John Hunter Nemechek

John Hunter Nemechek (born June 11, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. Son of NASCAR competitor Joe Nemechek, he was the 2012 champion in the Allison Legacy Series. A member of Drivers Edge Development, Nemechek competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 4 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

John Hunter Nemechek
Nemechek at Homestead–Miami Speedway in 2018
Born (1997-06-11) June 11, 1997
Mooresville, North Carolina
Achievements2012 Allison Legacy Series Champion
2014 All American 400 winner
2014 Snowball Derby winner
Awards2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Most Popular Driver
NASCAR Cup Series career
39 races run over 2 years
2020 position27th
Best finish27th (2020)
First race2019 AAA Texas 500 (Texas)
Last race2020 Season Finale 500 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 3 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
51 races run over 2 years
2019 position7th
Best finish7th (2019)
First race2018 Rinnai 250 (Atlanta)
Last race2019 Ford EcoBoost 300 (Homestead)
First win2018 Kansas Lottery 300 (Kansas)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 30 1
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
102 races run over 8 years
Truck no., teamNo. 4 (Kyle Busch Motorsports)
2020 position82nd
Best finish8th (2016, 2017)
First race2013 Kroger 200 (Martinsville)
Last race2020 Henry Ford Health System 200 (Michigan)
First win2015 American Ethanol E15 225 (Chicago)
Last win2018 Alpha Energy Solutions 250 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles
6 50 2
Statistics current as of November 8, 2020.

Early life

A young Nemechek in the pits at Infineon Raceway in 2005

Born June 11, 1997, Nemechek is a native of Mooresville, North Carolina;[1] he was named after his uncle, John Nemechek, who had been killed in a racing accident earlier that year in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Homestead-Miami Speedway.[2] He was a student at the Davidson Day School in Davidson, North Carolina.[3] Nemechek was born the oldest of three full siblings. Nemechek also has one older half-brother.

Nemechek was the subject of a children's book on racing, Racin' Buddies, written by his father in 2001.[4]

Racing career

Nemechek's 2013 K&N Pro Series car

Nemechek began his racing career at the age of 5, competing in go-karts, quarter midget cars and in dirt bike competition.[3] He moved up to stock car competition in 2010, competing in the Allison Legacy Series with sponsorship from England Stove Works.[3][5]

In 2012, Nemechek moved up to late model and super late model competition,[6] competing in the Champion Racing Association Super Series and American Speed Association Midwest Tour; he also competed in the World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna Speedway during Speedweeks.[7] Nemechek won praise from Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch following a CRA Super Series race in which both drivers competed.[7]

In June 2012, Nemechek won the pole for the Howie Lettow Memorial 150, an ASA Midwest Tour event, at the Milwaukee Mile; he was scheduled to take a driver's education course the following week as he had just passed his fifteenth birthday.[8] He finished 23rd in the event.[9]

After competing in the 2012 Snowball Derby,[10] starting second and finishing tenth, Nemechek won the 2012 Allison Legacy Series championship, winning 15 of the season's 18 races.[11][12]

In 2013, Nemechek moved to competing in the Southern Super Series as well as in selected races in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East,[12] starting with the UNOH Battle at the Beach at Daytona International Speedway in February.[13] In late 2013, he made his debut in the Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 22 Toyota for SWM-NEMCO Racing.[14] He competed in two events, with a best finish of 16th.[15]

In January 2014, Nemechek announced he would be competing in ten Camping World Truck Series events during the 2014 season.[15] After the season ended, he won the 300-lap Snowball Derby.[16]

On September 19, 2015, 16 years to the day his father won his first Cup race, Nemechek won his first Truck Series race at Chicagoland. On November 29, Nemechek has voted the Most Popular Driver for the 2015 season in the Truck Series.

Nemechek's truck in 2015

In 2016, Nemechek won at Atlanta. At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park during the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 250, Nemechek and Cole Custer were battling for the lead when Nemechek bumped Custer which led to Nemechek losing control and intentionally sending both Custer and himself off-road, pinning Custer to the wall. Before the winner was declared, Nemechek was tackled by Custer; Nemechek would be named the winner.[17]

In 2017, Nemechek won back-to-back races at Gateway and Iowa. Nemechek missed the Championship Four after finishing 2nd at Phoenix.

For the 2018 season, Nemechek joined Chip Ganassi Racing to drive the No. 42 NASCAR Xfinity Series car on a part-time basis. He also would continue to run select Camping World Truck Series races for his father's team NEMCO Motorsports. He would win at Martinsville in March. He suffered heartbreaking losses at Chicago and Bristol, after running out of fuel on the final lap in Chicago, handing the win to Brett Moffitt, and suffered fuel pickup issues with 5 laps remaining and a 2-second lead in Bristol, allowing Johnny Sauter to take the lead and eventual win. Nemechek would go on to finish 7th and 3rd in those races, respectively.[18] In his Xfinity Series debut, Nemechek finished an impressive 4th-place finish at Atlanta, though he was involved in an early race wreck involving Elliott Sadler and Cole Custer resulting in Custer's car wrecking. Nemechek followed up the 4th-place run with a 29th-place finish at Auto Club after a tire failure ruined his chances of a good run. His next Xfinity Series races were the four Dash 4 Cash races, where he had one top ten finish at Talladega. On October 20, 2018, after dominating the race and winning stage 2, Nemechek won his first career Xfinity race at Kansas Speedway in the 2018 Kansas Lottery 300.

Nemechek's No. 23 in 2019

In 2019, Nemechek signed with GMS Racing for the full Xfinity schedule in the No. 23 Chevrolet.[19] On October 29, Front Row Motorsports announced that Nemechek would fill in for Matt Tifft in the No. 36 Ford for the final three races of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series after medical issues forced Tifft from the ride.[20] Nemecheck and his father Joe made motorsports history at ISM Raceway in early November 2019 by being the first father-son duo to race in all three main series in one weekend.[21] He finished the 2019 season seventh in points after finishing sixth at Homestead.[22]

Nemechek's No. 38 at Michigan International Speedway in 2020

On December 12, 2019, Front Row Motorsports announced that Nemechek will replace David Ragan as the driver of the No. 38 Ford for the 2020 season, competing for the 2020 NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors.[23] Nemechek started the season with an 11th-place finish in the 2020 Daytona 500. After a two-month break four races into the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nemechek would get the first top-10 of his Cup career in the first race in the double-header at Darlington. This would also be the first top-10 for Front Row Motorsports at a track other than Talladega or Daytona since 2016.[24] However, in the second Darlington race, Nemechek would bring out the first two cautions of the night, eventually finishing 35th. Nemechek wouldn't get another top-10 until the GEICO 500 at Talladega, where he would finish eighth.[25]

On November 16, 2020, Nemechek parted ways with Front Row Motorsports.[26] A week later, he signed with Kyle Busch Motorsports for the 2021 Truck Series season.[27]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings. * – Most laps led.)

Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 NCSC Pts Ref
2019 Front Row Motorsports 36 Ford DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV KAN CLT POC MCH SON CHI DAY KEN NHA POC GLN MCH BRI DAR IND LVS RCH CLT DOV TAL KAN MAR TEX
21
PHO
27
HOM
23
49th 01 [28]
2020 38 DAY
11
LVS
24
CAL
25
PHO
25
DAR
9
DAR
35
CLT
16
CLT
13
BRI
13
ATL
23
MAR
25
HOM
19
TAL
8
POC
24
POC
19
IND
15
KEN
36
TEX
22
KAN
19
NHA
36
MCH
36
MCH
23
DAY
35
DOV
24
DOV
20
DAY
11
DAR
36
RCH
30
BRI
20
LVS
20
TAL
8
CLT
36
KAN
17
TEX
22
MAR
26
PHO
26
27th 534 [29]
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
2020 Front Row Motorsports Ford 23 11

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts Ref
2018 Chip Ganassi Racing 42 Chevy DAY ATL
4
LVS PHO CAL
29
TEX BRI
13
RCH
13
TAL
7
DOV
14
CLT POC
7
MCH
13
IOW
15
CHI DAY KEN
7
NHA
4
IOW
5
GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR IND
25
LVS RCH CLT DOV
9
KAN
1
TEX
4
PHO
9
HOM
3
13th 643 [30]
2019 GMS Racing 23 Chevy DAY
8
ATL
20
LVS
2
PHO
9
CAL
28
TEX
9
BRI
5
RCH
7
TAL
6
DOV
8
CLT
12
POC
12
MCH
8
IOW
8
CHI
11
DAY
22
KEN
12
NHA
36
IOW
3
GLN
12
MOH
31
BRI
3
ROA
26
DAR
21
IND
31
LVS
8
RCH
15
CLT
7
DOV
8
KAN
8
TEX
5
PHO
4
HOM
6
7th 2253 [31]

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NCWTC Pts Ref
2013 SWM-NEMCO Motorsports 22 Toyota DAY MAR CAR KAN CLT DOV TEX KEN IOW ELD POC MCH BRI MSP IOW CHI LVS TAL MAR
19
TEX PHO
21
HOM 45th 51 [32]
2014 8 DAY MAR
12
KAN CLT DOV
6
TEX GTW
15
KEN IOW
10
ELD
6
POC MCH BRI
27
MSP
25
CHI NHA
5
LVS TAL MAR
13
TEX PHO
7
HOM 23rd 337 [33]
2015 Chevy DAY ATL MAR
29
KAN CLT DOV
22
TEX GTW
4
IOW
23
KEN
11
ELD
7
POC
13
MCH
12
BRI
3
MSP
9
CHI
1
NHA
5
LVS
4
TAL
11
MAR
2
TEX
11
PHO
2
HOM
2
12th 630 [34]
2016 NEMCO Motorsports DAY
17
ATL
1
MAR
2
KAN
28
DOV
15
CLT
12
TEX
7
IOW
12
GTW
6
KEN
2
ELD
24
POC
9
BRI
8
MCH
26
MSP
1
CHI
14
NHA
9
LVS
16
TAL
32
MAR
3
TEX
18
PHO
6
HOM
11
8th 2133 [35]
2017 DAY
4
ATL
29
MAR
28
KAN
3
CLT
22
DOV
22
TEX
21
GTW
1
IOW
1
KEN
18
ELD
5
POC
4
MCH
29
BRI
3
MSP
20
CHI
7
NHA
20
LVS
8
TAL
6
MAR
30
TEX
19
PHO
2
HOM
15
8th 2206 [36]
2018 DAY
25
ATL LVS
21
MAR
1
DOV KAN
4
CLT
9
TEX IOW
27
GTW
25
CHI
7*
KEN
5
ELD
7
POC MCH
3
BRI
3*
MSP
2
LVS
22
TAL
27
MAR
30
TEX PHO
29
HOM
7
90th 01 [37]
2019 DAY ATL LVS MAR TEX DOV KAN CLT TEX IOW GTW CHI KEN POC ELD MCH BRI
29
MSP LVS
32
TAL
30
MAR
7
PHO
29
HOM 99th 01 [38]
2020 Ford DAY
DNQ
LVS CLT
6
ATL
24
HOM POC KEN TEX KAN KAN MCH
25
DAY DOV GTW DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL KAN TEX MAR PHO 82nd 01 [39]
2021 Kyle Busch Motorsports 4 Toyota DAY DAY LVS ATL BRI RCH KAN DAR COA CLT TEX NSH POC KNX GLN GTW MSP BRI LVS TAL MAR PHO

K&N Pro Series East

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 NKNPSEC Pts Ref
2013 Spraker Racing 37 Chevy BRI GRE PEN
12
48th 46 [40]
SWM-NEMCO Motorsports 8 Chevy RCH
30
BGS IOW LGY COL IOW VIR GRE NHA DOV RAL
2014 Toyota NSM DAY BRI GRE RCH IOW BGS FFL LGY NHA COL IOW GLN
25
VIR GRE DOV 65th 19 [41]

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

References

  1. "Davidson Day School honor roll – 2nd Trimester". Davidson News. Davidson, N.C. April 16, 2012. Archived from the original on May 13, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  2. "Nemecheks face their pain, find pure joy". The Miami Herald. November 10, 1997. p. 9D. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  3. Terrell, Katherine (June 22, 2011). "14-year-old racer looks to follow in dad's steps". Lake Norman News. Charlotte, N.C.: The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  4. Kurz, Hank, Jr. (May 4, 2001). "Rusty Wallace is looking forwards to racing at Richmond International". The Gadsden Times. Gadsden, Alabama. p. B3. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  5. Mills, Jeremy (March 22, 2001). "Amherst Co. Charity Hoping to Fetch $25,000 for 'NASCAR Guitar'". Lynchburg, Va.: WSET-TV. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  6. "Joe Nemechek". NASCAR. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  7. Rodman, Dave (February 3, 2012). "Another Nemechek on the horizon". NASCAR. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  8. Lada, Jen (June 15, 2012). "14-year-old turning heads at the Milwaukee Mile". Milwaukee: WITI. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  9. Madsen, Tamira (June 12, 2012). "John Hunter Nemechek, 15, gets an early start on family business". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wis. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  10. Vilona, Bill (December 1, 2012). "Racing's next generation on display at Five Flags Speedway". Pensacola News Journal. Pensacola, Fla. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  11. "John Hunter Nemecheck-The Allison Legacy Race Series 2012 Champion". Allison Legacy Series. Archived from the original on May 22, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  12. Cunningham, Jason (February 4, 2013). "Nemechek to Make Debut at Daytona". NASCAR. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  13. Albert, Zack (February 28, 2013). "John Hunter Nemechek, 15, carries family tradition". NASCAR. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  14. "Young Nemechek To Try Hand In Trucks". National Speed Sport News. October 18, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  15. Adamczyk, Jay (January 13, 2014). "John Hunter Nemechek to run 10 Truck Series races in 2014". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  16. Bonkowski, Jerry. "John Hunter Nemechek rallies to win 47th Snowball Derby". NBC Sports. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  17. "John Hunter Nemechek Battles Custer till End for Win at Canada". NASCAR. September 4, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  18. Ruffin, Jessica (December 12, 2017). "John Hunter Nemechek to drive No. 42 Xfinity Chevrolet part-time in 2018". NASCAR. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  19. "John Hunter Nemechek joins GMS Racing full time in Xfinity Series". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. December 6, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  20. Albert, Zack (October 29, 2019). "Matt Tifft sidelined for remainder of 2019 season; Nemechek to fill seat". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  21. Waack, Terrin (November 7, 2019). "Nemecheks to make NASCAR history at ISM Raceway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  22. Spencer, Reid (November 16, 2019). "Reddick wins Xfinity race at Miami, locks up second championship". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  23. Page, Scott (December 12, 2019). "Front Row Motorsports fielding two cars in 2020 with Michael McDowell and John Hunter Nemecheck". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  24. Weaver, Matt (May 18, 2020). "John Hunter Nemechek: It's the Big 3 and Me ... but What about Me?". Autoweek. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  25. Velat, Frank (June 24, 2020). "The Underdog House ⁠— Talladega Monday: The Ballad of John Hunter Nemechek". Frontstretch. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  26. "Front Row Motorsports: John Hunter Nemechek informs team he will not return in 2021". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  27. Estrada, Chris (November 23, 2020). "John Hunter Nemechek goes to Truck Series, joins Kyle Busch Motorsports". NBC Sports. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  28. "John Hunter Nemechek – 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  29. "John Hunter Nemechek – 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  30. "John Hunter Nemechek – 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  31. "John Hunter Nemechek – 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  32. "John Hunter Nemechek – 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  33. "John Hunter Nemechek – 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  34. "John Hunter Nemechek – 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  35. "John Hunter Nemechek – 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  36. "John Hunter Nemechek – 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  37. "John Hunter Nemechek – 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  38. "John Hunter Nemechek – 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  39. "John Hunter Nemechek – 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  40. "John Hunter Nemechek – 2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  41. "John Hunter Nemechek – 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Tyler Hill
Allison Legacy Series Champion
2012
Succeeded by
Justin Laduke
Preceded by
Erik Jones
Snowball Derby Winner
2014
Succeeded by
Chase Elliott
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