Kaulig Racing, Hill no match for John Hunter Nemechek at Atlanta
By Jonathan Fjeld and Dominic Aragon
HAMPTON, Ga. — John Hunter Nemechek inherited the lead in NASCAR Overtime and won the Alsco Uniforms 250 Saturday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Nemechek overtook Kaulig Racing’s Chandler Smith, who ran out of fuel during the final restart of the race.
Nemechek held off charges from Smith’s teammates Daniel Hemric and Justin Haley to take his third win of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season, only leading three laps.
“I got a huge push from the 11 (Daniel Hemric), so thanks to Daniel for giving me that huge push,” Nemechek said. “Hats off to this entire 20 team. Early on in the race, if you would have said that we were going to win the race, I would have told you that wasn’t going to be the case.”
Nemechek and Austin Hill lead the series with three wins apiece.
Hemric, the 2021 series champion, finish second. Hemric has posted two Top-5 finishes this season, both runner-up finishes at Atlanta.
Cole Custer, Justin Haley and Sam Mayer rounded out positions third through fifth.
Stage 1
The first stage ran smoothly with just one caution – for Parker Kligerman having a flat left-rear tire on lap 29 – and Riley Herbst getting the stage with a last-turn pass on Josh Berry.
STAGE ONE TOP 10: Herbst, Berry, Chandler Smith, Justin Haley, Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier, Jeremy Clements, Sheldon Creed, Joe Graf Jr., Parker Retzlaff
Stage 2
Parker Retzlaff kicked off stage two with possibly the save of the year after John Hunter Nemechek bumped him in Turn 4.
Then, heartbreak hit independent driver Greg Van Alst in turn turn four on lap 62.
The rest of the stage ran smoothly with Sheldon Creed picking up the stage win.
STAGE TWO TOP 10: Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill, Ryan Sieg, Josh Berry, Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, Daniel Hemric, Chandler Smith, Parker Kligerman, Sammy Smith
Stage 3
The stage winners’ fortunes quickly faded on lap 89. Riley Herbst popped a tire, then Brandon Jones unintentionally hooked Ryan Sieg while trying to avoid Herbst.
That set off a big wreck involving Sheldon Creed, Ty Gibbs, Anthony Alfredo, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Kyle Weatherman, Josh Williams, Sam Mayer, Blaine Perkins and Brennan Poole.
Sieg, Herbst, Creed, Alfredo, Jones and Perkins all retired from the race after this. Weatherman fell out after wrecking again on lap 102.
Austin Hill worked the Kaulig Racing cars over as they ran 1-2-3. At one point, he was between them in second but was shuffled out after trying to make a move on leader Justin Haley.
Hill had no friends in the pack, either as he tried every move he could until he spun on lap 162 and set up an overtime finish.
Outlook
The next scheduled race for the Xfinity Series is the Crayon 200, scheduled for Saturday, July 15 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
John Hunter Nemechek continues to hold the points lead (678 points) over Austin Hill (-16), Cole Custer (-45), Justin Allgiaer (-54), and Chandler Smith (-152).
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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