IOWA SPEEDWAY | RACE RECAP
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 29th | FINISH: 15th | POINTS: 20th
John Hunter Nemechek started the Iowa Corn 350 from the 29th position, and soon after fell to the 32nd spot. Nemechek regained track positions to bring the No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE back to 29th as the first stage was a long green flag run. Nemechek ended the stage 29th. Following the end of the stage, crew chief Travis Mack brought Nemechek for four tires, fuel, and adjustments during the stage break.
Nemechek started the second stage in the 26th position and quickly marched through the field to 17th. With 45 to go in the stage running eighth, Mack brought the No. 42 Toyota back in for a green flag pit stop and was 27th coming off pit road. The caution flag flew with 41 laps remaining in the stage. The field went green again with 34 laps to go, and Nemechek restarted 26th. The yellow flag was thrown again with 31 laps to go, and Mack opted to stay out putting Nemechek 16th at the restart on Lap 186. With seven laps left in the stage, the fourth caution was thrown, and the No. 42 Toyota came down pit road for four tires, fuel and small air adjustments under yellow. With two laps to go, Nemechek restarted 23rd and finished the stage 26th after contact with the left rear on the final lap of the stage. Mack brought Nemechek back down pit road during the stage break for four tires, fuel, and to check for damage the No. 42 Toyota sustained during the incident at the end of Stage 2.
Nemechek restarted the final stage in the 26th position, when the caution quickly came out two laps into the stage. Mack opted to stay out, putting Nemechek in the 18th position for the restart. Quickly after the restart, the yellow flag flew again and Nemechek restarted 16th with 115 laps to go. The No. 42 Toyota was four wide and made contact with the No. 23 car and sustained minimal damage to the right front. Mack opted to stay out in order to regain track position, and Nemechek restarted eighth with 101 laps to go. Nemechek worked his way up to sixth when the caution came out with 97 laps to go. With 90 laps remaining, the No. 42 Toyota restarted fifth and dropped to sixth, and the yellow flag flew again with 88 laps remaining. The field went green again with 82 laps to go, and Nemechek restarted fifth. The caution once again came out with 80 to go, and Nemechek restarted fifth when the green flag flew again with 74 laps to go. With 70 laps remaining, the twelfth caution came out for debris on track with Nemechek in the seventh spot. With 64 laps to go, Nemechek restarted fifth and fell to seventh. After a hard-fought green flag run, Nemechek finished 15th.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“Overall, the day was back to the front, back to the back, back to the front, back to the front, and then ended up 15th. Our goal going into today from where we started was to run top-15, and we were able to capitalize on that. We had a really fast No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE. Restarts were really good today for me, it’s an area where I’ve struggled in the past. It seemed like we could get after it pretty good, we were just at a tire deficit strategy-wise at the end and ultimately fell off a little too hard with the grip that we had in the race car. Grateful for the hard work, our short track program is getting better.”
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 TRI-STATE VACUUM & RENTAL, LLC. TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 25th | FINISH: 16th | POINTS: 24th
Erik Jones started 25th for Saturday’s Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway. The driver of the No. 43 Tri-State Vacuum & Rental, LLC Toyota Camry XSE moved up to 24th in the opening laps of the race and protected that position until the end of Stage 1. The stage went caution-free and Jones told the team his car was too tight, and he needed help with turn on the track. Crew Chief Ben Beshore brought him down pit road during the stage break for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Jones restarted 28th.
At the drop of the green flag in Stage 2, Jones showcased his short-run speed. He went three wide at the beginning off Stage 2 to climb as high as 22nd by using the bottom lane. As the green flag run continued though, Jones settled back into 24th. He told the team that his car would build tight on longer runs. The move of the race was when the No. 43 team kept Jones out as long as they could during green flag pit stops. It worked out in their favor as the caution came out on Lap 169 with Jones running ninth and only 15 total cars on the lead lap. He was able to pit during the caution for four tires and fuel before restarting in the same position.
Jones moves up to sixth before another caution came out with only 30 laps to go in Stage 2. The No. 43 Toyota team opted to keep Jones on the track while a majority of the field pitted, so Jones was able to hold his top-10 position and finish the second stage eighth, earning three stage points.
Jones stayed out during the stage break and restarted seventh for the final stage of the race. The new tires behind him overtook him on the restart though as his car turned toward the tight side on older tires. He came down pit road during the Lap-225 caution for four tires and fuel to restart 22nd. The plan was for Jones to be able to make it on fuel and stay out to the end at that point. Unfortunately, a slew of cautions messed up the team’s strategy as it allowed others to pit for fuel to be able to make it to the end.
On Lap 243, contact from behind spun Jones on the frontstretch. He was forced to pit to repair damage and change all four tires. He rejoined the field 30th. As the race wound down, Jones was determined to rebound and continued to pass cars in front of him. He climbed from 30th to 16th by the checkered flag, earning his best finish in the NASCAR Cup Series at Iowa Speedway.
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“Honestly, our car was strong there for a majority of the day. The No. 43 Tri-State Vacuum & Rental, LLC Toyota Camry XSE showed speed which was nice to see for our short track program. The cautions just didn’t hit us at the right time, and it killed our strategy. Thankfully we were able to get some stage points and rebound for a top-20 finish at the end. I think we could’ve gotten a few more spots if we had a few more laps."
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Watkins Glen International on Sunday, August 10 to take on another road course in the Go Bowling at The Glen. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT on USA, MAX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
