2016 Season
The league's 13th season for Lucky Dog Racing's Cup series would get underway in 2016. It would also mark the 12th season for the Xfinity series and a milestone 10th season for the Truck series. Lucky Dog Racing would also be part of the LROC series for the 11th season as the season would feature four leagues for the first time.
There were a few minor changes announced for the season but most notably it was the addition of the Chase in the Xfinity and Truck series for the first time. Lucky dog Racing would mirror NASCAR's version of the chase with 12 members qualifying in the Xfinity series and 8 in the Truck series.
The Cup series would also expand for the first time to allow for more than 43 members. Since there were no rookies added during the 2015 season and only one member left the league, the council voted to add 3 more expansion slots for a total of 46 members. There would be four rookies in the field, Wendal Ebach, Joanne Sebastian, Tom Watkins and Rodney Webb.
The Xfinity series started with 50 members but one left after just two races in. Bradley Taylor and last year's Truck series rookie of the year, Todd Oliver would face off against each other in a two man rookie of the year battle.
The Truck series had the largest turn-around with a total of 57 members racing. The rookies that raced the entire season were John Boros, Myra Cochran, Bobby Ericson, Rodger Pitts and Matt Steinfels.
Lucky Dog Racing would also offer its usual sides games as well, the Yahoo league, streak to the finish, manufacturer challenge and chaser eraser.
Prior to the season, the league would allow Truck series members to pick numbers and sponsors for the first time. After using a seniority process, all members would make their selections over a couple of weeks.
The season would get underway the usual way at Daytona. Robby Stone would end up winning the Sprint Unlimited which would be the final race under that name since it was Sprint's final season as Cup sponsor. That win would end Terry Howell's winning streak of 2 straight years. A week later Robby would go back to victory lane by winning the Daytona 500. Terry Howell was the only other player to win both the Unlimited and Daytona 500 in the same season.
Jose Rodriguez took the victory in the Truck race and Al Allison won in the Xfinity series.
Stephen DiCaprio won the second race of the Cup series season at Atlanta and after that Robby Stone went back to victory lane again at Las Vegas. Robby had started the season red hot and was an early Chase contender. The first repeat winner in the Xfinity series was Lou Demian who won two of the first five races. It took 16 races in the Truck series to get a first repeat winner, that was Wendal Ebach who won at Gateway and then Chicagoland.
Further into the season, Frank Page won the all-star race for this first time while Greg Eichel won the Cash Challenge. As the regular season ran down for all three series, it was furious battle to see who would make the Chase.
For the first Truck series Chase, the 8 drivers who qualified were Wendal Ebach, Stephen DiCaprio, Lou Demian, Greg Miller, David Baartman, Jose Rodriguez and Janet Sebern. The Xfinity Chasers were Todd Oliver, Lou Demian, Ron Blackman, Matt Minnich, Stephen DiCaprio, Jay Smogolski, Will Riney, Dave Smith, Janet Sebern, Shane Burton, James Dillon and Ray Perrotta.
The 16 drivers that qualified for the Cup series were Dean Higley, Jack Thesier, Robby Stone, Tom Watkins, Stephen DiCaprio, Ryan Smith, Jessy Turgeon, Randy Cook, Harry Jeffery, Joe Tenpenny, Jordan Hunt, Gary Wheat, Matt Minnich, Jay Smogolski, Paul Scannell and Jose Rodriguez. Stephen DiCaprio was the only driver to qualify for all three chases. Click here for a look at the field at the start of the Chase.
Jessy Turgeon got off to a nice start in the Cup series by winning the first Chase race. Jose Rodriguez also advanced by winning race #2. In the xfinity series, no Chasers won a race until Homestead.
Stephen DiCaprio and Lou Demian won the first two Truck series chase races and were able to advance. Greg Miller won in the second round which set up the final four for Homestead. Greg Miller, Lou Demian, Stephen DiCaprio and Lou Demian had a heck of a battle after all four finished in the top 10. Greg Miller ended up winning the race and the Truck series championship. After winning two Cup series championships, he celebrated his third title in Lucky Dog Racing.
In the Xfinity series, the final four were Shane Burton, Lou Demian, James Dillon and Todd Oliver. Lou Demian was the only member to qualify for two of the championship rounds. He missed the Truck series championship, but just as Greg Miller won the Truck race to secure his championship, Lou Demian won the Xfinity championship. It was his fourth title and had now won championships under the Busch, Nationwide and Xfinity sponsorships.
The Cup series championship race turned out to be very interesting because three of the drivers came from Northeast Ohio Motorsports. Jordan Hunt, Robby Stone and Gary Wheat would all face off against Jose Rodriguez. While all three of them could have dominated, they all struggled. Jose Rodriguez finished 11th in the race and emerged as Cup series champion. Jose because the 2nd player after Lou Demian to win a title in all three series.
Meanwhile Racing Traditions, Inc. had dominated the team standings all season long. They led all but two weeks of the entire season and easily cruised to their fourth championship. Dean Higley won the MVT award with them for the first time.
Jessy Turgeon won a close battle over his Cup series teammate Stephen DiCaprio to win the Chaser Eraser for he first time in his career. Ray Perrotta dominated in the streak to the finish game and won the title there for the second time in the last three years. Kevin Sullivan had a pretty easy victory in the third Manufacturer's Challenge and won his first title. Over in the Yahoo league, Nate Bishop had a great season there to win his first title.
In the LROC series, Lucky Dog Racing had a good year but fell short once again to P10 Select for the championship. They finished in second place but one of their drivers, Randy Cook took the driver's title.
The 2016 season came to an end at Homestead which closed out an era. Sprint had been the sponsor of the Cup series ever since the league's existence but that would come to an end. Not long after the season ended it was announced that Monster Energy would become the new sponsor so it should be interesting to see what changes lie ahead for NASCAR and Lucky Dog Racing next season.
|
2016 Season Drivers
Drivers are listed alphabetically
Click on each driver to see their 2016 league stats
| Driver |
Team |
# |
Sponsor |
First Race |
Last Race |
Starts |
Finish |
| Charquillia Addison |
Gopher Broke Racing |
#99 |
Taco Bell |
5/20/04 |
Current |
36 |
29th |
| Dione Baker |
5:16 Racing |
#10 |
NOTW |
2/23/14 |
Current |
36 |
43rd |
| Leon Baker |
5:16 Racing |
#27 |
Ford Racing |
2/14/10 |
Current |
36 |
21st |
| Ed Blackman |
Coast To Coast Racing |
#6 |
Fox Barrel Cider |
2/20/05 |
Current |
36 |
38th |
| Ron Blackman |
El Diablo & The Magic Men Motorsports |
#48 |
Lowe's |
9/18/11 |
Current |
36 |
18th |
| Brian Blair |
South Mountain Motorsports |
#71 |
Klassic Kollectibles |
2/24/13 |
Current |
36 |
17th |
| Shane Burton |
Jim Beam Racing |
#87 |
Levi Garrett |
6/8/14 |
Current |
36 |
42nd |
| Randy Cook |
Randy Cook Racing |
#29 |
Busch Beer |
2/18/07 |
Current |
36 |
10th |
| Gwen Demian |
Intimidator Racing, Inc. |
#04 |
OBX.org |
4/4/04 |
Current |
36 |
46th |
| Lou Demian |
Intimidator Racing, Inc. |
#1 |
Blue Moon |
4/4/04 |
Current |
36 |
22nd |
| Stephen DiCaprio |
Racing Traditions, Inc. |
#83 |
Xbox One |
10/30/05 |
Current |
36 |
9th |
| Bob Douce |
Northeast Ohio Motorsports |
#08 |
Play It Again Sports |
7/23/06 |
11/13/16 |
34 |
37th |
| Wendal Ebach |
Whooz Racing |
#93 |
NDSU |
2/21/16 |
Current |
36 |
35th |
| Greg Eichele |
Slingshot Motorsports |
#2 |
Crown Royal |
2/20/11 |
Current |
36 |
31st |
| Dean Higley |
Racing Traditions, Inc. |
#84 |
Coca-Cola |
2/18/07 |
Current |
36 |
12th |
| Terry Howell |
Randy Cook Racing |
#59 |
Nationwide |
2/17/08 |
Current |
36 |
25th |
| Jordan Hunt |
Northeast Ohio Motorsports |
#07 |
AARP: Drive To End Hunger |
11/5/06 |
Current |
36 |
2nd |
| Harry Jeffery |
Coast To Coast Racing |
#21 |
Martin Luther College |
2/20/05 |
Current |
36 |
11th |
| Teeder Jenkins |
PFQ Racing |
#14 |
Sunoco |
2/20/11 |
Current |
36 |
34th |
| Mark Mason |
Slingshot Motorsports |
#23 |
Chick-Fil-A |
2/20/05 |
Current |
36 |
37th |
| Greg Miller |
El Diablo & The Magic Men Motorsports |
#12 |
NAPA Auto Parts |
2/9/05 |
Current |
36 |
39th |
| Matt Minnich |
South Mountain Motorsports |
#52 |
Alka-Seltzer |
2/24/13 |
Current |
36 |
5th |
| Frank Page |
Gopher Broke Racing |
#16 |
Jack Daniel's |
2/20/05 |
Current |
36 |
36th |
| Ron Parlacoski, Jr. |
KrazyRacing3 |
#33 |
Goodwrench Service |
2/14/10 |
Current |
36 |
41st |
| Ray Perrotta |
Slingshot Motorsports |
#8 |
Buffalo Wild Wings |
2/20/05 |
Current |
36 |
24th |
| Will Riney |
El Diablo & The Magic Men Motorsports |
#64 |
NOS Energy |
2/19/06 |
Current |
36 |
23rd |
| Fred Sanchez |
Happy Pappy |
#55 |
Under Armour |
2/23/14 |
Current |
36 |
26th |
| Jose Rodriguez |
El Diablo & The Magic Men Motorsports |
#47 |
Kroger |
7/7/12 |
Current |
36 |
1st |
| Paul Scannell |
Racing Traditions, Inc. |
#02 |
U.S. Marines |
2/27/12 |
Current |
36 |
7th |
| Joanne Sebastian |
48wins7 |
#65 |
Counting Cars |
2/21/16 |
Current |
36 |
28th |
| Larry Scroggins |
Intimidator Racing, Inc. |
#43 |
Pabst Blue Ribbon |
2/20/05 |
Current |
36 |
45th |
| Hurricane Sidwell |
Sunday Money |
#00 |
Jim Beam |
4/25/10 |
Current |
36 |
44th |
| Dave Smith |
Draftpack 3 88 |
#56 |
Captain Morgan |
2/27/12 |
Current |
36 |
32nd |
| Ryan Smith |
Randy Cook Racing |
#51 |
Guinness Beer |
2/20/05 |
Current |
36 |
16th |
| Jay Smogolski |
Coast To Coast Racing |
#66 |
Fat Tire |
6/2/13 |
Current |
36 |
6th |
| Robby Stone |
Northeast Ohio Motorsports |
#15 |
Bass Pro Shops |
2/15/09 |
Current |
36 |
4th |
| Kevin Sullivan |
Coast To Coast Racing |
#78 |
NC State University |
2/18/07 |
Current |
36 |
27th |
| Joe Tenpenny |
Jim Beam Racing |
#72 |
Canadian Club Whiskey |
2/23/14 |
Current |
35 |
13th |
| Jack Thesier |
Coast To Coast Racing |
#71 |
Disney |
5/26/13 |
Current |
36 |
15th |
| Jessy Turgeon |
Racing Traditions, Inc. |
#91 |
Save The Polar Bears |
2/20/11 |
Current |
36 |
8th |
| Tom Watkins |
Watkins Motorsports |
#95 |
Amazon |
2/21/16 |
Current |
36 |
14th |
| Rodney Webb |
Webbspun Racing |
#4 |
Peterbilt |
2/21/16 |
Current |
36 |
19th |
| Gary Wheat |
Northeast Ohio Motorsports |
#09 |
World Vision |
2/18/07 |
Current |
36 |
34rd |
| Troy Wiggins |
Intimidator Racing, Inc. |
#03 |
The Sierra Club |
2/20/05 |
Current |
36 |
30th |
| John Wilson |
Texas Motorsports |
#79 |
Chevrolet |
2/20/05 |
Current |
36 |
40th |
| Kelly Wolfe |
Wolferacing |
#54 |
DANA |
7/13/14 |
Current |
17 |
20th |
|
|
