Richmond Recap
START: 38th
FINISH: 15th
POINTS: 12th
Notes & Quotes:
- Due to a mechanical failure during qualifying, Nemechek and the GMS Racing team were forcered to start from the back of the field after an unapproved adjustment. Nemechek fought into the top-10 before Stage One concluded finishing seventh. He battled within the top-12 majority of Stage Two and finished tenth. In the final Stage, Nemechek battled with a loose-handing condition and resulted in a 15th-place finish.
- Nemechek heads into the next race of the Playoffs in the 12th-position with a total of 2,027 points.
"We got some stage points in the first and second stage which was good. I just felt like we were behind an adjustment all night. I should have known what the track was going to do and that was my call on making the adjustments that we did. It was a frustrating night but we will rebound and head to the Roval next weekend."
Richmond Preview
Richmond Xfinity Stats
Two starts, One top-10
Best Finish: 7th (2019)
2019 Season Stats
26 starts, 4 top-five's and 13 top-10's
Notes:
- John Hunter Nemechek and GMS Racing will utilize chassis no. 216 this weekend at Richmond Raceway. This chassis has been ran five times this season by Nemechek at ISM Raceway (start: 13th/finish: 9th), Spring- Richmond Raceway (start: 11th/finish: 7th), Spring - Iowa Speedway (start: 6th/finish: 8th), Fall - Iowa Speedway (start: 14th/finish: 3rd) and at Bristol Motor Speedway (start: 9th/finish: 3rd).
- Friday's race in Richmond marks the first race in the Round of 12 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. Nemechek is currently scored 12th with 2,000 points. This is both Nemechek and GMS Racing's first NXS Playoff berth.
- Nemechek will represent a new sponsor, Safeway East, in Friday night's race at Richmond Raceway. Safeway East is a division of Albertsons Corporate and is made up of about 100 stores located in Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia and the Delaware area.
Quotes:
"I'm excited about heading to Richmond this weekend for the first round of the NASCAR Playoffs. With Richmond being a short-track it's right up my alley. We had a pretty decent showing there in the Spring and collected a top-10 finish. It always helps to have a solid notebook going into the weekend. I'm all in and ready to lock this team into the Round of 8. I am honored to represent Safeway this weekend. Their presence is really big in the Virginia area and will have some guests attending the race. Hopefully we are able to make their experience a memorable one and park it in Victory Lane."
Las Vegas Recap
START: 11th
FINISH: 8th
POINTS: 12th
Notes & Quotes:
- Nemechek fought with a tight-handling No. 23 machine majority of the 200-lap event. Nemechek raced within the top-10 most of the day but a late green flag pit stop on lap 168 for fuel resulted in an eighth-place finish, one lap down.
- Nemechek finished seventh in Stage One and ninth in Stage Two.
- Nemechek secured his spot into the NASCAR Playoffs after his eighth-place finish tonight at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This marks his and GMS Racing's first Xfinity Series Playoff berth.
- This is Nemechek's 13th top-10 of the 2019 season.
- Nemechek is currently scored in the 12th-position in the driver standings with a total of 2,000 points.
"It was a decent race. We just needed strategy to work out better there at the end. I believe we had a top-six car all day and that's where we ran most of the day. A huge shout out to all of my guys. We've have had a rough few weeks and I'm glad we can put all of that behind us. We will carry this momentum into next weekend for the first round of the Playoffs at Richmond and do our best to get locked into the Round of 8."
Las Vegas Preview
Las Vegas Xfinity Stats
One start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Best Finish: 2nd (2019)
2019 Season Stats
25 starts, 4 top-five's and 12 top-10's
Notes:
- John Hunter Nemechek and GMS Racing will utilize chassis no. 216 this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This chassis has been ran four times this season by Nemechek at ISM Raceway (start: 13th/finish: 9th), Richmond Raceway (start: 11th/finish: 7th), Spring - Iowa Speedway (start: 6th/finish: 8th) and Fall - Iowa Speedway (start: 14th/finish: 3rd).
- Saturday's race in Las Vegas is the last race of the regular season. Nemechek is currently 11th in Xfinity playoff standings with 4 top-five's and 12 top-10 finishes.
Quotes:
"We had a really strong showing at Las Vegas back in the Spring. A runner-up finish to Kyle Busch in my first Xfinity start at Las Vegas showed that this team is capable of competing with the Cup affiliated teams and I know that this team can showcase that again this weekend. We know that we have a solid notebook to work out of so hopefully we unload with speed and finish one-spot better than we did in the Spring."
Indianapolis Recap
START: 5th
FINISH: 31st
POINTS: 11th
Notes & Quotes:
- On lap 80 of 100, Nemechek experienced a cut left-rear tire sending him into the Turn One wall which ended his and the GMS Racing team's day.
- Nemechek is currently scored in the 11th-position in the driver standings and is 28 points behind Brandon Jones who is in tenth-place.
"Bummer of a day for this team. We showed some speed in qualifying and in the race but then cut a left-rear tire going into Turn 1. We just can't catch a break but we will move on and get after it in Las Vegas next weekend. Thank you to Fire Alarm Services and all of our supporters for sticking with us. Onto better results!"
Darlington Recap
START: 16th
FINISH: 21st
POINTS: 10th
Notes & Quotes:
- Nemechek and the GMS Racing team bounced back after an early spin but then experienced fuel pick-up issues and had to pit under green flag conditions multiple times.
- Nemechek is currently scored in the tenth-position in the driver standings and is 53 points behind Justin Haley who is in ninth-place.
"It was a long day at Darlington. We spun early, rebounded back on the lead lap and got back into the mix. Then had a fuel pick-up problem on the same amount of laps in Stage One and Stage Two, which forced us to pit under green and go multiple laps down. We were able to get one lap back, but just needed a caution to get where we needed to be. Sadly you will have weekends like this but it's all about how you rebound. Onto Indianapolis next weekend.
Darlington Preview
Darlington Xfinity Stats
First Xfinity Series start at Darlington
2019 Season Stats
23 starts, 4 top-five's and 12 top-10's
Notes:
- John Hunter Nemechek and GMS Racing will utilize chassis no. 224 this weekend at Darlington Raceway. This chassis has been run four times this season by Nemechek. Atlanta Motor Speedway (start: 10th/finish: 20th), Auto Club Speedway (start: 10th/finish: 28th), Pocono Raceway (start: 23rd/finish: 12th) and lastly at Chicagoland Speedway (start: 15th/finish: 11th).
Quotes:
"I'm really excited to get back to circle-track racing this weekend. This will be my first time going to Darlington and I've heard it's a track with a lot of characteristics. It's been around a long time and makes for some really great racing. This GMS Racing team showed speed last year with Chase (Elliott) in the car so they have a solid notebook to go off of. Hopefully we can unload with some speed and race up front. "
Road America Recap
START: 14th
FINISH: 26th
POINTS: 10th
Notes & Quotes:
- Nemechek and the GMS Racing team raced within the top-10 majority of the day until the rear axle broke on lap 40.
- Nemechek is currently scored in the tenth-position in the driver standings and is 41 points behind Justin Haley who is in ninth-place.
"We had a strong going today. I made two mistakes early in the race and it cost us some spots. We rebounded inside the top-10 but then had a part failure. Broke an axle with five to go and unfortunately came home in the 26th-position. I cannot wait to go back oval racing at Darlington Raceway next week."
Road America Preview
Road America Xfinity Stats
First Xfinity Series start at Road America
2019 Season Stats
22 starts, 4 top-five's and 12 top-10's
Notes:
- John Hunter Nemechek and GMS Racing will utilize chassis no. 214 this weekend at Road America. This chassis has been run once this year by Nemechek at Watkins Glen International (start: 20th/finish: 12th). This chassis was also ran three times in 2018, once at Watkins Glen International by AJ Almendinger (start: 4th/finish: 2nd), another at Road America by NASCAR Hall of Famer, Bill Elliott (start: 23rd/finish: 20th) and lastly by Spencer Gallagher at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval but had to go to a back up after an incident in practice.
Quotes:
"Road course racing has not been our friend this year. We had a decent finish at Watkins Glen and then had a suspension issue at Mid-Ohio that ended our day early. We have some momentum after last weekend's third-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. It boosted everyone's confidence to show what this small team is capable of achieving. It's great to have Fire Alarm Services back on board, and the new scheme looks great and will look even better parked in Victory Lane."
Bristol II Recap
START: 9th
FINISH: 3rd
POINTS: 10th
Notes & Quotes:
- Nemechek and the GMS Racing team qualified ninth but had to drop to the back due to unapproved adjustments.
- Nemechek posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
- Nemechek is currently scored in the tenth-position in the driver standings and is 8 points behind Justin Haley who is in ninth-place.
"We had to go to the back, I don't even know how many times, I lost count. Had an issue at the start of the race, sped on pit road, had a tire go down, went a lap down and got the lucky dog. Needless to say this team never gave up and I can't thank them enough for all their hard work and sticking with me this year. It's been up and down but I feel like we should be able to get some momentum on our side going forward into The Playoffs and I'm looking forward to it."