John Hunter Nemechek followed up his fifth-place run at Daytona with a 10th-place finish at Atlanta in the Ambetter Health 400 on Sunday. (Photo Credit: Sydney Redden | The Podium Finish)
HAMPTON, Ga. — John Hunter Nemechek continued to prove that he could compete up front when it mattered most, as he was able to power himself to a 10th-place finish in Sunday afternoon’s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, following up his impressive fifth-place finish in last Sunday’s DAYTONA 500.
The driver of the No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE representing Legacy Motor Club qualified in the 22nd position and swiftly surged into the top 10 as the action unfolded in the early goings of Stage 1.
The native of Mooresville, North Carolina hovered around the top 15 for the remainder of the first 60 laps of Sunday’s race, cashing in an 11th-place finish in the opening stage.
Nemechek restarted Stage 2 in the 22nd position as his teammate Erik Jones, who had been running right ahead of Nemechek inside the top 20, had gone for a spin off of the front bumper of Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Ford Mustang going down the backstretch. He slammed the inside wall, putting the No. 43 Advent Health Toyota of Jones out of contention.
Nemechek experienced his second close call of the day on Lap 150 when Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s No. 47 made contact with Chase Briscoe’s No. 19 as they exited Turn 4. This collision sent Stenhouse Jr. into Chase Elliott’s No. 9, causing Elliott to suffer a flat tire and spin out. Nemechek narrowly avoided crashing into the spinning Elliott, as well as Corey LaJoie’s spinning No. 01, both of which were just inches away from him.
The 27-year-old finished in 13th place in Stage 2. Although he did not earn any stage points during the race, Nemechek managed to avoid trouble and maintained his position within the top 15 for most of the event.
John Hunter Nemechek (No.42) racing in the draft in the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 23, 2025. (Photo Credit: Sydney Redden | The Podium Finish)
Nemechek quickly gained momentum as he restarted in fourth place for the final 92 laps of the race, just behind Briscoe and race leader Ross Chastain.
Nemechek shuffled back to around the 10th running position in the green flag run before the caution fell for another wreck on the front stretch on Lap 84.
The driver of the No. 42 restarted 20th on Lap 193 and continued his climb back into contention. He gained more real estate for his on-track position after Alex Bowman and Buescher tangled together on the front stretch on Lap 199.
As the chaos began to unfold at the very front of the field, Nemechek held his ground and played his cards right to avoid all of the carnage in 13th place. As the caution came out with 3 laps remaining, Nemechek found himself back in the fight for a top 10 spot.
Nemechek filed inside of Row 6 in the 11th spot as the field saw two laps to go at the restart.
As the field approached the white flag, Nemechek fought to secure a spot in the top 10. The race came to an official end when a caution was called on the backstretch, as Josh Berry, who was in fifth place, slowed down, allowing Nemechek to cross the finish line in tenth place. This was a significant achievement for the Legacy Motor Club team.
“I’m not sure where we officially got scored, but looks like P10,” said Nemechek after his solid day at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
John Hunter Nemechek (No.42) battles with Riley Herbst (No.35) and Chase Briscoe (No.19) during the 2025 Ambetter Health 400. (Photo Credit: Sydney Redden | The Podium Finish)
“Solid day. Really proud of Hayden (spotter). He worked hard today. Way more intense than Daytona. Hats off to all of the men and women at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB. Road crew, pit crew – everyone did a solid job all day. We were able to keep it straight all day and salvaged another top-10. Two really good runs to start the season and looking forward to COTA next week.”
Nemechek currently resides seventh in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings heading into Austin, Texas for next Sunday’s first road course race of the season at Circuit Of The Americas.
