TC Daily Pit Stop: JHN Takes Xfinity Win at Nashville; Hamlin on Cup Pole; Wallace Doesn't Go into Detail on Almirola Altercation; Haley Penalized; Herbst Pondering 2025 Options
TC Daily Pit Stop: JHN Takes Xfinity Win at Nashville; Hamlin on Cup Pole; Wallace Doesn't Go into Detail on Almirola Altercation; Haley Penalized; Herbst Pondering 2025 Options
TC Daily Pit Stop: Sunday, June 30, 2024
John Hunter Nemechek Survives the Nashville Heat for Second Xfinity Win of 2024
With a searing heat index, which climbed into the triple digits on Saturday, John Hunter Nemechek was able to keep his cool as he led a race-high 76 laps in Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 and capped off his second NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the season, as he held off his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chandler Smith by 0.366 seconds.
Rookie contender Jesse Love finished the race in third, Austin Hill was fourth, and Noah Gragson came home in fifth in the Rette Jones Racing No. 30 entry.
While Nemechek looked fine exiting his car, a lot of drivers, including Riley Herbst, looked a little worse for wear following the extremely hot race.
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OFFICIAL RACE RESULTS
DRIVER STANDINGS
OWNER STANDINGS
ROOKIE STANDINGS
MANUFACTURER STANDINGS
Tennessee Lottery 250 VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Video: Justin Allgaier Turns Ty Gibbs in Battle for Fourth with 53 Laps to Go
WATCH VIDEO
Denny Hamlin Secures 42nd NASCAR Cup Series Pole at Nashville
Denny Hamlin secured his second pole position of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, and his 42nd pole overall in his career after turning a 29.859 seconds (160.354 mph) lap in the final round of Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session for Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Hamlin will be joined on the front row by Rookie of the Year contender Josh Berry, who was the fastest driver in the final round from Group A, and third-fastest overall.
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STARTING LINEUP / QUALIFYING RESULTS
No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Team, Justin Haley Penalized for Unapproved Adjustment at Nashville
If Justin Haley and the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing team are going to score another impressive finish this weekend, they’ll have to overcome quite a bit of adversity to do it. Saturday, after the car passed pre-race inspection, NASCAR discovered an unapproved adjustment to Haley’s car prior to NASCAR Cup Series practice.
As a result, NASCAR issued a penalty, which included the ejection of the team’s car chief JR Norris, Haley will also drop to the rear prior to Sunday’s Ally 400, and he’ll have to perform a drive-thru penalty after taking the green flag in the race.
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Bubba Wallace: ‘They Don’t Want Me to Get Into Details’ About Almirola Altercation
Bubba Wallace had the chance to address the recent reports that an altercation with him at a Toyota Racing competition meeting last month led to the suspension of Aric Almirola on Saturday at Nashville. When asked about the incident, Wallace said he wouldn’t divuldge details in an effort to preserve Almirola’s image.
“They don’t want me to get into details. It keeps some people’s images good. I think I said enough at Charlotte last year,” Wallace explained.
Wallace and Almirola got into a heated exchange during a red flag in the 2023 Coca-Cola 600, which ended with Almirola shoving Wallace. After that ordeal, Wallace told the media that Almirola was two-faced.
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Riley Herbst Pondering 2025 Options in All Three NASCAR Series
Riley Herbst is one of the six current Stewart-Haas Racing drivers that are looking for a new ride for next season as the SHR team is shutting down at the end of the year. On Saturday, Herbst gave insight on how his plans are coming along, and stated that he has several options for next year.
“There’s a lot of things going on behind the scenes, but it’s not really just Riley Herbst, it’s Monster Energy as well,” Herbst said on Saturday. “The biggest thing is trying to see what’s right for me, what’s right for Monster Energy.”
Herbst was pressed further on his potentila plans, where he admitted that full-time Cup Series plans are in the mix.
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Total Domination As William Sawalich Brings The Burn, Wins The ARCA Berlin 200
William Sawalich just keeps on winnin’. Saturday night in the ARCA Berlin 200 at Berlin Raceway, the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota dominated for his second consecutive ARCA Menards Series win.
“We had a really good Starkey Soundgear Toyota Camry tonight. Can’t thank the guys enough. In practice, I didn’t know it was this good, but for sure proved a point here. Definitely, a tough track. Glad we got to tame it and beat everyone. So it felt pretty good,” the Eden Praire, MN native said post-race.
Lavar Scott came home a career-best second, and Sean Hingorani finished third.
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NASCAR TV Schedule: Sunday, June 30, 2024
3:30 PM ET: NASCAR Cup Race (USA / NBC Sports App)