Nemechek Spins but Goes on to Win Xfinity Race at Michigan

John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the #20 Mobil 1 Toyota, celebrates with a flag in honor of Joe Gibbs Racing's 200th NASCAR Xfinity Series win after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan International Speedway on August 05, 2023 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

BROOKLYN, MI – RIS – An early spin didn’t slow John Hunter Nemechek down and he went on to win the Cabo Wabo 250 Xfinity Series race at Michigan International Speedway.  began with a pair of JR Motorsports drivers separating themselves from the pack, as Justin Allgaier got the better of pole-sitter Josh Berry when the green flag dropped.  From there is was matter of three drivers-Nemechek led 65 laps, Justin Allgaier 32 laps, and Ty Gibbs 22 laps. 

Allgaier got the jump on pole-sitter Josh Berry early on. Just seven laps later, the three Joe Gibbs Racing cars collided, as Nemechek, Ty Gibbs and Sammy Smith got together off of Turn 2, leading a to big wreck with multiple cars involved.  Carson Hocevar  went airborne after Sammy  Smith’s No. 18 car nosed into his right side. Hocevar would continue to race, but could not make up ground with heavy damage to his No. 77 Spire Motorsports machine, finishing 32nd.

Allgaier, who arguably had the fastest car in the field, won the first stage.

Gibbs and Nemechek stayed out during the stage caution, while most of the field pitted. That strategy allowed the two to rebound after the earlier incident.

Allgaier seemed to have his way with the field until before the final stage began, when Gibbs ran into the back bumper of Allgaier on pit road, spinning him around. Allgaier was forced to start 29th when the final stage began.

Nemechek held the lead for most of the last stage, but his lead was erased when Patrick Emerling hit the wall with 11 laps to go. Nemechek got a strong run on Gibbs when the green flag waved with seven to go, and drove away the field from there, winning for the fifth time this season.

It was  Joe Gibbs Racing's 200th win in the Xfinity Series, and Nemechek’s first career win at MIS.

“I’m grateful for this whole team,” Nemechek said after the win. “Grateful for Joe Gibbs Racing for this opportunity.  After the last two weeks, we knew we had to come back and answer,” Nemechek said. “We did that today.”

Gibbs finished fourth. There was some criticism between Gibbs and his teammate Nemechek, but Nemechek took the blame for the incident earlier in the race.

“I have to apologize to Ty. I’ve been the one that’s been vocal about teammates recently. I got him in a bad spot, got him loose and couldn’t check up,” Nemechek said. “I hate that we both spun early, but at least we both rebounded decently.”

With Austin Hill finishing 11th, Nemechek moved into a tie with Hill for the points lead. Only three races remain in the regular season.

Allgaier finished 14th, as he had a second issue on pit road later in the race. A pit crew member jumped over the wall too soon during the round of green-flag pit stops, earning a penalty for the No. 7 car. He is now third in the driver standings, 34 points behind Hill and Nemechek.

Unofficial Results: Cabo Wabo 250: August 5, 2023 - Michigan International Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 10, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota, 125, , 1, 2, 65, 6, 50, Running
2) 1, Josh Berry, No. 8 LubeZone Chevrolet, 125, 2, 7, , , , 48, Running
3) 14, Brandon Jones, No. 9 Menards/Criterion Appliances Chevrolet, 125, 6, 9, , , , 41, Running
4) 8, Ty Gibbs(i), No. 19 He Gets Us Toyota, 125, , 3, 1, 22, , 0, Running
5) 4, Sam Mayer, No. 1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet, 125, 9, 8, , , , 37, Running
6) 5, Riley Herbst, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford, 125, 5, 4, 1, 1, , 44, Running
7) 11, Ross Chastain(i), No. 10 Jockey Chevrolet, 125, , , , , , 0, Running
8) 17, Parker Kligerman, No. 48 Spiked Light Coolers Chevrolet, 125, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 24, Parker Retzlaff #, No. 31 FunkAway Chevrolet, 125, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 23, Jeb Burton, No. 27 Bommarito.com/EasyCare Chevrolet, 125, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 3, Austin Hill, No. 21 United Rentals Chevrolet, 125, 7, 5, , , , 36, Running
12) 15, Sheldon Creed, No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, 125, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 22, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 CMRroofing.com Ford, 125, 8, , , , , 27, Running
14) 2, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet, 125, 1, 2, 1, 32, 1, 42, Running
15) 16, Daniel Hemric, No. 11 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet, 125, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 13, Cole Custer, No. 00 HAAS Automation Ford, 125, 3, 6, , , , 34, Running
17) 12, Brett Moffitt, No. 25 AM Technical Solutions Ford, 125, , 10, 1, 4, , 21, Running
18) 18, Anthony Alfredo, No. 78 Sim Seats Chevrolet, 125, 10, , , , , 20, Running
19) 21, Kyle Sieg, No. 28 RSS Racing Ford, 125, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 6, Chandler Smith #, No. 16 Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet, 125, 4, , , , , 24, Running
21) 25, Kaz Grala, No. 26 Toyota Genuine Parts Toyota, 124, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 29, Josh Williams, No. 92 Alloy/General Formulations Chevrolet, 124, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 35, Ryan Ellis, No. 43 1-844-TOM-KEEN Chevrolet, 124, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 34, Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 45 Mondo Sports Group Chevrolet, 124, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 33, Sage Karam, No. 66  Ford, 124, , , 1, 1, , 12, Running
26) 27, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Wings Etc Grill & Pub Chevrolet, 124, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 28, Joe Graf Jr., No. 38 GTECHNIQ Ford, 124, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 32, Dawson Cram, No. 74 CHK Racing Chevrolet, 124, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 37, Brennan Poole, No. 6 KSDT Chevrolet, 123, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 26, Garrett Smithley, No. 4 Buck's Oil Chevrolet, 123, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 30, Stefan Parsons, No. 07 OLLIE'S/Rich Mar Florist Chevrolet, 123, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 7, Carson Hocevar(i), No. 77 Premier Security Chevrolet, 123, , , , , , 0, Running
33) 38, Blaine Perkins #, No. 02 AutoParkit.com Chevrolet, 123, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 36, Patrick Emerling, No. 35 Sci-Aps Ford, 120, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 20, Kyle Weatherman, No. 91 Fresh Water Chevrolet, 91, , , , , , 2, Electrical
36) 19, Connor Mosack, No. 24 Toyota Racing Development Toyota, 39, , , , , , 1, Accident
37) 31, Mason Maggio(i), No. 08 Phoenix HVAC Ford, 16, , , , , , 0, Accident
38) 9, Sammy Smith #, No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota, 11, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Race Length: 125 Laps, 250. Miles 
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 0 Mins, 4 Secs.
Average Speed: 124.931 MPH
Margin of Victory: 1.495 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 7, 8, 00, 16, 98, 9, 21, 39, 1, 78
Stage 2 Top 10: 20, 7, 19, 98, 21, 00, 8, 1, 9, 25

Comments: John Hunter Nemechek won the Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan International Speedway, his seventh NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason indicated: Nos. 24, 66, 91, 92 (unapproved adjustments).

Failed to Qualify: (2) 44 Mason Massey, 53 CJ McLaughlin.

Cautions: 7 for 31 laps;
Laps: 6-9 ( No. 26 Spin Turn 4 [None]);
12-16 (No. 08, 18, 19, 20, 77 Incident Backstretch [26]);
20-23 (No. 08 Incident Turn 2 [77]);
32-36 (Stage 1 Conclusion [None]);
40-42 (No. 24, 38 Incident Turn 1 [74]);
62-66 (Stage 2 Conclusion [74]);
114-118 (No. 35 Incident Turn 3 [28]).

Lead Changes: 7 among 6 drivers;
J. Berry 0;
J. Allgaier 1-32;
T. Gibbs(i) 33-54;
J. Nemechek 55-96;
R. Herbst 97;
B. Moffitt 98-101;
S. Karam 102;
J. Nemechek 103-125.