WATKINS GLEN | RACE RECAP
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK | NO. 42 MOBIL ONE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 30th | FINISH: 32nd | POINTS: 23rd
Starting 30th in Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen, John Hunter Nemechek quickly gained three spots and found himself 27th by Lap 2. Nemechek continued to work his way up the field to 25th and maintained that spot for a long green flag run during Stage 1. In a strategy call to earn stage points, crew chief Travis Mack opted to keep the No. 42 Toyota off pit road during the final laps of Stage 1, and Nemechek ended the stage in fifth to earn six stage points.
Nemechek came down pit road during the stage break for four tires and fuel and started Stage 2 in 32nd. On Lap 29, the caution was thrown, and Mack opted to keep the No. 42 off of pit road to gain some track position. Nemechek restarted 21st. Nemechek hovered around 21st for the remainder of the stage until a series of green flag pit stops allowed Nemechek make his way to 10th. On the last lap of the stage, the No. 54 made contact with the No. 42 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE and put him into the tire barrier. Mack brought Nemechek down to pit road during the stage break for four tires, fuel, and to evaluate damage.
Nemechek started the final stage in 35th and quickly climbed back into the top-25. After a long green flag run and a series of green flag pit stops, Nemechek marched through the field to the sixth spot before Mack brought the No. 42 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE down pit road with 23 laps remaining in the race. Nemechek exited pit road in 29th. With 11 laps to go, Nemechek was back in the top-25. With nine laps to go, there was contact with the No. 38, and Nemechek came back down pit road for four fresh tires following the incident, and he exited pit road in 34th. Nemechek ended the day in Watkins Glen in 32nd.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“Just a frustrating weekend. We didn’t qualify well on Saturday, but we had some speed today and got stage points. Got hit at the end of the second stage, but we were running top-25 near the end of the race. Got spun again in the final few laps. On to Richmond.”
ERIK JONES | NO. 43 FAMILY DOLLAR TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
START: 29th | FINISH: 12th | POINTS: 21st
After qualifying 29th for Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, Erik Jones moved up to 29th on the initial start and continued to find himself as high at 26th in the first stage. He reported to the No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota team that he was extremely loose on the slick racetrack and short-pitted the stage on Lap 16 to take four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. He rejoined the field in 37th and finished the stage 32nd.
Jones stayed out during the Stage 1 break and restarted Stage 2 in 25th. He was 23rd when the caution came out just four laps after the restart. Crew chief Ben Beshore stuck to his original strategy and kept Jones out during the caution. He restarted 16th and worked his way up to sixth in the closing laps of Stage 2. The team opted to stay out to the end of the stage to try to get the extra stage points but a battle with three other cars with only two laps to go in the race saw Jones pushed off the track. He fell back to 18th where he ultimately finished Stage 2.
Jones pitted for the Stage 2 break for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to combat the car getting loose on the long runs. He started the final stage in 37th but kept digging his way through the field. Just nine laps into the stage, he was 23rd and entered the top-10 on Lap 59. The No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota team stretched its green flag run to climb up all the way to third before pitting for the final stop on Lap 67. He rejoined the field in 27th and found a ton of speed in the final 23 laps on the race. He was 14th with just five laps to go in the race. Jones was able to hold onto this spot and stay out of trouble on the final lap to finish 12th at Watkins Glen.
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“Honestly, it was a good finish after a not-so-great qualifying attempt. We didn’t know what today’s race would look like with how practice and qualifying went yesterday. There’s plenty of times that we had incidents that could’ve ruined our day, but we were able to overcome all of that and find some speed in the second half of the race. I’m proud of this team for overcoming those incidents and bringing home a 12th-place finish. We’ll learn from today to continue to build our road course program.”
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Richmond Raceway to race under the lights on Saturday, August 16 in the Cook Out 400. The race begins at 7:30 p.m. EDT on USA, MAX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
