LAS VEGAS | RACE RECAP
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 PYE-BARKER FIRE & SAFETY CAMRY XSE
START: 26th | FINISH: 29th | POINTS: 26th
John Hunter Nemechek started Sunday afternoon’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway from the 26th position. He began the battle to chip away at track position from the drop of the green flag. On Lap 39, crew chief Travis Mack brought the No. 42 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota Camry XSE down pit road during a green flag cycle for four tires and fuel. From there, he quickly began climbing back towards the top-20. With 13 laps remaining in Stage 1, he found himself running 20th. On Lap 71, the first caution of the race was thrown, and Mack brought the No. 42 Toyota back down pit road for four tires and fuel. He restarted 21st with four laps to go in the stage. He finished Stage 1 in 20th.
After staying off pit road during the stage break, Nemechek started Stage 2 in 18th. Soon after the restart, the No. 42 Toyota entered the top-15. On Lap 118, Nemechek came back down pit road for four tires and fuel under green. He cycled to 19th after a series of green flag pit stops. He fell to 28th with 13 laps remaining in Stage 2 and reported loose handling. He continued to lose track positions as the stage wound down and finished 33rd.
Nemechek came down pit road for four tires and fuel during the stage break. He restarted 32nd and began the race for the lucky dog. He cracked the top-30 and began climbing during a long green flag run. Mack called the No. 42 Toyota down pit road on Lap 219 for four tires and fuel during a green flag cycle. He exited pit road 32nd and began battling for track position. On Lap 229, in an attempt to avoid an incident between the No. 24 (William Byron) and No. 10 (Ty Dillon), Nemechek spun down pit road and entered his stall backwards. Right side tires were changed, and the No. 42 came back down next lap to change left side tires and assess damage. This put him two laps down, and Nemechek restarted 34th with 23 laps remaining. During the restart, the caution came out for another incident. Nemechek avoided the wreck and restarted 30th with 15 laps remaining. He ultimately finished the race in 29th.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“We had a fast No. 42 Pye-Barker Toyota Camry XSE. Honestly, we showed a lot of consistent speed in Stage 1 but fell off hard in Stage 2. We weren’t able to recover. I’m confident that we’ll bring a fast car in Talladega next week.”
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 19th | FINISH: 15th | POINTS: 24th
After qualifying 19th in Saturday afternoon’s session, Erik Jones was ready to tackle a hot and slick Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Sunday’s race. He initially fell back to 22nd after firing off too loose on the start of the race. Jones told the team he had no grip early in Stage 1. He brought his No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE down pit road for the first time on Lap 36 for four tires and fuel while he was running 20th. Jones worked his way as high as 17th as the stage continued under green. The caution came out once again with nine laps to go in the stage though. Crew chief Ben Beshore brought Jones down pit road to put on four scuffs and make an adjustment before sending him back out with two laps to go in the stage. Unable to find grip, Jones finished Stage 1 in 21st.
He pitted for four fresh tires and fuel during the stage break and restarted 22nd. With a loose-handling racecar, Jones fell back at the beginning on Stage 2. He stayed out for a while during the next round of green flag pit stops and climbed his way up to 15th before pitting for four tires and fuel on Lap 123. He rejoined the field in 27th but wasted no time in his pursuit forward. In the final laps of Stage 2, Jones worked his way up to 20th, where he ultimately finished.
After pitting for another four tires, fuel, and a right front adjustment, Jones restarted the final stage in 23rd. He held steady in the opening laps before pitting on Lap 215. Jones continued his pursuit forward to run 20th on Lap 225. He reported his car was still too loose and when the caution came out on Lap 236, the No. 43 Dollar Tree team brought him down pit road for one final adjustment, four fresh tires, and fuel. Jones restarted 20th and avoided mayhem in the final laps to restart 12th on the final restart on Lap 254. He held onto his top-20 position to finish 15th at Las Vegas.
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“It was just another hot and slick race at Las Vegas. Our No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE was loose pretty much all day, but we had some good speed. At the end, we were able to avoid a lot of chaos and come home with a decent 15th-place finish. We’ll continue to build on our intermediate track package and move onto Talladega.”
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway for the eighth race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on Sunday, Oct. 19 for the Yellawood 500.
The race begins at 2:00 p.m. EDT on NBC, MAX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
