John Hunter Nemechek Tallies Texas Triumph

John Hunter Nemechek enjoys his latest conquest at Texas Motor Speedway. (Photo: John Arndt | The Podium Finish)

FORT WORTH, Texas –  John Hunter Nemechek and Justin Allgaier can attest to the idiom, “That’s why they play the game,” after Saturday’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.

In the early going of the 200-lap race, Allgaier’s No. 7 Reese’s Ice Cream/Sam’s Club Chevrolet was the class of the field. While Cole Custer’s No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang could hold serve against Allgaier in the opening laps of a run, the JR Motorsports racer was too much in the opening stanzas at Texas.

Allgaier swept Stages 1 and 2 handily over Custer while late race contenders in Nemechek, Parker Kligerman and Chandler Smith crept up the leaderboard. Much like those wins at Darlington, Daytona and Bristol, the 37-year-old Riverton, Illinois racer was fast, dominant and unswerving.

However, things would change in the midst of Stage 3. During a Lap 115 restart, Allgaier slipped up in Turn 2, handing the lead to Custer and eventually Nemechek. Falling back to 15th, Allgaier’s afternoon went from a firm victory to a “back against our walls” type journey.

Meanwhile, Nemechek snatched the lead from Custer on Lap 125, appearing as if he was in the catbird seat for the next 31 laps. Then, the race’s anticipated final pit stops kicked off on Lap 156 with Allgaier rallying his way back into the lead.

Justin Allgaier kept himself in the fight even a Lap 115 bobble in Turn 2. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)

Crew chief Jim Pohlman reminded Allgaier to stick to the game plan with the hopes of a caution putting them in a favorable position. That caution ensued on Lap 161 when Daniel Dye spun his No. 44 Chevrolet in Turn 2, trapping many lead lap contenders at least a lap behind.

As Allgaier led and won the race off pit road, several drivers who were lapped during the green flag pit stop sequence took the wave around to rejoin the fray. Still, it appeared as if Allgaier’s rally was firmly set in stone.

A Lap 180 caution for debris on the backstretch prompted drivers like Nemechek and Kligerman to pit for fresh tires while Allgaier stayed on track to retain the lead. Holding the fort for another 12 laps, a caution for a hard crash involving Kaz Grala and JJ Yeley bunched up the field for a 10-lap dash to the finish.

Although Allgaier led the Lap 191 restart, a determined Kligerman charged his way up to second and within car lengths of the number one spot by Lap 193. Approaching Turn 3, Kligerman darted to the inside of Allgaier to go for the lead before going up the hill toward Turn 4.

Kligerman muscled his way into the lead but for a brief taste as Nemechek charged past him with ease in the final seven laps. Victory slipped from the clutches of Kligerman and Allgaier on this occasion.

A valiant effort by Parker Kligerman was not enough to dethrone John Hunter Nemechek at Texas. (Photo: John Arndt | The Podium Finish)

In the meantime, Nemechek coasted his way to a 1.005-second victory over Kligerman, punching his ticket into the Round of 8.

Tallying his seventh victory of 2023, Nemechek was in Cobra Cai mode as in no mercy for the competition.

“It means a lot to to us to advance and really push ourselves to work harder every single week,” Nemechek said. “There is no backing off the gas. It’s Playoff time. So I feel like we’re trying to peak at the right time and we have really fast Toyota Supras every single week.”

Despite coming up short of his first career NASCAR XFINITY Series win, Kligerman considered the positives of his competitive effort.

“Yeah, I think it was a solid day,” Kligerman said. “We did everything. We sort of stage points both stages, qualified well, our best oval qualifying of the year. So we’re just getting better there and we’re just, you know, we’re firing on all cylinders, doing the right things. That’s really cool.”

Likewise, fourth place finisher Smith was not too down about his afternoon. Starting the race toward the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments, the Kaulig Racing driver attributed faith and determination for his respectable race.

“All glory goes to God,” Smith said. “Just His timing and stuff. We had a lot of things against us today. And came out here fourth. So I’m happy. I’m just going to do what we do week in and week out and try to perform at a high stage and see where we end up.”

Rallying from a Lap 115 bobble to late race duels against Hill and Kligerman, fifth place finisher Allgaier considered the possibilities but observed his team’s great momentum.

“I feel really good. Today was a good start to that,” Allgaier said. “We got a lot of points. We got stage points which will carry over to the next round. I feel like our program is really good. It’s firing on all eight cylinders.

“All things are good. You’ve just got to execute. We executed well. We got caught behind the 8-ball a little bit with the strategy because of whatever was going on over there in Turns 1 and 2.”

Quiet but steady, Custer, who finished sixth, mentioned how his team tried something a bit different at Texas. Results wise, it may have not worked, but a top 10 finish plus great teamwork kept him in the fight.

“Our speed probably wasn’t quite up to our standards throughout the day,” Custer said. “We didn’t have the best car out there, but we did a great job maximizing our pit crew did a good job. Our team did a great job just maximizing and getting the points we needed to advance to the next round. So I’m pumped about that.”

Arms raised in victory for John Hunter Nemechek at Texas again. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podum Finish)

For now, Nemechek continues his dream season, padding his Playoff points total and clearing a path closer to the Championship 4.

“It’s just how we execute and capitalize on that,” Nemechek said. “And as this No. 20 team and Joe Gibbs Racing as an organization, we’ve done really well so far this year and just have to keep it up. That’s the biggest thing for us.”

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Justin Allgaier
2. Austin Hill
3. Cole Custer
4. Trevor Bayne
5. John Hunter Nemechek
6. Brandon Jones
7. Parker Kligerman
8. Josh Berry
9. Sammy Smith
10. Chandler Smith

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Justin Allgaier
2. Cole Custer
3. Austin Hill
4. John Hunter Nemechek
5. Trevor Bayne
6. Josh Berry
7. Chandler Smith
8. Parker Kligerman
9. Brandon Jones
10. Sammy Smith

Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway Race Results

NASCAR XFINITY Series Round of 12 Playoffs Standings