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“Front Row” Joe Nemechek returned to the top step of the podium while Pat Womack continued his recent winning roll Saturday in HSR NASCAR Classic presented by Goodyear competition at the Go Bowling at The Glen NASCAR race weekend at Watkins Glen International. A strong field of familiar NASCAR stock cars and trucks now retired from active competition ran a pair of 20 minute sprint races to both begin and end the day Saturday at The Glen as the second-year HSR NASCAR Classic series raced for the first time this season on a NASCAR Cup Series race weekend.
Nemechek drove his NEMCO Motorsports 2007 No. 47 Made in The USA Chevrolet Silverado to the overall and Pro Class victories in Saturday afternoon’s feature race. His main competition came from the ever-improving Womack, who battled with Nemechek all day in his ex-FedEx Joe Gibbs Racing 2014 No. 11 Toyota Camry prepared by NEMCO. Womack prevailed for his third and fourth straight NASCAR Classic Am-class victories and actually beat Nemechek to the line for overall honors as well in Saturday morning’s qualifying race.
The win put Womack on the pole for that afternoon’s feature event and he capably held off Nemechek before “Front Row” edged past for his first NASCAR Classic overall race win since April’s HSR The Mitty presented by Hagerty at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
Womack stayed close to take the checkered flag second overall while sealing the Am division win as Nemechek’s strongest challenger for the second race weekend in a row. In June’s NASCAR Classic race at Lime Rock Park, Nemechek and Womack battled in that event’s feature race for second place as Ryan Gemmell stepped up to sweep the Pro and overall wins after a dominating performance in his NEMCO Motorsports No. 6 Toyota Camry.
At The Glen, Gemmell was beginning to move into the overall fight for the win Saturday afternoon only to slow with a mechanical issue. Still, he was classified third in class and joined Nemechek and series-debuting Brian Keselowski in the Pro top-three. Keselowski, the older brother of 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski, garnered second-place Pro honors driving a 2000 No. 1 Dodge Ram campaigned in its prime by Dennis Setzer.
It was another quick NASCAR truck that claimed third overall, however, on Saturday as Sam LeComte completed the outright podium and took second in Am in the 2012 No. 69 Chevrolet Silverado.
Third in Am and fourth overall was secured by Mark Mercurio and his Flyin Wrenchz racing team that brought a quick 2012 No. 55 Toyota Camry with Mercurio at the wheel to a “Home Game” at The Glen. Mercurio and his team are headquartered only a couple of hours from Watkins Glen in the Buffalo-area community of East Aurora.
The overall top-five was completed by returning NASCAR Classic driver Chris Evans who showed no rust despite competing in his first race of the year in his Petty’s Garage 2013 No. 43 “Never Forget – 9/11/01” Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
Next up on the 2025 schedule is the HSR NASCAR Classic presented by Goodyear Celebration at VIRginia International Raceway, which will be among the featured races at the HSR VIR Historics, Sept. 4-7, on the 3.27-mile Southern Virginia road course.
