The Focused Health 250 at COTA on Saturday delivered the hype it promised. The fandom got the epic duel between Shane van Gisbergen and his Kaulig Racing teammate AJ Allmendinger and the race almost looked like it was going for a perfect 1-2 finish for the Chevy camp until Kyle Larson rallied to the front and closed the seal, acing the Austin track and winning his first Xfinity Series race of 2024.

The three-way battle in the front saw SVG, Allmendinger, and Larson getting the better of each other as they sped towards the checkered flag in the closing laps. And just behind them was Joe Gibbs Racing star John Hunter Nemechek, who, it seemed like, was looking for the perfect opportunity to squeeze in. However, that plan failed to come to fruition, which the 26-year-old discussed during a post-race interview.

“I was going to be able to win, but” John Hunter Nemechek didn’t want to risk anything

With nine laps to go to the checkered, the three-way battle between the Kaulig Racing cars and the HendrickCars.com car of Kyle Larson was battling it out for the lead. For a brief moment, the Kiwi seized the lead from his teammate and held him off. However, shortly after, Larson came right back to take the lead, which he held until the end of the race.

While such a fierce war was waging on at the front, JHN was seemingly calmer in his approach, holding back to seize the moment. The driver had anticipated a wreck out that would give him the perfect opening to charge his Toyota Supra to the front and take the race without risking anything. Speaking to Frontstretch, Nemechek revealed his plan when asked about what was going on in his head watching the battle at the front. “I was hoping that all three of them were going to clean each other out. I was going to be able to win, but that wasn’t the case. Definitely was crazy, that’s for sure,” Nemechek revealed. 

Earlier in the race Larson started the overtime restart in 7th and charged up to 3rd by the final lap as Shane van Gisbergen and Austin Hill wrestled for the lead. The contact between Gisbergen and Hill on the final lap allowed Larson to move in and take the lead eventually winning the race.

Gisbergen was called for a track limits violation on the final lap and was assessed a 30-second penalty and was unofficially credited with a 27th-place finish. Allmendinger, who traded the lead with SvG for most of the race had to settle for a 10th-place finish after he flat-spotted his tires on the final run and went behind his teammate in the final 10 laps.

While the lack of that opportunity took away Nemechek’s chances of his second win this season, he was not one to lose hope as he thanked his team for giving him the much-needed support as he finished third.

Nemechek credits his team and crew for a solid race despite not being on top of their game

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“We didn’t run very good,” admitted the Cup Series regular reflecting on his first road race of the season at COTA. While the Toyotas were on top of their game last week, it certainly did not look like they were any match to the top-riding Chevys that occupied the top positions. However, JHN and his #20 Toyota clinched a respectable top 5 finish, coming home just behind Austin Hill who finished second.

All in all, just two cars in the top 10 were a non-Chevy. Nemechek’s Toyota Supra and 2023 Xfinity Series champion Cole Custer were the only other non-Chevy drivers in the top 10 which included Austin Hill in P2, Jesse Love at P6 whereas Allmendinger who waged a war at the front and had to settle with a 10th place finish.

Nonetheless, Nemechek was happy with his team. “I guess we didn’t run very good and ended up finishing solid result, let’s put it that way. So proud of that, proud of the whole team sticking with me, myself sticking with them and really just pushing for a solid day. So came on for solid result, not a win, but overall proud of the effort from everyone here, Joe Gibbs racing,” the driver said. 

Kyle Larson Outplays Charging SVG & Austin Hill as He Claims HMS’ First Xfinity win at COTA

After coming so close to a win, the JGR driver will surely buckle up. Hopefully he won’t leave anything to chance the next time!