Nemechek coolest of Xfinity field in Nashville heat
John Hunter Nemechek stayed coolest of anyone in the NASCAR Xfinity Series field on a hot Saturday in Nashville.
Saturday saw conditions as hot as the chicken Nashville prides itself in. Temperatures reached 95 degrees and the heat index soared to 106 degrees.
It left a mark on the drivers, even Nemechek who popped out of the car, talked with NBC Sports on the frontstretch and then took a breather before driving to victory lane.
Nemechek took the lead from Cole Custer twice. 20 laps into the second stage, he took control and won that stage. Then, on the final restart with 47 laps to go, Custer went wide and allowed Nemechek to lead the final 46 laps and win.
“Man I thought we gave the race away at the start of Stage 3. I asked for an adjustment and it didn’t work. We’ve been close to winning in this thing and I’ve got limited starts so it’s great to capitalize and win at Nashville,” Nemechek said. “I’m kind of speechless right now.”
Custer’s dropped to sixth, saying his car was “too tight.” He ultimately finished ninth.
“I overdrove that restart in turn one but I did that on other restarts. There are some things I could do better. My car was just not good in dirty air. My guys are bringing great cars, leading laps and earning points and it’s just heartbreaking. We’ll get it it eventually. We’ll keep digging,” Custer said.
TOP-10 FINISHERS: Nemechek, Chandler Smith, Jesse Love, Austin Hill, Noah Gragson, Riley Herbst, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Custer, Sam Mayer
Ryan Sieg finished 11th after running in and around the top-10 much of the day. Sieg closed in on the playoff cutline after his solid run:
AJ Allmendinger +80 points above the cutline, Sheldon Creed +77, Parker Kligerman +46, Sammy Smith +11, Ryan Sieg -11 points below the cutline, Brandon Jones -54, Anthony Alfredo -59.
Sammy Smith finished 30th, one lap down after a left-rear tire issue at the start of the final stage.
TENNESSEE LOTTERY 250 RECAP
The race ran green for the 136 laps with the only cautions coming for the stage breaks.
STAGE ONE TOP-10 (LAP 45): Ty Gibbs, Allmendinger, Brandon Jones, Custer, Allgaier, Gragson, Herbst, Nemechek, C. Smith, Sieg
Gibbs lost three positions on pit road and handed control of the race to Cole Custer. Then, Custer lost control to John Hunter Nemechek who claimed the stage win.
STAGE TWO TOP-10 (LAP 90): Nemechek, Allmendinger, Custer, Gibbs, Chandler Smith, Gragson, Love, Brandon Jones, Allgaier, Herbst
Cole Custer took the lead on lap 101, just four laps after the final stage started. AJ Allmendinger got by Nemechek and chased Custer for the lead. He could only close to about six tenths back as Custer took his line and maintained speed.
The first caution for incident fell on lap 137. Justin Allgaier bumped into Ty Gibbs after racing him for fourth for countless laps. Gibbs spun and tapped the outside wall. Allgaier didn’t get much damage, neither did Chandler Smith who got squeezed into the incident.
During that run, Riley Herbst rallied to 14th after having to pit. Herbst’s cool suit failed so his team had to help him evacuate the remaining water so it didn’t scald him.
On pit road, Herbst gained seven spots, moving to seventh. Meanwhile, Allmendinger lost seven spots and dropped to ninth. Herbst and Allmendinger finished sixth and seventh.
Brandon Jones also lost ground on pit road which pushed him to 13th at the end of the day.
In contrast, teammate Carson Kvapil gained six spots and jumped to 13th for what ended up being the final stage. He finished 12th on a day where he was 24th in stage one and 21st in stage two.
Eight positions back, Ty Gibbs finished 20th.
NEXT: The Loop 110 at Chicago Street Course. Saturday, July 6, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Categories
Discover more from The Racing Experts
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
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