John Hunter Nemechek won the jackpot, cashed in his chips… OK, that’s enough gambling references. Nemechek took the victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ The LiUNA! at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday (March 2).
On a day where wind gusts went up to about 70 mph, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 99 laps en route to the win. Nemechek retook the lead for the final 11 laps after Justin Allgaier and Josh Williams, who stretched their fuel runs, pitted during the final pit cycle.
Cole Custer surged up to second, while Chandler Smith, who led 74 laps early on, placed third. Austin Hill and Riley Herbst rounded out the top five.
Winners
This year has opened similarly to 2023, with Hill winning two of the first three races of the season and Nemechek winning the third. But instead of securing a spot in the playoffs, the win just adds to Nemechek’s and JGR’s career win totals in the Xfinity Series, as Nemechek is competing full time for Legacy Motor Club in the NASCAR Cup Series.
But I’m sure the Mooresville, North Carolina, native doesn’t mind the extra confidence and experience. While Xfinity cars are vastly different from the Next Gen cars, it still helps Nemechek to know he still has the talent to get things done, especially on a non-drafting 1.5-mile racetrack.
Nemechek’s fellow JGR cohort Smith looked strong at the beginning of the race, leading all the laps in stage one and winning both stages. However, his car struggled in handling after the next-to-last pit stop and he had to settle for third.
Still, it was another good result for the driver of the No. 81 as he brought home his third straight top-five finish of the season. Smith’s currently on pace to match his top-five total of eight from 2023. It’s still early in this year, especially since we’ve only had one “normal” race, so the next few weeks will be ones to watch.
Apart from the Gibbs cars, Herbst and Ryan Sieg both had really good runs, with Herbst earning a top five and Sieg coming in seventh. Both drivers were in the top 10 most of the day and held their spots through the green-flag pit stops. Sieg’s result was much more needed after starting the season with a pair of 22nds. He jumped from 18th to 12th in the points standings as a result.
Three of JR Motorsports’ drivers — Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones and Justin Allgaier — took positions eight, nine and 10,…
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