John Hunter Nemechek went through two significant incidents during the race in Texas on Sunday. Texas Motor Speedway hosted a tumultuous Cup Series race, with a calm first stage followed by consecutive stages full of accidents and cautions. Nemechek’s teammate at HMS, Alex Bowman, managed to end his 42-race winless streak amid the chaos. However, Nemechek, just like last week in Martinsville, was a victim of someone else’s mistake and had a disappointing day, finishing as the worst Chevy from HMS.
During the second stage of the race, Nemechek and the Legacy Motor Club car were involved in an accident, forcing them to retire early due to significant damage. Bowman couldn’t continue, while Nemechek returned to the track but did not finish the race. The Toyota Camry No. 42 received the 34th position, while the Chevy Camaro ZL1 No. 48 received the 37th position. Only one driver finished worse than Nemechek.
The incident was initiated by Christopher Bell from Joe Gibbs Racing, who spun in the turn, causing the drivers behind him to slow down and take evasive action. Bowman, who was racing behind Bell, had to brake suddenly, resulting in a collision with Nemechek’s Camry. Both cars spun and slid in the grass before coming to a stop. What adds to the disappointment for both drivers is the fact that Bell, the cause of the incident, regained control of his car and finished in 17th place.
The incident occurred because both drivers had to brake abruptly, leaving them with no choice but to collide. Nemechek mentioned that, just like Bowman, he braked hard when he saw the No. 48 spin, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the collision.
Nemechek then explained the second incident, which involved Austin Cindric’s Ford Mustang #2 and resulted in his retirement from the race. He stated that the fixed towing link of his Toyota broke when he tried to overtake the winner of the 2022 Daytona 500.
Nemechek holds no grudge against Bowman and Cindric, as they were not involved in the incident that led to his retirement. They will be looking to improve their performance in the next race and return to competing at a high level.
