John Hunter Nemechek may per chance well no longer be nice looking as a lot as the NASCAR Xfinity Sequence in 2022, however that is no longer stopping the Camping World Truck Sequence points leader from a hit in the 2d tier. Nemechek led the closing twenty laps to protect Saturday’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 335 at Texas Motor Speedway, throwing many playoff contenders’ hopes of advancing to the closing round into flux.
Championship opponents A.J. Allmendinger and Austin Cindric started on the entrance row, and the aged led the important thirteen laps sooner than being handed by the latter. Cindric would lead to the stage protect sooner than Noah Gragson, Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett, Justin Haley, Harrison Burton, Jeremy Clements, Brett Moffitt, and Brandon Brown. Three yellow flags were waved for a contest warning (lap 20), Landon Cassill suffering injury appealing with Sam Mayer (25), and J.J. Yeley‘s automobile stopping resulting from a broken crankshaft (39). Cassill would rejoin and re-exit the flee multiple times as mechanical disorders from the injury interfered along with his day.
Daniel Hemric assumed the lead to originate Stage #2. Ryan Sieg introduced out the lone warning of the segment when he spun on lap 63. Hemric and Joe Gibbs Racing group-mate Nemechek commerce the lead however the latter would staunch the lead and stage victory. Hemric, Mayer, Jeb Burton, Haley, Riley Herbst, Annett, Allgaier, Gragson, and Allmendinger rounded out the discontinuance ten.
Nemechek continued to lead to originate the closing stage. On lap 100, Dylan Lupton and Tanner Berryhill slammed into the turn two wall and picked up Jade Buford. C.J. McLaughlin spun on lap 141 for one other warning, and Hemric took the discontinuance space for the restart. Harrison Burton, moreover a JGR driver, changed into the contemporary leader following Brown’s damage on lap 172, however changed into once handed by Nemechek on lap 181.
Despite being penalised after the McLaughlin warning for having a crewman over the pit wall too soon, Nemechek changed into once in a device to total his pressure from the attend and protect off Hemric to protect his 2d profession Xfinity flee and first since 2018 at Kansas.
He is the important driver to protect an Xfinity flee despite declaring for Truck points since Ross Chastain in 2019, though Chastain had switched from Xfinity to Truck standings midseason. If the qualifier is narrowed to those that were working a complete Truck season, the final driver to develop so and protect in the Xfinity Sequence changed into once Ryan Blaney in 2014, and he moreover carried out the feat the old year. Nemechek moreover joins Allmendinger because the handiest drivers in 2021 to protect a national sequence flee in a greater tier than the one which they had declared points for, with Allmendinger a hit the Indianapolis Cup flee as an Xfinity favorite.
Despite the truth that he is no longer eligible for Xfinity points, Nemechek’s protect clinches a space in the owner’s championship round for the #54 JGR automobile.
“(Spotter) Stevie Reeves and (crew chief) Chris Gayle saved me light. I judge this year, I’ve grown so a lot as a driver and got attach in teach in the Truck Sequence as well,” acknowledged Nemechek. “I will’t mutter sufficient about this total group. The #54 has been hasty each and each single week. My purpose coming in changed into once to protect. I needed to protect to enlighten to myself that I will develop this.
“It’s honest admire taking that step attend to the Truck Sequence. I wished to salvage attend to Victory Lane. […] It’s an out of this world accomplishment to salvage this done, beating a teammate as well. We’re racing for an house owners championship. I’m attend in the #54 in Phoenix, so double championships for us after we walk.”
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