It was almost a happy day for Kevin Harvick who led 34 laps but was passed for the win late in the going. Harvick qualified sixth, placed eighth in Stage 1 and fifth in Stage 2.
"First time at the Roval, it was a fun experience, good day for us," Nemechek told PRN Radio. "Battle back from adversity and ended up seventh. Every point matters in this situation."
While Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe had what most would consider a solid day with top-10 finishes at the Charlotte Roval, it was challenging for them in many aspects.
It was a wild weekend for most of the JR Motorsports' teams who fielded four cars this time around at Charlotte Motor Speedway. However, two drivers had especially eventful days.
Not too far off from Josef Newgarden were championship hopefuls, Scott Dixon and Simon Pagenaud. Pagenaud came into the final race of the season, third in the standings just 42 points back looking for the second championship of his career.
Hoping to do the same thing his dad in 1998 and 1999, rookie sensation Colton Herta dominated to win the final race of the IndyCar season at Laguna Seca. Herta earned his second win of the season and is coming off a contract signing for next season with Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport.
After leading 89 laps, he wound up finishing in fifth place. But, after the No. 20 of Erik Jones failed post-race inspection, the No. 2 driver was moved up in the running order and was credited with a fourth-place finish.
After making contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. mid-race, Martin Truex Jr. was able to rebound. He took the lead from his teammate Kyle Busch with 25 laps to go en route to his sixth victory of the season.
Hendrick Motorsports is the all-time leader in wins (10), top fives (39), stage wins (16) and laps led (2,770) at the 1.5-mile tri-oval and its 67 top 10s are tied for the most.
The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) for the South Point 400, the fifth race of the 10-race Chase, on Sunday, October 4 at 5:30 p.m. ET on USA.
The 2026 ARCA Menards Series East champion from Kannapolis, North Carolina, will compete in an expanded Truck Series schedule with Spire Motorsports in 2027.
