Manufacturer alliance is a huge deal, now more than ever in NASCAR racing. Unlike the good old days, the OEMs try to rope in young talents from an early age before they even make it to the Cup Series. You will find a lot of drivers signed to TRD, Ford Performance or Chevrolet camp from the ARCA and Truck Series, and John Hunter Nemechek was initially a part of the Toyota Family. But a corporate shake-up at NEMCO Motorsports changed his plans big time, and he became a Chevy driver.
This was a big loss for Toyota as Nemechek had won the Snowball Derby and All-American 400 in 2014. And just one year after the Chicagoland triumph, they lost their driver to Chevy. After two full season runs, the driver moved up in the Xfinity Series with Chip Ganassi Racing and GMS Racing from 2018 to 2019. Heck, he even made it to the Cup Series level, driving for Front Row Motorsports in 2020, and then came the COVID-19 pandemic which left Nemechek high and dry.
Having started from the Truck Series, the Mooresville, North Carolina native did everything right to reach the top flight. But after his rookie season, FRM gave him the marching orders, and the world came crashing down on the young driver. With no opportunity in sight, it looked as if Nemechek would have to drop down to the lower series and swallow his pride. And that is exactly what he did after Kyle Busch persuaded him to join his team in the Craftsman Truck Series.
Soul-Searching Flights That Saved a Career
Just imagine the mentality shift a driver like Nemechek had to deal with. He went from winning everything he competed in to now being shown the exit door just when he thought he had made it. But this is where Kyle Busch helped the young driver forge a new career path which started from KBM. “During COVID, I was flying with Kyle Busch back and forth from the races and he was the one who owned KBM Kyle Busch Motorsports. He had been with Toyota forever, and we had some really deep conversations on the plane.”
“The conversations that we had were, what do you want to do with your life? Like, where do you want your career to go? Like, how do you see yourself ending in your career? Like, do you want to be in this situation where you’re running 30th every week and you’re stagnant?” Nemechek recalled. He took a bitter pill and embarked on a new journey with KBM, driving the No. 4 truck. Next thing you know everything started to fall in place for him.
In 2021, the very first year with KBM, Nemechek bagged five race wins and had the career-best finish of 3rd place in the championship standings. This was followed by two wins and three runner-up finishes in 2022, and the next year, he found himself competing in the Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing. And the results were pretty much the same, but he notched up seven wins.
“Like, I want to be able to put myself in a situation to compete at the highest level that I possibly can and being able to have fun, winning races,” he said. After the grind and comeback from Trucks to Xfinity, he finally got the call to compete in the Cup Series again, this time with Legacy Motor Club. Although Rowdy is no longer a part of the Toyota program, his mentorship helped John Hunter Nemechek gain his confidence back and compete among the best in the business.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 04: John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the #4 Mobil 1 Toyota, (L) and Kyle Busch, driver of the #51 JBL Toyota, poses for photos on the grid prior to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 04, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Now that Nemechek is up to speed plying his trade on Sunday, he is more involved as a representative for the premier series of stock car racing. This was evident when he joined Joey Logano in shutting down the notion that NASCAR drivers are not athletes.
NASCAR racing takes a toll on the drivers
Time and again, this sort of question pops up where NASCAR drivers are compared to athletes from stick and ball sports. While the drivers do not have the physical attributes of an NBA or an NFL player, they do undergo tremendous stress. Can you imagine an NBA player throwing three three-pointers in the desert of Arizona while wearing a fire suit? It’s impossible right, but NASCAR driver do this on a regular basis.
John Hunter Nemechek, sharing his personal story, stated, “My average heart rate from this past weekend racing at Circuit of Americas was 162 for a three and a half hour duration. My max was 192 during the race. That spike? It came towards the end of the race. We had a couple late race restarts, and it was everything you got to try and get through. I’ve run a couple half Ironmans in the past and I would equivalent that to being in a race car every Sunday.”
Well, ask Denny Hamlin what he does to stay fit at 44, he does more than just turning left on Sunday to be able to win races. So, it’s about time that NASCAR drivers get the recognition and praise that other athletes enjoy.
The post Kyle Busch’s ‘Words of Wisdom’ Breed Hope in Struggling Cup Star as He Remains Grateful to Rowdy’s Heart of Gold appeared first on EssentiallySports.