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NASCAR: Ty Gibbs Pushes Past Teammate Nemechek for Xfinity Win

Posted by AR1 staff

Ty Gibbs bumped his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate John Hunter Nemechek out of the lead on the final lap to claim his third NASCAR Xfinity Series race win of the season – by a mere 0.116-seconds over Nemechek in the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway.

The two JGR drivers dominated the afternoon – combining to lead all but one of the 250 laps on the 0.075-mile track – the first short track test of the season. Nemechek paced the field for a race high 135 laps in the No. 18 JGR Toyota and was within checkered flag sight when Gibbs got into him, pushing Nemechek’s Toyota high up the track and then motoring on for his series best third win of the season and seventh of his young career.

Ty Gibbs, driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, and John H. Nemechek, driver of the #18 Safeway Toyota, race during the NASCAR Xfinity Series ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway on April 02, 2022 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

In his previous two victories (at Las Vegas and at Atlanta) this season, the 19-year old Gibbs had led only 14 total laps. He was out front 115 on Saturday.

“I definitely deserve one back but we’re racing for wins and they are hard to come by so you have to take it,” said Gibbs, after climbing out of his No. 54 JGR Toyota.

“Short track racing,” he added with a smile. “Got our third win so want to keep it going. What a great car.”

“I deserve one back for sure but we’re racing for wins and I’ve got to do what I can to win.”

The second-generation driver Nemechek, who races full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, climbed out of his car and offered a smile to the television cameras, but the 23-year old was clearly miffed at his teammate.

“Him and I will settle it one day,” Nemechek said. “I don’t want to say too much and get myself in trouble.  Just got drove through. He didn’t even try and make the corner there.

“But racers never forget, that’s for sure.”

It was a career day for another teenager as well. Not only did 18-year old JR Motorsports driver Sam Mayer earn a career best third place finish but he also secured the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash incentive prize offered by series sponsor Xfinity.

“By the end of the day our Chevrolet Camaro was as fast as Xfinity internet, so that’s a really good, feels-good moment for us and obviously, my career best finish,” Mayer said. “Unbelievable. This team definitely deserves it.”

Now the top four eligible drivers from Saturday’s race in Richmond – Mayer, race winner Gibbs, fourth place finisher A.J. Allmendinger and fifth-place finisher Riley Herbst will have an opportunity to contend for the prize money next weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

Although he won’t be eligible for bonus money, reigning series champion Daniel Hemric had to be happy with his results on Saturday. Hemric rallied from the rear of the starting grid to finish sixth, followed by Josh Berry, Brandon Brown, Ryan Sieg and Parker Retzlaff.

Noah Gragson came into the weekend leading the points standings, but his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet suffered brake problems all afternoon and ultimately finished 21st, a lap down. The misfortune cost him the championship lead. Allmendinger, the only driver to have Top-10 finishes in all seven races this year, now leads Gibbs and Gragson atop the standings by 20 points.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series races next on Friday night in the Call 811 Before You Dig 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Berry is the defending winner, earning his first career series victory there in 2021.

QUOTES

TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

What is that fine line you walk when you are racing for a win?

“I definitely deserve one back. We are racing for wins, and they are hard to come by, so I had to take it. We were fighting tight all day. We just couldn’t hold the bottom. John Hunter (Nemechek) was a little faster and we had a great race. Good for Toyota to finish 1-2. I just got in there deep and had to bump him out of the way up the track. We are short track racing. Thank you to Monster Energy. What a great car, this is awesome for Toyota. Cool to get our third win, so hopefully, we can keep it rolling. Thank you to everybody. Thank you to the Man above.”

How are you able to do what you do at such a young age?

“Like I said, I deserve one back. We are racing for a win, and I’ve got to do whatever I can. We raced really good there. I felt like we put on a good show, so that is really important. I want to say thank you to the Man above for blessing me so much. Thank you to Chris Gayle (crew chief), Kyle Abrahims (engineer), my whole team. Everybody. We had a good run.”

Can you tell us more about that final lap?

“We had a good race. My Monster Energy Toyota GR Supra was really good. We were just a little tight there. I lost some ground there in lap traffic that wouldn’t get out of the way, but that is just racing. I raced John Hunter (Nemechek) hard. I definitely deserve one back, but like I said, these races are hard to come by and I had to take advantage of it. We had a good race. The 18 crew did a really good job, so kudos to them but we had to take it. We have to be greedy in these things.”

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 18 Safeway Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

What is your view on the last couple laps from your perspective?

“Yes, he and I will settle it on Monday. I don’t want to say too much and get myself in trouble, but just got drove through. He didn’t even try to make the corner there. Racers never forget that is for sure.”

Race Results

  1. (1)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 250.
  2. (2)  John Hunter Nemechek(i), Toyota, 250.
  3. (11)  Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 250.
  4. (9)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 250.
  5. (24)  Riley Herbst, Ford, 250.
  6. (16)  Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 250.
  7. (12)  Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 250.
  8. (26)  Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 250.
  9. (8)  Ryan Sieg, Ford, 250.
  10. (10)  Parker Retzlaff, Ford, 250.
  11. (38)  Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 250.
  12. (19)  Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 250.
  13. (5)  Brandon Jones, Toyota, 250.
  14. (14)  Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 250.
  15. (36)  Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 250.
  16. (6)  Ryan Preece(i), Ford, 250.
  17. (25)  Mason Massey, Chevrolet, 250.
  18. (4)  Austin Hill #, Chevrolet, 250.
  19. (20)  Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 250.
  20. (7)  Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 249.
  21. (3)  Noah Gragson, Chevrolet, 249.
  22. (13)  Sheldon Creed #, Chevrolet, 249.
  23. (33)  David Starr, Ford, 248.
  24. (22)  Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, 248.
  25. (15)  Brett Moffitt, Chevrolet, 248.
  26. (31)  Derek Griffith, Toyota, 247.
  27. (23)  Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 247.
  28. (29)  Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 246.
  29. (27)  Joe Graf Jr, Ford, 246.
  30. (21)  Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 246.
  31. (32)  Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 246.
  32. (35)  JJ Yeley, Ford, 245.
  33. (17)  Jade Buford, Chevrolet, 245.
  34. (37)  Joey Gase, Ford, 245.
  35. (18)  Stefan Parsons, Chevrolet, 245.
  36. (28)  Ryan Vargas, Chevrolet, 243.
  37. (34)  Kyle Sieg #, Ford, Engine, 139.
  38. (30)  Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 112

Average Speed of Race Winner:  95.299 mph.

Time of Race:  1 Hrs, 58 Mins, 3 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.116 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  3 for 24 laps.

Lead Changes:  8 among 3 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   T. Gibbs 1-11;J. Nemechek(i) 12-78;J. Berry 79;J. Nemechek(i) 80-143;T. Gibbs 144-216;J. Nemechek(i) 217;T. Gibbs 218-246;J. Nemechek(i) 247-249;T. Gibbs 250.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  John Hunter Nemechek(i) 4 times for 135 laps; Ty Gibbs 4 times for 114 laps; Josh Berry 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 18,9,8,16,54,39,38,19,21,1

Stage #2 Top Ten: 54,18,8,39,16,23,1,7,98,38