NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY | RACE RECAP
LOUDON, N.H. (June 23, 2024) – The eighteenth race of the year saw the NASCAR Cup Series head to the Northeast for a stop at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) for the USA TODAY 301. A wet Saturday afternoon washed out the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session, setting the starting grid by the NASCAR rule book. LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s John Hunter Nemechek started in the 28th position while Erik Jones rolled off 32nd for the 301-lap race. Chase Elliott started from the pole position and after a two hour and 14 minute red flag for rain, Christopher Bell pulled out another win.
Below is a look at how the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entries fared:
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 28TH | FINISH: 8TH | POINTS: 27TH
42 Race Recap: During the abbreviated practice session that was cut short due to a rain shower that descended on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) on Saturday afternoon, the No. 42 Family Dollar team gained a limited amount of knowledge about their balance on their Toyota Camry XSE. Under threatening skies, the 36-car field took the green flag.
When the race went green, the Family Dollar team was starting to get their first extended feel of their No. 42 Family Dollar Camry XSE for the weekend. After dropping a couple of positions in the running order, Nemechek reported in that his Camry was tight. A long green flag run allowed for the leaders to catch the rear of the field, including the No. 42 with just 17 laps remaining in Stage 1. The North Carolina native would hold on for a 30th-place result for Stage 1.
During the stage break, Nemechek provided more feedback to his team that he lacked front grip, and there were times his balance swung to loose on exit, just depending on the line he took. During the first pit stop, the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team worked on the balance of the car as well as bolting on fresh Goodyear tires and a can of Sunoco fuel.
Stage 2 started with an over 70-lap green flag run before the first yellow of the day was displayed. The No. 42 elected to come down pit road for four tires, fuel and an adjustment in an effort to continue to work on their tight handling Camry XSE. The remaining portion of Stage 2 saw the No. 42 Family Dollar team work towards regaining their laps back from the leader. Nemechek finished Stage 2 in the 32nd position.
The final stage started with the rain quickly approaching, the racing on the track picked up as there were several yellow flags for accidents to show for it. During those accidents, Nemechek had multiple near misses but kept his Camry clean. However, Nemechek was still stuck two laps down. He radioed to his team, “if I was on the lead lap, I could drive through these guys”.
He would gain back one of those laps on lap 219. At the same time, the rain arrived forcing the teams to come down pit road for a rain and lightning delay.
Once back underway from the weather day, the team rolled off in the 31st position. For the final green flag run, the 27-year-old put his elbows up and gained everything he could after the team fought all day to put them in this position. Nemechek would go on to pick up 23 spots from the rain delay and closed out the day with an eighth-place finish.
Quoting John Hunter Nemechek:
Where did you come from at the end of the race?
“We were stuck two laps down until we got all of the cautions. I was sitting on the top of the box with Ben (Beshore, crew chief) praying that we were going to be able to go back racing. We were awful the first run of the race, and just worked on it all day. These guys gave it all they had. A lot of adjustments throughout the day. Thank you to Dollar Tree, Family Dollar for all that they do for us here at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB and Toyota, TRD. I’ll take eighth after the day we had. I think we were stuck in 31st or 32nd pretty much all day, so solid finish for us and something that we needed. Hopefully we can build some momentum off of this.”
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 FAMILY DOLLAR TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 32ND | FINISH: 13TH | POINTS: 26TH
43 Race Recap: The No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE took the track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Saturday afternoon with the intent to practice and qualify. After a couple of summer showers, the track was unable to keep dry resulting in a shortened practice run and a cancelled qualifying session. Erik Jones was able to complete three laps before the weather terminated practice.
Jones rolled off at NHMS in the 32nd position. Steadily climbing upwards, the car was deemed tight in the center. Spirits were high as Jones obtained the 25th spot at the end of stage one, gaining seven positions.
With good momentum, the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE restarted 24th and battled competition to stay within the top-20. Under a green flag pit stop, Jones overshot the pit box, having to reverse the car - the No. 43 lost five positions in the exchange. Keeping steady, Jones ended Stage 2 with a 24th finishing spot.
Rain held off for the majority of the race, but arrived at NHMS just after lap 200. Hoping to continue moving forward, weather put the race to a halt at lap 219. Jones made strides and entered the rain delay in the 18th position. NASCAR made the decision to dry the track and allow teams to put on wet weather tires after a red flag duration length of over two hours.
An exercise that is rarely used, the wet weather tires provided complications as it was hard to maintain grip on the painted concrete, resulting in a short-lived spin for the No. 43. Jones was able to keep the car moving, but unfortunately, the rotation led to a flat right front tire. A couple of non-competition cautions allowed the team to replace all four Goodyear tires with new ones, hoping to make up some ground.
The No. 43 team pitted early, losing several spots before realizing NASCAR mandated a pit stop for all teams to exchange to newer wet weather tires shortly after. Looking to make up ground, Jones rolled off 24th with ten laps to go. The weather and tires proved evil once again, taking more victims on a restart on lap 293 and another on lap 300 forcing NASCAR overtime. Jones and the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE finished with a respectable 13th place finish.
Quoting Erik Jones:
“It was a good day, We started really deep in the field with qualifying washed out and we have had a handful of rough of weeks. It was just nice to have an uneventful day. The No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota was good and it got better all day."
Can you talk about the end of that race?
“We put the wets on the Dollar Tree Camry, weren’t really good on them, and had to make some big changes to get better, and just ran out of time in the end trying to get our track position better. Okay day, wish we could have just run on the dries and ran a normal race. We will take what we learned and hopefully be better for the wet next time.”
NEXT RACE: The NASCAR Cup Series heads south to Nashville, Tenn. for the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday, June 30. The race kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET live on NBC or you can 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.
