Tag: Joe Gibbs Racing

Gibbs looking to ride the hot streak wave on COTA’s twists

If everything is bigger in Texas, Ty Gibbs hopes his NASCAR Cup Series hot streak reaches its crescendo this weekend with his first career victory. Gibbs is third in the championship points standings and leads the series with four top-10 finishes in …

If everything is bigger in Texas, Ty Gibbs hopes his NASCAR Cup Series hot streak reaches its crescendo this weekend with his first career victory.

Gibbs is third in the championship points standings and leads the series with four top-10 finishes in five races. His average finish is 8.8, second only to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. at 8.6. Truex is a spot ahead of Gibbs in the points standings.

“It’s been great,” Gibbs said. “It’s just been really good. My team has been doing a really good job. We are working really well together. I’ve been having a lot of fun racing in the Cup Series. It’s really cool.”

Circuit of The Americas, the first road course race of the Cup Series season, is a welcome sight for the 21-year-old. He earned four road course wins in the Xfinity Series and has shown similar strength in the Cup Series so far. Last year, Gibbs finished ninth at COTA.

“We’ve been really strong,” Gibbs said. “I feel like last year, we were really good at the road courses. Indy – we were really fast, but we never got a caution again. We’ve been really good at the road courses; just have to hit it right, hit the right thing and then hopefully that will lead to more success.”

“It started on sim racing with my buddy, Austin Green,” Gibbs said about his road course speed. “He’s actually in the Xfinity Series race this weekend for his first time. We would always do those joint sessions together and practice. It could be in any different car. It could be dirt racing, asphalt racing, ovals or road courses – we were always really fast, and he was always just a little bit better than I was, so that is what helped me.

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“Studying it and then having off-seasons to do something else, and not having to race all of the time – I think those are all things that I can say led to my success on road courses. It was the Xfinity Series, not the Cup Series yet. We are still working on that.”

Gibbs qualified second Saturday afternoon at COTA, the second time he’ll start on the front row in three weeks. He entered the weekend having led 194 laps in the last two races (Phoenix Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway).

“It’s really cool,” Gibbs said. “I’ve been going to Bristol since I was a young man. I’ve been there a lot, so to be able to lead laps like I did last year in the night race is really cool. It’s a place that is really special to me.

“It is fun to come run laps there, but at the same time, we are working hard and having fun. We are going there to do the best we can, and if we can’t do the best we can, then we are looking to finish the best that we can.”

Gibbs has six career top-five finishes in 56 starts. A second-place finish at Phoenix Raceway earlier this month was the first time he’s been the runner-up in a Cup Series event.

Hamlin’s veteran savvy masters tire wear chess match at Bristol

How appropriate. On a day where tire management was the essential element in a NASCAR Cup Series race, three veterans swept the podium positions, with Denny Hamlin winning Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. In a race that produced 54 …

How appropriate.

On a day where tire management was the essential element in a NASCAR Cup Series race, three veterans swept the podium positions, with Denny Hamlin winning Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In a race that produced 54 lead changes—a record for Cup Series short tracks—Hamlin lost the lead briefly to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps but regained it in traffic and beat Truex to the finish line by 1.083s.

In a return to concrete after three straight spring races on dirt, Hamlin won his second straight race at the 0.533-mile speedway and his fourth overall, second most among active drivers to Kyle Busch’s eight.

The victory was the 52nd of Hamlin’s career, 13th all-time, and his first this season.

But the story was the tires and the mysterious way they behaved in a race that saw the track start to eat through to the cords 45 laps into a green-flag run.

 

Goodyear brought the same tire that ran without issues in last fall’s night race, but on Sunday, the concrete surface did not take rubber. Instead, marbles (small balls of rubber from degraded tires) accumulated high in the corners, making the top of the track untenable.

There were two variables that might have helped to account for the tire issues. The temperature was roughly 10-15 degrees cooler than it was for last year’s night race, which was run on Sept. 16.

NASCAR also opted for a different resin the bottom lane from the PJ1 traction compound previously in use.

Whatever the cause, with his short-track background, Hamlin was best equipped to deal with the surprising situation.

“That’s what I grew up here doing in the short tracks in the Mid Atlantic, South Boston (Va.), Martinsville,” said Hamlin, who grew up in Chesterfield, Va. “Once it became a tire-management race, I really liked our chances.

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“Obviously, the veteran in Martin, he knew how to do it as well. We just had a great car, great team. The pit crew just did a phenomenal job all day. Can’t say enough about them… Man, it feels so good to win in Bristol.”

Truex passed Hamlin for the lead in traffic on lap 483 but surrendered the top spot to the race winner one lap later, as the teammates worked around slower cars. Truex’s tires gave up the ghost on the last few circuits, as Hamlin pulled away.

“Apparently, that’s what I needed to have happen here at Bristol to have a shot at winning—I guess this tire management thing fit into my wheelhouse here at Bristol,” Truex said.

“Man, the difference was just coming out of the pits so far behind Denny (after green-flag pit stops during the final run). I had to use mine up more on the last run. The last four, five laps of the race was cord.”

Hamlin led a race-high 163 laps, as the four JGR drivers spent a combined 383 of 500 laps at the front field, with Ty Gibbs leading 137, Truex 54 and Christopher Bell 29.

Brad Keselowski, a three-time winner at the track, finished third, 7.284s behind Hamlin. Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson were fourth and fifth, respectively, as only five drivers finished on the lead lap.

The last time five or fewer drivers finished on the lead lap was the June 6, 2004 race at Dover.

John Hunter Nemechek, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Gibbs and Bell came home sixth through 10th, respectively.

Larson and Truex leave Bristol tied for the series lead, passing defending series champion Ryan Blaney, who finished 16th.

RESULTS

Bell’s Phoenix win ‘momentous’ for Toyota – TRD’s Wilson

Any questions or concerns about the Toyota teams evaporated in the Phoenix desert Sunday afternoon. Christopher Bell’s victory in the NASCAR Cup Series race capped off a dominating day for the manufacturer. Bell led 50 laps en route to winning, the …

Any questions or concerns about the Toyota teams evaporated in the Phoenix desert Sunday afternoon.

Christopher Bell’s victory in the NASCAR Cup Series race capped off a dominating day for the manufacturer. Bell led 50 laps en route to winning, the first for Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota in 2024. Chevrolet already swept the first three races.

Bell, though, was just one of five Toyota drivers who spent time in the front, along with polesitter Denny Hamlin, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr., and Ty Gibbs — all combining to lead 298 of 312 laps.

“This was a momentous win,” Toyota Racing Development president David Wilson said. “This was the first win with our new Camry body. I was clear to say at the beginning of the year that we have struggled here recently. I didn’t realize this statistic until it was brought to my attention, but the four previous Phoenix races, Toyota’s led a combined 15 laps.

“Today, we led everything but 14 laps. That’s a credit to the Joe Gibbs organization, TRD USA, Calty Design, who helped us with this new Camry body. At the same time, I will say that the secret to longevity in sports — in motorsports — is never get too high when the day goes your way, and never get too low when it doesn’t, because we’re going to be racing again next week. Phoenix will be in our rearview mirror.”

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Four Toyota drivers finished inside the top 10 at Phoenix Raceway, led by Bell’s win. Hamlin and Reddick tied for a race-high 68 laps led.

Hamlin was taken out of contention when he spun on lap 215 while battling for the lead with Reddick. He finished 11th. As for Reddick, he never made it back through the field after pitting under the final caution (for Hamlin) while nine other drivers stayed out, and ultimately finished 10th.

Reddick, however, earned the first stage win for Toyota at Phoenix. Hamlin earned the manufacturer’s first pole during Saturday’s qualifying session.

“It was unprecedented how much TRD USA and Joe Gibbs Racing worked together on that body,” Wilson said. “I may have said, because I say this all the time — you don’t race wind tunnels, you don’t race dynos. You could be the best on paper, but unless you have the talent behind the steering wheel and the team and the pit crews to put an entire race together, the rest is meaningless.

“Certainly, what we’ve seen four races in validates a lot of our optimism, but we have a whole lot of racing to go — more intermediates, more big tracks, and short tracks to truly evaluate where we are.”

Through four races, Cup Series teams have competed at two superspeedway drafting tracks (Daytona and Atlanta), an intermediate (Las Vegas), and a short track (Phoenix), with another short track coming next week when the series heads to Bristol. The final puzzle piece — a road course — is just two weeks away at Circuit of The Americas.

Bell reigns for JGR at Phoenix after clawing back from slow stop

Christopher Bell didn’t dominate Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway but flexed the muscle of his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry when it mattered to take the victory. Bell crossed the finish line first by over 5s on Chris Buescher. The No. 20 Toyota …

Christopher Bell didn’t dominate Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway but flexed the muscle of his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry when it mattered to take the victory.

Bell crossed the finish line first by over 5s on Chris Buescher. The No. 20 Toyota took the lead for the final time with 41 laps to go when teammate Martin Truex Jr. made his final pit stop under green flag conditions. Once back out front, Bell went unchallenged for his first victory of the season.

“This one feels really good,” Bell said. “Just a credit to Adam [Stevens, crew chief]. Adam, my engineers, my crew chief, all the mechanics on this thing… You don’t get cars like that very often, as you know. Just super, super proud. Proud to be on this No. 20 car.

“This Rheem Camry was amazing today. I feel like we have capability of running races like this a lot. Hopefully this is the first of many this year.”

Bell was able to cycle to the front of the field when the field split pit strategy under the lap 215 caution flag. Truex stayed out on track with nine other drivers and inherited the race lead, but Bell and most of the leaders opted for tires and had a car fast enough to drive back through the field.

The victory capped off an up-and-down day for the No. 20. He started 13th and finished the first stage in the same position. Bell took the lead for the first time on lap 181 and won the second stage, however he lost his track position when the team had a slow stop under the caution break. Michael Hicks, the right rear tire changer, took extra time to make sure the lug nut was tight before going around to change the left side tire.

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Bell was 20th when the race restarted for the final time before making another march through the field and led 50 laps en route to winning.

Sunday was the first victory for Toyota in the Cup Series this season.

Buescher and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top three finishers. Brad Keselowski finished fourth, and Ryan Blaney finished fifth.

Ross Chastain finished sixth, Martin Truex Jr., seventh, Michael McDowell, eighth, Chase Briscoe, ninth and Tyler Reddick, who won the first stage, 10th.

 

Denny Hamlin finished 11th after starting from the pole and leading 68 laps, tied for a race-high with Reddick. However, Hamlin brought out the final caution when he spun from the race lead on lap 215 while battling underneath Reddick in Turns 1 and 2.

There were 21 drivers on the lead lap at the end of Sunday’s race. Kyle Busch was the first driver one lap down after struggling with his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Busch qualified 31st and spun on his own on lap 196 off Turn 2.

Four drivers failed to finish the Shriners Children 500. Austin Cindric was the first driver to exit the race after being caught in a multi-car crash on lap 6 when Derek Kraus spun, and Cindric was run into from behind by Austin Dillon.

Corey LaJoie, Joey Logano, and Kraus exited the race after crashing on lap 205. Logano was hit from behind by John Hunter Nemechek and spun across the racetrack in Turns 1 and 2 and collected LaJoie and Kraus.

Toyota went three-for-three at Phoenix Raceway with victories in the ARCA Menards Series, Xfinity Series and Cup Series. Toyota drivers combined to lead 298 of 312 laps in the Cup race.

RESULTS

Smith wins Xfinity at Phoenix after heartbreak for Allgaier

Chandler Smith had a message for his Joe Gibbs Racing team after taking the checkered flag in overtime in Saturday’s Call811.com Every Dig. Every Time. 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix Raceway. “We’ll take ’em when we can get ’em,” Smith …

Chandler Smith had a message for his Joe Gibbs Racing team after taking the checkered flag in overtime in Saturday’s Call811.com Every Dig. Every Time. 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix Raceway.

“We’ll take ‘em when we can get ‘em,” Smith radioed before celebrating his second career victory with a burnout near the start/finish line.

It was good fortune—combined with Justin Allgaier’s disastrous bad luck—that put Smith in Victory Lane after 205 laps at the one-mile track in the Sonoran Desert.

Allgaier held a lead of nearly three seconds after crossing the stripe on lap 195 of a scheduled 200. But as the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet approached Turn 1, his left rear tire went flat.

Allgaier’s car turned sideways and smashed into the outside wall, ending the race for the veteran driver from Illinois.

 

On the subsequent overtime restart, Smith pulled away from teammate Sheldon Creed and reached the finish line 0.365s ahead of Sunoco rookie Jesse Love, who edged Creed for the runner-up spot by 0.019s.

“Going through the dogleg [on the frontstretch], I felt [the tire] come apart, like I ran something over, and at that point you’re just a passenger,” Allgaier said. “I just hate it that we tore up a race car. We didn’t go to Victory Lane. I hate it for all the guys and gals at JR Motorsports.”

Allgaier’s ill fortune was determinative, but it wasn’t that Smith didn’t deserve the victory. He won the first 45-lap stage wire-to-wire and led a race-high 88 laps to Allgaier’s 52.

“We just lacked a little bit on the No. 7 (Allgaier),” Smith said. “I hate that happened to him—he had that in the bag. I’m so proud of everybody back at Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s good finally to get this first win off our back for these guys.

“So let’s go keep racking ‘em up.”

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Stage 2 winner Cole Custer led 61 laps, but his car suffered from a loose handling condition during the final run.

With Custer fading badly, Smith was in the lead, more than 2.5s ahead of Allgaier, when Hailie Deegan brushed the Turn 2 wall on lap 137. To that point, Smith and Custer had combined to lead all the laps.

The relatively innocent-looking fourth caution, however, set the stage for the chaos that followed. Smith lost three spots on pit road as John Hunter Nemechek took the lead.

On the subsequent restart on lap 144, Smith and Nemechek were racing in close quarters when contact from the right-front of Smith’s Toyota turned Nemechek’s Supra in front of the field.

All told, 11 cars sustained damage, with Nemechek, hard-luck Sam Mayer (third DNF in four races), Hailie Deegan, Parker Retzlaff and Jeb Burton unable to continue.

Smith’s No. 81 Toyota was none the worse for wear and restarted next to Allgaier, the race leader, on lap 152. On the longest green-flag run of the day, Allgaier pulled away and was cruising toward a comfortable victory when disaster struck, opening the door for Smith to secure his first victory since last April’s win at Richmond for owner Matt Kaulig.

Austin Hill came home fourth, with Custer, the defending series champion, claiming the fifth spot. Sunoco rookie Shane van Gisbergen, Brandon Jones, Parker Kligerman, Sammy Smith and Anthony Alfredo completed the top 10.

RESULTS

Nemechek wins Xfinity’s desert duel of JGR teammates in Vegas

Chandler Smith won the battle. John Hunter Nemechek won the war. The Joe Gibbs Racing teammates spent most of Saturday afternoon racing each other for the top spot in The LiUNA!, a 300-mile NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It …

Chandler Smith won the battle. John Hunter Nemechek won the war.

The Joe Gibbs Racing teammates spent most of Saturday afternoon racing each other for the top spot in The LiUNA!, a 300-mile NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was Nemechek who proved superior in the long run.

After Smith won the first two stages of the race — the second with a deft last-lap pass of Nemechek’s No. 20 Toyota — Nemechek asserted his dominance.

By the time Nemechek crossed the finish line at the end of lap 200, he held a 4.36s lead over pole winner Cole Custer, who had charged into second place after a late cycle of green flag pit stops.

“Hats off to all the guys on this No. 20 team for Joe Gibbs Racing,” said Nemechek, who led a race-high 99 laps in securing his first victory of the season, his first at Las Vegas and the 10th of his career.

“Man, it’s awesome to come out here and win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with a limited number of starts. Our goal is to come and win as many as we possibly could. Nothing else matters.

“Congrats to Tyler (Allen). He’s the crew chief this year on the No. 20 car — his first win as a crew chief. Our spotter, Ryan Blanchard — his first win as well… Man, it feels so good to win here in Las Vegas. Got to rest for tomorrow, so I’m excited.”

Now full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series with Legacy Motor Club, Nemechek will race in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 (3:30pm ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

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Smith arguably had the best car in the race until he pitted with the rest of the field at the second stage break.

“We just over-adjusted a little bit,” said Smith, who led 74 laps, including the first 49, and came home third. “[We were] trying to stay ahead of the race track, and it feels actually like it might have gotten a little colder as well.

“It felt like track definitely freed up, and we went in that same direction, thinking it was going to tighten up. So you live and you learn… We were pretty dominant and we just over-adjusted, but I’m happy that a Joe Gibbs Racing car still won.”

Austin Hill, who triumphed in the first two races of the season, at Daytona and Atlanta, was fourth, with Riley Herbst finishing fifth after dominating the Las Vegas race last fall. AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones and Justin Allgaier completed the top 10.

Hill retained his series lead by 22 points over Smith in second. Hailie Deegan was the top Sunoco rookie with a 15th-place finish.

For the second time in three races, ill fortune beset JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer, who completed just 22 of 120 laps in the season opener at Daytona.

Mayer was running 10th on lap eight on Saturday when the No. 31 Chevrolet of fifth-place qualifier Parker Retzlaff turned sideways in front of him and slammed into the right side of Mayer’s car, knocking him out of the race.

“It’s just the year from hell,” Mayer said. “Very frustrating and unfortunate and can’t wait to get to Phoenix [for next Saturday’s race].”

Another early casualty was New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen, who took his Kaulig Racing Chevrolet behind the wall with overheating problems after completing 27 laps.

Van Gisbergen and Mayer finished 37th and 38th respectively in the 38-car field.

RESULTS

Hamlin on Daytona 500 champ Byron: ‘He races so wise beyond his years’

A three-time champion of the Daytona 500 was highly complimentary of the race’s newest champion this week. Denny Hamlin congratulated and praised William Byron on his podcast “Actions Detrimental,” saying the victory was well earned. The Joe Gibbs …

A three-time champion of the Daytona 500 was highly complimentary of the race’s newest champion this week.

Denny Hamlin congratulated and praised William Byron on his podcast “Actions Detrimental,” saying the victory was well earned. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who won at Daytona in 2016, 2019 and 2020, also told Byron it was his time to bask in the glory of winning the sport’s biggest race.

“He races so wise beyond his years, he really does,” Hamlin said. “I admire William, I admire his work ethic, who he is as a person.”

The victory was the 11th of Byron’s career in his seventh season at the Cup Series level. Hamlin is a series veteran and is considered a favorite when it comes to the superspeedway events. In his praise, Hamlin compared Byron to a former Hendrick Motorsports driver against whom he spent many years racing.

“I think of him (Byron) a lot like Jimmie Johnson in the sense of he just gets results; he gets a lot of results, and he’s not super flashy about it,” Hamlin said. “He’s a really good person outside the race car as he is in the race car. He always races fair with everyone. Have we ever heard William Byron getting into or wrecking someone?”

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Hamlin and Byron have gone toe-to-toe over the years. In the fall race at Texas Motor Speedway in 2022, Byron spun Hamlin under caution. The two later hashed things out – on Hamlin’s podcast – and have moved on with no ill feelings. It’s why Hamlin didn’t even bring it up when making his statement about not hearing about Byron having issues with fellow drivers.

“I’ve got tremendous respect for him as a driver,” Hamlin said. “He’s going to be a very deserving and good Daytona 500 champion for us over the next 12 months.”

The 43-year-old Hamlin knows that Byron, who is 26, has many more years ahead of him with the potential to keep adding to his resume. Something Hamlin went into when asked Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway about all the praise he sent Byron’s way. It’s the progression of Byron through the NASCAR ranks in a short time and his development as a driver that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Hamlin.

“I think we saw it in the Truck Series to Xfinity Series, he always was winning,” Hamlin said. “And again, he’s always had really great equipment, but to have a lot of his teammates as well. He’s just continually, in my mind, gotten better and better. Then, to be [26 years old], he’s got such a long future ahead.

“He’s a guy that we could be talking about in that 60 (to) 70-win category if he keeps going on this pace. He’s got the potential.”

Hamlin paces manufacturer-clustered Daytona 500 practice

Denny Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 champion, was fastest in NASCAR Cup Series practice Friday while in a draft with his Toyota teammates – his Camry clocking in at 197.477mph (45.575s). He was followed by eight other Toyota drivers. Erik Jones …

Denny Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 champion, was fastest in NASCAR Cup Series practice Friday while in a draft with his Toyota teammates — his Camry clocking in at 197.477mph (45.575s). He was followed by eight other Toyota drivers.

Erik Jones was second-fastest at 197.468mph, Christopher Bell third at 197.429mph, Ty Gibbs fourth at 197.394mph and John Hunter Nemechek fifth at 193.377mph.

Tyler Reddick was sixth at 197.364mph, Jimmie Johnson seventh at 197.282mph, Bubba Wallace eighth at 197.126mph, Michael McDowell ninth at 194.569mph, and Austin Cindric completed the top 10 at 194.523mph.

Daytona 500 polesitter Joey Logano was 14th fastest at 194.07mph.

All three manufacturers had small groups of teammates drafting together, which was reflected on the speed charts.

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The fastest eight drivers in practice were Toyotas. The next six were Fords. Chevrolet had the following six.

There were no incidents in practice.

David Ragan pulled double duty. He got behind the wheel of the No. 60 Ford he qualified for the Daytona 500 with RFK Racing, but he also got on track in the No. 17 Ford for Chris Buescher, who returned to North Carolina early Friday to be with his wife Emma for the birth of their second child. Buescher will return to Daytona for the 500.

Ragan was 26th on the speed charter in the No. 60. He was 39th on the chart after shaking down the No. 17 Ford, which was just a three-lap run.

Track time during the 50-minute session was a high priority. The local forecast calls for rain to move into the area Saturday and potentially stay through early Monday. If so, it would mean Friday’s lone practice would be the only on-track time between Thursday’s Duels and the start of the Daytona 500.

Thirty-nine of the 40 teams participated in practice. The one driver who did not get on track was the No. 62 of Anthony Alfredo for Beard Motorsports.

Joe Gibbs Racing signs young, rising driver to development contract in 2024

Joe Gibbs Racing announced on Tuesday afternoon that it has signed this young, rising driver to a development contract in 2024.

[autotag]Joe Gibbs Racing[/autotag] is one of NASCAR’s powerhouse organizations, so every driver signing is met with raised eyebrows. On Tuesday afternoon, this was the case when the NASCAR team signed a 14-year-old development driver. Joe Gibbs Racing announced that it has signed [autotag]Max Reaves[/autotag] to a multi-year development contract ahead of the 2024 season.

Reaves will begin a development program that will include access to the resources available from Toyota. The 14-year-old prospect will also receive assistance with his 2024 schedule, access to learn from Joe Gibbs Racing’s current driver and crew chief lineup, and public relations and social media training with the coming new year.

Throughout his racing career, Reaves has run quarter midgets, dirt wing outlaws go-karts, bandoleros, 600 micro sprints, legend cars, and pro late models across the southeastern United States. Joe Gibbs Racing obviously sees the potential in Reaves’ driving, even if the NASCAR world won’t see much of him until he turns 18 years old.

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Joe Gibbs Racing reveals John Hunter Nemechek’s Xfinity schedule for 2024

Joe Gibbs Racing revealed John Hunter Nemechek’s Xfinity Series schedule for the 2024 NASCAR season on Monday afternoon.

[autotag]Joe Gibbs Racing[/autotag] has a star-studded lineup in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the 2024 season. Sheldon Creed and Chandler Smith will be the team’s full-time drivers, while Aric Almirola runs a part-time schedule. Also, [autotag]John Hunter Nemechek[/autotag] will double-dip with starts in the No. 20 car. On Monday afternoon, Nemechek’s schedule for the 2024 season was revealed.

Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Nemechek will drive the No. 20 car in 10 Xfinity Series races during the 2024 NASCAR season. The Legacy Motor Club driver will start his schedule at Daytona International Speedway. Most notably, Nemechek will also compete at the Circuit of the Americas on March 23, Iowa Speedway on June 15, and the Chicago Street Course on July 6.

The former full-time Xfinity Series driver ran well with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2023. Nemechek came close to winning the Xfinity Series championship on a late-race restart but drove into Turn 1 too deep. Nemechek can continue his success in the Xfinity Series without significant pressure. It’s the perfect situation for Nemechek as he returns to the NASCAR Cup Series full-time.

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