Nemechek Puts Away the Tools, Begins 2015 Campaign at SpeedFest

One would think that after winning the Snowball Derby, the biggest Late Model race in North America, John Hunter Nemechek would have been afforded some time to relax and celebrate for a few weeks. But as those involved in the sport of stock car racing know, winning doesn’t happen without hard work and preparation.

Just a few short days after celebrating the team’s Snowball Derby win in Pensacola, Florida, Nemechek, his father Joe and the NEMCO Motorsports team were right back in their Mooresville, North Carolina shop prepping hard for the 2015 season. After a brief but busy offseason, Nemechek will now begin his jam-packed 2015 campaign this weekend during Speedfest 2015 at Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, Georgia.

"The minute we got back from the Derby we were working on trucks and looking ahead to the next race," said Nemechek. "The Derby is in the back of our minds. It always will be. But we are looking forward to this weekend and going down there, working hard and getting our cars right. Hopefully all the hard work pays off and we will be able to pick up another a win."

NEMCO Motorsports recently announced that they were changing manufacturers for both their Late Model and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series programs, switching from Toyota to Chevrolet. The switch has caused some extra work for Nemechek and his team.

"We're trying to get the Trucks ready to go to the wind tunnel and Daytona and Atlanta and trying to get Late Model stuff ready. It's been hectic," Nemechek said. "Last year it was a little bit simpler. It wasn't as bad because we had trucks ready from the year before that. It's pretty much been totally different (this year). The offseason is always hectic. You (usually) have your downtime in December and then all hell breaks loose the first day of January."

Despite the busy schedule working in the team’s shop, Nemechek wouldn’t want it any other way. He says that staying active in the shop allows him to stay focused on racing and gives him the feeling of a shorter offseason.

"We're racing a month after the Derby, but a month is actually too long," he said. "The shorter the offseason the better it is."

Now, just over a month since his Snowball Derby win, Nemechek is itching to get back behind the wheel of a race car. Thankfully for him, he'll get the chance to race, twice, this weekend at the 3/8-mile D-shaped oval in Georgia, and he has just one thing on his mind.

"We aren't points racing so whatever we have to do to win, we are going to do," Nemechek said. "That pretty much goes for the whole year with the Late Model deal. I won't be running for points anywhere so we are running to win."

Nemechek is the defending winner of the Pro Late Model 125 at Speedfest. He's looking to defend that title this weekend as well as claim the checkered flag at the end of the Super Late Model 200 by using the momentum he gained at the end of 2014.

"I definitely think that we have some momentum going in there," said Nemechek, also the winner of the 2014 All-American 400 at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville (TN). "Having momentum and winning races is definitely a confidence booster. We just won two of the biggest Late Model races that there are. I feel like our guys are still pumped up about that."

For more information on John Hunter Nemechek, visit www.johnhunternemchek.com and follow him on Twitter at @JHNemechek.


2014 NEMCO Motorsports Year in Review

2014 was by far one of the most anticipated years for everyone at NEMCO Motorsports as they began their first full season racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS). Announcing a partnership with Sid and Dawna Mauldin of Pampa, TX and with support from their SWM International organization, SWM-NEMCO Motorsports took form.

It was an exciting year for NEMCO drivers as well. Joe and John Hunter Nemechek reached a new summit in not only their relationship as father and son, but as racing teammates. For the first time in NASCAR history, a father and son duo shared the same ride and in their first year as a team, combined for a total of two top-five (one each) and 15 top-10 finishes en route to a seventh-place finish in owner standings.

In addition to their NASCAR program, NEMCO continued to develop their Pro and Super late model program as well starting the year off in fine fashion with a pro late model victory by John Hunter at the Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, GA in January.

Joe kicked off the NASCAR season in the No. 8 truck at Daytona International Speedway in February with an eighth-place effort, followed by John Hunter’s 11th-place performance at Martinsville Speedway in March.

Joe took the next two stints logging a ninth and 11th at Kansas Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway respectively and John Hunter turned in the first of many exciting performances picking up his career-best finish of sixth at Dover International Speedway. Joe one-upped him with his third-place run and first laps led of the season at Texas, just to be challenged by John Hunter’s head-turning performance at Gateway Motorsports Park where he led 53 of 160 laps. A late-race altercation relegated him to a 15th-place finish.

The middle portion of the season would bring a 14th at Kentucky Speedway, two consecutive 10th-place runs at Pocono Raceway and Michigan Speedway and a ninth-place performance at Chicagoland Speedway for Joe, while John Hunter collected a 10th, sixth, 25th and another sixth-place finish at Iowa Speedway, Eldora Speedway, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and Bristol Motor Speedway, respectively.

The action heated up again in September as 17-year old John Hunter captured his first NCWTS career top-five at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. His final two races brought finishes of 13th and seventh at Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway, while Joe rounded out the season with a 17th and 10th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, as well as eighth-place runs in each of his final two events at Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

John Hunter stayed busy with late model racing while free from NASCAR duties and picked up four additional Pro Late Model wins at Milwaukee Mile, Lucas Oil Raceway Park and Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville. His crowning achievement of the season came on December 7 when he claimed his biggest victory to date, winning the prestigious Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL. It was his first Super late model career win.

2014 also brought expansion to NEMCO by way of a new driver for the late model division. In October, it was announced that 19-year old Dominique Van Wieringen would join the team beginning with the Snowflake 100 during the Derby weekend in December where she raced to a 14th-place finish. Hailing from Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada, Dominique is currently pursuing her Mechanical Engineering degree at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and is in her sophomore year. She will run select Pro and Super late model events under the NEMCO banner in 2015 as she continues both her studies and her progression in racing.

Early 2015 brought news of a complete transition to Chevrolet for NEMCO Motorsports as well as another twist to the dynamic of the father-son NCWTS effort. With John Hunter turning 18 in June, he will be cleared by NASCAR to compete on all tracks and will take over the remainder of the events in the No. 8 Silverado. This paves the way for a much anticipated on-track battle between the two as Joe plans to run select events in the second half of the season in his familiar No. 87. NEMCO Motorsports will field entries for Joe to compete in select Xfinity Series races in 2015 as well.


NEMCO MOTORSPORTS TO PARTNER WITH CHEVROLET STARTING IN 2015

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (January 9, 2015)—NEMCO Motorsports will reunite with Chevrolet as Joe Nemechek and John Hunter Nemechek join Team Chevy beginning with the 2015 NASCAR season. NEMCO Motorsports' teams will compete with Chevrolet Silverados in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS). In addition, the NEMCO Motorsports Late Model program will also feature the iconic manufacturer.

The move to Chevrolet represents a return for NEMCO Motorsports, as team owner Joe Nemechek raced with Chevrolet from 1991 to 2011. Through three of NASCAR’s top national touring series (Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Camping World Truck Series) with Chevrolet, Nemechek and NEMCO Motorsports have earned 19 victories (18 in the Xfinity Series and one in the Camping World Truck Series) and 15 pole positions (14 in the Xfinity Series and one in the Camping World Truck Series).

Joe Nemechek is excited about the move to Chevrolet.

“We look forward to joining the Chevrolet NASCAR program this season," he said. “I've had a long-term relationship with Chevrolet for the majority of my career and I look forward to continuing that relationship.”

Nemechek won 18 races with the manufacturer since he first began fielding Chevrolets in the Xfinity Series in 1991, and winning the 1992 NASCAR Xfinity Series driver and owner championship en route to the manufacturers' championship for Chevrolet.

In 2015, John Hunter Nemechek returns to the No. 8 SWM-NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet, sharing driving duties with his father until he turns 18-years old, when he plans to compete in the remainder of the truck series schedule beginning at Kentucky Speedway on July 9.

The No. 8 has 153 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts with Chevrolet, including 27 starts with his uncle, the late, John Nemechek, an aspiring driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

The NEMCO Motorsports’ switch to Chevrolet includes the conversion to ECR Engines to supply the team with horsepower for the 2015 season.

"This is a big step for our team and I look forward to working with Chevrolet and the guys at ECR Engines for a competitive season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series," John Hunter Nemechek said. “I have never worked with them (ECR Engines) before, but I look forward to building a relationship with them and running up front in 2015.”