John Hunter Nemechek took home the checkered flag in the final race at Auto Club Speedway as we know it. Nemechek was one of a handful of cars that appeared to have winning speed, but aside from one slow pit stop, he and the No. 20 team made the fewest mistakes, running a clean race Sunday (Feb. 26) and emerging victorious. Sam Mayer scored a runner-up finish, followed by Justin Allgaier, Chandler Smith and Josh Berry to round out the top five.
The Production Alliance Group 300 was initially scheduled to run on Saturday afternoon; the cars took the track for pace laps before an onslaught of rain postponed the race to Sunday evening. It seemed fitting for a great race to finish under the lights, after the sun set on a track that has been a favorite of fans and drivers alike for two decades. The five-lane, two-mile oval is set to undergo reconfiguration following this race and the track will not be part of the schedule for any NASCAR series in 2024.
The Winners
Nemechek has now scored finishes of second and first to start the season. After stepping down from from the Cup Series to the Craftsman Truck Series two years ago, Nemechek scored seven wins in two seasons and parlayed that success into a full-time ride in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota in NXS. So far, he should be thrilled with the results, and becoming one of the early favorites to earn the NXS championship this season.
His biggest rival? That could be Allgaier, the JR Motorsports veteran collecting finishes of third and third to start the season. At times, Allgaier showed great speed at Auto Club, but he got off sequence early and had to pit under green due to a vibration. That would cost him a lap, but eventually, Allgaier earned that lap back and charged back to salvage a top five.
JR Motorsports had another race that must have been stressful for the team owner. Coincidentally, three JRM drivers had issues with JRM alum Tyler Reddick. On the very first lap, Sam Mayer made contact with Reddick. Mayer would continue, but the contact initially appeared significant enough to cause lasting problems, leaving him trapped in traffic and battling at the rear of the field in stage one.
Brandon Jones was next up, going two laps down due to a battery change early in the race. He got back onto the lead lap only to make contact with Reddick on lap 86, causing him to spin and sustain significant damage to the front end after clipping the rain-soaked grass.
Then, there was…
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