John Hunter Nemechek solid as granite in New Hampshire
LOUDON, N.H. — John Hunter Nemechek survived 10 cautions, including three in the final 10 laps, and won again in overtime in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Nemechek led 137 of 206 laps and won the Ambetter Health 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Cautions fell on lap 192 for Parker Retzlaff spinning in turn one, on lap 198 for Sam Mayer, Joe Graf Jr and Connor Mosack wrecking and in overtime for a large, race-ending wreck on the frontstretch.
Nemechek’s close competition was Justin Allgaier who in stage one.
STAGE ONE RESULTS: Allgaier, Nemechek, Cole Custer, Chandler Smith, Josh Berry, Brandon Jones, Austin Dillon, Sam Mayer, Daniel Hemric, Austin Hill
Under caution, NASCAR penalized Allgaier for pitting outside the box. Afterward Chandler Smith took the lead but then lost it on the lap 55 restart to Nemechek.
In the final 145 laps, Nemechek only lost the lead because of two cautions that shuffled the running order.
On lap 86, a caution came out for Connor Mosack spinning and hitting the wall in turn one.
Under caution, Nemechek pitted and lost the lead to Sammy Smith. Smith was among several drivers who stayed out to collect stage points.
STAGE TWO RESULTS: Smith, Parker Retzlaff, Sheldon Creed, Brandon Jones, Josh Williams, Justin Allgaier, Joe Graf Jr., John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Dillon, Chandler Smith
Smith led 18 laps, then lost the lead to Nemechek on the lap 107 restart.
Nemechek held a comfortable lead until his final pit stop on lap 150.
11 laps later, as green flag pit stops cycled through, Kyle Sieg spun in turn four and brought out the caution.
Nemechek took the lead from teammate Joe Graf Jr. on lap 164 and survived four restarts to earn his sixth career Xfinity Series win.
It’s Nemechek’s fourth win of the 2023 season. It’s also the first time he has won back-to-back Xfinity Series races, as he won at Atlanta last week.
AMBETTER HEALTH 200 TOP-10:
Nemechek, Chandler Smith, Austin Hill, Daniel Hemric, Sammy Smith, Justin Allgaier, Jeb Burton, Josh Williams, Brett Moffitt, Mason Massey
Williams, Massey and other drivers got a boost from a multi-car wreck as Nemechek got the white flag.
Sheldon Creed and Cole Custer raced low and high exiting turn four. Then, Creed moved up the track, Custer got loose and spun Creed into the outside wall.
Custer spun and collected several other drivers in a wreck. After the dust settled, Creed and Custer finished 21st and 22nd, one lap down, respectively.
The wreck also collected Riley Herbst, who was near the top 10 after recovering from a wreck on lap 103. Herbst finished 20th.
PLAYOFF OUTLOOK
9. Daniel Hemric: +71
10. Sam Mayer: +63
11. Sheldon Creed: +45
12. Riley Herbst: 457 points (+18 points)
13. Parker Kligerman: 439 points (-18 points)
14. Brett Moffitt: -42
15. Brandon Jones: -60
16. Kaz Grala: -117
Mayer finished 18th after also getting in the final-lap wreck. Jones finished 11th while Grala finished 13th.
Kligerman finished 32nd, out of the race after a wreck on lap 72. A slow restart and check-up caused Kligerman to get terminal damage from rear-ending the car in front of him.
The wreck also took out Ryan Sieg and Anthony Alfredo and involved Alex Labbe, Jeremy Clements, Mason Massey, Blaine Perkins, Justin Allgaier, Patrick Emerling and Chris Hacker.
Allgaier lost ground to the regular-season championship lead, currently held by John Hunter Nemechek. Nemechek leads Austin Hill by 33 points, Allgaier by 60, Cole Custer by 74, Chandler Smith by 161, Josh Berry by 186 and Hemric by 220.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The next race for the Xfinity Series is July 22 at Pocono Raceway. Last year, Noah Gragson and Ty Gibbs dueled for the win and Gragson won.
