NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY | RACE RECAP
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 PYE-BARKER FIRE & SAFETY CAMRY XSE
START: 29th | FINISH: 34th | POINTS: 26th
John Hunter Nemechek started the Mobil 1 301 from the 29th position. He fell to 32nd after reporting tight handling on Lap 13. He battled to stay on the lead lap during a long green flag run, but the No. 42 Pye-Barker Toyota Camry XSE ultimately fell to a lap down. He reported loose handling on entry as crew chief Travis Mack began planning for adjustments for his first trip down pit road. The caution was thrown with eight laps remaining in the stage, and the No. 42 Toyota took the wave-around and stayed off of pit road. He restarted from 33rd with one lap remaining in the first stage and finished 32nd.
Mack brought the No. 42 Toyota down pit road during the stage break for four tires, fuel, and major adjustments, and Nemechek started Stage 2 from 31st.
Just 12 laps into the second stage, the second yellow flag flew and Nemechek drove back into the top-30. Mack brought him back down pit road under yellow to top off fuel. The No. 42 Toyota restarted 29th with 98 laps remaining in the stage.
On Lap 110, the third caution of the race came out and Nemechek came down pit road from 30th for four tires, fuel, and minor adjustments. The No. 42 Toyota restarted 26th with 115 remaining in the second stage.
Shortly after the restart, the yellow flag was out again for multiple cars spinning. Nemechek avoided damage and jumped to the 22nd position.
On Lap 147, the No. 42 Toyota made hard contact with the wall which ended the race for the No. 42 Pye-Barker Toyota.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“I hate it for all of my guys after the run I’ve had the last few weeks. Getting into turn 3 just under the No. 35 (Riley Herbst) there I don’t know if just when I hit the bumps, but it automatically just turned sideways and I was kind of along for the ride. I hate it. We were making ground on it all day, and getting better track position wise and now we’re going home with a wrecked race car. We’ll be back next week in Kansas.”
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 FAMILY DOLLAR TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 26th | FINISH: 28th | POINTS: 24th
After starting 26th in Sunday’s Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Erik Jones initially advanced forward up to 25th in the opening laps. A loose No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE made it difficult to handle as the race ran green. He went a lap down early in the race, but caught a break when the caution came out with just seven laps to go in Stage 1. Crew chief Ben Beshore opted to keep Jones on the track to get his lap back and pitted at the end of the stage after finished 35th. During the stage break, the team took a major swing at adjustments to try to tighten up the racecar.
Jones restarted Stage 2 in 33rd and found speed early in the run. Just two laps into the run, he found himself 29th. He worked his way up to 25th by the Lap-89 restart. The No. 43 car continued to tighten throughout the run, and Jones fell back to 35th by the caution on Lap 111, but on the lead lap. Beshore and the crew took another swing at adjustments, and Jones rejoined the field in 34th. As the stage continued, Jones worked his way up as high as 28th. He was able to avoid spins and make his way up to 26th by the stage end.
After a pit stop during the stage break for four tires, fuel and another adjustment, Jones restarted the final stage in 27th. He worked his way up to 25th before green flag stops started on Lap 233. Jones worked his way up to 15th while trying to catch a caution. The No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota team brought Jones down pit road finally Lap 240 for four tires and fuel. The caution came out less than 15 laps later while Jones was running 25th, one lap down. Since he couldn’t get the wave around, Jones came down pit road for another four tires and fuel to set up for a fight for the lucky dog.
Unfortunately, the Toyota Camry XSE continued to build tight. Running out of time, Jones was forced to settle for an 28th place finish, one lap down.
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“We were just off today. Started way too loose and then we got too tight in Stage 2. We started to make ground in the final stage but couldn’t catch a caution. It happens. We’ll move on to Kansas.”
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Kansas Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 28 in the Hollywood Casinos 400.
The race begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on USA, MAX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
