Driving the #20 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing, John Hunter Nemechek claimed his third NASCAR Xfinity Series victory on Sunday’s Production Alliance Group 300 at Auto Club Speedway.
Nemechek, who narrowly missed the win in the Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona, led a race-high 49 laps at ACS. He emerged victorious in a neck-to-neck battle when he took the lead for the last time after a restart on Lap 139 of 150 and held off Sam Mayer until he took the checkered flag.
The 25-year-old marked his third NASCAR Xfinity Series victory after beating Mayer by 0.761 seconds in an action-packed race.
Speaking to the media after the race, John Hunter Nemechek praised his entire #20 Joe Gibbs Racing team and said:
“Man, this whole 20 team gave me one heck of a race car. Just a huge shout-out to all the guys who work on this 20 team.”
He continued:
“I think a lot of guys doubted (crew chief) Ben (Beshore) coming down from the Cup Series, and to have him on the box and to be able to establish the relationship I have with him, it’s been awesome. I’ve worked with a lot of the guys on the team the last couple of years, and the pit crew – they got it done when it counted tonight”
Meanwhile, Mayer scored a career-second P2 finish. He was followed by Justin Allgaier in third, Chandler Smith in fourth and Josh Berry completed the top five.
Cole Custer, the defending champion of the event, may have the fastest car on Sunday night. He won the first two stages but finished P27 after suffering a flat tire and crashing into a wall on Lap 91.
Where did John Hunter Nemechek and other drivers finish at the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ second race at Auto Club Speedway?
Here are the final results for NASCAR’s 2023 Production Alliance Group 300 at Auto Club Speedway:
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Sam Mayer
- Justin Allgaier
- Chandler Smith
- Josh Berry
- Austin Hill
- Riley Herbst
- Austin Dillon
- Brett Moffitt
- Parker Kligerman
- Joe Graf Jr
- Daniel Hemric
- Kaz Graka
- Ryan Sieg
- Kyle Sieg
- Josh Williams
- Anthony Alfredo
- Jeremy Clements
- Sammy Smith
- Parker Retzlaff
- Rajah Caruth
- Jeb Burton
- Sheldon Creed
- Ross Chastain
- Brennan Poole
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Cole Custer
- Alex Labbe
- Joey Gase
- Bayley Currey
- Blaine Perkins
- Timmy Hill
- Brandon Jones
- Ryan Ellis
- David Starr
- Tyler Reddick
- CJ McLaughlin
- Gray Gaulding
The NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule will return next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 4.