Martinsville Speedway | RACE RECAP
RIDGEWAY, Va. (Nov. 3, 2024) – For the second to last race of the 2024 NASCAR season, the Cup Series stopped at Martinsville Speedway for the Xfinity 500 on Sunday afternoon. Martin Truex Jr. led the field to the green, while the No. 43 of Erik Jones in the Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE started 21st and John Hunter Nemechek in the No. 42 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota Camry XSE rolled off in the 32nd position.
In a dramatic finish for the final spots in the playoffs, Ryan Blaney ended up going to victory lane.
Below is a look at how each LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entry fared.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 Pye-Barker TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 32ND | FINISH: 31ST | POINTS: 34TH
For second to final race of the year, John Hunter Nemechek fired off 32nd on the grid for the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. The tight half-mile speedway doesn’t afford much racing room, so drivers need to be aggressive when fighting for space and position. Nemechek knew going into Sunday that he was going to have to stay on his toes as the leader would be closing on the back of the field quickly. The North Carolina-native managed to stay on the lead lap until Lap 54 when then leader Chase Elliott passed him. During the 130-lap Stage 1, Nemechek reported that his No. 42 Pye-Barker Toyota Camry started tight but migrated to the free side. He requested that crew chief Brian Campe work on the entry and exit balance. Nemechek continued to fight to the end of the first stage to get back on the lead lap, but unfortunately that was just out of reach, and he finished in Stage 1 in 29th, minus one lap.
During the stage break Campe radioed to Nemechek, “We’ll be fighting all day for position, lets keep our heads in it,” said Campe. Nemechek responded with, “Sorry I couldn’t get to the free pass, I tried.” To that, Campe responded with encouragement, ‘All good buddy, we’ll get the car better for you.”
To start Stage 2, there were multiple yellow flags to slow down the field and give the No. 42 an opportunity to get back on the lead lap but they were just nipped at the timing line and continued to stay one lap down. With 45 laps eclipsed in the second stage, Nemechek continued to run in the 33rd spot. At this point he was racing the No. 15 and No. 16 for the free pass spot just a few car lengths ahead of him.
Just before Lap 200, multiple cars in front of Nemechek spun in the middle of Turns 1 and 2, Nemechek slipped by on the bottom side and in the process thought he was able to sneak into the free pass position, but NASCAR had him scored one position back. “I am doing everything I can,” said Nemechek. Spotter Ryan Blanchard encouraged his driver by telling him, “we know you are fighting hard.”
As the half-mile Martinsville Speedway started to take on shade, Campe told his driver to keep searching as the leader was starting to close back in on the No. 42 with under 30 laps remaining in the middle stage. It was with six laps to go in the stage that the No. 42 Pye-Barker team fell down a second lap to the leader, and he closed out Stage 2 in the 33rd position.
With 230-laps remaining in the final stage of the race, Nemechek was one of two drivers two laps down as the team still focused on clawing their way out of the hole. During the longest run of the day, Nemechek had a fast race car as he was running lap times equal to those running inside the top-five but he wasn’t able to gain track position.
“Obviously not the day we wanted or hoped for, but stay on your toes and we’ll make the best of it,” radioed Campe to the No. 42 Pye-Barker team.
The entire No. 42 Pye-Barker team showed much determination when their backs were against the wall, unfortunately the breaks didn’t fall their way and they were not able get back on the lead lap. The team finished the day in 31st position.
Quoting John Hunter Nemechek: "It was a long day and not the day we were hoping for. We need to qualify better for track position when we start the race. We never gave up today.
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 FAMILY Dollar TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 21ST | FINISH: 19TH | POINTS: 30TH
The Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway took off shortly after 2:00pm EST Sunday afternoon. The No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE started the race in the 21st position. Driver, Erik Jones, lost a few spots during the first stage, staying consistent around the 24th position. On Lap 77, the caution flag was thrown, allowing the Family Dollar crew to pit for four tires, fuel and adjustments. Jones noted to his crew that on Laps 10-20, the car was tight in the center, but ended the run on the free side. The crew made adjustments to help the handling of the car and sent the No. 43 back on the track to complete the remaining laps of the stage. The No. 43 team finished Stage 1 in the 25th position.
During the stage break, the Family Dollar Toyota came down pit road to undo previous adjustments and add four new tires and fuel.
The black, red, and orange branded car restarted Stage 2 in the 24th position. Stage 2 was filled with cautions, seemingly back-to-back. There was a caution on Lap 145, but the team decided not to pit since the most recent pit stop was only several laps prior. The No. 43 team restarted in the 22nd position to take on the remaining 109 laps in the second stage. Another quick caution on Lap 158 allowed the team to come down pit road for four tires and fuel, which would have the team restart in the 26th spot.
With the next caution on Lap 185, crew chief, Ben Beshore relayed to the team that with only 18 laps on the tires, this might be the chance to flip track position and give it a shot to run towards the front. During this break, the driver noted that the engine was hot and needed to cool down. With the move to stay out and not pit, the No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE restarted the Xfinity 500 in the ninth position. The team gained one position by the time the next caution rolled around on Lap 196 - almost the whole field stayed out and chose not to pit. It was difficult for the No. 43 to stay up towards the front as the car was “really loose” throughout the remainder of the stage. The Family Dollar branded team completed Stage 2 in the 24th position.
During the stage break, the driver relayed to the crew that the car fired off tight but would get more free as time went on. Beshore told Jones “good job for hanging on”, and the team came down pit road for sticker tires, fuel, and made an adjustment.
The No. 43 started the final stage at Martinsville Speedway in the 22nd position. With the longest green flag run of the race, the driver noted that the car felt tight on Lap 291. The radio was quiet other than Carelli giving lap times and suggestions on where to move. The No. 43 ultimately went a lap down with just over 135 laps to go in the race. On Lap 398, there was a caution. The No. 43 wanted a wave around, but it was not able to happen, so the crew came down pit road for four tires, fuel, and an adjustment.
The Family Dollar crew restarted in the 21st position, two laps down. Shortly after the drop of the green, yet another yellow flag was thrown as a result of a loose wheel and it was determined that the No. 43 was then racing the No. 47 and the No. 20 for the free pass. With 87 laps to go, the No. 43 restarted in the 20th position. With a quiet ending to the race finale, the No. 43 fought hard and completed the race in the 19th position.
Quoting Erik Jones: "It was a good day for the Family Dollar Toyota Camry. It was up and down with the balance but we will take a top-20. Unfortunately we caught a bad yellow and got trapped a lap down, and couldn't quite get it back, but we will head to Phoenix and hopefully finish strong."
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Cup Series heads west to Phoenix Raceway for the season finale. The race takes place on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 3:00 p.m. ET live on NBC, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
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 dollartree.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 Jimmie Johnson. 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.
