BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY | RACE RECAP
BRISTOL, Tenn. (April 13, 2025) – The NASCAR Cup Series battled it out on the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500. Erik Jones, driving the No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE, started 28th, while his LEGACY MOTOR CLUB teammate, John Hunter Nemechek, rolled off 32nd in the No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE. After 500 laps, it was Kyle Larson who emerged victorious.
Below is a look at how each of the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entries fared.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 32ND | FINISH: 21ST | POINTS: 21ST
John Hunter Nemechek was forced to start from the rear of the field at the Food City 500 after the No. 42 Dollar Tree found a part failure on their Toyota Camry XSE following qualifying. With high tire wear noted in practice, the early laps were all about managing tire life and gaining track position. Despite starting deep in the field, Nemechek showed resilience in the opening run, holding off the No. 5 for several laps before eventually falling a lap down to the leader with 46 laps remaining in the stage. Struggling with a car that was free on entry, tight through the center, and free on exit, Nemechek battled through handling issues to finish Stage 1 in 30th.
After the opening stage went caution-free, the teams got their first look at the tire wear, and it didn’t appear to be an issue. Crew chief Travis Mack called for four tires, fuel, and an air-pressure adjustment.
During the second stage, Nemechek ran in 27th and was in position to earn the free pass, but just a few laps before the caution came out, the No. 60 overtook him, denying the No. 42 Dollar Tree team the chance to get back on the lead lap. As the field slowed under yellow, the team considered taking the wave around, but that opportunity didn’t materialize, leading them to bring Nemechek to pit road. During the stop, the left front wheel wasn’t secured in time and came off as Nemechek exited his pit stall. He was forced to return to pit road to have a new tire installed. Restarting 33rd, Nemechek faced a tough task with several cars ahead of him and limited track position. Despite being mired in traffic, he noted an improvement in the handling of his No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE. He managed to stay just one lap down through the end of Stage 2, finishing in 31st — a position that allowed the team to take the wave around and rejoin the lead lap to start the final stage.
Starting the final stage in 30th and on older tires, Nemechek knew he had to push hard to stay ahead of the leader and remain on the lead lap. He quickly made-up ground, advancing to 23rd before making a green-flag pit stop on lap 361 for fresh tires and fuel. As the field cycled through green flag stops by lap 439, Nemechek climbed into the top 20 in 19th.
After slipping back as far back as 34th in the running order earlier in the race, the No. 42 Dollar Tree team stayed focused and resilient, battling back from adversity to claw their way back to a 21st-place finish.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTABLE:
“It was a decent finish considering the kind of day we had – an up-and-down one. We went a lap down in the first stage and had to take the wave-around. Then we had a tire fall off on pit road, which set us back even more. But the team kept fighting, and we managed to stay just one lap down to the end during that green-flag pit cycle. We had a solid strategy to try and get back on the lead lap. I felt like our Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE had good speed – probably a top-15 car if we hadn’t made a few mistakes throughout the day. Still, it was a solid effort and encouraging speed. We’ll take the off week to reset and get ready for Talladega in a couple of weeks.”
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 ADVENTHEALTH TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 28TH | FINISH: 26TH | POINTS: 30TH
After starting 28th in the Food City 500, Erik Jones fell to 34th by lap 40. Tire wear was a big concern on the day and by Lap 50 the field was starting to see some rubber buildup.
With 30-laps to go in Stage 1, Jones found himself in 31st. The Michigan native reported the No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota was loose in and tight in the center and that he wasn't able to make forward progress. It was with five laps to go in Stage 1 that he radioed to the crew that the power steering was gone. He finished Stage 1 in the 28th position.
After a pit stop crew chief Ben Beshore said he didn't see any power steering fluid in the pit box and Jones restarted 23rd Stage 2. Jones continued on and said the car was still too tight and free in the center and off the corner.
The second stage was uneventful as Jones said the car wasn't handling and he finished Stage 2 at Lap 250 in 26th, two laps shy of the leader.
The team took the wave around at the stage break to try and get track position. Jones continued to fight more of the same handling issues through Stage 3 and with 150 to go he was 28th.
With 143 to go the No. 43 pitted for tires and fuel. The handling continued to be an issue throughout the closing laps and Jones held on to the end finishing 26th. It was a tough day, but the team kept trying to work on the handling for 500 laps.
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Cup Series takes a week off before kicking off a 28-week stretch of consecutive events, starting with the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. The race is scheduled for Sunday, April 27 at 3:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1, MAX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
