John Hunter Nemechek wins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Here are some takeaways from an action-packed afternoon at New Hampshire:

Much-needed points for Daniel Hemric

Daniel Hemric remains winless on the 2023 season, but he has continued to keep himself in a position for a playoff spot on points. His second-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway aided in this pursuit, as did Saturday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Hemric sustained some damage to the rear of the No. 11 Chevrolet on the Lap 71 restart, but he still left the 1.058-mile track with 35 points. This is due to a ninth-place finish in stage 1 and a fourth-place finish in the race.

Hemric is ninth in the playoff standings with eight races remaining in the regular season. He is 71 points above the cutline, and he is above three other drivers in provisional playoff spots.

Momentum for DGM Racing

Josh Williams and DGM Racing have dealt with some struggles during the 2023 Xfinity season. He has six finishes outside of the top 30, which includes mechanical issues at Sonoma Raceway and Nashville Superspeedway.

The past two weeks have been significantly different. Williams finished ninth in his return to Atlanta Motor Speedway and then he avoided multiple incidents at New Hampshire to finish eighth overall.

Williams now has three top-10 finishes on the season. His career-best is six during the 2020 season, but he remains optimistic about the opportunity to surpass this mark.

“2020 was a good year,” Williams told NBC Sports’ Dustin Long. “Hopefully, we can
top that this year. I think we got our momentum back. Our cars are good, everybody’s working hard. I mean, you can’t stop bad luck, right? And hopefully, we did.”

A rough day for Stewart-Haas Racing

Cole Custer has a secure spot in the Xfinity playoffs with his wins at Portland International Raceway and Chicago. Riley Herbst is the first driver above the playoff cutline, and he has a 16-point lead over Parker Kligerman.

The two drivers missed out on an opportunity at New Hampshire. Custer was in a position to contend for the win or a top-five finish late, but he and Sheldon Creed crashed to bring out the final caution of the day. He had to settle for a 22nd-place finish and 23 points.

Herbst put distance between himself and Kligerman after the driver of the No. 48 was involved in a Lap 71 crash, but he then crashed on Lap 101.

Instead of contending for a top-10 finish, Herbst spent much of the final stage riding around after his crew made repairs. He ultimately finished 20th after the last-lap incident.

Herbst started the 2023 season with six consecutive top-10 finishes. He only has one in the 12 races since. He finished second at Nashville Superspeedway. Herbst also has four DNFs due to crashes and another for an engine failure in this span of time. Though he still remains in the playoff picture.

John Hunter Nemechek led 137 laps and won his fourth race of the 2023 Xfinity season.

Click here for where everyone finished at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Click here for the cumulative race report.

Click here for the penalty report.

There were no new winners at New Hampshire on Saturday, but Riley Herbst gained some points on Parker Kligerman.

Here are the points reports:

Click here for the driver standings l Click here for the team owner standings

The two drivers entered the New Hampshire race separated by only six points. Herbst was just above the playoff cutline while Kligerman was the first driver out.

A wreck on the Lap 71 restart significantly damaged the front of Kligerman’s No. 48 Chevrolet. This ended his day and dropped him to 40 points below Herbst.

An incident on Lap 101 changed the situation. Herbst hit the wall after contact with Austin Dillon, and he fell multiple laps down.

Stewart-Haas Racing was able to make repairs so that Herbst could finish the race. He crossed the finish line 20th overall after getting collected in an overtime wreck started by Sheldon Creed and Cole Custer.

Herbst is now 16 points ahead of Kligerman. He is still the first driver above the playoff cutline. Creed is 46 points above the cutline while Sam Mayer is 75 points above after an 18th-place finish.

John Hunter Nemechek won his fourth race of the season after a crash brought out the caution.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver took the white flag at New Hampshire with Chandler Smith behind him. He did not take the checkered flag as Cole Custer and Sheldon Creed wrecked to bring out the caution.

This incident collected several drivers, including Riley Herbst and Josh Williams. Creed had run Custer up the track, who then turned him into the outside wall. This was the 10th and final caution.

Austin Hill, Daniel Hemric and Sammy Smith rounded out the top five. Justin Allgaier avoided the wreck by diving to the inside of Custer, and he crossed the finish line sixth after an eventful day at the track.

The Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway headed to overtime after contact from Sammy Smith’s No. 18 sent Sam Mayer’s No. 1 spinning.

This incident collected multiple cars. Austin Dillon had nowhere to go, and he ran into Mayer. Joe Graf Jr. then hit Dillon from behind. His No. 19 caught on fire as he headed back to pit road, so he had to stop and climb from Toyota.

The incident also collected Brandon Jones and Connor Mosack, but they avoided major damage.

Nemechek took the lead on the restart, and he led the field to the green flag for overtime. Chandler Smith was second after he passed Cole Custer on the restart.

The yellow flew after Parker Retzlaff spun with nine laps remaining in the Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

John Hunter Nemechek had a nearly two-second lead over Cole Custer, and he was in a position to win his fourth race of the season. The caution meant that there would be a restart with four laps to go and a battle between Ford and Toyota drivers.

Pit road opened with eight laps remaining, but none of the leaders headed down for tires. They stayed out on the track for the final battle around the 1.058-mile track.

Nemechek had been the best at restarts all race long, but he had to contend with Custer. The No. 00 team finally had the car at a spot where it could contend for the win.

The final green flag pit stops began on Lap 147 as Sheldon Creed was the first driver to head down pit road for fuel and tires.

Sammy Smith was a lap behind after he fell more than four seconds behind leader John Hunter Nemechek.

Riley Herbst hitting the outside wall after contact with Austin Dillon brought out the caution on Lap 101. This was not late enough for the drivers to fill up with gas and make it to the end of the race. They still had to navigate green flag stops.

Creed said over the radio that he wanted to be the first person to pit last. He achieved this, and he started a trend. Brandon Jones, Cole Custer, Austin Hill, and Nemechek all made their own pit stops.

Smith pitted before Nemechek, but he was not able to erase the deficit and take the lead. Nemechek maintained the advantage over his teammate.

Following multiple cautions for incidents and a battle for the
stage 2 win, the Xfinity Series drivers settled down at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The first stage at New Hampshire featured battles between Justin Allgaier and John Hunter Nemechek. The second stage had three cautions for incidents, including one that collected several playoff hopefuls.

The start of the final stage was relatively calm. Nemechek battled teammate Sammy Smith, who won stage 2, but they began to pull away. They built up a lead of more than two seconds over Sheldon Creed in third and Brandon Jones in fourth.

Allgaier continued to battle for a top-10 finish after an eventful day. He won stage 1, received a pit road penalty that dropped him to 25th, and then he sustained damage in the Lap 71 crash. Allgaier still continued to race inside of the top 10 as the field approached 70 to go.

Riley Herbst and Austin Dillon continued to race at New Hampshire after an incident sent them both to pit road with damage. They cleared the DVP clock as Dillon remained on the lead lap. Herbst fell two laps down.

Riley Herbst hit the wall on Lap 101 after contact with the front of Austin Dillon’s Chevrolet turned him into the wall.

Herbst moved up the track after clearing Austin Hill, but he was not clear of Dillon. The left front of the No. 10 Chevrolet hit the right rear of the No. 98 Ford and sparked the crash.

Herbst and Dillon were both able to make it back to their pit stalls where their crews made the repairs that they could. They both went on the DVP (Damaged Vehicle Policy) clock.

Herbst, who continues to battle Parker Kligerman for the final playoff spot, entered the day at six points above the cutline. He moved up to 40 points to the good after a wreck ended Kligerman’s day.

Sammy Smith won his first stage of the 2023 season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Smith started at the rear of the field after unapproved adjustments, and he spent the first two stages working his way through the field. He was able to get back in contention for the stage win after using pit strategy.

When the caution flew for Connor Mosack spinning, the leaders headed down pit road for fuel and tires. Smith stayed out with Parker Retzlaff, who inherited the lead. He then jumped to the front of the pack in the No. 18 Toyota and got the stage win.

Retzlaff took second in the stage after a late battle with Sheldon Creed, who finished third.

Connor Mosack brought out the fourth caution of the day at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He spun in the No. 24 Toyota and made contact with the outside wall.

Pit road opened with five laps to go, and the leaders all headed down to their stalls. John Hunter Nemechek won the race off pit road over Josh Berry. Cole Custer lost a spot while Riley Herbst gained one.

Parker Retzlaff stayed out on the track in the No. 31 Chevrolet, and he inherited the lead. Sammy Smith was second after staying out in the No. 18 Toyota. Sheldon Creed and Josh Williams stayed out and inherited third and fourth, respectively.

A stack-up occurred on the Lap 71 restart that led to a multi-car crash.

Parker Kligerman was the first to experience issues. He hit Daniel Hemric from behind and crumpled his hood. The drivers behind him began to fan out to avoid the crash. Some collided with each other; others hit the inside wall.

The incident collected Kligerman, Ryan Sieg, Jeremy Clements, Blaine Perkins, Mason Massey, Parker Retzlaff, Chris Hacker, Patrick Emerling, Ryan Ellis, Anthony Alfredo, and Alex Labbe.

The incident ended Kligerman’s day. He entered the race as the first driver below the playoff cutline. He was six points behind Riley Herbst, who avoided the multi-car incident and continued with the race. He fell to more than 40 points behind Herbst after the incident.

Chad Finchum brought out the caution on Lap 65 after his No. 66 Ford stalled. He was on pit road, but he was not in his stall.

Pole-sitter Chandler Smith had led the field to the green flag for the start of stage 2, but John Hunter Nemechek dove to his inside and took the lead before completing the first lap.

Nemechek put distance between himself and Smith while building up a lead of nearly one second.

Austin Hill moved from the edge of the top 10 in stage 1 to third in stage 2 after a strong pit stop from his crew. He was not able to maintain this spot as Cole Custer and Josh Berry both passed him.

Justin Allgaier started the stage 25th overall after a pit road penalty, but he moved up to 20th in the running order before the caution flew.

NASCAR issued a penalty to Justin Allgaier’s team for pitting outside of the pit stall. The stage 1 winner overshot his pit stall and had to back up before the crew completed the stop.

The rear-tire changer started to take off lug nuts before Allgaier backed up into the stall, which led to the penalty. Allgaier fell back to 27th in the running order as the last car on the lead lap.

Allgaier moved up to 25th for the restart. Sammy Smith and Joe Graf Jr. both received speeding penalties on pit road.

“This is what makes a championship team right here,” said spotter Eddie D’Hondt over the radio. “Accept the challenge.”

Pole-sitter Chandler Smith led the field back to the green flag in the No. 16 Chevrolet after Allgaier’s.

Smith took back the top spot in the order for the start of stage 2. He moved up three spots after a four-tire stop by the Kaulig Racing crew.

The first caution of the Xfinity Series race flew on Lap 42 as Chris Hacker spun in the No. 38 Ford with a left-rear tire issue.

Hacker spun exiting Turn 2 but kept the No. 38 out of the wall. He was able to get going again.

There were only four laps remaining in stage 1, so it ended under caution. Justin Allgaier earned his fifth stage win of the season, tying Cole Custer for the most in the Xfinity Series.

Nemechek ended the stage in second. Custer, Chandler Smith and Josh Berry rounded out the top five.

Rajah Caruth headed down pit road on the final lap of the stage with smoke billowing out of the No. 44 Chevrolet. He said over the radio that he lost oil pressure. The camera showed fluid on the lens.

John Hunter Nemechek and Justin Allgaier made contact on Lap 31 while battling side-by-side for the lead.

Nemechek tried to use lapped traffic as a pick so that he could move past Allgaier on the inside. He made contact with the side of the No. 7 Chevrolet, but both drivers kept their cars straight before continuing.

Allgaier pulled back ahead of Nemechek and continued to lead as the end of stage 1 approached. Cole Custer remained in third place as he tried to chase down Nemechek.

Sammy Smith, who had to start at the rear of the field, worked his way up to 15th while navigating traffic.

The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is at the front of the pack after two Chevrolets led the first nine laps.

Justin Allgaier led from the second lap until the 10th while taking part in a fierce battle with John Hunter Nemechek. The two slid around on the slick track as Cole Custer began to reel them in.

Nemechek took the lead from Allgaier on Lap 10, and he began to put a little distance between himself and the defending New Hampshire winner.

Nemechek was the third driver in 10 laps to run at the front of the pack as he continued to add to his career-high total in laps led.

Pole-sitter Chandler Smith fell to fourth in the running order after leading the first lap of the Xfinity Series race.

Chandler Smith led the first of 200 laps at the 1.058-mile track as Chevrolet drivers occupied seven of the top 10 spots in the starting order.

John Hunter Nemechek started the race on the front row, but defending winner Justin Allgaier quickly made the pass for second. Allgaier then dove to the inside of Smith on the second lap and took the lead.

Smith tried running the outside line, but he lost the second position to Nemechek before falling under attack from Cole Custer.

Sammy Smith, the fastest driver during Xfinity practice on Friday, had to drop to the rear of the field during pace laps. His team had to fix an oil leak ahead of the afternoon’s race.