Track: Richmond Raceway, 0.75 Mile D-Shaped Oval
Race: 28 of 36
Event: Federated Auto Parts 400 (300 miles, 400 laps)
John Hunter Nemechek
No. 38 MDS Trucking Ford Mustang
Started: 31st
Finished: 30th
Stage One: 30th
Stage Two: 26th
Stage Three: 30th
John Hunter Nemechek took the green flag to start Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Richmond Raceway in 31st place. After a few laps, Nemechek reported an issue with the steering wheel in his No. 38 Ford Mustang, as well as a “pretty bad brake shake.” At the Competition Caution on Lap 30, Nemechek pitted for 4 tires, fuel, and track bar and packer adjustments. By the time he finished Stage 1 in 30th place, Nemechek said that he “needed to be able to wrap the bottom better… feels a little tight center but free off.” Crew Chief Seth Barbour called him to pit road for 4 tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment.
Nemechek would start Stage 2 at the rear of the field, due to an uncontrolled tire penalty. Throughout the caution-less run, Nemechek’s No. 38 machine was “a tick snug center, little free off” and “struggled on power.” Nemechek dabbled in the top 20 while green flag pit stops cycled through, and by the time he took the green- and white-checkered flag in 26th place, he said his last adjustment helped and the balance wasn’t bad. He pitted at the Stage Break Caution for 4 tires with a slight air pressure adjustment, fuel and a wedge adjustment.
Nemechek would start the Final Stage of the night at Richmond Raceway in 23rd place. Shortly after Lap 280, he made contact with the wall off of Turn 4 but sustained minimal damage and would pit under green for 4 tires and fuel several laps later. Nemechek would continue to battle through the remainder of the all-green Final Stage, crossing the finish line in 30th place.
Nemechek on Richmond:
“It was a tough night for our No. 38 team. We had an issue with the steering wheel from the start, and just couldn’t really catch that much of a break throughout the race. We were free for the most part, and just struggled on power. But the great thing about this Front Row Motorsports team is that we never give up. My guys still do everything they can to set us up for a good finish. We have some notes to add to our short track notebook, so we’ll hit the reset button at the shop this week and move on to Bristol.”
