LOUDON. N.H. — John Hunter Nemechek had one thought inside the dominant car of the day as the NASCAR race at New Hampshire was set to resume after a few extra laps and one final caution.
“Don’t mess up,” he said.
No need to worry.
Nemechek survived a wreck-marred NASCAR race Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and won for the fourth time this season in the Xfinity Series.
“I expect to win with the best car,” he said. “It’s not exciting. But it’s exciting for me.”
The 26-year-old Nemechek followed last week’s win at Atlanta with another dominant performance for Joe Gibbs Racing. Nemechek pulled away off the final caution, the perfect spot to avoid one more final wipeout behind him. Nemechek rolled in the No. 20 Toyota to the finish line under caution — the 10th of race — that ended the race under the white flag.
“This is one of the first weekends where we had no issues, no mistakes,” Nemechek said.
It’s a familiar path to victory lane for Nemechek, who became the first Xfinity driver to win consecutive races this season. He took the lead off the final restart in Atlanta and drove away from the pack to earn his third victory of the season.
The race was slowed by wild wrecks after restarts and a slew of damaged cars limped to the garage. Cole Custer and Sheldon Creed wrecked to bring out the final caution. That was enough to help Chandler Smith, who started from the pole, to finish in second place. He was followed by Austin Hill, Daniel Hemric and Sammy Smith.
“I felt like that was the best race car I had,” Hemric said.
Smith slumped against his car on pit road in exhaustion after his runner-up finish, in large part because of a malfunction that pumped hot water throughout his cool suit.
Nemechek, the son of former NASCAR second-tier series champion Joe Nemechek, led 137 of 206 laps – six more than scheduled – and gave Joe Gibbs Racing its 196th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory. JGR now has 598 NASCAR wins across the three national series.
“Had, I think, our first clean race this year,” Nemechek said. “I’m a lucky guy that gets to sit behind the wheel of this 20 car every weekend.”
Nemechek leads the point standings by 33 points over Hill. He’s having fun again after a winless stint over parts of three Cup seasons – 2020 was his only full season – and the drop down to NASCAR’s developmental level has paid off. He enjoyed his sixth victory in 85 career Xfinity Series races.
“Winning just keeps getting better and better every time you do it,” he said.
JGR could get a No. 20 weekend sweep on Sunday. Christopher Bell, who won last year’s race at New Hampshire, starts Sunday in the No. 20 Toyota on the pole for the Cup race.
The days leading up to the 2025 NHL trade deadline were a furious final sprint as contenders looked to stock up for a postseason run while rebuilding clubs added prospects and draft capital.
After the overnight Brock Nelson blockbuster Thursday, Friday lived up to expectations, with Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand and other high-profile players finishing the day on different teams than they started with. All told, NHL teams made 24 trades on deadline day involving 47 players.
Which teams and players won the day? Who might not feel as well about the situation after trade season? Reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski identify the biggest winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline:
There are some who saw what the Carolina Hurricanes did at the trade deadline — or perhaps failed to do after they traded Mikko Rantanen — and believe they’re cooked when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, based on the projections from Stathletes, the Canes remain the team with the highest chances of winning the Cup, at 16.7%.
Standing before them on Sunday are the Winnipeg Jets (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+). The Jets had a relatively quiet deadline, adding Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, though sometimes these additions are the types of small tweaks that can push a contender over the edge. As it stands, the Jets enter their showdown against the Canes with the sixth-highest Cup chances, at 8.7%.
Carolina has made two trips to the Cup Final: a loss to the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 and a win over the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. The Canes have reached the conference finals three times since (2009, 2019, 2023). Winnipeg has yet to make the Cup Final, and was defeated 4-1 in the 2018 Western Conference finals by the Vegas Golden Knights in the club’s lone trip to the penultimate stage.
Both clubs are due. Will this be their year?
There is a lot of runway left until the final day of the season on April 17, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide detail on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 43 Regulation wins: 12 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 17 Points pace: 54.3 Next game: vs. NSH (Tuesday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 8
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters.
Hintz extended his stick toward Henrique, whose wrist shot sent the puck under Hintz’s visor during his club’s 5-4 loss to the Oilers. He was on the ice, with his face in a towel, as the team’s medical staff assessed him and helped him skate toward the dressing room.
After the loss, Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said Hintz was at a local hospital, receiving tests. The coach added that the initial report was fairly optimistic for Hintz, 28, who has 25 goals and 52 points.
“Everyone’s optimistic that it’s not ‘serious, serious,'” DeBoer said. “But we won’t know until we get testing.”
The short-handed Stars rallied from a 5-1 deficit before eventually losing. Trade deadline acquisition Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his debut for Dallas, which had its four-game winning streak stopped. Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn and Matt Dumba also scored for the Stars.