauley Jones	0 Laps	Crash
James Courtney	0 Laps	Crash
Scott Pye	77 Laps	Crash
Anton De Pasquale	81 Laps	Running

Driver Championship

Pos	Driver	Last	Bottom 3	Bottom 5
1	Cameron Hill	3	7	8
2	Declan Fraser	2	7	11
3	Jack Smith	2	6	9
4	Tim Slade	2	5	7
5	David Reynolds	2	4	5
6T	Jack LeBrocq	2	4	4
6T	Chaz Mostert	2	2	2
8T	Broc Feeney	2	2	2
8T	Nick Percat	1	4	6
8T	Thomas Randle	1	4	6
8T	Todd Hazelwood	1	4	6
12	Cameron Waters	1	3	4
13	Mark Winterbottom	1	2	4
14T	Shane Van Gisbergen	1	2	2
14T	Brodie Kostecki	1	2	2
16	Andre Heimgartner	1	1	3
17T	Garth Tander	1	1	1
17T	Dale Wood	1	1	1
18	James Courtney	0	4	7
19	Macauley Jones	0	3	8
20	Matthew Payne	0	2	5
21	Will Brown	0	2	2
22	Anton De Pasquale	0	1	4
23	James Golding	0	1	3
24T	Will Davison	0	1	3
24T	Bryce Fullwood	0	1	3
26T	Jaylyn Robotham	0	1	1
26T	Garry Jacobson	0	1	1
26T	James Moffat	0	1	1
26T	Tim Blanchard	0	1	1
30	Scott Pye	0	0	3
31	Zane Goddard	0	0	2
32T	Aaron Love	0	0	1
32T	Jake Kostecki	0	0	1
32T	Fabian Coulthard	0	0	1
32T	Michael Caruso	0	0	1
32T	Craig Lowndes	0	0	1

Team Championship

Pos	Team	Cars	Last	Bottom 3	Bottom 5
1	Matt Stone Racing	4	5/4	13/4	14/4
2	Walkinshaw Andretti United	4	3/4	6/4	9/4
3	Tickford Racing	8	4/8	17/8	28/8
4	Tim Blanchard Racing	4	1/2	5/2	9/2
5	Penrite Racing	4	2/4	7/4	11/4
6	Premair Hire Racing	4	2/4	6/4	9/4
7	Erebus Racing	4	2/4	6/4	6/4
8	Brad Jones Racing	8	4/8	11/8	22/8
9	Red Bull/Ampol Racing	6	3/6	5/6	8/6
10	Team 18 Racing	4	1/4	2/4	6/4
11	Dick Johnson Racing	4	0	2/4	6/4

Manufacturer Championship

Pos	Manufacturer	Cars	Last	Bottom 3	Bottom 5
1	Chevrolet	30	16/30	42/30	71/30
2	Ford	24	12/24	40/24	67/24

Saturday 28 October 2023

Fuel Leak leaves Defending Champion Jack LeBrocq last on the Gold Coast

Jack LeBrocq picked up the 13th last-place finish of his career when his #34 Truck Assist Chevrolet retired with a Fuel Leak after 20 of the race's 85 laps. The finish came in LeBrocq's 202nd start.

Jack LeBrocq is one of the five drivers whose rookie season was in 2018, alongside Todd Hazelwood, Richie Stanaway, Anton De Pasquale, and James Golding. Heading Into 2024, Jack LeBrocq is one of only two drivers of these five who have stayed in the main game since then, with Todd Hazelwood being the latest departure from the main game, with Anton De Pasquale being the other driver. Beforehand, LeBrocq was part-time for three years previously. He started in 2018 with Tekno Autosports and raced until the end of 2019. In 2020, Le Brocq moved to Tickford Racing, racing the #55. In the last 2 years, he raced for Matt Stone Racing, where in 2022 he took out the Virgin Australia Superlastcar Championship in a close battle with Scott Pye. In 2023, however, Matt Stone Racing has taken a big step up, leading to a race win at Hidden Valley, his 2^nd win of his career. He was 20th in Practice 1 but skyrocketed to 3rd in Practice 2. However, he plunged to 13th in Qualifying and missed the Top 10 Shootout.

Will Brown in the #9 Coca-Cola Chevrolet started the race in the rear after a Mechanical failure, but Tim Slade in the #23 Nulon Chevrolet wound up against the tires at Turn 2, dropping to last, 13 seconds behind Jack Smith in the #4 SCT Logistics Chevrolet as Brown made 4 spots on Lap 1. Pitstops started on Lap 9 with Brock Feeney in the #88 Red Bull/Nulon Chevrolet pitting and dropping to last. Anton De Pasquale in the #11 Shell V-Power Ford pitted and fell to last Lap 12. The following lap Bryce Fulllwood in the #14 Middy's Electrical Chevrolet pitted and fell to last.

Defending Repco LASTCAR Championship Jack LeBrocq in the #34 Truck Assist Chevrolet would start leaking fuel on Lap 18, forcing them to the Garage, dropping them to last, and losing 8 laps in repairs. LeBrocq would pull back in shortly after returning to the track and retire shortly afterwards. Following LeBrocq out was Jack Smith in the #4 SCT Logistics Chevrolet after an alternator problem then stalled during a pitstop on Lap 22, losing 6 laps in repairs. Smith would be in and out of the garage for a while, losing 5 laps each time. Smith would officially retire on Lap 49.

Rounding out the Bottom Five was Cameron Hill in the #35 Truck Assist Chevrolet after he pulled into the garage on Lap 73 with Steering damage, losing 12 laps in repairs, Bryce Fullwood in the #14 Middy's Electrical Chevrolet pitted and changed a Radiator Cap, the pull into the garage again Lap 40, losing 3 laps with Engine issues, and Tim Slade in the #23 Nulon Chevrolet who struggled during the race after losing a significant amount of time going into the fence Turn 2 lap 1.

The Bottom Five

Jack LeBrocq	20 Laps	Fuel Leak
Jack Smith	27 Laps	Electrical
Cameron Hill	73 Laps	Running
Bryce Fullwood	81 Laps	Running
Tim Slade	84 Laps	Running

Driver Championship

Pos	Driver	Last	Bottom 3	Bottom 5
1	Cameron Hill	3	7	8
2	Declan Fraser	2	7	11
3	Jack Smith	2	6	9
4	David Reynolds	2	4	5
5	Jack LeBrocq	2	4	4
6T	Chaz Mostert	2	2	2
6T	Broc Feeney	2	2	2
8T	Nick Percat	1	4	6
8T	Thomas Randle	1	4	6
8T	Todd Hazelwood	1	4	6
8T	Tim Slade	1	4	6
12	Cameron Waters	1	3	4
13	Mark Winterbottom	1	2	4
14T	Shane Van Gisbergen	1	2	2
14T	Brodie Kostecki	1	2	2
16	Andre Heimgartner	1	1	3
17T	Garth Tander	1	1	1
17T	Dale Wood	1	1	1
18	James Courtney	0	3	6
19	Macauley Jones	0	2	7
20	Matthew Payne	0	2	5
21	Will Brown	0	2	2
22T	Anton De Pasquale	0	1	3
22T	James Golding	0	1	3
22T	Will Davison	0	1	3
22T	Bryce Fullwood	0	1	3
26T	Jaylyn Robotham	0	1	1
26T	Garry Jacobson	0	1	1
26T	James Moffat	0	1	1
26T	Tim Blanchard	0	1	1
30T	Scott Pye	0	0	2
30T	Zane Goddard	0	0	2
32T	Aaron Love	0	0	1
32T	Jake Kostecki	0	0	1
32T	Fabian Coulthard	0	0	1
32T	Michael Caruso	0	0	1
32T	Craig Lowndes	0	0	1

Team Championship

Pos	Team	Cars	Last	Bottom 3	Bottom 5
1	Matt Stone Racing	4	5/4	13/4	14/4
2	Walkinshaw Andretti United	4	3/4	6/4	9/4
3	Tickford Racing	8	4/8	17/8	28/8
4	Tim Blanchard Racing	4	1/2	5/2	9/2
5	Penrite Racing	4	2/4	7/4	11/4
6	Erebus Racing	4	2/4	6/4	6/4
7	Brad Jones Racing	8	4/8	11/8	22/8
8	Red Bull/Ampol Racing	6	3/6	5/6	8/6
9	Premair Hire Racing	4	1/4	5/4	8/4
10	Team 18 Racing	4	1/4	2/4	6/4
11	Dick Johnson Racing	4	0	2/4	6/4

Manufacturer Championship

Pos	Manufacturer	Cars	Last	Bottom 3	Bottom 5
1	Ford	24	12/24	39/24	65/24
2	Chevrolet	30	15/30	40/30	68/30

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.