John Hunter Nemechek at 9 pm ET on Monday, January 18, 2016. Photo – Getty Images
John Hunter Nemechek is our guest on Fan4Racing NASCAR & Race Talk on Monday, January 18, 2015 at 9 pm ET. Although this is a pre-recorded interview, from Wednesday, January 13th with Fan4Racing, feel free to tweet your comments to @Fan4RacingSite during our LIVE broadcast.
The 2016 season is still shaping up for John Hunter Nemechek, with NEMCO Motorsports for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, but he’s clear on his expectations and goals for the year – to win races and the championship title.
After two successful part-time campaigns the last two seasons – ten races in 2014 and 18 races in 2015 – Nemechek is looking to race the full season this year.
Last year, 17-year-old Nemechek shared his seat with his father Joe Nemechek until his 18th birthday in June, the age of eligibility for NASCAR’s bigger tracks. On September 19, 2015, 16 years to the day Joe Nemechek won his first Sprint Cup Series race, John Hunter Nemechek won his first Camping World Truck Series race at Chicagoland Speedway. On November 29, Nemechek gained the most fan votes for the Most Popular Driver of the 2015 season in the Camping World Truck Series.
Even with a part-time season, Nemechek finished his 2015 campaign 12th in the series point standings and second in the Rookie of the Year standings behind the series champion Erik Jones. In those 18 races last season, Nemechek had eight top-fives and ten top-ten finishes.
So it makes sense that Nemechek’s goals are high for this 2016 season.
Making his own mark in the world of racing, Nemechek won the prestigious Snowball Derby in 2014, giving him momentum for the 2015 season. Heading back to Pensacola, Florida’s Five Flag Speedway this past December, many thought Nemechek would repeat his win with another Snowball Derby victory.
Nemechek did win the Snowflake 100, further raising expectations for the Snowball Derby feature. But as fate would have it, along with a mechanical issue, Nemechek lost his chance at victory when flames overcame his race car, forcing an early departure from the event. Nemechek was racing in the top-five when the incident happened in the closing laps of the race, crushing his plan for the win.
Although, Nemechek is still seeking sponsorship to compete in the full Camping World Truck Series 2016 season, there’s plenty of reason to believe he’ll be a fierce competitor any time he’s on the track in his No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports Chevy Silverado truck.
Expect to see Nemechek celebrating in Victory Lane again this year as he challenges for the series championship title.