Page 210 - 2019_NPPG_digital copy

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK

Birth Date: June 11, 1997 Hometown: Mooresville, NC
Birth Date: August 12, 1993 Hometown: Bakersfield, CA
Team: No. 23 Chevy Camaro SS / GMS Racing
Team: No. 16 Toyota Tundra/Roush Fenway Racing

John Hunter Nemechek was 7 years old when his father, Joe Nemechek, swept
weekend races what’s now the Xfinity Series and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup
Series at Kansas Speedway.

Fourteen years later, the son paved his own way to the winner’s circle by
winning his first Xfinity Series race for Chip Ganassi Racing.

The significance of that victory was far more important than
continuing a family tradition. It helped make him the favorite
FEATURED DRIVERS upcoming season.
to replace Spencer Gallagher at GMS Racing for the

“When he won, I was a kid playing on the playground
for both days,” John Hunter said. “I remember
mom coming to grab me saying ‘Dad won! Dad
won! Let’s got to Victory Lane. I saw a video of
that this week, actually, and it was pretty cool
to see how young I was.”

The 21-year-old driver finally will have
certainty in his young career. He’s been
behind the wheel of his father’s NEMCO
Motorsports NASCAR GANDER OUTDOOR
Truck Series team for all 94 of his career
truck series starts. The family operation has
six wins and 48 top-10 finishes, but they’ve
only had sufficient funding to compete at a
full-time level for two seasons.

The highlight came in 2017 when Nemechek
won consecutive races at Gateway
Motorsports Park and Iowa Speedway to
qualify for truck series NASCAR Playoffs. He
made it all the way to the Round of 6 before
settling for an eighth-place finish in
the points.

210 THE OFFICIAL NASCAR 2019 PREVIEW & PRESS GUIDE