NASCAR
Ty Gibbs Moves Teammate John Hunter Nemechek in Final Corner at Richmond
RICHMOND, Va. – Saturday’s ToyotaCare 250 came down to a pair of teammates from Joe Gibbs Racing, as Ty Gibbs and John Hunter Nemechek led all but one lap. After Nemechek passed Gibbs within the last five laps, Gibbs went wide in the final corner underneath the 18, stealing the win. Richmond marks Gibbs’ third victory of 2022, and the seventh of his young Xfinity career.
After starting in the top two spots, the Toyota drivers split both Stages, with Nemechek then Gibbs taking the green/checkered flags. The Stage 2 conclusion was the final caution of the day, as the race ended with a 90-lap green flag run.
Over the duration of this final run though, Gibbs never got more than a second ahead of Nemechek. In the closing laps, Nemechek methodically closed in and finally passed the 54 with just four laps left. Entering turn three on the last lap, Gibbs got to Nemechek’s inside and ran him wide. Gibbs eventually got back to the checkers ahead of the 18.
TEAMMATES FIGHT FOR THE WIN AND TY GIBBS GETS IT DONE.
Retweet to congratulate @TyGibbs_ on his NASCAR Xfinity victory at Richmond!
Wow. ? pic.twitter.com/0tauuj2pMD
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 2, 2022
Nemechek showed his displeasure with Gibbs, by running into the 54 on the cooldown lap. See Nemechek’s reaction to this last-lap lead change below.
“He just didn’t even try to make the corner…racers never forget, that’s all.”
– @JHNemechek on the last lap bump from @TyGibbs_ which lost him the race. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/87DKlNuUDQ
— Noah Lewis (NASCAR) (@Noah_Lewis1) April 2, 2022
On the flip side of this teammate drama was Ty Gibbs, who celebrates his third victory in only seven races.
“I definitely deserve one back,” Gibbs was quick to admit post-race. “But we’re racing for wins and they’re hard to come by. I had to take it. We were just fighting tight all day, just couldn’t hold the bottom. John Hunter was a little faster, and we had a great race. Good for Toyota to finish 1-2, just got in there deep and had to bump him out of the way, up the track. We’re short track racing. Thank you to Monster Energy, what a great car. This is awesome for Toyota, cool to get our third win, so hopefully we keep it rolling. Thank you to everybody, especially the man above.”
“Like I said, I deserve one back, but we’re racing for a win. I gotta do whatever I can to win. We raced really good there, I feel like we put on a good show, so that’s all that’s important. We gotta keep it rolling.”
Behind the Toyota top two was Sam Mayer in third. Mayer not only nabs his best career finish, but also wins the Dash4Cash $100,000 bonus. Other Dash4Cash competitor AJ Allmendinger was fourth, while Riley Herbst placed fifth. The rest of the top 10 were Daniel Hemric, Josh Berry, Brandon Brown, Ryan Sieg, and Parker Retzlaff.
The Xfinity Series is back in action next Friday night from Martinsville Speedway. Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. The Call 811 Before You Dig 250 marks race two of the Dash4Cash, as well as the lone start of 2022 for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Who will triumph on the short track and take home the Grandfather Clock?
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Joe Gibbs Racing via Twitter
