NASCAR
John Hunter Nemechek Takes Atlanta From Kaulig Racing in Overtime Scramble
HAMPTON, Ga. – As laps wound down Atlanta appeared to be another Kaulig Racing masterclass. With two laps left the 10, 16, and 11 ran 1-2-3 with nobody able to get by. A late caution changed everything though, with the trio not getting up to speed on the overtime restart. Instead John Hunter Nemechek rocketed off to his third win of 2023.
Both Stages ran relatively clean and without many issues. Riley Herbst edged Josh Berry on a last-lap pass for Stage 1, and Sheldon Creed won Stage 2 over teammate Austin Hill.
Not long after Stage 3 went green, the big one struck entering turn three. A flat tire on Riley Herbst’s No. 98 triggered a massive 10-car pileup. Both Stage winners would be casualties of this crash, opening the race up for a new driver to pull into victory lane.
Just prior to the big one, Kaulig Racing’s three cars all found each other at the head of the pack. Justin Haley, Chandler Smith and Daniel Hemric all worked flawlessly together as laps ticked by. Haley was in command with both of his teammates playing blocker for the 10.
Coming to two laps to go though, Austin Hill spun from fifth. Air off of Parker Kligerman’s car sent the No. 21 spinning, ending any chance of an Atlanta Xfinity three-peat.
Fuel was a big question for many of the leaders heading into overtime. On the restart, Chandler Smith did not get going, slowing up the outside lane. This allowed John Hunter Nemechek to fire off from the bottom lane and get clear. Nobody ever mounted another charge at Nemechek, allowing the 20 to get a big gap by the checkers.
“I got a huge push from the 11, so thanks to Daniel for giving me that huge push,” Nemechek said. “Hats off to this entire 20 team. Early on in the race, if you would have said that we were going to win the race, I would have told you that wasn’t going to be the case. We didn’t have the fastest car tonight. It wasn’t quite as fast as Xfinity 10G, but I’m really proud of this whole 20 team. First win for Mobil1 with me at JGR–won with them in the Truck Series. This is special. Glad Aspen and Taylor are here, we get to go celebrate. Thank you to all of the fans that came out tonight. I appreciate you guys.”
“The never give up attitude is with this team – we’ve been through a lot this year. We’ve had to overcome a lot, but we are a really strong race team. We are consistent each week and we will get more wins and hopefully go race for the championship come Phoenix.”
Behind Nemechek, Atlanta’s top-10 finishers were: Daniel Hemric, Cole Custer, Justin Haley, Sam Mayer, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Sieg, Parker Kligerman, Josh Williams and Sammy Smith. Hear post-race reactions from some of these drivers below.
The Xfinity Series returns to action Saturday from New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Crayon 200 will go green Saturday at 3:00 p.m. ET on USA, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Only eight races remain in the Xfinity Series regular season, can Loudon produce a new winner?
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Joe Gibbs Racing via Twitter
