Stewart-Haas Racing: NXS Race Report from Martinsville

Race Winner: John Hunter Nemechek of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Winner: John Hunter Nemechek of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 2 Winner: John Hunter Nemechek of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

 

SHR Race Finish:         

●  Cole Custer (Started 1st / Finished 3rd, Running, completed 250 of 250 laps)

●  Riley Herbst (Started 9th  / Finished 30th, Accident, completed 222 of 250 laps)

 

SHR Points:

●  Riley Herbst (4th with 281 points, 38 out of first)

●  Cole Custer (8th with 246 points, 73 out of first)

 

SHR Notes:      

●  Custer earned his second top-five of the season and his first top-five in one career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Martinsville.

●  This was Custer’s second straight top-five. He finished fifth April 1 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.

● Custer finished third in Stage 1 to earn eight bonus points and third in Stage 2 to earn eight more bonus points.

● Custer led one time for five laps – his first laps led at Martinsville.

●  Herbst finished fifth in Stage 1 to earn six bonus points and eighth in Stage 2 to earn three more bonus points.

 

Race Notes:      

●  John Hunter Nemechek won the Call811.com Before You Dig. 250 under caution to score his fourth career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his second of the season, and his first at Martinsville.

●  There were 10 cautions for a total of 82 laps.

●  Twenty-seven of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

●  Nemechek leaves Martinsville as the championship leader with a 21-point advantage over second-place Austin Hill.

 

Sound Bites:

 “We just needed a little bit more. I felt like we could turn the center better, but everyone else had a better drive off. My No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang had really good speed all day. Man, it’s just frustrating to get third here. You want that grandfather clock so bad. It’s tough. I think we have a good package to bring back here later this year though. We just need to keep working on it. I feel like we’re starting to hit our stride, and I’m excited for the next few races.” – Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang

 

“That’s just racing at Martinsville. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I hate it for the No. 98 Monster Energy team. We had a good run going, and it just went away like that. Hopefully, we can put this bad luck behind us and get back on track at Talladega.” – Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang

 

Next Up:          

The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Ag-Pro 300 on Saturday, April 22 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The race begins at 4 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

TSC PR