In a race that saw experience pay off for the front three finishers during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, John Hunter Nemechek quietly earned a solid top-10 finish.
Nemechek, who started 26th on the grid, clawed his way to fifth by the end of Stage One. He jumped one spot higher to fourth by Stage Two’s end and wound up with a sixth-place finish.
It was the Legacy Motor Club driver’s best career finish in the Cup Series.
“The car is in one piece, and finished p6. Solid day,” Nemechek said. “Definitely needed that. Finished top five in both stages.”
What made the feat even more impressive was his tire-conservation skills. With rubber not getting laid down due to the resin on the bottom groove of the .533-mile concrete race track, Goodyear tires wore rapidly throughout the 500-lap race.
For some drivers, Sunday’s race was miserable to tackle. Nemechek, however, felt he was back to his late model racing roots.
P6. Career best. Needed that.#teamtoyota #legacymotorclub pic.twitter.com/kMjatAyNNF
— John Hunter Nemechek (@JHNemechek) March 17, 2024
“I was joking with the guys that it’s just an oversized Pensacola (Five Flags Speedway in Florida) with tire wear,” Nemechek said. “I grew up short track late model racing – places that you had to manage tire wear till the end of the run. We were able to do so.”
The 26-year-old kicked off the season with a strong seventh-place finish in the Daytona 500. Since then, however, it’s been a struggle as the driver of the No. 42 Toyota had a best finish of 21st in the three races prior to Bristol.
Now with a new personal best in the Cup Series, Nemechek and the No. 42 team aim for more as the series heads to Austin, Texas for the first road course of the year at Circuit of The Americas.
“My guys gave me a great Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE all day, and everyone at Legacy Motor Club worked hard. We were able to finish top five in both stages and finish sixth overall. Great points day.
“We definitely needed that as a team.”