NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II: Joe Nemechek preview
Nemechek Ready For More Success, More Nicknames CHARLOTTE (Oct. 12, 2004) - Since his Kansas City sweep of winning the Busch and Nextel Cup races last weekend and capturing back-to-back Bud Poles, the number of monikers have increased for Joe ...
Published: Oct 13, 2004, 4:48 AM
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Nemechek Ready For More Success, More Nicknames
CHARLOTTE (Oct. 12, 2004) - Since his Kansas City sweep of winning the Busch and Nextel Cup races last weekend and capturing back-to-back Bud Poles, the number of monikers have increased for Joe Nemechek.
From Front Row Joe - his original moniker - the list has now grown to Two-in-a-Row Joe, Checkered Flag Joe and Red Hot Joe.
But when the U.S. Army driver arrives at Lowe's Motor Speedway this weekend for the UAW-GM Quality 500, the above nicknames will be joined by GI Joe since Nemechek will be driving a specially-designed GI Joe-themed car, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the action figure. The car will be known as the No. 01 GI Joe/U.S. Army Chevrolet.
"This will be really cool driving the GI Joe car," said Nemechek. "That was one of my favorite toys as a youngster."
While being gracious to discuss nicknames and themed cars, Nemechek really wanted talk about his team and recent events.
"We're on a roll and I'm not one bit surprised about it," said Nemechek, who became the 13th different driver in Kansas to win a Cup race in 2004. "Deep in my heart I knew I was with a talented group of guys and it was only a matter of time before I would drive the U.S. Army/USG car into Victory Lane."
Nemechek's resurgence coincides with the 10-race Chase for the Nextel Cup. In the first four races of the Chase - Nemechek has raced as if he were in the top 10 with finishes of first (Kansas), sixth (New Hampshire) and seventh (Talladega). The one snag was a 35th-place result in Dover due to a restart glitch that caused damage to the car's radiator.
"It's a great feeling to know that you can be right up there competing with the leaders," said Nemechek. "We're not moving out of anyone's way -- we're on the offensive. I've been saying all year, this team has the potential but never could get the finishes to go along with our performances. Hopefully we're past the malfunction stage and ready for more good things."
Since the magic of Kansas City, it's been wide open for Nemechek.
"Monday was nonstop doing interviews and answering the phone," commented Nemechek. "The schedule looks pretty hectic the rest of the week, but that's okay - I am really pumped about this team. We want to go out and do it again - we're going to another 1.5-mile track (Lowe's) and we like that."
Ryan Pemberton, who experienced his first victory Sunday as a Cup crew chief, was equally as pumped as his driver.
"It's great to win - no question about it -- but the better feeling is that we believed in each other and persevered together," said Pemberton. "But you can't dwell on last weekend - it's over. Charlotte is where our minds are at now and I think we'll be good there. We're bringing one of the best cars in the MB2 stable."
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