Toyota Care 250 | NASCAR official website

Ty Gibbs moves John Hunter Nemechek for Xfinity Series win at Richmond

Ty Gibbs edged Joe Gibbs Racing teammate John Hunter Nemechek out of the lead on the final lap to claim his third NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season – by just 0.116 seconds over Nemechek in the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway.

Both JGR riders dominated the afternoon – combining to lead all but one 250 laps on the 0.75 mile track – the first short track test of the season. Nemechek paced the field for a record 135 laps in the No. 18 Toyota JGR and was within sight of the checkered flag when Gibbs entered him, pushing Nemechek’s Toyota high on the track, then swung on. for his third victory of the best series of the season and seventh of his young career.

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In his two previous victories (at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway) this season, the 19-year-old Gibbs had led just seven laps overall. He was ahead of 114 on Saturday.

“I definitely deserve a comeback, but we’re racing for wins and they’re hard to come by, so you have to take it,” said Gibbs, after getting out of his No. 54 Toyota JGR.

“Short track racing,” he added with a smile. “We have our third victory, so I want to continue. What a beautiful car.

“I deserve a comeback for sure, but we are racing for the wins and I have to do what I can to win.”

Second-generation driver Nemechek, who races full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, got out of his car and offered a smile to the TV cameras, but the 24-year-old was clearly angry with his teammate.

“He and I will sort this out one day,” Nemechek said. “I don’t want to say too much and get in trouble. I just passed. He didn’t even try to make the corner there.

“But runners never forget, that’s for sure.”

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It was also a career day for another teenager. Not only did 18-year-old JR Motorsports driver Sam Mayer earn a career-best third-place finish, but he also earned the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash incentive prize courtesy of series sponsor Xfinity.

“At the end of the day, our Chevrolet Camaro was as fast as Xfinity Internet, so it’s a really good feel-good moment for us and obviously my best career result,” Mayer said. “Incredible. This team really deserves it.

Now the top four eligible drivers from Saturday’s race at Richmond – Mayer, race winner Gibbs, fourth AJ Allmendinger and fifth Riley Herbst will have the opportunity to battle it out for the prize next weekend at Martinsville Speedway .

Although not eligible for a bonus, defending series champion Daniel Hemric was expected to be pleased with his results on Saturday. Hemric rallied from the back of the starting grid to finish sixth, followed by Josh Berry, Brandon Brown, Ryan Sieg and Parker Retzlaff.

Noah Gragson entered the weekend leading the points standings, but his #9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet suffered from brake issues all afternoon and eventually finished 21st, a lap down. Misfortune cost him the championship lead. Allmendinger, the only driver to finish in the top 10 in all seven races this year, now leads Gibbs and Gragson to the top of the standings by 20 points.

Next NASCAR Xfinity Series races Friday night on Call 811 Before You Dig 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Berry is the defending winner, earning his first career series victory there in 2021.