NEMECHEK MASTERS FINAL RESTART, WINS IN ATLANTA
John Hunter Nemechek completes stellar day for Toyota, earns third victory of the season
ATLANTA (July 8, 2023) – John Hunter Nemechek earned his third victory of the season with a strong overtime restart on Sunday evening at Atlanta Motor Speedway. With the win, Nemechek added to his Playoff points total. It was a stellar night for Joe Gibbs Racing with all three of their Toyota GR Supras finishing inside the top-10 as Ty Gibbs was scored sixth and Sammy Smith ran 10th. Sam Hunt Racing’s Kaz Grala (14th) also continued his strong performance with back-to-back top-15 finishes, and seventh top-20 finish in the last eight races. Toyota has now won the Xfinity (Nemechek), Truck (Corey Heim) and ARCA (Tyler Ankrum) races this weekend in NASCAR-owned competition.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Race 17 of 33 – 251.02 miles, 163 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
2nd, Daniel Hemric*
3rd, Cole Custer*
4th, Justin Haley*
5th, Sam Mayer*
6th, TY GIBBS
10th, SAMMY SMITH
14th, KAZ GRALA
27th, PARKER CHASE
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
What a burnout and what a race. Can you take us through that last restart?
“I got a huge push from the 11 (Daniel Hemric), so thanks to Daniel for giving me that huge push. Hats off to this entire 20 team. Early on in the race, if you would have said that we were going to win the race, I would have told you that wasn’t going to be the case. We didn’t have the fastest car tonight. It wasn’t quite as fast as Xfinity 10G, but I’m really proud of this whole 20 team. First win for Mobil 1 with me at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) – won with them in the Truck Series. This is special. Glad Aspen (daughter) and Taylor (wife) are here, we get to go celebrate. Thank you to all of the fans that came out tonight. I appreciate you guys.”
How much did the track change?
“I don’t know if the track changed a ton. We just had to keep making our car better all night. We just had to keep making our Mobil 1 Toyota GR Supra better all night. Ben (Beshore, crew chief) and the guys did awesome. They made the right adjustments all night and got us where we needed to be. It came down to an overtime finish and luckily we were able to execute on that restart. Thank you to all of the men and women at Joe Gibbs Racing – proud to be the one holding the wheel of this 20 car. Man, Truck win for Toyota, Xfinity win for Toyota – the Toyota boys have some work to do tomorrow.”
Can you take me through this final restart today?
“I got a huge push from the 11 (Daniel Hemric), so thank you to Daniel. We definitely didn’t have the best car tonight, but we had the most perseverance. This team never gives up. Even when we are down, we continue to fight from the back to get to the front to go and win races. I feel like we have given a few away this year, but to come home with a win without the fastest car here means a lot. We were almost as fast as Xfinity 10 G, but we just needed to be a little bit faster. Thank you to Mobil 1, Toyota, TRD – all of these guys and girls at Joe Gibbs Racing. I’m so proud of this team.”
How satisfying is it to pick up a win like this?
“It is super satisfying. The never give up attitude is with this team – we’ve been through a lot this year. We’ve had to overcome a lot, but we are a really strong race team. We are consistent each week and we will get more wins and hopefully go race for the championship come Phoenix.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 22 electrified options.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
