CHARLOTTE ROVAL | RACE RECAP
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 FAMILY DOLLAR CAMRY XSE
START: 35th | FINISH: 26th | POINTS: 26th
John Hunter Nemechek started the Bank of America ROVAL 400 from the 35th position. During the first few laps of the race, he entered the top-30 and kept climbing. On Lap 13, crew chief Travis Mack brought the No. 42 Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE down pit road for four tires and fuel during green flag pit stops. Nemechek then had to serve a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road, before he rejoined the field in 36th. He began the drive forward to regain track position. Nemechek came back down pit road with three laps remaining in the Stage 1 in order to jump the stage and gain track position for the start of Stage 2. Nemechek finished Stage 1 in 34th.
The No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE stayed out during the stage break, and Nemechek started Stage 2 in ninth. After getting caught in traffic during the restart, Nemechek found himself in the 21st spot early in the run. With 12 laps left in Stage 2, Mack brought the No. 42 Toyota back down pit road for scuffs and fuel under green. He rejoined the field 34th and battled to 33rd after a long green-flag run. A series of green-flag pit stops towards the end of the stage put Nemechek in 27th by the end.
Nemechek came down pit road during the stage break for four tires and fuel before starting the final stage in 30th. The yellow flag flew on Lap 58, and Mack opted to keep the No. 42 Toyota off pit road during the caution. Nemechek restarted 26th with 48 laps to go in the race. He began the fight to regain track position once again, and after staying out during a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Nemechek was inside the top-20. The No. 42 Toyota was 12th when Mack called him back down pit road for four tires and fuel under green on Lap 75. He fought his way back into the top-20 and pitted from 19th with 19 laps to go. He battled and reentered the top-20 with 10 laps remaining. Unfortunately, the long green-flag run wore the tires down, and Nemechek finished 26th.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“Hard fought day in our No. 42 Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE. I’m proud of the effort from the team, but I’m looking forward to a mile-and-a-half next week. On to Vegas.”
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 TRI-STATE VACUUM & RENTAL LLC TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 37th | FINISH: 30th | POINTS: 25th
After being forced to forgo their qualifying effort to fix a power steering issue, Erik Jones and the No. 43 Tri-State Vacuum & Rental LLC Toyota team had a battle in front of them for Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Jones wasted no time in his pursuit forward as he climbed to 34th on Lap 2 and 31st on Lap 3. He held steady in the 32nd-place position until the team called him down pit road on Lap 11 for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment to combat a tight-handling Toyota Camry XSE. He continued to climb through the field when he rejoined the field, finding himself in 28th by Lap 16. Jones was 23rd when Stage 1 ended on Lap 25.
Crew chief Ben Beshore called Jones down pit road during the stage break for another four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment to help get some speed off the corners. He restarted Stage 2 in the 27th-position on Lap 30. Although he initially fell back on the restart, Jones found himself in 24th by the time of the mid-stage pit stop on Lap 41. He came down pit road for four tires and fuel before rejoining the field in 29th. As the stage continued under green, Jones climbed his way up through the field to finish 19th in Stage 2. He told the team during the stage break that he was still tight in the turns.
After pitting during the stage break, Jones restarted the final stage in 27th. He once again fell back on the initial start and was 31st when the caution came out just two laps into the run. The No. 43 Tri-State Vacuum & Rental LLC team opted to keep their driver on track to restart 25th. He climbed up to 17th by the time green-flag pit stops started on Lap 73. Jones came down pit road on Lap 75 for four tires, fuel, and another round of adjustments before rejoining the field in 34th.
As the race ran green, Jones was able to climb up through the field to run 26th by the time the next round of green flag pit stops started on Lap 85. He pitted for the final time on Lap 90 and rejoined the field in the 28th-position. The remainder of the race went green and as the tires wore down, Jones was unable to overcome his tight-building racecar. He ultimately finished 30th at the ROVAL.
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“This weekend was rough for us. We had a power steering problem in practice yesterday, and then not having that track position from the start of the race just doesn’t help you at this track. We were able to get ourselves into the Top 20 on some runs, and I'm proud of the No. 43 Tri-State Vacuum & Rental LLC team for not giving up. In the final laps, we had some contact and handling issues as the tires got older. We’ll build on this for next year, but I’m ready to head to Las Vegas.”
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the seventh race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on Sunday, Oct. 12 in the Las Vegas 400.
The race begins at 5:30 p.m. EDT on USA, MAX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
