With the decision to shut down Stewart-Haas Racing after the season, it’s been a tough time for Tony Stewart and his team.
Still, the SHR unit stayed tight-knit during the race, as they did in the Cup Series opener at Iowa Speedway. In fact, the team came together on Sunday to crush Jimmie Johnson’s infamous star.
SHR had a good time in Iowa, with Josh Berry finishing seventh over the weekend. Another member of Stewart’s team who had a decent showing was Noah Gragson.
He finished 16th, but things could have been better if not for the John Hunter Nemechek incident.
Tony Stewart’s team loses its cool with John Hunter Nemechek’s antics at Iowa Speedway
The Cup Series debut at Iowa Speedway had some exciting moments.
Ryan Blaney’s victory ended a 17-race winning streak, making this season-opening race one to remember for sure. While Ford celebrated a long-awaited victory, Josh Berry’s seventh-place finish was a great result.
More importantly, Berry’s impressive finish provided relief for Tony Stewart’s team. Meanwhile, Noah Gragson, who started 23rd, fought well to finish 16th. The driver of the #10 Ford ran a decent race, but was involved in an accident with the #42 car of John Hunter Nemechek.
During the second stage of the Iowa Corn 350, Nemechek made contact with Gragson in turn three. Unfortunately, this caused the #10 driver to slide, which ultimately led to a caution.
Gragson did a surprisingly good job of keeping the car straight and avoiding any kind of collision, but lost momentum. Interestingly, Nemechek filled in for Gragson at Jimmie Johnson’s team after he was suspended last August.
However, the 27-year-old has yet to make a notable impact this season. With only two top-10 finishes, Nemechek sits 28th in the overall standings after 17 races.
He has struggled with his performance on the track, but his performance in Iowa certainly infuriated Gragson’s camp.
Crew chief Drew Blickenderfer commented over the radio, “What the hell happened?”, adding, “This guy is the biggest fool in racing in the last 10 years.”
There was no doubt that Gragson’s team on pit road was not pleased with Nemechek’s performance. Even his spotter, Andy Houston, made sure their dissatisfaction was conveyed to Ryan Blanchard, the spotter for the No. 42. And most importantly, even the fans sided with Tony Stewart’s camp on this one.
John Hunter Nemechek hampering Tony Stewart and his team’s run at Iowa leaves the fans fuming
It’s no secret that Nemechek is accident-prone. The 27-year-old has built quite a reputation for himself in both the Xfinity and Cup Series.
Competing against Noah Gragson on Sunday, Nemechek certainly drew extra attention with his decision-making and performance.
In response to the rant by Noah Gragson’s team, a fan echoed the sentiment. “I agree,” he said. He’s always running somebody over.” Another fan echoed a similar sentiment, saying, “JHN dumps somebody almost every week.”
Nemechek’s reputation for being involved in accidents worked against him, but his last name brought him even more criticism. One fan accused him of nepotism. “I think the term is ‘nepo baby,’ but Nascar is full of that term,” he said.
Another fan similarly criticized Nemechek. He said, “I don’t know how he got here, but what has he accomplished?? You can’t say that much with your last name.
The fact that Nemechek is Joe Nemechek’s son was evidence against him in this case.” But things got even worse when a fan made a brutal confession: “He needs to go back to Xfinity.”
It’s no wonder fans are angry. Given the frequency of accidents Nemechek has been involved in, the response is more than appropriate.
We hope the Legacy Motor Club driver learns a lesson from this accident and avoids getting caught up in such situations in the future.
