IOWA SPEEDWAY | RACE RECAP
NEWTON, Iowa (June 16, 2024) – The NASCAR Cup Series made its inaugural stop at the Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol on Sunday evening in front of a sold-out crowd on Father’s Day. Kyle Larson was the final car out for Saturday’s qualifying session and he powered to the pole position for the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol.
In a race that saw 12 lead changes for seven drivers and five cautions for 29 laps, the No. 12 of Ryan Blaney won the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series event.
Below is a look at how the No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota XSE driven by John Hunter Nemechek and the No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota XSE piloted by Erik Jones faired.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 34TH | FINISH: 26TH | POINTS: 28TH
42 RECAP: Prior to Saturday’s qualifying session, a rain shower came over the Iowa Speedway causing for a 45-minute delay in the NASCAR Cup Series session to set the 36-car grid. Once NASCAR gave the all-clear to begin the session, John Hunter Nemechek and the Dollar Tree team was the second car to take to the green race track. With no rubber laid down on the 0.875-mile oval, Nemechek reported to the team that there was a lack of grip and described it as driving on ice. As more cars took to the track, more rubber was laid down resulting in faster times. Saturday’s qualifying results put the No. 42 Dollar Tree LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team back in the 34th starting spot for the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol.
The air temperature in Iowa wasn’t the only thing that was hot as the action on the track was as well once the green flag released the 36-car field. A quick yellow came out on lap 3 for a car that got into the outside slowing the field down just as quick as it started. Once the race got going again, the green flag would stay out for a long green flag run and during that run, everywhere you looked throughout the field you saw three and four-wide action. In the middle of the first stage, the 27-year-old driver reported to his Dollar Tree team that the balance was good, but he was looking for a little more center turn. Nemechek was running solid lap times and worked himself up to the 25th position by the end of Stage 1.
During the stage break, crew chief Ben Beshore called his driver down pit road to the attention on the Dollar Tree crew for an air-pressure adjustment in the four sticker Goodyear Eagle tires and filled up on Sunoco fuel, all while gaining spots on pit road before Stage 2 began.
With the middle stage underway, Nemechek was working hard to continue to gain track position and was racing in the bottom groove as he dove deep into Turn 3, as he entered, the front end of the Toyota Camry XSE washed up into the No. 10, bringing out the next yellow flag; the No. 42 of Nemechek would continue running in the 24th spot.
Another long green-flag run followed as Nemechek stayed focused at the task at hand. With over 90 laps on his tires and tires starting to become an issue throughout the field, the No. 42 Dollar Tree team relinquished the 12th running spot to service their Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE with new tires and fuel. An unlucky break for the No. 42 Dollar Tree team as just four laps later, a yellow flag came out trapping the No. 42 laps down to the leader in 30th. With racing continuing to the end of Stage 2, Nemechek fought his way up to 27th, still one lap down to the leaders.
During the stage break, Nemechek radioed that his balance was better than the previous run. He was hoping to turn the center better without hurting the rear of the car and wanted more of the same adjustments. On the ensuing pit stop, the No. 42 Dollar Tree pit crew fired off a 9.3-second stop, helping them to a 23rd starting spot for the final stage.
A short distance into the third stage, Nemechek radioed to the crew that he thought had a right rear tire issue as he was now extremely loose, an issue he hadn’t felt all race. That balance issue ended up working itself as the run went on. It was lap 260 that the team elected to take a wave around to put them back onto the lead lap.
Nemechek continued to run solid lap times compared to those running immediately in front of him but did ask to free up his Camry XSE up on their last pit stop. That stop would come on lap 330 and the No. 42 team would take two tires and a splash of fuel to get them to the end of the 350-lap event. With an untimely yellow flag reverting the Dollar Tree LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team back in the running order, what looked like what was going to be a positive result, Nemechek fought hard for a 26th-place finish.
Quoting John Hunter Nemechek: “A bad qualifying result put us in the back to start the race. We started to make our way forward and everything was looking good but the yellow bit us; after that, we couldn’t move forward.”
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 FAMILY DOLLAR TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 32ND | FINISH: 32ND | POINTS: 26TH
43 RECAP: Erik Jones started the Iowa Corn 350 in 32nd. By Lap 4 he said the No. 43 was “way loose” and he couldn't go anywhere. The team pitted on Lap 6 for a chassis adjustment and fuel - Jones was 33rd on the Lap 9 restart. He stayed loose for the majority of the run until Lap 41 when he said the car was tight in the center and off.
Jones said the right front was chattering, and in a race plagued by tire issues, the team was concerned there could be a failure. Jones took the wave around at a Lap 52 caution and ended Stage 1 in 31st.
Jones was buried in 29th and put up a good fight with the leader to stay on the lead lap on Lap 139. Still fighting a tight condition on Lap 175 the right front tire failed on the No. 43 and he lost four laps to the leaders. Jones brought the No. 43 to pit road to the attention of the team to change tires ending Stage 2 in 35th.
Stage 3 saw little change in the handling even though the team made every effort to adjust it when they had the opportunity. Disappointed the handling didn't improve, Jones held on until the end of the 350 Lap event finishing 32nd.
NEXT RACE:
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Granite State for the USA TODAY 301 at New Hampshire Speedway. The race will take place next Sunday, June 23 at 2:30 p.m. ET live on the USA Network or listen on SiriusXM – NASCAR Radio (channel 90) and PRN Radio.
ABOUT OUR PARTNERS
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 www.dollartree.com.
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.
