Phoenix Raceway | Race Recap
AVONDALE, Ariz. (March 9, 2025) – The NASCAR Cup Series returned to the 1.0-mile oval at Phoenix Raceway for the fifth race of the 2025 season. William Byron led the field to the green flag, while Erik Jones, driving the No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE, started fifth. His teammate, John Hunter Nemechek, rolled off from 36th in the No. 42 Pye-Barker Toyota Camry XSE. By the end of the day, it was Christopher Bell who captured the victory in the Shriners Children’s 500. It was Bell's third victory in a row of the season.
Below is a look at how the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entries fared:
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 PyE-Barker TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
On Saturday, the NASCAR Cup Series kicked off the weekend with a 45-minute practice session, where both LEGACY MC entries, including John Hunter Nemechek, placed in the top 10. Despite the strong practice showing, a disappointing qualifying effort saw the No. 42 Pye-Barker team start in 36th.
When the Shriners Children’s 500 began, Nemechek and the No. 42 team focused on moving forward. Within the first 15 laps, he climbed to 23rd — one of the biggest gains of the race. However, as the stage went on, the No. 42 Pye-Barker Toyota Camry struggled with a loose setup on entry and exit, dropping him back to 31st by the end of Stage 1.
At the start of Stage 2, Nemechek opted for the softer option tires and quickly powered his way to 16th. Unfortunately, a speeding penalty on pit road sent him to the back of the pack again. But his comeback was short-lived, as a multi-car wreck on the backstretch allowed him to rebound to 21st.
Nemechek and the No. 42 team logged the longest run of the day on their tires, holding their position steadily throughout. In the final 25 laps of the stage, Nemechek pushed hard, battling for the free pass position. As the stage came to a close, he went door-to-door with his LEGACY MC teammate, but Erik Jones narrowly edged him out for the spot. Nemechek wrapped up the middle stage in 21st.
On lap 215, a multi-car accident brought out the caution flag, slowing the race pace. Seizing the opportunity, the No. 42 Pye-Barker team utilized the “wave-around” rule to regain their position on the lead lap. With 46 laps remaining, the Pye-Barker team mounted their final set of option red tires, giving them the speed needed to charge through the field. By lap 282, the North Carolina native broke into the top 10 for the first time of the day.
In the closing laps, multiple restarts created more opportunities for the No. 42 team to keep pushing toward the front. Despite the challenges of an up-and-down weekend, Nemechek and the entire No. 42 Pye-Barker crew showed resilience and determination. Their efforts paid off with a 14th-place finish, gaining 26 positions and earning Nemechek his third top-15 result of the season.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHECK QUOTABLE:
“We were able to manage our day, we went a lap down in the middle stage and got the wave around to get us back on the lead lap. Travis [Mack] called a really good race saving a set of the reds for the end and allowed us to drive up through there. Another top-15 day, proud of the effort from everyone at LEGACY MC. There are high of highs and low of lows but we salvaged and just needed better front tires there on the last restart to get into the top 10. We’ll go to Vegas and build on this.”
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 Family Dollar TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
Erik Jones started the Shriners Children's 500 in fifth place. Early race cautions showed Jones falling back to eighth in the running order as the No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota was a little tight. With 25 laps to go in Stage 1, Jones radioed he was free in and off the corners. He had fallen back to ninth on the scoring tower. At the end of Stage 1 Jones crossed the stripe 13th.
During the pitstop, the team changed four tires and made an air pressure adjustment to help tighten up the No. 43. He restarted in 14th but got shuffled back to 26th by Lap 80. Jones reported the car was really tight. He pitted again on Lap 92 for tires and fuel, but got a speeding penalty and had to fall to the tail end of the longest line.
A multi-car accident brought out another caution on Lap 103 and Jones missed the wreck. After a lengthy yellow he restarted 23rd. Crew chief Ben Beshore said the goal would be to stay on the lead lap for the remainder of Stage 2, and save both set of option (red) tires for the final stage. Jones worked his way up to 18th place by Lap 121.
On Lap 155 Jones fell a lap down to leader Joey Logano. But battled teammate Nemechek for the free pass position and finished Stage 2 in 20th. With less than 100 to go, Beshore opted for the option tire and Jones powered to sixth with 60 laps remaining, where he opened up a two second lead over seventh place.
In the closing laps of the race Jones pitted on Lap 270 for yellow (prime) tires and would restart in fifth but fell to 18th when a caution came out on Lap 289. Jones pitted for option tires with 20 laps on them, and fuel to salvage what track position they could to the finish.
During the tenth caution of the day, Jones pitted for a last set of sticker prime tires as Jones said the handling of the No. 43 had gone away. The Family Dollar team finished 18th in NASCAR Overtime.
ERIK JONES QUOTABLE: “The handling just went at the end there, we had a good strategy but the No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota just wasn't like it was in practice. Unfortunate that it really just got too tight at the end – we showed a lot of promise today.”
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Cup Series continues its West Coast swing, heading to Las Vegas where teams can press their luck in the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 16. There is sure to be high-stakes action as drivers battle for victory on the fast 1.5-mile oval.
