Lady Luck Not on Nemechek's Side at South Alabama
John Hunter Nemechek had two cars capable of winning two races this past weekend at South Alabama Speedway, but lady luck wasn't on his side. Nemechek experienced overheating issues during the Baby Rattler on Saturday night before suffering a flat right rear tire while battling in the top-five during Sunday's Rattler 250, relegating him to a 16th-place finish.
The tough couple of days in Opp, Alabama have only left Nemechek hungrier for better results. The next time the 17-year-old will be behind the wheel will be when he makes his 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut.
Nemechek will strap back into his NEMCO Motorsports No. 8 Chevrolet Silverado for the Kroger 250 NCWTS event on Saturday, March 28. Fans can tune in to the event live on FOX Sports 1 at 2:30pm ET. Stay tuned to www.johnhunternemechek.com for more on his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start of the 2015 season.
Nemechek Starts Off 2015 With SpeedFest Victory
Mooresville, N.C. (January 27, 2015) -- After winning the Snowball Derby in December, John Hunter Nemechek had momentum on his side as he traveled down to Cordele, Georgia for SpeedFest 2015 at Watermelon Capital Speedway. Nemechek was looking to sweep the weekend, which included a 125-lap JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour race and 200-lap ARCA/CRA Super Series race, at the 3/8-mile oval.
He left the 3/8-mile Georgia oval with a win in the Pro Late Model 125 and a 10th-place finish in the Super Late Model event.
The Mooresville, NC native was fast in both cars all weekend long, setting fast time for the PLM event and qualifying fourth for the SLM race (started second after the invert).
He drew the worst pill possible to decide the invert for the PLM race and as a result he started 10th with his biggest competition, Bubba Pollard, to his inside.
Nemechek would battle with Pollard as they made their way forward through the field and eventually into the battle for the lead.
"I've started from the worst pill-draw more times than not when I've been running Late Models," said Nemechek. "I knew we had a fast enough car to get to the front. It was just a matter of how long it was going to take to get there. Bubba started right beside me on the inside so I knew we were going to go through the field together. It was just going to be about who didn't burn their stuff up."
Nemechek won the battle after getting a great restart with just a few laps to go. He scored the win in the Pro Late Model race, continuing his dominance in that type of car dating back to last season, but Nemechek said the win definitely didn’t come easy.
"We worked hard for that win," said the NEMCO Motorsports driver. "The restarts were tough. Whoever was going to get by was going to win the race. Pollard and I have had some fierce, good, hard battles. We've done it for the past two years when I've been running Late Models against him so it was definitely a fun race. He made me work for it."
Nemechek and Pollard found themselves battling for the win again late in the SLM race, but the pair tangled and had to settle for top-10 finishes.
Even though the finish wasn't what he wanted, Nemechek is thrilled to know that his team's Super Late Model program is continuing to get stronger.
"We made major gains at the end of last year and the beginning of this year," he said. "We were definitely fast last year and we were in contention to win. We did everything that we needed to do as a team. It's almost gotten to the point where our Pro Late Model program is."
Now Nemechek and his team are focused on The Rattler 250 weekend at South Alabama Speedway in Opp, Alabama on March 14 and 15, and he'll be bringing both race cars once again.
"I definitely had a fun time racing down there last year," said Nemechek. "It was a new track for me to learn. It's definitely a unique track. We'll be looking to try to sweep the weekend again like we were at SpeedFest."