NASCAR
Nemechek Eans Sixth Xfinity Win in Kansas Regular Season Finale
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Just days after announcing his 2024 Cup Series plans, John Hunter Nemechek is in Xfinity Series victory lane again. Kansas marks a series-leading sixth checkered flag of 2023, firmly asserting himself as a championship favorite.
Behind Nemechek though, the drama for the final Playoff berth was a very back-and-forth affair. By finishing fourth, Parker Kligerman makes the cut in the Big Machine Racing No. 48.
Justin Allgaier initially fired off strong in Stage 1, but lost this first win in the closing laps to John Hunter Nemechek. The No. 20 would sweep both Stages, going for a max-points day trying to win the regular season championship.
While it was easy cruising early on for Nemechek, the same could not be said for many others. A tire carcass left in turn one was hit by third-place running Cole Custer. Front end damage caused the No. 00 to retire early.
On the restart, both drivers battling for the final Playoff berth made contact. Parker Kligerman was slow getting through the gears, causing Riley Herbst to hit his rear bumper. Extensive right front damage sent the No. 98 Ford two laps down, giving the points battle advantage to Kligerman’s 48.
More fast cars were taken out when Stage 3 went green after going three-wide on the restart. Entering turn three, Sheldon Creed was on the inside and drifted up into Sammy Smith. Simultaneous contact from Josh Berry sent the No. 18 straight into the path of Justin Allgaier, ending the day for both drivers.
Thanks to attrition and lots of cautions, the wounded No. 98 fought its way back onto the lead lap and inside the top-10. It was only with 72 laps left when Herbst suffered another flat tire though. After racing his way from two laps down to the top-10, the 98 was trapped there once again, only recovering to a 23rd-place result.
Kligerman’s day was anything but an easy cruise over the closing laps. While one rival was taken out of contention, Brandon Jones soon found speed and challenged for the lead. If Jones won, he would eliminate Kligerman from the top-12. Even with Jones racing his way up to second though, nobody could sniff Nemechek over the final run. The No. 20’s lead continued to grow and grow more, eventually swelling to more than seven seconds by the checkered flag.
“I don’t know if this makes us the favorite or not,” Nemechek said after leading 154 of 200 laps. “Super proud of this whole 20 team at Joe Gibbs Racing. Man it’s been a week, an exciting one, but super pumped to get the Pye Barker Toyota back in victory lane. This thing was as fast as Xfinity 10G today. Ben (Beshore, crew chief) and all the guys made the right adjustments all day and brought a really fast hot rod.”
“I have to say hi to Tay, Aspen and Penelope back home, I wish they were here. We’ll celebrate when I get home. We have a cancer victim riding with us, Tom Goddard. Special name for those that knew him.”
“Overall just super pumped and ecstatic. I’m looking forward to getting the Playoffs started next week at Bristol. We came in here today trying to get the regular season championship. I said that we were going to have a 60-point day this weekend and that’s what we did. We controlled what we could control, we did everything that we possibly could. Let’s go Playoffs, I’m ready.”
Despite the max-points day, Nemechek would fall just five points short of the regular season title. That honor goes to Austin Hill and the Richard Childress Racing No. 21 team. Thanks to more wins though, Nemechek does enter the Playoffs as the top seed.
Jones would be second, but fall short of the win needed to make the Playoffs. Fourth would prove to be enough for Kligerman to make his first NASCAR postseason appearance. Take a look at the reset Playoff points below.
Creed would sneak by Kligerman in the closing laps for third. The rest of the Kansas top-10 were: Austin Hill, Josh Berry, Brett Moffitt, Derek Kraus, Joe Graf Jr. and Kaz Grala.
The Xfinity Series Playoffs begin Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Food City 300 will go green at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Nemechek definitely enters Bristol with the most momentum. Plenty of drivers are hungry though for the win that will set them on the path towards the championship.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images
