John Hunter Nemechek Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – The Beast is most definitely Unleashed. For the second day in a row, Tyler Reddick and his No. 45 Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry has found its way to the top of the timing sheet, this time Reddick’s lap of 49.469 seconds, 181.932 mph was enough to earn him the pole for the Brickyard 400. “I was one of the last cars to go in Group B, so I watched a lot of drivers in Round one have issues in Turn 4 and a couple ofRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LEBANON, Tenn. – Mother Nature played no favorites in Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway, especially for those pulling double duty to run both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series races on back-to-back days under blazing sun. When the checkered flag flew, a number of drivers required attention in the form of ice, cold water, and a visit to the Infield Care Center to aid in recovery before strapping back in less than 24 hours later. John Hunter Nemechek fared the best ofRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service LEBANON, Tenn. – John Hunter Nemechek survived a steamy hot afternoon and held off a highly-motivated field to win the Tennessee Lottery 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway Saturday afternoon. It’s the second Xfinity Series win of the season for Nemechek in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – and 11th of his career in the series. The 27-year-old North Carolinian won Stage 2 and led a race best 76 of the 188 laps, including the final 46 after taking the leadRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service LOUDON, N.H. – Christopher Bell continued his dominance at New Hampshire Motor Speedway claiming a sweep of the NASCAR race weekend, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver really had to earn that “broom” in Sunday’s weather-challenged USA Today 301. The 29-year-old Oklahoman beat Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe to the finish line by 1.104-second in overtime in a race that lasted six hours including a two-hour-plus rain delay and ultimately ended with the field on damp surface tires; only the second time in NASCAR historyRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service SONOMA, Calif. – New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen powered his way to the lead on a restart with 11 laps remaining in Saturday’s Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 on the Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway road course and bolted off to a 1.323-second victory – his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series win coming only a week after his first. The 35-year old Kiwi – who earned his first career pole position earlier Saturday at the 1.99-mile course and led a race best 32 laps –Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. — From deep in the heart of Texas to Sweet Home Alabama. Following last weekend’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Cup Series is on to the biggest and baddest track on the circuit – the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway for Sunday’s running of the GEICO 500. Since opening its doors in 1969, the track just off Interstate 20 in Eastern Alabama has been a wild card on the schedule with the unpredictable nature of superspeedway racing on full display over the past half-century,Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Larson was ultimately both patient and smart taking the lead on the final overtime lap to win an aggressive Featured Health 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), the first road course test for the series this year that earned an “A” for high-drama and close competition. New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen and Austin Hill were duking it out for the lead – and pushing each other high off the race line as the field approached the checkered flag.Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service   BRISTOL, Tenn. — How appropriate.  On a day where tire management was the essential element in a NASCAR Cup Series race, three veterans swept the podium positions, with Denny Hamlin winning Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.  In a race that produced 54 lead changes—a record for Cup Series short tracks—Hamlin lost the lead briefly to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps but regained it in traffic and beat Truex to the finish line by 1.083 seconds. Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS — Chandler Smith won the battle. John Hunter Nemechek won the war.  The Joe Gibbs Racing teammates spent most of Saturday afternoon racing each other for the top spot in The LiUNA!, a 300-mile NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was Nemechek who proved superior in the long run.  After Smith won the first two stages of the race—the second with a deft last-lap pass of Nemechek’s No. 20 Toyota—Nemechek asserted his dominance.  By the time Nemechek crossedRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – Michael McDowell and Joey Logano performed their own version of “Trading Places” during NASCAR Cup Series time trials on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After finishing second to Logano in qualifying for the season-opening DAYTONA 500, McDowell will start his 467th Cup race from a position he has never occupied before—first on the grid—with Logano beside him in second. Having won the first Busch Light Pole Award of his career, McDowell will lead the field to green in Sunday’s Ambetter HealthRead More