The championship race of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series saw a thrilling end as Cole Custer defied the odds to take the race and the title win. However, the Stewart-Haas Racing man was not seen as the favorite. Dale Earnhardt Jr‘s JR Motorsports had a golden chance of taking the crown with two drivers in the race and Joe Gibbs Racing had an in-form John Hunter Nemechek fighting for the win. But after he failed to get the job done at Phoenix, the JGR man’s post-race comments were not well received by everyone. And now it might be a concern for Jimmie Johnson.

This was John Hunter Nemechek’s last chance to win the Xfinity Series title before making his move to a full-time Cup Series seat in Legacy Motor Club. The 26-year-old had a golden chance to claim victory but a crucial error on the final restart saw him be passed by a bunch of cars, making it impossible to launch a comeback.

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With just three laps remaining, the race restarted for the final time, and John Hunter Nemechek seemed to have the advantage going into turn 1. However, the JGR man had driven too hard to the point where the car just wouldn’t turn back to the inside. By this point, Justin Allgaier and Cole Custer had driven up to his #20.

JR Motorsports’ Allgaier also seemed to have driven a tad too hard into the first turn, which led to him pinching the #20 against the wall. From that moment on, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver had no chance to launch a charge for the win. However, he didn’t acknowledge his error of driving too far up the track in his post-race interview and that is something former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Steve Letarte couldn’t stand.

On a recent episode of Dirty Mo Dough, Letarte praised Dale Jr’s driver for owning up to his mistakes and being an honest man when he made his error on turn 3. However, he slammed John Hunter Nemechek for making excuses and not admitting that he had a fatal error of judgment.

“John Hunter Nemechek maybe had a flat tire or just entered 20 mph too fast and missed turn 1 and then Justin Allgaier, self-admittedly…you know why I like Justin Allgaier? Cause in his interview he at least admitted it. He said, “I overdrove turn 3.” Unlike John Hunter who made all these excuses, Allgaier was like, “I scr*wed it up.” I can cheer for a guy who admits it,” Letarte said.

As far as Nemechek is concerned, the car just wouldn’t turn. He might have made an excuse. Perhaps he did have a mechanical issue or a tire issue that the team hadn’t seen at the time. Either way, it cost him the chance of winning a major title before joining one of the greatest of all time, Jimmie Johnson, in the Cup Series next year.

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At the end of the race in Phoenix, the 26-year-old admitted to being disappointed by the result but acknowledged his fine season with the team. Winning seven races in a season is an incredible achievement at any level of NASCAR. Nemechek thanked his team one final time for their support as he bid farewell to the Xfinity Series for now.

“It didn’t turn. I don’t know if it had a right front start going down or what exactly it was but, just drove in and didn’t turn,” the #20 driver said of the turn 1 incident. “Seven wins is a lot to be proud of. One race doesn’t define us as a group and it’s really just another race. If you win, you come out the champion. That’s really all you can do,” he added.

With Jimmie Johnson there to guide him, there is a lot that John Hunter Nemechek can learn during his time at LMC. It will be interesting to see his progress over the next few years and how the 26-year-old develops as a driver.

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