John Hunter Nemechek (second) and Kaz Grala (fourth) achieved top five finishes in Saturday’s ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway. Nemechek will run for $100,000 as part of the Dash 4 Cash program in Martinsville. For Grala, fourth is his best career result (Daytona 2018, Road America 2020). The result is the second best in Sam Hunt Racing history and the team’s second top five finish at Richmond Raceway.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Richmond racetrack
Race 7 of 33 – 187.5 miles, 250 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Chandler Smith*
2ND, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
3rd, Josh Berry*
4., KAZ GRALA
5., Cole Custer*
19., SAMMY SMITH
27., JOEY GASE
28CONNOR MOSACK
31. MASON MAGGIO
37., JOE COUNT JR.
*Non-Toyota drivers
TOYOTA QUOTES
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK#20 Safeway/ACME Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Final placement: 2nd
Can you talk about the ending?
“Yes, we weren’t very good in the short term. We had a long-distance car. We came from behind to fight up here. I’m just proud of everyone on this #20 Toyota GR Supra team for Joe Gibbs Racing. The Safeway colors looked great on our car. We came from behind as fast as Xfinity 10G Internet. Disappointed to finish second again. It’s been frustrating the last three races here where I’ve finished second or third. We’ll get back to work. We just have to figure out how to do it better. The 16er (Chandler Smith) had the best car in the short term – he would be difficult to stop early on, he would fire and then fall back. Just one of these days. It was a good points day for us. I think we went up a few places. Disappointed but we will take it and move on to the next one.”
KAZ GRALA#26 Toyota Racing Development Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing
Final placement: 4th
Can you talk about your race?
“It was our best race of the year – but not because of a lack of effort. We brought really, really fast Toyota GR Supras. Today was no exception. Everything went our way – we had a thoroughly solid day. In the short run we were easily a top 10 car, but in the long run we might just have been the best car out here. When the warning came too late, I was almost disappointed – but it ended well. We’ll finish fourth. I’m really, really proud of everyone at Sam Hunt Racing, Toyota, our partners, Reudebusch, Island Coastal Lager, Fire Department Coffee. You can’t do it without these guys.”
Does it feel special to finish in the top five here with Sam Hunt Racing – your home track?
“Absolutely. Sam (Hunt, team owner) has a lot of friends, family and guests here this weekend so this is his home race – it was a huge race. It’s always a little bit sweeter to run well at your home race. Having just that we did. I liked today because there was no crazy pit strategy, no cycling, no attrition – we were just pretty good today. We were good in the short term and very, very good in the long term. Very proud of everyone at Sam Hunt Racing, Toyota , our partners, Reudebusch, Island Coastal Lager, Fire Department Coffee. Can’t do without these guys. It was a fun Saturday. We’ve got more of it.”
SAM HUNTTeam Owner, Sam Hunt Racing
Final placement: 4th
What does that mean?
“That means a lot. Especially because it’s been a tough year so far, we’ve had fast cars and we just didn’t like things. We’ve been good all day. We were really hoping for it to go green because I think we had a car that we can beat in the long term but for this team, this group, to drive with these guys and to beat the cars that we’ve beaten is special, it’s really cool, I’m just grateful for everyone the people who believed in us believed in me. I feel like I really didn’t deserve this stage, this situation, this finish. I was just lucky to have great people who supported me and this program help.”
TRD PR