Nemechek Bounces Back With Fontana Xfinity Win

(FONTANA, CA – FEB 26, 2023 – RIS) John Hunter Nemechek avenged his loss by inches last week at Daytona by having the fastest car at Auto Club Speedway’s NASCAR Xfinity Series to win the Production Alliance Group 300 after leading the most laps. Sam Mayer finished second after flipping at Daytona, with Justin Allgaier third, Chandler Smith fourth and Josh Berry fifth.

John Hunter Nemechek snatched the lead from Austin Hill and led every lap until the competition caution on lap 16. Austin Hill took the lead for a few laps until Cole Custer took over and led at the end of the first stage. Gray Gaulding’s Turn Two slide brought out a brief yellow. Chandler Smith, Daniel Hemric and Riley Herbst followed as the top five at the end of Stage One.

Sheldon Creed got tapped by Josh Berry when he tried a late block on the charging Berry and backed into the inside wall, doing only slight damage to the No, 2 Chevy.

Custer took Stage Two, trailed by John Hunter Nemechek, Sammy Smith, Austin Dillon and Parker Kligerman, with Justin Allgaier recovering from problems to finish the stage in sixth. Nemechek’s pit stop was slowed by problems with the jack during the left-side tire change, dropping him to 17th in the field. Josh Berry held the lead on the restart, pulling out ahead of Josh Berry and the rest of the field at the green flag starting the final stage.

Brandon Jones’ spin on the front straight caused another yellow period with nearly every front-runner opting to stop for a set of fresh tires.

On the restart from this caution, Cole Custer’s right front tire went down after an undetected problem, sending him into the wall with Austin Dillon too close to avoid an impact that damaged his right front corner and Custer’s left rear.

Sheldon Creed, in spite of the light damage from his earlier slide, led from the restart, while Tyler Reddick got squeezed into the wall by Josh Berry. Berry continued but Reddick’s left-front tire needed replacement.

With 23 laps to run, Ryan Ellis spun into the grass in the second turn, setting the stage for a final rash of pit stops for fuel and tires with Austin Dillon’s wounded No. 10 Chevy leading after the stops.

Sammy Smith spun in the middle of the pack on the restart to make the tenth caution of the race. He lifted off the throttle when traffic backed up and Austin Hill tapped his bumper to cause the spin.

Nemechek and Mayer jumped to the lead with Allgaier third and Austin Hill fourth before Chandler Smith and Josh Berry got around the Daytona winner.

Nemechek held on to beat Sam Mayer by just over three-fourths of a second at the checkered flag, in spite of pushing coolant out of the overflow. 

Unofficial Results: Production Alliance Group 300, February 26, 2023 - Auto Club Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 2, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 20 Vons/Albertsons Toyota, 150, 9, 2, 6, 49, 5, 51, Running
2) 22, Sam Mayer, No. 1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet, 150, , 7, , , , 39, Running
3) 3, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet, 150, , 6, 2, 8, , 39, Running
4) 5, Chandler Smith #, No. 16 Quick Tie Products Inc Chevrolet, 150, 3, 10, 1, 1, , 42, Running
5) 19, Josh Berry, No. 8 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Chevrolet, 150, , , 2, 3, , 32, Running
6) 1, Austin Hill, No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, 150, 2, , 1, 4, , 40, Running
7) 6, Riley Herbst, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford, 150, 5, 9, , , , 38, Running
8) 15, Austin Dillon(i), No. 10 LA Golf Chevrolet, 150, 8, 4, 1, 10, , 0, Running
9) 25, Brett Moffitt, No. 25 AM Technical Solutions Ford, 150, 7, , , , , 32, Running
10) 23, Parker Kligerman, No. 48 Big Machine Racing Spiked Chevrolet, 150, 10, 5, , , , 34, Running
11) 14, Joe Graf Jr., No. 19 CoverSeal Toyota, 150, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 35, Daniel Hemric, No. 11 Poppy Bank Chevrolet, 150, 4, , , , , 32, Running
13) 29, Kaz Grala, No. 26 Fire Department Coffee Toyota, 150, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 16, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 CMRoofing.com Ford, 150, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 18, Kyle Sieg, No. 38 TopPools.com Ford, 150, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 9, Josh Williams, No. 92 Call 811/Alloy Employer Chevrolet, 150, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 17, Anthony Alfredo, No. 78 Dude Wipes Chevrolet, 150, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 11, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 PacWest First Pacific Funding Chevrolet, 150, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 13, Sammy Smith #, No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota, 150, , 3, 5, 14, , 26, Running
20) 4, Parker Retzlaff #, No. 31 FUNKAWAY Chevrolet, 150, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 20, Rajah Caruth(i), No. 45 Circle Pay Chevrolet, 150, , , , , , 0, Running
22) 7, Jeb Burton, No. 27 Contractor Rewards/State Water Heaters , 150, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 31, Sheldon Creed, No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, 150, 6, 8, 3, 15, , 22, Running
24) 38, Ross Chastain(i), No. 91 JAG Metals LLC Chevrolet, 150, , , , , , 0, Running
25) 30, Brennan Poole, No. 6 TeamJDMotorsports.com Chevrolet, 150, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 26, Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 44 Jesus Revolution - The Movie Chevrolet, 150, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 8, Cole Custer, No. 00 Production Alliance Group Ford, 149, 1, 1, 2, 46, 2, 30, Running
28) 28, Alex Labbe, No. 28 G Coin/LARUE Ford, 149, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 34, Joey Gase, No. 35 OneLegacy/CA Highway Patrol Toyota, 149, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 36, Bayley Currey, No. 4 KSDT CPA Chevrolet, 149, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 33, Blaine Perkins #, No. 07 AUTOParkit.com Chevrolet, 149, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 37, Timmy Hill(i), No. 66 Klutch Vodka Ford, 149, , , , , , 0, Running
33) 10, Brandon Jones, No. 9 Menards/Patriot Lighting Chevrolet, 149, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 32, Ryan Ellis, No. 43 Costa Oil Chevrolet, 149, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 21, David Starr, No. 02 Our Motorsports Chevrolet, 148, , , , , , 2, Running
36) 24, Tyler Reddick(i), No. 24 GearWrench Toyota, 148, , , , , , 0, Running
37) 27, CJ McLaughlin, No. 53 Sci Aps Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 1, Running
38) 12, Gray Gaulding, No. 08 North South Machinery/Panini Ford, 26, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series. (#) Rookie

Race Distance: 150 Laps, 300 Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 35 Mins, 53 Secs.
Average Speed: 115.471 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.761 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 00, 21, 16, 11, 98, 2, 25, 10, 20, 48
Stage 2 Top 10: 00, 20, 18, 10, 48, 7, 1, 2, 98, 16

Comments: John Hunter Nemechek won the 24th running of the Production Alliance Group 300 at Auto Club Speedway, his third victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: Nos. 02, 51, 38, 66 (unapproved adjustments) and No. 31 (multiple inspection failures).

Failed to Qualify: (2) 99 Garrett Smithley, 74 Ryan Vargas.

Caution Flags: 10 for 41 laps;
Laps: 17-19 (Competition Caution [None]);
28-31 (No. 08 Incident Turn 2 [None]);
37-41 (Stage 1 Conclusion [None]);
45-48 (No. 2, 8 Incident Backstretch [9]);
63-65 (No. 8 Spin Turn 2 [7]);
72-76 (Stage 2 Conclusion [9]);
87-90 (No. 9 Spin Turn 4 [None]);
92-95 (No. 00, 10, 19 Incident Turn 2 [9]);
129-133 (No. 43 Spin Turn 2 [39]);
135-138 (No. 18, 21, 2 Incident Backstretch [91]).

Lead Changes: 23 among 9 drivers;
J. Nemechek 1-20;
A. Hill 21-24;
C. Custer 25-38;
J. Allgaier 39-41;
C. Custer 42-73;
J. Berry 74-75;
S. Smith # 76-83;
J. Berry 84;
S. Smith # 85;
S. Creed 86-95;
C. Smith # 96;
S. Creed 97;
J. Nemechek 98-99;
S. Smith # 100;
J. Nemechek 101-107;
S. Smith # 108-109;
J. Nemechek 110-116;
S. Smith # 117-118;
A. Dillon(i) 119-128;
J. Nemechek 129;
S. Creed 130-133;
J. Allgaier 134-138;
J. Nemechek 139-150.

Unofficial Points: Production Alliance Group 300
Rank    Driver  Car      Starts  GL        Points  Ldr       Nxt      Race Wins       Stage Wins     Playoff Pts
1)         Austin Hill        21        2          0          98        0          0          1          1          6
2)         John Hunter Nemechek          20        2          1          91        -7         7          1          0          5
3)         Justin Allgaier  7          2          -1         91        -7         0          0          1          1
4)         Chandler Smith #        16        2          1          76        -22       15        0          0          0
5)         Riley Herbst    98        2          -1         73        -25       3          0          0          0
6)         Cole Custer     00        2          4          60        -38       13        0          2          2
7)         Sam Mayer      1          2          12        58        -40       2          0          0          0
8)         Joe Graf Jr       19        2          1          56        -42       2          0          0          0
9)         Josh Berry       8          2          8          52        -46       4          0          0          0
10)       Ryan Sieg        39        2          2          52        -46       0          0          0          0
11)       Parker Kligerman        48        2          11        51        -47       1          0          0          0
12)       Parker Retzlaff #         31        2          -6         50        -48       1          0          0          0
13)       Jeb Burton      27        2          -5         48        -50       2          0          0          0
14)       Brett Moffitt   25        2          11        46        -52       2          0          0          0
15)       Sammy Smith #           18        2          5          44        -54       2          0          0          0
16)       Josh Williams  92        2          -2         43        -55       1          0          0          0
17)       Jeremy Clements        51        2          -1         39        -59       4          0          0          0
18)       Kyle Sieg          38        2          5          38        -60       1          0          0          0
19)       Brandon Jones 9          2          -8         34        -64       4          0          0          0
20)       Myatt Snider               1          -13       33        -65       1          0          0          0
21)       Daniel Hemric 11        2          14        33        -65       0          0          0          0
22)       Anthony Alfredo         78        2          4          33        -65       0          0          0          0
23)       Sheldon Creed 2          2          6          30        -68       3          0          0          0
24)       Kaz Grala         26        2          8          29        -69       1          0          0          0
25)       Joey Gase        35        2          -7         27        -71       2          0          0          0
26)       Stefan Parsons                        1          -13       24        -74       3          0          0          0
27)       Parker Chase               1          -12       21        -77       3          0          0          0
28)       Jeffrey Earnhardt        44        2          0          20        -78       1          0          0          0
29)       Gray Gaulding 08        2          -8         18        -80       2          0          0          0
30)       David Starr      02        2          -6         17        -81       1          0          0          0
31)       Brennan Poole 6          2          2          16        -82       1          0          0          0
32)       Jade Buford                 1          -5         12        -86       4          0          0          0
33)       Alex Labbe      28        1          10        9          -89       3          0          0          0
34)       Bayley Currey  4          2          3          8          -90       1          0          0          0
35)       Jesse Iwuji                   1          -5         7          -91       1          0          0          0
36)       CJ McLaughlin 53        2          -5         7          -91       0          0          0          0
37)       Blaine Perkins #          07        2          -1         7          -91       0          0          0          0
38)       Ryan Ellis         43        2          -4         5          -93       2          0          0          0
39)       Austin Dillon(i)            10        1          0          0          -98       5          0          0          0
40)       Justin Haley                 1          -2         0          -98       0          0          0          0
41)       Rajah Caruth(i)            45        1          0          0          -98       0          0          0          0
42)       Ross Chastain(i)          91        1          0          0          -98       0          0          0          0
43)       Timmy Hill(i)   66        1          -1         0          -98       0          0          0          0
44)       Tyler Reddick(i)           24        1          0          0          -98       0          0          0          0
45)       Garrett Smithley                     0          -4         0          -98       0          0          0          0
46)       Dexter Stacey              0          -7         0          -98       0          0          0          0
47)       Ryan Vargas                0          -3         0          -98       0          0          0          0
48)       Josh Bilicki                   0          -8         0          -98       0          0          0          0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series