STREETS OF CHICAGO | RACE RECAP
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 25TH | FINISH: 15TH | POINTS: 20TH
After starting 25th on the streets of Chicago in the Grant Park 165, John Hunter Nemechek found himself with a front row view of early chaos on track. On Lap 3, Nemechek sustained minimal cosmetic damage to the rear in the seven-car wreck in Turn 10. With damaged cars stuck on the track, NASCAR threw a red flag to halt the race while the No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE was 15th. Crew chief Travis Mack opted to stay out under caution, putting Nemechek in the 14th-position for the restart on Lap 7. On Lap 13, Nemechek told the team he could use a little more rear drive but was overall good with how the car was handling. With four to go in the stage, Mack once again opted to stay out during a series of green flag pit stops, bringing Nemechek up to eighth. Nemechek closed out the stage in seventh, earning four stage points.
During the stage break, the No. 42 stayed out and did not pit, keeping Nemechek in seventh for the restart. On Lap 30, Mack brought the No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE in for four tires and fuel when the caution was thrown while they were on pit road. After a second stop on Lap 32 to top off on fuel, Nemechek restarted 28th. With five to go in the stage, Nemechek had climbed up to 19th, but ultimately finished the stage in eighth, earning another three stage points.
Mack opted to stay out during the stage break and started the final stage in the sixth. With 15 laps to go and in the ninth spot, Nemechek pitted under caution for four tires and fuel. After the stop, Nemechek restarted 19th at Lap 63. He quickly worked his way up to 12th when another caution was thrown on Lap 64. With seven laps to go, Nemechek was fighting for the 15th position, and suffered some damage to the right front after contact with the inside wall in Turn 11. Nemechek fought to maintain track position and finished the race 15th.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“Overall, it was a really solid day for the whole No. 42 Dollar Tree team. We executed all day on strategy and got stage points in both stages. We were able to put ourselves in a position to be on offense at the end of the race and were working our way forward. We probably should have finished top-eight, and I hit the inside wall in Turn 11. I killed the right inside suspension with around seven laps left to go, and still came home 15th. So overall, not the finish that the team deserves, but you live and you learn. Turn 11 was not my friend this weekend in qualifying nor in the race, and it’s something that I just have to get better at. I’m looking forward to continuing to move on in the bracket challenge as well. We’re racing against our teammate Erik this week head-to-head so hopefully we can go to Sonoma and win that challenge.”
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 UCHICAGO MEDICINE ADVENTHEALTH TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 34TH | FINISH: 25TH | POINTS: 17TH
After qualifying 34th in Sunday’s Grant Park 165, Erik Jones moved forward from the start of the race. He was 27th by the time the red flag came out on Lap 4. After waiting for a little over 14 minutes for track cleanup, the No. 43 UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Toyota team brought their driver down pit road for tour tires, fuel and a right front adjustment to help tighten up the racecar. He restarted 27th and continued to work his way up in the remaining laps to finish 24th in the stage.
Despite the car tightening up a bit, Jones was able to stay out during the stage break and restart 17th for Stage 2 on lap 25. He moved up to 13th by the Lap 31 caution and 10th by the lap 24 caution – successfully missing several spins along the way. During the remainder of Stage 2, Jones reported that he had speed in his No. 43 UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE as he climbed through the top-10 to run as high as sixth. He finished ninth in the stage to earn two valuable stage points.
A long pitstop to fix a broken left rear toe link put Jones a lap down for the start of the final stage. He was 30th but continued to fight for the lucky dog spot in the final stage. While untimely cautions hurt his chances of getting his lap back, Jones was able to beat his TNT In-Season Challenge Tournament opponent Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the final stage to advance to the next round. As the race finished under caution, Jones crossed the finish line 25th.
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“Honestly, we just had an up-and-down weekend on this No. 43 UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Toyota team. We didn’t have the best qualifying effort, but I felt like our Toyota Camry XSE was decent and would do well in the race. I think we had a good race building in Stage 2 until that broken toe link. We couldn’t recover from that setback unfortunately. Good news is that we advanced to the next round of the In-Season Tournament Challenge, so we’ll put this behind us and move ahead to Sonoma.”
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Cup Series will head west to Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway next Sunday for the Toyota / Save Mart 350. The race begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT on TNT, MAX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
