Photo – Courtesy of NEMCO Motorsports
John Hunter Nemechek is our next guest on Fan4Racing Fan2Fan NASCAR & Race Talk on Monday, December 8, 2014 at 8:35 pm ET. Also, Tim Bryant, General Manager of Five Flags Speedway is our guest at 9 pm ET. Call 714-202-9918 during the LIVE broadcast with any questions or comments.
John Hunter Nemechek raced to the win taking the 47th Annual Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL on Sunday, December 7th, 2014 in his third start in the event.
Nemechek, who took the lead at lap 286, was looking to keep the top-spot in his second of two races at Five Flags this weekend. He finished second in the Snowflake 100 which had finished mere hours earlier but with a gutsy pit call and undeniable talent, the rising star brought home his crowning achievement in the Pensacola win.
“We definitely had a good car and made the right adjustments all day and when we got up towards the front we figured out that we had a very good race car.” Nemechek said.
Nemechek, who started racing in quarter midgets at age five, has made a steady progression and has had much success along the way including winning 15 of 18 races en route to the Allison Legacy Touring Series Championship in 2013. Competing in his NEMCO Motorsports late-model is a by-design initiative that has been fundamental in his development. Competing in his second Snowflake and third Snowball event, he relied on his previous experience there as well as the momentum from his most recent win in the All-American 400 at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville (Tenn.) on November 1st.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be able to win the Snowball Derby and have a bunch of our family here – I’m pretty much speechless.”
Other Pro Late Model Series wins for Nemechek this season include Watermelon Capital Speedway (Cordele, GA) on January 26th, Milwaukee (WI) Mile on June 8th and Lucas Oil Raceway (Indianapolis, IN) on September 28th.
Nemechek also competed on a limited-schedule in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where in just ten starts, he earned an impressive six top-ten finishes including a top-five run at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Plans for 2015 include a similar late-model program as well as returning to his No. 8 SWM-NEMCO Motorsports entry in truck series action. At age 17, Nemechek is unable to run on tracks 1.25-miles or less and the road courses. Turning 18 on June 11th, 2015 he will finish out the rest of the truck series schedule beginning with Kentucky Speedway on July 9th, 2015.