INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY | RACE RECAP
SPEEDWAY, Ind. (July 21, 2024) – The NASCAR Cup Series returned to the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday for the Brickyard 400. This marked the first time the series raced on the 2.5-mile rectangular-shaped oval following a three-year hiatus. John Hunter Nemechek and the No. 42 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety team carried the torch for the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team in qualifying as they made it to the final round resulting in a 10th-place starting spot. This marks Nemechek’s second top-10 start of the 2024 season and LEGACY M.C.’s third. Erik Jones in the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE and Jimmie Johnson in the No. 84 Carvana Toyota Camry XSE both battled handling issues in qualifying, resulting in a 29th and 33rd-starting spot, respectively. However, both drivers showed speed in Friday’s practice session.
Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin started from the front row for the Brickyard 400 and Kyle Larson won the event for Hendrick Motorsports in an overtime finish.
Below is a look at how each LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver faired in the Brickyard 400:
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 PYE-BARKER FIRE & SAFETY TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 10TH | FINISH: 29TH | POINTS: 31ST
John Hunter Nemechek started 10th for Sunday’s Brickyard 400, equaling his best qualifying effort of the year. The first of three stages of the day was 50 laps and during the majority of those opening stage laps, the No. 42 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Camry XSE was running inside the top-10. Looking good up front, Nemechek reported into his LEGACY MOTOR CLUB crew that he was free on the exit of the corners. A pit stop on lap 37 would help the handling on his Camry as they bolted on four Goodyear tires and dumped two cans of Sunoco fuel and an adjustment. The remaining sprint to the stage break, Nemechek conserved fuel and rode to a 13th-place Stage 1 finish.
Instead of coming down pit road for service during the stage break, the No. 42 Pye-Barker team elected to stay out and restart in the third position. A power move on the restart by Nemechek rocketed him to the front of field. Leading at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Nemechek opened up a 2.5-second gap on the second-place car before a yellow on lap 68 slowed the field. With a “pretty decent, maybe a little snug” Camry XSE, Nemechek would duck down pit road for four tires, and fuel; he would exit in 13th as the first car on four fresh tires. A quick yellow on the restart pushed the No. 42 back into the top-10. Nemechek navigated his way around several cars on the restart and worked his way up to the fifth running spot as Stage 2 concluded. Crew chief Ben Beshore told his driver to max save on fuel as they continued on their pit strategy.
When the final stage started, Nemechek lined up in the second position with 56 laps to go and he would hold onto that running position. Several yellow flags were displayed during the final stage, bunching up the field. With 46 laps to go, Nemechek restarted from the lead and was told he needed to build up a large lead before they made their final green-flag pit stop on lap 121; relinquishing the second place at the time of the stop and falling to 30th. Differing pit strategies up and down pit road saw several cars that were close on the fuel window, however, the No. 42 was comfortably within their window. Beshore told his driver to go hard to the end. With 22 laps remaining, Nemechek was the fastest car on the 2.5-mile track as he was working his way forward running in the 24th-spot. Just prior to the checkered flag being displayed, a car hit the wall bringing out another yellow flag, sending it to overtime. Nemechek lined up in the 15th position for the first overtime restart. It was at that point when all chaos broke loose. While entering Turn 1, the No. 42 got clipped by another car sending Nemechek into the inside wall, then to the outside before coming to a stop at the exit of Turn 1, ending their day. The No. 42 Pye-Barker team ended up with a 29th-place finish.
While not the result the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team wanted or deserved, the North Carolina native had an impressive afternoon leading 16-laps in his second NASCAR Cup Series Indianapolis Motor Speedway start.
Quoting John Hunter Nemechek:
“The Pye-Barker Toyota Camry XSE looked great out front today; it felt awesome being able to lead some laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I want to thank all the men and women at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB for all the hard work and bringing a fast and safe race cars, as well as Pye-Barker Fire & Safety, Toyota, TRD, Dollar Tree / Family Dollar for all their support. Being able to run up front shows where we are heading as a program with LEGACY M.C. Looking forward to a couple weeks off then getting back to work at Richmond.”
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 29TH | FINISH: 28TH | POINTS: 27TH
The No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE took the green flag at Indianapolis Motor Speedway just after 2:30 pm EST on Sunday afternoon. After running at a steady pace, Erik Jones alerted to his crew that there may be a fuel pressure issue. When pitting several laps later, crew chief Dave Elenz instructed Jones to turn off the ECM unit for three seconds and then turn it back on, in hopes to resolve the issue. Not seeming to completely fix the problem, Elenz told the wheelman of the No. 43 that they would look more in-depth during the first stage break. After pitting to get the usual four tires and fuel, the team took extra time during the competition caution to check out the fuel pressure issue, before sending the Toyota Camry XSE back out to the grid. The team did make the decision to come back down pit road to top off fuel and concluded Stage 1.
Stage 2 began with the No. 43 towards the back of the pack, aiming to pass and move forward. During a caution on lap 68, the Dollar Tree crew awaited Jones on pit road, adding new four tires, fuel and taking some time to analyze the fuel pressure issue. Only six laps later, another caution occurred and the team ultimately decided to pit for fuel only. After a quick strategic conversation, Jones and crew decided to restart in the outside lane. Still dealing with fuel pressure issues, the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE stayed consistent towards the tail of the pack, finishing Stage 2 in the 31st position.
Stage 3 began and the No. 43 team knew that they were fighting an uphill battle. With an unanswered fuel pressure dilemma, the Jones, Elenz, and Carelli trio understood the car’s limitations - leaving the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE towards the end of the group. The Dollar Tree crew pitted multiple times in the third stage, adding only fuel most of the time. Towards the end of the Brickyard 400, there were many cautions, including one that resulted in a red flag. With four laps to go, the race took the final green flag and the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE concluded the race with a 28th-place finish.
Quoting Erik Jones:
"Today didn’t go as planned for our LEGACY MOTOR CLUB crew. We powered through and did our best with the cards we were dealt. Looking forward to having a couple of weeks off before heading back to Richmond."
JIMMIE JOHNSON | NO. 84 CARVANA TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 33RD | FINISH: 33RD
Jimmie Johnson started the Brickyard 400 in 33rd. He quickly gained momentum in the first 10 laps, moving up to 26th. Johnson felt he could go faster as the balance was very good but was mired down in dirty air. The team pitted for the first time on Lap 34 under green for four tires and fuel.
With ten laps to go in the first stage, Johnson said he didn't like the balance of the car after the pit stop, as it was a bit too tight. Crew chief Jason Burdett said he would go back on the air-pressure adjustment at the stage break. Johnson finished Stage 1 in 24th.
At the stage break, the No. 84 team pitted for two tires and fuel starting the second stage in the 20th position. Ten laps into the second stage, Johnson reported he was a little snug as he took over the 17th spot. A caution flag flew on Lap 68 for debris. Johnson said the car was a bit snug - the team pitted for four tires and fuel.
Johnson restarted Lap 74 in 29th. A multi-car crash on Lap 75 brought out another caution. Johnson pitted for fuel only on Lap 76. The stop put Johnson deep in the field, as he restarted 31st and said he was driving through the right front. Johnson finished Stage 2 in 30th position.
The team opted not to pit during the stage break giving Johnson an advantage for track position where he would restart stage three in 15th. Johnson dodged multiple spinning cars on Lap 106 and was able to move up to 11th.
Misfortune struck on Lap 109 when Johnson was tagged in the rear sending him hard into the wall. He was evaluated and released from the infield care center and would be done for the day finishing 33rd.
Quoting Jimmie Johnson:
“I was cruising along on the bottom and got hit in the right rear and got turned into the outside fence at that point. Those restarts are just so aggressive, everybody is pushing to get to the end of the race, and it is go time. Sadly, those pushes didn’t line-up right. I don’t know what started that but something on the outside happened, and they collected me and off and around we went. It was great to be back. Our cars were driving nice all weekend. Unfortunately, in qualifying, we just missed our balance, but very competitive in the race. We drove from 33rd to 17th, and then actually got to 11th there. All-in-all, a strong Carvana Camry, and it felt nice behind the wheel. I’m starting to understand the Next Gen vehicle. I think our group is starting to understand what we need for the cars. It was a great day for us in general especially the 42 (John Hunter Nemechek) running in the top-five and leading laps."
NEXT RACE: The NASCAR Cup Series will take two weekends off in observance of the Olympics. The next race will be on Sunday, August 11th at Richmond Raceway for the Cook Out 400. The race kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET live on USA or you can listen on SiriusXM – NASCAR Radio (channel 90) and MRN Radio.
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ABOUT DOLLAR TREE, INC.: Dollar Tree, a Fortune 200 Company, operated 16,622 stores across 48 states and five Canadian provinces as of October 28, 2023. Stores operate under the brands of Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and Dollar Tree Canada. To learn more about the Company, visit dollartree.com.
ABOUT CARVANA: Carvana’s mission is to change the way people buy and sell cars. Over the past decade, Carvana has revolutionized automotive retail and delighted millions of customers with an offering that is fun, fast, and fair. With Carvana, customers can choose from tens of thousands of vehicles, get financing, trade-in, and complete a purchase entirely online with the convenience of home delivery or local pick up in over 300 U.S. markets. Carvana’s vertically integrated platform is powered by its passionate team, unique national infrastructure, and purpose-built technology. Carvana is a Fortune 500 company and is proud to be recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Employers. For more information, please visit www.carvana.com.
ABOUT PYE-BARKER FIRE & SAFETY: The U.S. leader in fully integrated life safety systems, Pye-Barker Fire & Safety provides complete fire protection and security systems nationwide. With over 200 locations and 6,000 team members nationwide, Pye-Barker is an industry leader and ranks No. 954 on the Inc 5000 and No. 9 on the SDM 100.
ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB™ is a professional auto racing club owned by businessman and entrepreneur Maurice "Maury" J. Gallagher and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. The CLUB competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series fielding the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE of John Hunter Nemechek, the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE of Erik Jones, and the No. 84 limited schedule entry for Johnson. LEGACY M.C. also competes in the Extreme E Series. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty "The King" serves as Club Ambassador. With a unique title signifying a nod to car clubs of past eras, LEGACY M.C. is an inclusive club for all motorsport enthusiasts to celebrate the past and future legacies of its members, while competing for wins and championships at NASCAR’s elite level. To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow LEGACY MOTOR CLUB™ on Facebook, X, Instagram and at www.LEGACYMOTORCLUB.com.
