Talladega Superspeedway | RACE RECAP
TALLADEGA, Ala. (Oct. 6, 2024) – For the second race of the round of 12 in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the Series made their way to Talladega Superspeedway for the YellaWood 500. With no practice this weekend, drivers lined up on Saturday afternoon for one qualifying lap to set the grid for Sunday’s race. John Hunter Nemechek in the No. 42 GEARWRENCH Toyota Camry XSE and Erik Jones in the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE held down the 15th row to start the race. Michael McDowell claimed his sixth pole of the season. At the end of the 500-mile event, it was Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. who headed to victory lane.
Below is a look at how each LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entry fared during the YellaWood 500.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 GEARWRENCH TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 29TH | FINISH: 31ST | POINTS: 34TH
John Hunter Nemechek and the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team returned to Talladega Superspeedway for the final time during the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule today. Earlier this year during the spring race, the North Carolina native led 20 laps and was looking to pick up where he left off.
During the first stage, the name of the game was to save fuel and stay out of the hornet’s nest in an effort to keep his GEARWRENCH Toyota Camry XSE clean for the end of the race. After starting in 29th, Nemechek elected to drop to the back of the pack and safely “ride” for the first stage. At the end of the 60-lap stage, Nemechek claimed the 24th position. Before pitting during the stage break, Nemechek reported he was a little snug but it was nothing to worry about and he was just “hanging out at the back”. Crew chief Ben Beshore asked Nemechek to save fuel.
Following pit stops at the stage break, Nemechek restarted in 18th, finding himself the closest to the front of the field all day. Spotter Ryan Blanchard played a pivotal role as the “eyes in the sky,” as he relayed to Nemechek where the runs were coming from. This helped Nemechek up to second place, leading the bottom lane by Lap 75. However, he lost his drafting help, resulting in the No. 42 dropping back in the field. On Lap 94, Nemechek and the No. 42 GEARWRENCH team followed the rest of the Toyota teammates down pit road to take four seconds of fuel.
Following the pit stop, Beshore told his driver that he was good on fuel and he could drive as hard as he wanted with 23 laps remaining in the stage. Nemechek started to make his move towards the front using feedback from Blanchard. With ten laps remaining in the second stage, he was running in 23rd and asked for a balance adjustment to free up his GEARWRENCH Toyota Camry XSE. As the field was coming to the green-white-checkered flag to finish the middle stage, several cars at the front of the pack got tangled up causing a significant accident. Nemechek avoided the carnage and kept his Toyota Camry XSE clean for a 24th-place stage finish.
During the stage break, the team bolted on four fresh tires, and fuel making a slight air pressure adjustment to free up the No. 42 GEARWRENCH Toyota. Before going back to green, the team returned to pit road and topped off with fuel, restarting in 26th. With 50 laps to go, business was starting to pick up as spotter Blanchard was keeping an eye out for his driver as many cars were shifting lanes at the front of the pack with some near misses.
Under green flag conditions on Lap 168, much of the field pitted for their expected final stops. Nemechek came down on Lap 172 for three seconds of fuel. When the field came back together, Nemechek was in 11th, running on the bottom groove of two-wide racing. With four laps to go, while running inside the top 10, a lap car was trying to blend up into the pack.
Unfortunately, some aggressive pushes at the front of the field collected 28 cars in “The Big One”, the largest wreck in history this also included Nemechek, who tried to avoid but was collected and sustained flat tires and front-end damage. While trying to get back to pit road, the team fell a lap down eight laps to the leader. Nemechek finished the race in 31st place.
Some solace in the day, John Hunter Nemechek and the No. 42 GEARWRENCH team turned the fast lap of the race.
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 dollar tree TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 30TH | FINISH: 5TH | POINTS: 30TH
The YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway kicked off under the Alabama sun just after 2:30pm ET Sunday afternoon. With the addition of bright pink to the usual green No. 43 Dollar Tree scheme made the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE hard to miss flying by on the 2.66-mile tri-oval. The radio was quiet other than spotter, Rick Carelli, giving out his usual calls.
During a caution on Lap 11, the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE team came down pit road the second time around for Sunoco fuel only. Jones’ only feedback was the car felt good but was “a tick free”. The pink and green Dollar Tree scheme restarted in the 17th position on Lap 16. Crew chief Dave Elenz told Jones on Lap 22 that there would be about ten more laps of saving before they were able to start pushing the pace, and the plan would be to drive to the front by the end of the stage.
Seven laps later, Elenz radioed Jones letting him know the fuel save worked and gave Jones permission to start pushing the pace. The No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE rode the superspeedway four wide for several laps, making competitive moves with help from Carelli. Jones carried momentum quickly, getting up to as high as 8th position before losing help and falling down to the 24th position. The LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team moved up and down throughout the end of the stage, completing Stage 1 in the 16th position.
Stage 2 began with the same strategy of saving fuel early push toward the end. The Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE rode along the back of the pack, saving fuel. When the group of Ford cars decided to pit together on Lap 84, Jones was told to get as much as he could. With spotter Carelli giving updates on the whereabouts of the other cars on the radio, the LEGACY M.C. driver noted to the team that he felt a bit loose on Lap 90. Shortly after, the call was made to follow fellow Toyota teams down the pit road to take fuel only.
After the pit stop, the Dollar Tree team tried working together with all Toyota teams in the draft, but the pack merged together and all cars were fighting for the best position, wherever they could find it. Carelli told Jones on Lap 107 that they were plenty good on fuel. The pack stayed two-wide for the majority of the end of the stage. The pink, green, and white Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE completed Stage 2 in the 13th position.
During the stage break, the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB pitted for four tires and fuel.
The team restarted Stage 3 in the 12th position. There was not much chatter on the radio, only Carelli giving the usual spotter notes. On Lap 170, the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry came down pit road for a green flag stop, adding fuel and changing right-side tires.
With much anticipation, the long-awaited “Big One” occurred on Lap 184, collecting the majority of the field, resulting in a red flag. The No. 43 came out of the wreckage with some scrapes and bruises, but not enough to end the day.
The car had minimal damage, and the crew thought they had a better shot at advancing by staying out and rolling the dice. The No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE restarted in the seventh position for the final four laps of overtime and completed the YellaWood 500 in the fifth position for his first top-5 finish of the season.
QUOTING JONES: "We had an okay car. We lucked out in that last wreck. I felt like the damage wasn’t bad enough that we needed to come in (to the pits). I'm so happy to get the Dollar Tree Camry a good run. We’ve just had a rough year and struggled, so it’s nice to finish up front.”
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Cup Series heads home to Charlotte for the Bank of America 400 ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race takes place on Sunday, Oct. 13 at 2:00 p.m. ET live on NBC, PRN 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 GEARWRENCH®: GEARWRENCH is a premier hand tool brand from Apex Tool Group. Since the launch of the original five-degree ratcheting wrench, the GEARWRENCH brand has led the industry with breakthroughs in pass-thru ratchets, sockets, screw/nut drivers, pliers, and specialty tools. For more information, visit www.GearWrench.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.
