NASCAR
John Hunter Nemechek Takes Fifth Xfinity Series Win at Michigan, Hits Double-Century Mark for JGR
BROOKLYN, Mich. – For the fifth time this season, John Hunter Nemechek is a Saturday winner. The Xfinity Series Cabo Wabo 250 from Michigan was a very up-and-down day for the 20, spinning early after contact with a teammate. After fighting back to the head of the pack by Stage 2, Nemechek outlasted all on a late restart for the victory.
Joe Gibbs Racing adds onto their all-time winningest Xfinity Series team record, with Michigan marking their 200th checkered flag. Now with three wins in a five race span, the 20 appears as the championship favorite with the Playoffs fast-approaching.
The day was nearly over before it hardly began for all three Joe Gibbs Racing cars. On lap 11 Ty Gibbs, John Hunter Nemechek and Sammy Smith all came together out of turn two. The 18 got the brunt of the impact here, with Carson Hocevar’s No. 77 having nowhere to go and piling into Smith. Both Gibbs and Nemechek spun as well but neither had major damage.
Stage 1 would go to Justin Allgaier, while Nemechek found the top spot late in Stage 2. It was evident these two were the fastest cars in the field, but one of them found trouble late. Allgaier’s team would jump over the wall too early on a lap 97 green flag pit stop. This only came after an earlier spin on pit road for Allgaier. A pass through penalty set the 7 back, and Allgaier would only recover to finish 14th.
This left the lead largely unchallenged for Nemechek, who held serve on a late restart over Josh Berry for win number five on the year. Nemechek now has seven career Xfinity Series wins, all amazingly coming at different tracks. More importantly, Michigan is Xfinity Series victory number 200 for Joe Gibbs Racing. Responsible for six of these victories, Nemechek is trying to separate himself as the lone championship favorite.
“Just a never give up attitude,” Nemechek said. “This team is absolutely amazing, and I’m just the lucky one to be able to drive these Mobil1 Toyota GR Supras each weekend. I have to apologize to Ty (Gibbs) and the 19 team. I didn’t mean to get into him. I’m the one that has been preaching about teammates. It was my fault. I put him in a bad aero spot. It looked like he got loose and then I couldn’t checkup. Just chain reaction type of events – but it is my fault. I take the blame for that. We will move on from it. Him and I will have a discussion about it. I’m thankful for this whole team. I’m thankful for everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, Coach, Toyota, TRD, Mobil 1, Pye Barker, everyone involved. Win number five, let’s keep it going.”
“It’s definitely special being able to win so many races for JGR in the Xfinity Series. I’m just the lucky guy that gets to hold the wheel of these fast Toyota GR Supras every single weekend. Super thankful, super grateful. All the glory to God. Getting 200 is sweet. We’ve been joking about it for the past few weeks, and after the past couple of weeks that we’ve had, we’ve definitely needed to rebound. This is a great rebound.”
Behind Nemechek and Berry at the checkers, the Michigan top-10 were: Brandon Jones, Ty Gibbs, Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Ross Chastain, Parker Kligerman, Parker Retzlaff and Jeb Burton.
Despite being the series’ winningest driver in 2023, Nemechek is now tied with Austin Hill for the points lead. 811 points is the mark set by the 20 and 21, with five races left to decide the regular season champion. See the remainder of the Playoff standings following Michigan below.
The Xfinity Series season rolls on from the Indianapolis Road Course next Saturday. The Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard will go green at 5:30 p.m. ET on USA, the IMS Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. The Indy road course has been a wildcard event in years past, can it provide a Playoff upset this time around?
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Johnathan Bachman/Getty Images
