Track: Dover International Speedway
Race: 24 of 36
Event: Drydene 311 (311 miles, 311 laps)
John Hunter Nemechek
No. 38 ACME Markets Ford Mustang
Started: 31st
Finished: 24th
Stage One: 30th
Stage Two: 24th
Stage Three: 24th
John Hunter Nemechek started Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Dover International Speedway from the 31st position. After the first handful of laps, he radioed to the team that his No. 38 ACME Markets Ford Mustang lacked right front grip and he was struggling to turn. At the Competition Caution, Crew Chief Seth Barbour made the call for Nemechek to take 4 tires, fuel, a wedge adjustment, packer adjustment, and grille tape. By the time he took the green- and white-checkered flag to end Stage 1 in 30th place, he said that it felt like something had broken in the front end. When he came to pit road under the Stage Break Caution, the crew took extra time to check the toe.
Nemechek’s No. 38 ACME Markets Ford Mustang would take the green flag to restart Stage 2 in the 26th position. He remained quiet on the radio for much of the all-green run, taking the green- and white-checkered flag in 24th place. At the Stage Break Caution, he radioed that he still lacked front end grip and that he needed to be able to turn more to create more momentum. The crew took a big swing on pit road under caution with fuel, 4 tires, adding rubber to the right rear, track bar and packer adjustments, and grille tape.
John Hunter Nemechek started the Final Stage of Saturday’s 311-lap event in 24th place. On Lap 239, he noted that his No. 38 ACME Markets machine was a little bit loose and he continued to battle in the top 25 for much of the stage. Nemechek would go on to take the checkered flag in 24th place, two laps down.
Nemechek on Dover:
“It was a tough day for our No. 38 ACME Markets team. We didn’t roll off the way we wanted to, so it was an uphill battle for most of the race. I didn’t have a whole lot of grip going through the corner, so the front tires kept sliding, which obviously hurts your momentum. We’ve made notes for what to work on tomorrow and that’s the nice thing about these doubleheader weekends – you get another chance to improve. We’ll shake it off overnight and come back ready tomorrow.”
