Atlanta Motor Speedway| AMBETTER HEALTH 400
HAMPTON, Ga. (Feb. 23, 2025) – The Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway served as the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series season on Sunday as Ryan Blaney led the field to the green flag. LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s John Hunter Nemechek took the start from 22nd in the No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE, and Erik Jones rolled off 28th in the No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE. When the checkered flag waved, it was Christopher Bell who emerged victorious.
Below is a look at how the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entries fared:
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
The opening stage of the Ambetter Health 400 featured 60 quick and caution-free laps where John Hunter Nemechek quickly found his rhythm in the No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE. While the field settled in and tested their setups, Nemechek made the most of every opportunity. By the end of the first stage, the North Carolina native had climbed 11 positions from his starting spot, finishing the stage in 11th place.
During the stage break, Nemechek reported to his crew that the Dollar Tree Camry felt decent but was a bit tight, and he needed more front turn in traffic. Stage 2 played out much differently than the first, with multiple caution flags slowing the race pace. Running slightly further back in the order, crew chief Travis Mack made a strategic call on Lap 137 for four tires and fuel — a move they believed would pay off during the next stage break to give them track position.
With under 10 laps remaining in the stage, a major wreck unfolded on the front stretch, but Nemechek managed to avoid the chaos. A quick splash of fuel before the restart put the No. 42 Dollar Tree team in 18th for the four-lap sprint to the Stage 2 finish. Nemechek boldly held his line in the middle of a three-wide battle, gaining five positions to finish the stage in 13th.
After the stage, Nemechek took a moment to acknowledge his new spotter Hayden Reeves’ skills as the two continue to strengthen their communication this season.
The strategic pit call from Stage 2 paid off, giving the team the track position they’d been aiming for as Nemechek stayed out at the break and would restart in the second spot with less than 100 laps to go.
With Nemechek on slightly older tires than the rest of the field, he knew he’d have to hang on until a caution leveled the playing field. That break came on Lap 183 after he had slipped back to 11th, setting up for the team’s final pit stop of the day.
With four fresh tires and two cans of fuel, the pit crew sent Nemechek back out to the finish. While still close to the fuel window, crew chief Mack reminded his driver to save fuel whenever possible.
Though they sacrificed track position, the team was confident the fresher tires and fuel strategy would pay off. Falling as far back as 23rd, Nemechek and the Dollar Tree crew stayed patient and kept their eyes on the bigger picture.
Throughout the day, Nemechek and spotter Reeves worked seamlessly, with Reeves consistently calling out the lanes that were moving and Nemechek placing his Camry in the right spots at the right times.
A late caution with four laps to go set up the second “NASCAR Overtime” of the season.
Restarting from the inside lane in 12th, Nemechek was determined to close out a strong day with a great finish. Avoiding a last-lap wreck, he powered his Dollar Tree Camry into 10th, earning his second consecutive top-10 finish of the season.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTABLE
“Solid day - I'm really proud of Hayden [Reeves]—he put in a lot of hard work today. This race was definitely more intense than Daytona. Hats off to everyone at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB—the road crew, pit crew, and the entire team did a great job. Thanks to Dollar Tree for all of the support. We kept our Dollar Tree Camry clean all day and came away with another top-10 finish. Two strong runs to start the season, and I’m looking forward to COTA next week!”
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 AdventHealth TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
The beginning of the Ambetter Health 400 saw Erik Jones and the No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE take off from the 28th position. By Lap 7, Jones quickly climbed eight spots in standings, becoming one of the biggest movers of the race in the early going. The team bounced in and out of the top 15, driving two and three wide for the majority of the stage. Battling tire wear on the right front due to being tight in dirty air, the No. 43 AdventHealth team completed Stage 1 in the 21st position.
After a trip to pit lane, the crew restarted Stage 2 from the 19th position. A quick caution saw the No. 43 come to the pits to add more fuel, resulting in the team restarting in the 14th position. On Lap 101, while racing in the middle of three-wide down the backstretch, the No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry got clipped in the left rear, sending him spinning to the inside wall, resulting damage to the right front nose and flat tires. Unable to make it back to pit road, the car No. 43 was towed to the garage under the Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP) clock to make the necessary repairs. After addressing the damage, the AdventHealth Toyota was sent back on track, 26 laps down. and made minimum speed. After several quick cautions, the pit crew was able to add fuel, change tires, and adjust what was needed for the AdventHealth Toyota to continue on.. The team completed Stage 2 in the 39th position.
Shortly after Stage 3 began, crew chief Ben Beshore noted to the team that they had moved up nine spots by keeping themselves in the race. The Ambetter Health 400 went into NASCAR Overtime and the No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE completed the race in the 31st position.
ERIK JONES QUOTABLE
“Today was a good day for character-building and perseverance. The race started off strong, the AdventHealth Toyota was good, but we can’t control some things, and that’s what we got caught up in. Unfortunate, but putting it in the past and focusing on COTA.”
UP NEXT: The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on Sunday, March 2. The race will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET and broadcast on FOX, PRN Radio, and SIRIUS XM NASCAR Radio, CH. 90.
