KANSAS SPEEDWAY | RACE RECAP
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 DOLLAR TREE CAMRY XSE
START: 25th | FINISH: 32nd | POINTS: 26th
John Hunter Nemechek started Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway from 25th, and he quickly worked his way into the top-20 by Lap 4. He maintained there for a long green-flag run, and crew chief Travis Mack brought the No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE down pit road under a green-flag cycle. Nemechek battled to regain track position and found himself 22nd. The caution flag came out on Lap 56, and Mack brought the No. 42 Toyota back down pit road for four scuffs and fuel. He restarted 21st with 18 laps to go in Stage 1. After a strong restart, Nemechek jumped to the 17th position. He eventually fell back to 21st, where he maintained his position and finished the first stage.
Nemechek came down pit road during the stage break for four tires and fuel, and the No. 42 Toyota restarted Stage 2 from 16th. He quickly made his way into the top-15, but on Lap 89, contact with Ryan Preece (No. 60) turned Nemechek. He came down pit road for a longer stop to assess for damage before the No. 42 Toyota rejoined the field in 33rd. He climbed back into the top-25 and then pitted under green on Lap 142. He rejoined the field 28th and gained two spots to hover at 26th. With 22 laps remaining in Stage 2, he reentered the top-25 where he finished Stage 2.
Mack called Nemechek back down pit road during the stage break for four tires and fuel to start the final stage 22nd. He fell to 26th on the initial restart but eventually reentered the top-25 where he stayed for a long green-flag run. He worked his way to 23rd. A caution on Lap 211 gave Nemechek a chance to come back down pit road for four fresh tires and fuel. The No. 42 Toyota restarted 21stwith 51 laps remaining in the race. A hectic restart on Lap 217 brought the yellow flag back out for a multi-car incident. Nemechek kept the car out of trouble and jumped to restart from 14th with 45 laps to go. Unfortunately, he dropped back to 21stafter getting caught in traffic following the restart. He climbed back into the top-20 though and stayed for a long green-flag run.
Nemechek was running 18th when the caution flag came back out with 14 laps to go. Mack opted to bring the No. 42 Toyota back down pit road for four tires and fuel, and Nemechek restarted 18th with nine laps remaining. The yellow flag flew once again with seven laps to go, and Nemechek started an overtime shootout from 19th. The No. 42 Toyota made contact with Zane Smith (No. 38), which ended the team’s day early. Nemechek ultimately finished 32nd.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“We had a decent day in our No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE, but unfortunately, nothing to show for it. I made a mistake trying to go three-wide in overtime which ultimately cost us. Apologies to the No. 38 team and Zane (Smith), I hate the way it ended.”
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 ADVENTHEALTH TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 10th | FINISH: 16th | POINTS: 24th
After a successful qualifying effort on Saturday, Erik Jones started 10th for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. The driver of the No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE struggled with a tight-handling racecar initially but held steady in 11th during the opening laps of the race. Crew chief Ben Beshore brought him down pit road for the first time on Lap 34 for four tires and fuel. He rejoined the field 35th, one lap down. Jones got his lap back before the Lap-56 caution though, when he was running 29th. The team pitted for scuffs, and Jones continued an upward climb on the restart. By Lap 74, Jones was 23rd. He ultimately finished Stage 1 in the 24th position.
He pitted for four fresh tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment during the stage break before restarting 22nd for Stage 2. Unfortunately, Jones was involved in the Lap 89 incident with the No. 42 of John Hunter Nemechek and No. 60 of Ryan Preece. The team attended to some left front damage in an unscheduled stop before sending Jones back out on the track in 31st. Despite some handling issues, Jones moved himself from 31st to 24th in just 19 laps. He stayed there until a green-flag pit stop on Lap 125. An uncontrolled tire on the stop forced Jones to serve a penalty though and put him two laps down in 35th, where he ultimately ended the stage.
The No. 43 AdventHealth team brought Jones down pit road during the stage break and would restart 34th. Unable to get a lap back, they ran in the same position throughout the opening laps of the final stage. The caution came out though on Lap 211, and Jones stayed out to earn one of his two laps back. It worked out for the No. 43 team as the caution came out on the restart as the field entered Turn 1. Jones pitted during the caution for four tires and fuel before rejoining the field in 27thon Lap 223, only one lap down.
In the final laps, Jones was racing for a lucky dog spot in the event of a caution. He held steady there in 24th. Despite being passed for the lucky-dog spot late into the run, Jones caught a break on Lap 252 and was able to wave around to get back on the lead lap as the field restarted with nine laps to go. A quick caution came out again and allowed Jones to pit for four tires and fuel. He restarted 25th during the first NASCAR overtime. A caution came out before the white flag though, and Jones was able to restart 19th in a second attempt. He ultimately worked his way up to 16th by the checkered flag.
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“We had a fast No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE, but that slow stop in Stage 1 and a pit penalty hurt our chances of getting a top-10 finish. I’m proud of my team for never giving up though. We got our laps back and ended up with a shot at a decent finish at the end. Ben (Beshore, crew chief) gave me a good set up on that last stop, and it allowed me to jump up to 16th by the checkered flag. We’ll learn and move onto the ROVAL.”
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Cup Series will head to the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL on Sunday, Oct. 5 to race the Bank of America ROVAL 400.
The race begins at 3:00 p.m. EDT on USA, MAX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
