CLUB NOTES
Back to where it all started: John Hunter Nemechek has a great track record at Martinsville Speedway in Trucks and Xfinity competition. Last season in Xfinity, he started second and won the 250-lap event by leading 198 laps en route to victory. In the second event, Nemechek started fifth and led 54 laps but ultimately finished 18th. In the Truck series, he has 14 starts and compiled one pole, one win, five top-five, and six top-10 finishes. His first official NASCAR series start came at Martinsville in the Truck Series on Oct. 26, 2013, when Nemechek was just 16 years old.
Skip Barber Racing School: This weekend at Martinsville, Nemechek and the No. 42 will run a Skip Barber Racing School red, white, and black paint scheme. Founded in 1975, the Skip Barber Racing School is the largest in the world with over 400,000 alumni including drivers who currently compete in Formula 1, INDYCAR, NASCAR, and LEGACY M.C.’s own Jimmie Johnson. It currently operates racing schools and safe driving academies at nine different venues across the country such as Sonoma Raceway, Virginia International Raceway (VIR), Laguna Seca, and Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
Homecoming: Winston-Salem native Justin Reissmann, fueler for the No. 43, returns to his roots this week at his “home track.” Reissmann’s journey in motorsports began after earning a BS in Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2012. He worked at Roush Fenway Racing (now RFK) from 2011 to 2014, gaining valuable experience in the engineering departments before transitioning to Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) from 2015 to 2021. During his tenure at both Roush Fenway and RPM, Reissmann contributed to the engineering programs while serving as the fueler, showcasing his versatility and expertise.
Short track, big momentum: The recent race at Richmond Raceway cleared a significant hurdle for Erik Jones and the No.43 team. This marked their best finish at the 0.75-mile track since Jones joined the organization at the beginning of the 2021 season. The team has struggled in the past six races at Richmond, with an average finish of 25.3. However, their 14th-place finish this weekend marks a positive step forward for the organization’s short-track program.
Family Dollar Gold Star: Primary partner Family Dollar will honor store #43, located in Martinsville, Virginia this weekend as a part of the company’s “Go For G.O.L.D.” (Grand Opening Look Daily) program. Throughout the race season, the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar primaries will highlight these stores on the deck lid of all three LEGACY M.C. entries.
Xfinity success: Crew chief Dave Elenz has three starts at Martinsville Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series during his time with JR Motorsports. Out of these three starts, he achieved three top-five finishes, led 188 laps, and secured the checkered flag during the 2021 fall race. Elenz has an average start of 6.3 and an average finish of 2.0 at the historic short track.
Ben too!: Crew chief Ben Beshore has a great record at Martinsville in the Xfinity Series, winning two races with Harrison Burton and John Hunter Nemechek. Beshore’s drivers led a total of 333 laps around the paper clip-shaped track.
Tick tock: LEGACY M.C. co-owner Jimmie Johnson has visited Victory Lane nine times at this track, therefore owning nine of the coveted grandfather clock trophies. These dominating victories place Johnson third all-time at Martinsville, tied with Jeff Gordon, only trailing Richard Petty ‘The King’ and Darrell Waltrip.
Career averages: Jones has 40 starts on short tracks in his NASCAR Cup Series career, earning an average start of 17.7 and an average finish of 19.2. Jones has led 293 laps in these 40 attempts, earning four top-five and seven top-10 finishes.
CLUB QUOTES
John Hunter Nemechek, Driver of the No. 42 Skip Barber Racing School Toyota Camry XSE:
“Laps are laps so success in Trucks or Xfinity doesn’t translate over automatically. Working with the Next Gen car we are learning the car itself. The tracks are the same but the car is just so different. There is a lot more to these longer races on the Cup side than the Xfinity or truck side. I am just soaking up information like a sponge. The short practices are tough but Ben and I are just gaining on it throughout the races and we are making improvements. As a driver, I am putting in the work during the week and showing up being prepared. As far as learning how this car feels in traffic, we are spending time during the race to do so but we get better from start to finish.”
Ben Beshore, Crew chief of the No. 42 Skip Barber Racing School Toyota Camry XSE:
“I think we are doing a good job of running every lap and not making catastrophic mistakes to where we are getting a decent finish out of each of these races. The results aren’t what we had hoped for, but as long as we keep improving every week, that is a positive. We want to keep progressing and getting better and the team, JH and the pit crew are doing a great job getting solid days. Our second half performance of the race is way better than the first – and that is consistent – so it’s just going to take some time and we will start seeing results.”
Erik Jones, Driver of the No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE:
Talk about the team morale going into Martinsville after a top-15 at another short track in Richmond.
“We hope the momentum keeps rolling after Richmond. We have had a handful of rough races—some of those from lack of speed and some of those are out of our control. It was nice just to have a smooth race; everything went really well and went our way, which was good. Going into Martinsville, we hope that we can continue that on. We learned a lot on our car and some other tools that we have as well, so that is a good note to head into Martinsville on.”
Has Richard given you any tips on how to conquer the paperclip?
“Richard has always talked about the patience that place takes. He always talks about the importance of saving your equipment so you can make it through the entire thing, especially with the racetrack and your fellow competitors. That has been goal number one and what he has shared with me when going out and competing for a win at Martinsville.”
Dave Elenz, Crew chief of the No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE:
How has the organization’s short-track program improved so far this season?
“Our short track program is a lot stronger this year than last year. The new rules package that we have with the simple diffuser on the back plays an advantage for us. It also helps with the feel that Erik is looking for. Last weekend at Richmond was a little bit of a struggle, but we came out with a good finish in the end. We look forward to continuing to improve our cars going into Martinsville to earn a stronger finish overall.”
LMC PR
