LOUDON, N.H. – John Hunter Nemechek completed the first back-to-back victory effort of his career, convincingly winning Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to answer a big victory last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Nemechek held off Talking Rock, Georgia’s Chandler Smith by .424-second on an overtime restart, leading a race best 137 laps and becoming the winningest driver in the series this season with four victories – upping his career total to six.
Nemechek now leads the championship run by 33-points over Winston, Georgia’s Austin Hill, a three-time race winner in 2023 and the third place finisher on Saturday.
“They’ve had dominant JGR Supras the last couple years and I had to hold up my end of the bargain,” said Nemechek, who at one point led the field by more than 4-seconds.
“It’s nerve-wracking for sure (the final restart), so I’m so proud of this No. 20 team and everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Nemechek added, “I think our first clean race of the year and hats off to all our guys.”
“I was a little worried there with the last restarts,” Nemechek said. “We kept getting really good launches and were able to clear them but I didn’t know who was saving what. I was trying to save for Cole (Custer), he really pushed us there.”
Smith, who earned his first career series pole position on Friday for this race, led only the first lap but stayed in contention and kept the front pack honest throughout the day. Unfortunately for Smith, there was a malfunction with his cool suit on the steamy summer New England afternoon and he was treated with IVs at the care center following the race, but reported in good shape overall.
The race on the 1.058-mile oval included 10 caution periods – the last forcing an overtime finish. Nemechek had just rolled under the white flag – signaling the last lap – when a pair of his closest challengers on the day – Cole Custer and Sheldon Creed – crashed behind him dueling for third place. The incident ended the race.
Custer – the youngest winner in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history when he won at New Hampshire in 2014 at the age of 16 – collided with Creed while vying for third place. Custer, a two-time winner this season, had run among the top three for much of the race. Creed is still racing for his first victory of the season.
Behind Nemechek, Smith and Hill, Daniel Hemric finished in fourth, with rookie driver Sammy Smith in fifth. Smith earned his first career Stage win, taking the Stage 2 flag and leading 18 laps on the day.
Justin Allgaier finished sixth after leading 27 laps early in the race and winning Stage 1, tying him with Nemechek for most stage wins (five) on the season.
Jeb Burton, Josh Williams, Brett Moffitt and Douglasville, Georgia’s Mason Massey rounded out the top 10.
Parker Kligerman, a New Englander and fan favorite, was collected in a 12-car accident during a restart only 71 laps into the event and had to settle for a 31st place finish. He came into the race ranked 13th, only six points out of 12th with the top 12 ranked drivers becoming Playoff eligible. Despite being in the multi-car accident, the race claimed enough caution casualties that Kligerman leaves his “hometown” track now ranked 12th – 16 points up on 13th place Burton.
As for Nemechek, he is currently riding a massive streak of career accomplishment.
“Now it’s time to keep clicking off these victories,” Nemechek said.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Loudon, NH
Ambetter Health 200 – July 15, 2023
1. (2) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 206.
2. (1) Chandler Smith #, Chevrolet, 206.
3. (8) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 206.
4. (11) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 206.
5. (7) Sammy Smith #, Toyota, 206.
6. (4) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 206.
7. (20) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 206.
8. (22) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 206.
9. (12) Brett Moffitt, Ford, 206.
10. (33) Mason Massey, Ford, 206.
11. (5) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 206.
12. (21) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 206.
13. (38) Kaz Grala, Toyota, 206.
14. (28) Patrick Emerling, Chevrolet, 206.
15. (16) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 206.
16. (9) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 206.
17. (3) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 206.
18. (10) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 206.
19. (29) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 206.
20. (14) Riley Herbst, Ford, 206.
21. (17) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 205.
22. (6) Cole Custer, Ford, 205.
23. (26) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 205.
24. (24) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 204.
25. (32) Blaine Perkins #, Chevrolet, 203.
26. (25) Connor Mosack, Toyota, 203.
27. (23) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 202.
28. (35) C.J. McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 201.
29. (19) Joe Graf, Jr., Toyota, Accident, 196.
30. (31) Chris Hacker(i), Ford, 195.
31. (13) Parker Retzlaff #, Chevrolet, Accident, 190.
32. (15) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, Accident, 70.
33. (37) Ryan Sieg, Ford, Accident, 70.
34. (18) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, Accident, 70.
35. (34) Chad Finchum, Ford, Suspension, 60.
36. (30) Stefan Parsons, Chevrolet, Suspension, 48.
37. (27) Rajah Caruth(i), Chevrolet, Oil Line, 47.
38. (36) Greg Van Alst, Chevrolet, Brakes, 17.
Average Speed: 82.417 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 38 Mins, 40 Secs. Margin of Victory: Under Caution.
Caution Flags: 10 for 60 laps.
Lead Changes: 13 among 7 drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Smith # 1;J. Allgaier 2-8;J. Nemechek 9-26;J. Allgaier 27-46;C. Smith # 47-54;J. Nemechek 55-86;P. Retzlaff # 87-88;S. Smith # 89-106;J. Nemechek 107-150;C. Smith # 151;J. Graf Jr. 152-158;A. Dillon(i) 159-162;J. Graf Jr. 163;J. Nemechek 164-206.
Leaders Summary: (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led) John Hunter Nemechek 4 times for 137 laps; Justin Allgaier 2 times for 27 laps; Sammy Smith # 1 time for 18 laps; Chandler Smith # 3 times for 10 laps; Joe Graf Jr. 2 times for 8 laps; Austin Dillon(i) 1 time for 4 laps; Parker Retzlaff # 1 time for 2 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 7,20,00,16,8,9,10,1,11,21
Stage #2 Top Ten: 18,31,2,9,92,7,19,20,10,16
Playoff Standings: 1. John Hunter Nemechek – 730 (4 Wins); 2. Austin Hill – 697 (3 Win); 3. Cole Custer – 656 (2 Wins); 4. Justin Allgaier – 670 (1 Win); 5. Chandler Smith – 569 (1 Win); 6. Sammy Smith – 505 (1 Win); 7. Jeb Burton – 423 (1 Win); 8. Josh Berry – 544; 9. Daniel Hemric – 510; 10. Sam Mayer – 502; 11. Sheldon Creed – 484; 12. Riley Herbst – 457.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
