CONCORD, N.C.—John Hunter Nemechek is hoping the effort invested in his racecraft will pay off with a quality ride in the NASCAR Cup Series.
For the last 11 years, the second-generation racer worked behind the scenes and on the track to follow his father’s footsteps to stock car’s elite tour. His humble beginnings—including working on his family trucks at NEMCO motorsports—have kept him grounded throughout his ascent.
After six seasons of overachieving with the underfunded and overworked No. 8 team, Nemechek was recruited to drive a Cup car for Front Row Motorsports. The 22-year-old rookie was far from competitive against the powerhouses of the sport in the Bob Jenkins’ owned equipment.
Finishing 27th in his freshman season prompted the young racer to take a step back before forging ahead.
“The year racing in Cup—it taught me a lot,” Nemechek said. “There were a lot of things I learned from the racing side—restarts. A year of Cup experience is unbeatable I would say. I feel like being able to have that under your belt, and to be able to race around the top guys every week definitely puts you in a better position to know what to do to get good finishing positions.
“Again, you are racing some of the best of the best, but I would say the biggest thing I learned from taking the step back was to be never afraid and gamble on yourself. If you think that you can do it, go out and prove it.”
Nemechek landed with the premiere organizations in both the Craftsman Trucks Series and now in the Xfinity Series. With Kyle Busch Motorsports, he scored seven wins in two seasons compared with six with Nemco over five years. Nemechek finished third in points his first year behind the wheel of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra.
The natural progression under the Toyota banner was to move to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2023. While Nemechek had a platform with Chip Ganassi Racing and GMS Racing that allowed him to win, driving for the defending NXS champions provides the driver with a stage to shine. In the first 11 races this year, Nemechek has two wins, six top fives and nine top 10s. He currently leads the point standings and has an average finish of 8.6.
On Friday, Nemechek qualified on the front row for Saturday’s Alsco 300. Despite his current success, Nemechek doesn’t feel secure enough to let off the gas.
“No,” Nemechek said. “I feel like you are auditioning every time you are on the race track and even when you are off the race track. I feel like there is so many things involved from a team to possibly look at you and pick you up—from a social media standpoint, your brand, to how you carry yourself, to media obligations, to performance on the race track, hard work off the race track.
“Literally everything. I definitely feel like you are kind of underneath the spotlight with everything that you do, so you better do it right.”
Several Cup teams have expressed interest in the driver, who turns 26 next month. His former team owner Kyle Busch believes that Nemechek is ready to make the jump—with one caveat.
“This isn’t to be mean or rude…but he needs six million bucks and he’ll be in a JGR Cup car next year,” Busch said. “That’s all he needs…It’s not a success game anymore…it’s a money game. So if he can find the cash, then there will be a seat for him, I’m pretty sure.”
Busch, who has raced against Nemechek in NASCAR’s top three tours, believes his former driver and teammate checks all the boxes.
“I felt like he was really good at KBM,” Busch said. “He was engaged. He did a good job. He was always reliable. We could ask him to do sim and he would be there. I feel like on the Xfinity side, he’s been running up front. He’s been fast, and he’s been doing a good job.
“He’s arguably in the series’ best equipment, but when you’re able to excel in that and go out there and win races week in and week out, that gives you that chance or that notoriety to say, ‘Hey, I can move up to the next level. I’m ready for it.’”
Last year, Nemechek was tabbed as the reserve driver for 23XI Racing to start the season. But the plans changed as Ty Gibbs’ emerged as the heir apparent to replace Kyle Busch at JGR.
Still, Nemechek believes his body of work is worthy of a Cup team owner’s consideration.
“I hope it puts me at the top of the line for some of the Cup seats if they open,” Nemechek said. “That was kind of the goal with taking the gamble and moving back to the Truck Series—was trying to revamp my career and show that I could win in whatever I got in.
“Being able to win in the Truck Series, being able to win in the Xfinity Series over the last couple of years and contend for championships—I’m sad that we didn’t win one, but we were at least contending for them. I feel like every week, we have been a contender, every time we have shown up to the race track. It feels good to me. It boosts my confidence as a driver.
“I’m definitely proud of where we are—from the step back. I’m thankful for Toyota, TRD, and everyone involved for taking the gamble to bring me back and put me in some great equipment to try and go win some races.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer.
