11:44 PM ET

  • Associated Press

FONTANA, Calif. —

Because of the Xfinity delay, Nemechek has the distinction of being the final driver to win a stock car race on the two-mile track at Auto Club Speedway. NASCAR plans to tear up the beloved asphalt east of Los Angeles soon, with vague plans to build a short-track course on the site in the next two years — although NASCAR reportedly has sold most of the land around the facility.

“It’s cool to be the final winner here,” Nemechek said. “It means a lot. Maybe when they tear this place up, they’ll send me a piece of asphalt, just for the memory.”

Justin Allgaier came in third behind Mayer, who flipped over onto his roof last week at Daytona after attempting a bold move to win in overtime with a pass on Allgaier. The 19-year-old Mayer finished 0.761 seconds behind Nemechek in his JR Motorsports Chevrolet at Fontana.

“We threw the kitchen sink at it, and we ended up second,” Mayer said. “All things considered, I’m really happy and proud.”

Nemechek couldn’t celebrate with a burnout, both because of the water spewing from his overheating engine and because the Xfinity teams must use the same engines and cars at Las Vegas next weekend.

“We had trash on the grill there for a while,” Nemechek said. “Hopefully it didn’t hurt the motor too bad. But the car is in one piece, and it’s fast.”

Nemechek will need all the car he can get next week — and all the truck, too. He’ll race in both the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series against Busch, his boss and mentor for the previous two Truck seasons.

“What’s cool is he drove for my dad when he was about my age back in the day,” Nemechek said. “I don’t know if there’s a rivalry there or not, but I definitely want to go and try to win both races next week, and I know he’s in both races. I think it comes down to team, truck and execution.”

Cole Custer won the first two stages in his Stewart-Haas Racing Ford while bidding for two straight wins at Fontana and three in his career on his hometown track, but he went into the wall with a right front flat early in the final stage. Custer, who finished 27th, grew up in Ladera Ranch, an upscale planned community in Orange County roughly 50 miles south of Auto Club Speedway.