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John Nemechek

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For his nephew, also a racing driver in NASCAR, see John Hunter Nemechek.
John Nemechek
Nemechek in 1996
BornJohn Frank Nemechek
(1970-03-12)March 12, 1970
Lakeland, Florida, U.S.
DiedMarch 21, 1997(1997-03-21) (aged 27)
Homestead, Florida, U.S.
Cause of deathRacing accident
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish92nd (1994)
First race1994 Kroger 200 (IRP)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
43 races run over 3 years
Best finish13th (1996)
First race1995 Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic (Phoenix)
Last race1997 Florida Dodge Dealers 400 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 4 0

John Frank Nemechek (March 12, 1970 – March 21, 1997) was an American racing driver who competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Life and racing career

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Nemechek's 1996 truck

The younger brother of four-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner Joe Nemechek, John followed his brother into racing, participating in his first race at the age of twelve in an 80 class dirtbike race. After a quick progression to the 250cc class, he moved onto mini-stock cars, where he raced against his brother, and eventually late-model stocks.

When he was not racing, Nemechek served as the front-tire changer on Joe's pit crew, and was on Joe's 1992 NASCAR Busch Series championship-winning team. He would begin attempting NASCAR races himself, and ran one Busch race at IRP in 1994.[1] He finished 30th after his No. 89 Chevrolet suffered an engine failure. The following season, he began racing in the new Craftsman Truck Series, driving at first for Redding Motorsports,[2] and then for his brother's NEMCO Motorsports. In the first year of competition, Nemechek ran 16 races and had two top-ten finishes. He followed that up with two more top-tens in 1996 and a thirteenth-place finish in points, running a single truck he built himself titled the War Wagon under his own team, Chek Racing.

Death

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On March 16, 1997, Nemechek was running a Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway when with 14 laps to go, he lost control and struck the first-turn wall, driver's side first, and hit his head on the wall, suffering head injuries. He was extracted and transported to a hospital, where he died on March 21, 1997.[citation needed]

Legacy

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Following the incident, Homestead was reconfigured into a true oval with a six-degree banking to reduce the possibility of the type of crash that killed Nemechek. His brother Joe won a Busch Series race that November at the reconfigured circuit; he later named his son John Hunter after his late brother.

In 1999, when Joe won his first Cup Race at New Hampshire, he paid tribute to John over the radio while he took the checkered flag:

“This is for my brother John. I love you.”[3][4]

Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

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(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

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NASCAR Busch Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 NBGNC Pts Ref
1994 NEMCO Motorsports 89 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL MAR DAR HCY BRI ROU NHA NZH CLT DOV MYB GLN MLW SBO TAL HCY IRP
30 		MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT MAR CAR 92nd 73 [5]
1996 NEMCO Motorsports 89 Chevy DAY CAR
DNQ 		RCH
DNQ 		ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY NZH CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NHA TAL IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM NA 0 [6]

Craftsman Truck Series

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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 NCTC Pts Ref
1995 Redding Motorsports 89 Chevy PHO
13 		TUS SGS 16th 1674 [7]
NEMCO Motorsports 87 Chevy MMR
26 		POR
14 		EVG
27 		I70
23 		LVL
22 		BRI
29 		MLW
17 		CNS
15 		HPT IRP
8 		FLM
20 		RCH
19 		MAR
9 		NWS
22 		SON MMR
30 		PHO
19
1996 Chek Racing 8 Chevy HOM
7 		PHO
14 		POR
12 		EVG
20 		TUS
17 		CNS
12 		HPT
21 		BRI
20 		NZH
20 		MLW
29 		LVL
10 		I70
16 		IRP
26 		FLM
14 		GLN
16 		NSV
21 		RCH
27 		NHA
20 		MAR
14 		NWS
19 		SON
16 		MMR
19 		PHO
17 		LVS
27 		13th 2615 [8]
1997 WDW
36 		TUS
20 		HOM
21 		PHO POR EVG I70 NHA TEX BRI NZH MLW LVL CNS HPT IRP FLM NSV GLN RCH MAR SON MMR CAL PHO LVS 71st 258 [9]

References

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  1. ^ Barker, John (August 5, 1994). "Third Sportsman 100 tonight at L.I.S." The Ledger. Lakeland, FL. p. 2D. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
  2. ^ Barker, John (December 13, 1994). "Younger Nemechek to drive Super Truck Series". The Ledger. Lakeland, FL. p. 3D. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
  3. ^ Staff Writer. "Joe Nemechek gets first NASCAR win". The Ledger.
  4. ^ "ESPN.com - Auto Racing - Nemechek breaks through for emotional first win". www.espn.com.
  5. ^ "John Nemechek – 1994 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  6. ^ "John Nemechek – 1996 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  7. ^ "John Nemechek – 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  8. ^ "John Nemechek – 1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  9. ^ "John Nemechek – 1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
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