NASCAR Cup

Phoenix II: Joe Nemechek preview

Turnaround has Nemechek Looking for More Positive Results PHOENIX (Nov. 8, 2006) -- Recent results confirm that Joe Nemechek has emerged from a slump that has riddled his MB2 Motorsports team during the 2006 Nextel Cup campaign. Nemechek is ...

Edited: Nov 9, 2006, 5:19 AM

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Turnaround has Nemechek Looking for More Positive Results

PHOENIX (Nov. 8, 2006) -- Recent results confirm that Joe Nemechek has emerged from a slump that has riddled his MB2 Motorsports team during the 2006 Nextel Cup campaign.

Nemechek is currently on a streak of five consecutive top-20 results with an average finish of 14.8 during this period. Entering this weekend's race in Phoenix only two other drivers are on a better top-20 streak than Nemechek -- Carl Edwards with eight straight and Bobby Labonte with seven.

"We've been running better but definitely not yet satisfied," said Nemechek. "I guess you'll never be satisfied in this business until you can pass every car in front of you."

Nemechek would be the first to admit that when you're not in the Chase, competing for the season championship, it's difficult to get overly excited about top 20s and a 14.8 average finish.

But on the other hand, a 14.8 average finish through the first 34 races of the season would be good enough for 13th place in driver points, a respectable standing in the most competitive form of motorsports.

With two races remaining, Nemechek is 29th in points with an average season finish of 24.9.

"We could still pick up a couple of spots with strong finishes in the next two races," noted Nemechek, who finished 16th in driver points last year. "While I am happy about our recent turnaround, I am disappointed that it has taken this long to be competitive. After almost making the Chase last year, we had high expectations for this season. It just didn't pan out."

Nemechek, whose 01 Chevrolet in Phoenix will carry primary sponsorship from the Des Moines, Iowa-based Principal Financial Group, is looking for better luck than his last visit to the desert.

"We got collected in an accident and had to make a lot of repairs," recalled Nemechek, who finished 35th in the spring race at the one-mile Phoenix track. "We're confident that we'll have a car capable of producing a good finish on Sunday. But staying out of trouble is always key to having strong results."

The U.S. Army, Nemechek's main sponsor for 34 of 36 Nextel Cup races, will have an associate status on the 01 Chevrolet in Phoenix.

-credit: mb2m

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