Roulette Recap follows a randomly selected driver throughout a race to break down their efforts. There is no telling ahead of time how the race will go. The driver could face calamity on the opening lap or start from the rear and win the race. With that, may the odds be ever in the driver’s favor.
ToyotaCare 250
For the sixth race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season, drivers headed to Richmond Raceway. The .75-mile paved short track has proven in recent years that starting at the front pays dividends.
In his 24 starts, Jeremy Clements has an average starting spot of 21.1. To boot, the short track has not been kind to the Spartanburg, South Carolina native, as his average finish is 22.6.
However, for the 2024 spring race, Clements was 10th in practice and sat eighth on the overall lap averages chart. In qualifying, he laid down a lap that would have him lineup P17 for the early afternoon race.
Once engines were fired, Clements and his No. 51 Jeremy Clements Racing team readied to race in Richmond. Crew chief Mark Setzer reminded his driver about the need to take care of his tires, and then Clements was off.
Stage 1
In the opening lap, he worked his way to P15. Then, heading into Lap 3, he got around Shane Van Gisbergen.
Over the next six laps, he found himself in a gaggle of cars, eventually working his way to P12 by Lap 8.
Lap 13 saw Clements fighting off, and sailing away from, Parker Kligerman, maintaining P12. Shortly after, Setzer radioed in “Second fastest on the track. Take care of the tires.”
The first caution of the day came on Lap 20 when the No. 38 of Ryan Vargas started smoking. Clements was still in P12 and Setzer opted to stay on track despite his driver desiring some adjustments.
Seven laps later, cars were rolling again and Clements gained a spot on the restart. However, within two laps, he was middle of three and had lost two spots. Once the field settled down and worked to mostly single file, Clements was sitting P17.
Once again, Clements worked around SVG, then Josh Williams, to claim P16 on Lap 36. However, before much more ground could be made, the caution was back out as Brandon Jones went for a spin, leaving oil on the track.
Unfortunately, Clements, P14, also sustained damage, though not as severe, as he got into the wall in an attempt to avoid the oil.
With Jones out of the race, Clements bumped to P12. Setzer called his driver in to assess the damage and noted the splitter looked good, however, the toe link was out a bit. After the stop, which included some adjustments, Clements returned to the track in P33 with 19 to go.
Clements ran the subsequent laps in the middle of three, but came out P30. Despite the trouble, with seven to go in the stage, Setzer noted he was still running top-10 lap times. Before the stage ended, Clements secured one more spot to finish in P29.
Stage 2
Under caution, Clements told his crew, “I’m tighter than ever.” Setzer asked a few follow-up questions to see how the No. 51 Chevrolet ran. From there, he opted to bring Clements in for more adjustments.
This latest trip to the pits had Clements line up P31 for the start of Stage 2, which went wide and wild. Drivers kept it clean and Clements gained three spots in the first three laps.
By Lap 88, he had advanced to P27 and had eyes set forward. Four laps later saw the No. 51 advance two more spots, but he lost it after a multi-lap battle with Ryan Ellis.
Clements worked to P24, but the caution was out on Lap 96 as Logan Bearden got loose and went for a spin.
Under caution, Clements dejectedly said, “This is not the same car now.” Setzer encouraged his driver to work with what he had and nurse it to the end. Clements went on to ask about the car hitting the splitter. Setzer confirmed it was “close” but not hitting. He went on to say they would add a packer on the next stop to help with that.
Following the lengthy caution, Clements lined up P25 for the restart on Lap 102. He maintained P25 despite some early chaos that saw Kligerman into the wall.
Ten laps into the run, Clements woked his way to P23 and was running steady. Two more laps earned him two more spots. On Lap 115, NASCAR veteran Matt DiBennedetto got around Clements to bump him back to P22, but he would not be deterred.
Setzer radioed in to inform Clements he was running top-15 lap times, despite not only the damage, but running mid-pack. On Lap 127, he worked his way around Jeb Burton to lay claim to P21. With eyes set on breaking out of the top 20, Setzer informed his driver, he was faster than the whole group ahead of him – “Be smart and go get ’em.”
As the stage came to a close, Clements sat P22 and radioed in, “It feels like the right front is coming apart.”
Stage 3
Clements came in for tires, fuel, and adjustments to kick off the final stage. He restarted P27 on Lap 160. As Sam Mayer had a flat and fell through the field before hitting pitting road, Clements was able to snag a position.
After that, he started to make some progress. He moved to P24 as he took 80 to go. But within two laps, the caution was out again as Joey Gase got into the wall, leaving car parts all over the track.
In an interesting turn of events, Gase ended up chucking his bumper at Dawson Cram‘s car following the spin.
Frustration can manifest in a lot of different ways đź‘€. pic.twitter.com/Wt4dHVS6tn
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) March 30, 2024
Meanwhile, Clements opted to save his tires for later in the race stating, “We need to do something different.” He returned to the track in P25 for a restart with 67 to go. Within seven laps, he sat P23, once again working hard to break out of the top 20, this time on old tires.
Clements held on best he could on those tires as the laps ticked by. With 32 to go, he was P22, racing Jeb Burton for the Lucky Dog. Awaiting a caution that never came, Clements finished the day P24.
Setzer closed out the day, stating, “Way to hang on to it. Sorry about the bad luck today. We brought a good race car though.”
Click here for a full rundown of the ToyotaCare 250.
Sponsor Shoutout + Driver & Team Socials
NASCAR fans know sponsors make the sport go ’round. We want to give a shoutout to High Speed Auto and Nordic Transport who played a huge part of the weekend for Jeremy and the No. 51 team.
Be sure to give Jeremy Clements (Instagram, X) and Jeremy Clements Racing (Facebook, Instagram, X) a follow to keep up with the latest news from the driver and team.
