Phoenix Raceway | RACE RECAP
AVONDALE, Ariz. (Nov. 10, 2024) – The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season comes to a close at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. In his final full-time NASCAR Cup Series race, Martin Truex Jr. led the field to the green flag for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race. John Hunter Nemechek rolled off 18th, Erik Jones in 19th and Jimmie Johnson 23rd.
Joey Logano drove to victory and his third NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
Below is a look at how each of the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entries fared.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 Mobil 1 TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 18TH | FINISH: 30TH | POINTS: 34TH
During practice on Friday, the No. 42 Mobil 1 were not where they had hoped to be, timing in 34th fastest on the charts. The team went to work overnight with the rest of the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entries and found some speed for qualifying where they lined up 18th on the grid for Sunday’s race.
A sold out crowd at Phoenix Raceway was treated to a beautiful, sunny, 77 degree day for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season finale. Prior to getting the green flag, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s technical director and interim crew chief Brian Campe radioed into his driver and team, “It’s been a pleasure working with you, let’s keep it up for the rest of the day. We have to live with this one for the rest of the off season so let’s make it a good one.”
Once the 40-car field got released, it was just two laps later that they were quickly slowed for an accident, setting up one of the wild Phoenix Raceway restarts. John Hunter Nemechek used all the real estate that he could to move up a couple positions to begin the 312-lap race. Nemechek then used his speed in the Mobil 1 Camry to drive up to 13th half way through the first stage. However, by the time the stage had ended, there was a long run and Nemechek slipped back back to 18th due to being free on exit. A pit stop during the stage break got Nemechek’s Mobil 1 Camry fixed up with tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment.
During a Stage 2 restart, the pace car was ducking down pit road, as it did, it clipped the safety barrels, causing for NASCAR to throw a red flag for several minutes to clean up. After that, Nemechek running in 21st-position went back to work to regain those spots on pit road and was back inside the top-20 to 19th by lap 84 and running faster lap times than the next couple of cars in front of him.
On Lap 116, Nemechek relinquished his running position to make a green flag pit stop. The call from Campe was four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment. As the second stage continued to go green, the field got strung out. Just shy of the half way mark of the race, while in 21st, Nemechek fell down one lap to the leader, Christopher Bell. Nemechek would continue to go to work and keep the leader and the free pass position in front him. Unfortunately, Nemechek wasn’t able to run down the No. 41 of Ryan Preece as the second stage closed. The North Carolina native finished in 21st.
During the stage break, Nemechek reported in that he was mainly free and the rears were slipping. Campe called his driver down pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment.
For the final stage of the 2024 NASCAR season, Nemechek restarted in 21st and in the free pass position, however the No. 4 snuck by Nemechek to grab that position away from him. As the final stage started with a long green-flag run, several cars started to make pit stops on lap 94; the No. 42 Mobil 1 team opted not to pit right away and changed up their strategy in an effort to get back on the lead lap.
On lap 250, while running long, a yellow came out. Nemechek and the No. 42 Mobil 1 team was able to get the wave around and put them on the lead lap in 19th with 54 laps remaining. With 65 green-flag laps on the tires, many more than the rest of the field, Spotter Ryan Blanchard telling Nemechek, “keep hanging in here, doing good for the situation you’re in.”
On lap 283, Nemechek came down pit road for service, taking two tires and fuel. While exiting the pits, the No. 42 team was caught speeding and had to serve a pass-through penalty. With less than 30-laps remaining, it would be tough to overcome that.
Nemechek and the No. 42 Mobil 1 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team closed out the 2024 season with a 30th-place finish.
QUOTING JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK:
“After rallying from practice, this was a disappointing finish to close out the 2024 season. Was hopeful we could have closed out the season with a better result and go into the off season with that momentum. We had a tough year but I feel we have great pieces in place at LEGACY M.C. We have a lot of work to do this off season but I am excited for what is ahead in 2025.”
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 Dollar Tree TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 19TH | FINISH: 22ND | POINTS: 28TH
The final race of the 2024 season was held at Phoenix Raceway and the green flag waved just after 3:30pm EST. After a frigid morning and a sweltering afternoon, the NASCAR Cup Series field was ready to hit the track. The No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE began the race in the 19th position. There was a caution on Lap 2, and at this point, the No. 43 had made it up to the 17th position. On Lap 34, the driver, Erik Jones, reported that the car was free as soon as he touched throttle. With five laps left to go in the stage, spotter, Rick Carelli, informs Jones that he was two-tenths faster than the No. 48, which was the car Jones was gaining on for 19th position. The Dollar Tree branded Toyota completed Stage 1 in the 20th position.
During the stage break, Jones noted that the center of the car was tight and the entry was bad, but manageable. Crew chief, Ben Beshore, informed him that during the pit stop he would made adjustments to work on the entry and exit. During the pit stop, the crew also added four new tires and fuel.
The No. 43 car started the second stage in the 24th position. Right before the restart, the pace car took a late turn onto pit road, hitting the barriers, causing an eight-minute red flag. After the dust was settled, the Dollar Tree Toyota was able to restart. A few laps after the restart, the No. 43 and the No. 8 collided, nose to rear, after the No. 8 pulled the brakes quickly in front of the No. 43. There was some immediate and visible damage to the nose, but the team kept pushing. The Dollar Team crew pitted on Lap 114 for tires and fuel. Things started to get tense around Lap 129 as the No. 43 was racing the No. 8 for the “lucky dog” and by Lap 131, the crew was down one lap after getting passed by the race leader. Carelli was the only sound on the radio, giving lap times and strategy lines as the No. 43 made its way around Phoenix Raceway. The Dollar Tree crew completed Stage 2 in the 27th position.
The No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB crew took the wave around lap and pitted the second time by for four tires and fuel. The mechanics also jumped the wall to assess the damage from earlier. The team was handed a penalty, sending the car to the rear on the restart, for speeding on pit road while entering.
The green and white branded Toyota Camry XSE restarted the final stage of the 2024 season in the 33rd position, one lap down. With 100 laps to go, the driver noted to the crew that the car was too tight. A caution on Lap 250 allowed the team to come down pit road to gain four new tires and fuel. The No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE restarted Lap 258 in the 25th position, one lap down. On Lap 285, Jones reported that the car was “tight middle”. The No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entry completed the race in the 22nd position.
QUOTING ERIK JONES:
“Not the resulted we wanted to close out the season with, but I’m looking forward to a reset and will get back to work soon for Daytona.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON | NO. 84 Carvana TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 23RD | FINISH: 26TH
Jimmie Johnson started the race in 23rd. He said the No. 84 Carvana Toyota started off with good balance, but he fell to the 25th position after an early race caution involving Ty Gibbs.
Halfway through the first stage Johnson reported the car was loose into Turn 3. Johnson finished Stage 1 in the 26th position. He came into the pits during the caution, took on four tires and asked for more rear grip. The field did not go back to green due to the pace car hitting barrels on pit road and a short red flag ensued while they fixed the damage. Johnson restarted 26th for the second stage.
Johnson reported halfway through Stage 2 that he still lacked grip, and rode in the 26th position for the majority of the stage. After pitting on Lap 117 for four tires and fuel, Jimmie Johnson reported the No. 84 Carvana Toyota was a little tight. He was quiet on the radio and with 48 laps to go in Stage 2, he was running 29th.
The driver of the No. 84 Carvana Toyota continued to battle throughout Stage 2. He finished the stage in 26th and stated that the car was very loose and needed to be on the long run. Johnson restarted stage three from the 28th position. With 118 laps remaining in the event unfortunately, Johnson was a lap down, but continued to battle in Phoenix.
He reported with 100 to go that he was a bit tighter on that run. With 75 to go, the leaders started to make their pit stops and the No. 84 team decided to run long, in an effort to get back on the lead lap. They caught the caution with 62 to go, A caution came out with 62 to go and Johnson was 23rd. The team took the waive around, to get back on the lead lap and Johnson restarted in 21st with 55 to go.
With 33 to go, Johnson had to pit because he tagged the wall and lost a lap on pit road and resumed in 31st. Johnson rallied in the final laps to a 26th place finish in the season finale at Phoenix.
QUOTING JIMMIE JOHNSON:
“A great day here for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB at Phoenix. We are definitely headed in the right direction with our team and I am really excited to see what the off season will bring for the CLUB."
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Cup Series heads into the off season and will return to start the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season with the Busch Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Feb. 1 and 2, 2025.
ABOUT OUR PARTNERS
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 LEGACYMOTORCLUB.com
ABOUT MOBIL 1: For 50 years, Mobil 1 has been trusted by drivers to keep their engines running longer. Our products combine the latest technology and innovation to exceed the toughest standards of vehicle manufacturers and tuning shops—so consumers can get the most out of their time behind the wheel, both on the road and on the track. Turn every day into an adventure with Mobil 1, the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand. Learn more at www.mobil1.us or and follow @Mobil1Racing on Instagram and X. Join us. For the love of driving.
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.
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
