JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE<\/p>\n
JHN AT ST. LOUIS: Sunday\u2019s race at World Wide Technology Raceway will be John Hunter Nemechek\u2019s third NASCAR Cup Series start at the track. He earned his highest finish of sixth in last year\u2019s event at St. Louis. Nemechek also has seven starts there in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where he won in June 2017. He earned a total of three top-10 finishes at WWTR with a fourth-place result in June 2015 and a sixth-place finish in June 2016.<\/p>\n
TRUCK SERIES WINNER AT WWTR: In August 2017, Nemechek took home the checkered flag in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race after starting second. He led 46 out of 160 laps and won with a 1.635 margin of victory over Chase Briscoe. Nemechek was running a full-time season in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2017, and WWTR marked his first of two wins that season.<\/p>\n
T-MACK ST. LOUIS STATS: Sunday afternoon\u2019s race will be crew chief Travis Mack\u2019s fourth NASCAR Cup Series race at WWTR. His first outing at the 1.25-mile oval came in June 2022 with Daniel Su\u00e1rez where he finished 23rd. Mack\u2019s highest finish of sixth came with Nemechek in September 2025 after starting 20th.<\/p>\n
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
\u201cSt. Louis has been good to me in the past. I\u2019ve had success there in the Truck Series, and I\u2019ve led a bunch of laps there. We had a lot of speed there in last year\u2019s Cup Series race, so I\u2019m looking forward to going back there and building off what we learned. Metrics are going to be really important for Bristol, so there\u2019s a lot of emphasis on having a good run this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
TRAVIS MACK QUOTE:
\u201cWe were pretty good in St. Louis last year. We\u2019re really looking to capitalize on last year\u2019s run there and try to finish strong for the last stretch of this season to hit our points goal for the year.\u201d
GRAPHIC CREDIT: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB
ERIK JONES
NO. 43 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE<\/p>\n
JONES ST. LOUIS STATS: Sunday\u2019s Enjoy Illinois 300 will mark Erik Jones\u2019 fifth NASCAR Cup Series start at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill. In his prior four starts, Jones earned one top-10 and two top-20s. He earned a best finish of seventh in the Cup Series\u2019 inaugural race at the track in June 2022. Jones started 22st and led four laps en route to his top-10 finish. He has an additional three starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at WWTR where he started in the top-three twice and earned a fifth-place finish in June 2016, his best at the track. He led a total of 88 laps in his Truck Series in his career at the track.<\/p>\n
THE WIN THAT GOT AWAY: In June 2015, Jones started on the pole for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at WWTR. He was favored to win as he had been knocking on the door of the win with four top-three finishes in seven races so far that year. He led the opening 55 laps of the race before coming to pit road and handing over the lead to Matt Crafton. He took the lead back on Lap 63 and led for an additional 20 laps. After several lead changes from strategy, he took the lead for a final time on Lap 111 for nine laps. An accident on Lap 145 with the No. 1 truck of Ryan Ellis derailed his day though and problems sustained from that incident forced him to retire after leading 84 laps. Cole Custer went on to win that race. Jones went on to win the next weekend at Iowa Speedway and won two more races that season before clinching his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.<\/p>\n
ALEXANDER AT WWTR: Crew chief Justin Alexander owns two prior NASCAR Cup Series starts on top of the box at World Wide Technology Raceway. He never finished worse than 15th with a best finish of sixth in June 2024 with Austin Dillon after starting 18th.<\/p>\n
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
\u201cSt. Louis is a tough one in general. There are a lot of factors that go into doing well there between qualifying well to start further up in the field to get a good pit stall and stay up front all day. It\u2019s hard to pass at St. Louis. You have to have a good car to stay up front. We still haven\u2019t quite figured out this new package with the higher horsepower and less downforce at these tracks. It\u2019s a constant evolution. Excited to get there and see what we have. We had a decent run last year until our power steering issue, and the No. 42 did run well last year so we should have some good notes. Can\u2019t wait to see what we have and hope to keep these better runs rolling.\u201d<\/p>\n
JUSTIN ALEXANDER QUOTE:
\u201cWWTR is a place where track position is really important, so qualifying well will be a big focus for us. The way the race plays out can open the door for a lot of different strategies, whether it\u2019s taking two tires, staying out or trying to gain spots on pit road. We\u2019ll need to execute all weekend and make the right calls to put ourselves in position at the end.\u201d
GRAPHIC CREDIT: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB
CLUB NOTES:<\/p>\n
ST. LOUIS AND NASCAR: Prior to the NASCAR Cup Series\u2019 inaugural race at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, the track had hosted races for the NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the ARCA Menards Series. In July 1997, the track hosted its first NASCAR top-tier series race with the O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series. The winner of that race was Elliott Sadler. It followed that up in September 1997 with an ARCA Menards Series race. The following year in September 1998, the track added the Truck Series to its lineup, where Rick Carelli, Erik Jones\u2019 former spotter, was the race winner. The O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series continued to hold races at the track until 2010, while the Truck Series continued to run there through present day. Prior to the 2022 season, the 1.25-mile oval was added to the NASCAR Cup Series schedule to hold its inaugural race for the series.<\/p>\n
JJ AT WWTR: While LEGACY MOTOR CLUB owner and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson never raced in the Cup Series at World Wide Technology Raceway, he does own three NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at the track. He never finished outside the top-15 in these starts. In his first start in October 1998, Johnson started 36th but found himself in the lead on Lap 85 where he led for 10 laps. He ultimately finished 15th. In July 2000, Johnson started 16th and finished 13th. In his final start in July 2001, he started ninth and finished 14th.<\/p>\n
KENSETH WWTR STATS: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB competition advisor and 2003 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Matt Kenseth also has three NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at World Wide Technology Raceway. He owns two top-10 finishes at the track with a best finish of second, earned in October 1998 where he finished 3.254 seconds behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. He followed that up with a sixth-place result in July 1999 after starting 21st.
SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT:
From the Carvana vending machine reveal to the unveiling at Daytona International Speedway, watch the buildup at the track and the moment the paint scheme was revealed to the public for the first time, with Jimmie\u2019s daughter Lydia riding alongside him.
CLUB APPEARANCES:<\/p>\n
John Hunter Nemechek will visit the trackside merchandise trailer for an autograph session on Saturday, September 12 at 12 p.m. local time.
TUNE IN:<\/p>\n
Fans can tune in to watch the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, September 13 at 3 p.m. EDT on USA Sports, HBO MAX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).<\/p>\n
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