TALLADEGA | RACE RECAP
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 PYE-BARKER FIRE & SAFETY CAMRY XSE
START: 28th | FINISH: 14th | POINTS: 24th
John Hunter Nemechek started the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway from the 28th position but was forced to move to the rear due to an unapproved adjustment following Saturday’s qualifying session. The No. 42 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota Camry XSE began the hunt to establish track position from the drop of the green flag. By Lap 12, he found himself in the top-25, and he had climbed into the top-five by Lap 25. Soon after he was leading the field. With 17 laps remaining in the first stage, crew chief Travis Mack brought the No. 42 Toyota down pit road for a fuel-only stop. Nemechek shook out to eighth after a series of green-flag pit stops. The caution came out on Lap 53 for a multi-car incident, but Nemechek was able to keep the No. 42 Toyota clean. He restarted fourth with two laps remaining and finished the stage third to earn eight stage points.
Mack brought the No. 42 Toyota down pit road during the stage break for four tires and fuel. He started Stage 2 from 17th. He fell to 28th in an attempt to avoid any trouble and began climbing to regain track position with 22 laps remaining in the stage. On Lap 110, Nemechek came down pit road for fuel only. As he was pitting, the No. 88 (Shane Van Gisbergen) spun into the grass, bringing out the caution on Lap 111. Mack opted to bring Nemechek back down pit road for four tires and fuel during the caution, and the No. 42 Toyota restarted 17th with four laps to go in the stage. He quickly jumped into the top-10 after a strong restart and finished the stage ninth, earning two stage points.
Nemechek came back down pit road during the stage break to top off on fuel. He led the field to green to start the final stage. He maintained the lead before beginning to battle with the No. 54 (Ty Gibbs) and No. 23 (Bubba Wallace). Nemechek ultimately fell to fifth on Lap 133. He later fell to 20th and stayed around there for a long green flag run. On Lap 165, the caution came back out, and Mack brought Nemechek down pit road under yellow for four tires and fuel. He restarted 23rd and began battling to regain track position. With two laps remaining, the caution flag flew once again, sending the field into overtime. Nemechek restarted 17th and ultimately finished 14th.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“We had good speed today in our No. 42 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota Camry XSE. We were able to lead some laps and score points in both stages, but in the final stage, we ultimately lost too much track position when trying to save fuel. We finished better than we have the past few weeks, so looking forward to continuing the progress in Martinsville.”
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 30th | FINISH: 35th | POINTS: 25th
After qualifying 30th for Sunday’s YellaWood 500, Erik Jones was forced to drop to the rear at the start of the race for an unapproved adjustment. The driver of the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE opted to hang back initially to try to avoid the chaos that Talladega Superspeedway is known for. He successfully did so before starting to work his way up starting on Lap 20. He made his way into the top-25 before his crew chief Ben Beshore called him to pit road on Lap 42 for fuel only. He returned to the field in 20th as green flag stops continued. In the matter on one lap, Jones found himself running 10th on Lap 48. The pit strategy worked in the No. 43 team’s favor. By the time green flag stops were done, Jones was solidly running in the top-five.
On Lap 53, Jones was running third and pushing the No. 4 of Noah Gragson when Gragson got loose. Jones was collected in the incident but was able to drive it back to the garage for repairs. The No. 43 crew worked diligently to get the car back out by the Stage 2 break in order to run and additional two laps and pass the cars they wrecked alongside in the final results. Ultimately, Jones finished 35th.
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“I’m not sure what went wrong there. I was pushing the No. 4 (Noah Gragson). Not sure if I was on him but I was tight to him. He seemed pretty stable, so I don’t know if I pushed too hard or got him in a bad spot or if I got aggressive too early. It’s just unfortunate. I felt like our No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE was good. Nothing to show for it. I don’t feel like it was too aggressive, but maybe he was more unstable than I thought he was. We’ll move on to Martinsville.”
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for the ninth race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on Sunday, Oct. 26 for the Xfinity 500.
The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT on NBC, MAX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
