John Hunter Nemechek nets easy Xfinity win in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS — John Hunter Nemechek picked up where he left off on speedways in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, winning The LiUNA! at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Nemechek led 99 of 200 laps and earned his 10th career win in the Xfinity Series. Half of those wins have now come on intermediate tracks.
TOP-10 FINISHERS: John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer, Chandler Smith, Austin Hill, Riley Herbst, A.J. Allmendinger, Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier
STAGE ONE
The only caution for incident all day came on lap 9 when Parker Retzlaff spun in turn four. Sam Mayer hit Retzlaff, ending his day and knocking Retzlaff out of contention.
“This has been a year from Hell,” Mayer said.
Mayer finished 38th — last — out after just seven laps. Shane van Gisbergen joined him out of the race 20 laps later with an engine issue.
All the while, Chandler Smith commanded the stage, leading all 45 laps.
STAGE ONE TOP-10: Chandler Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, Riley Herbst, Cole Custer, A.J. Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Parker Kligerman, Ryan Sieg, Brandon Jones
STAGE TWO
On pit road, Smith lost the lead, dropping two spots. That let defending spring race winner Austin Hill take control for a few laps in stage two.
Then, it was John Hunter Nemechek’s turn to represent Joe Gibbs Racing up front. He led 34 laps but couldn’t shake teammate Chandler Smith off.
Like clockwork, Smith made the stage-winning move on the final lap, marking the first time he has swept the first two stages of an Xfinity Series race.
STAGE TWO TOP-10: C. Smith, Nemechek, Herbst, Allgaier, Allmendinger, Hill, Jesse Love, Kligerman, Custer, Sieg
FINAL STAGE
Smith’s pit crew helped him hang onto the lead as the third stage began. Nemechek wouldn’t let Smith go, however. They swapped the lead four times in the next 20 laps, cycling to put Smith in the lead with Nemechek close in tow.
On lap 124, Parker Retzlaff stalled with a fuel pump issue, bringing out the fourth caution of the race.
On the subsequent restart, Nemechek took the lead as Smith’s car started to fade.
Everyone made their final pit stops routinely, aside from Josh Williams.
Williams ran outside of the top-15 much of the day so the team told him, “We need to run long. It’s our only way.”
Williams banked on a caution that never came. He pitted with 11 laps to go, handing the lead back to John Hunter Nemechek.
THROUGH THE FIELD
Josh Williams finished 14th after his team ran long on the fuel.
Hailie Deegan finished 15th after a stage three rally. Deegan finished 13th in her only other Xfinity Series start at Las Vegas (Fall 2022). She was also the highest-finishing rookie of the race.
Anthony Alfredo finished 16th for Our Motorsports, with Jesse Love and Leland Honeyman behind him.
Love won three stages in the first two races. He ran as high as ninth but faded in the final stage.
Honeyman finished 18th, earning the best finish for Young Motorsports’ start-up Xfinity Series operations.
Jordan Anderson Racing had a rough day as Jeb Burton finished best in the organization.
Burton finished 23rd after a speeding penalty. Meanwhile, teammates Parker Retzlaff and Sage Karam finished 35th with a fuel pump issue and 36th a transmission issue, respectively.
What’s Next?
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Phoenix Raceway next Saturday, March 9, for the Call811.com Every Dig. Every Time. 200. Catch it on FS1, PRN affiliates and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 just after 4:30 p.m. ET.
Sammy Smith and Cole Custer won at Phoenix in the Xfinity Series last year.
Driver points after Las Vegas
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com