NASCAR Cup

Richmond: Joe Memechek preview

RICHMOND, Va. (May 2, 2007) -- The last time Joe Nemechek and his Ginn Racing crew chief Peter Sospenzo were on the same team for the spring race at Richmond International Raceway, the result was a victory at the three-quarter-mile track. The date ...

Published: May 3, 2007, 4:55 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

RICHMOND, Va. (May 2, 2007) -- The last time Joe Nemechek and his Ginn Racing crew chief Peter Sospenzo were on the same team for the spring race at Richmond International Raceway, the result was a victory at the three-quarter-mile track. The date was May 3, 2003 when Nemechek and Sospenzo were members of the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports operation.

With Sospenzo calling the shots on the pit box, Nemechek started second and led a race-high 156 laps before NASCAR officials called the race with seven laps remaining due to rain. It was the third of four career Cup wins for Nemechek.

Nemechek left the Hendrick team late in the 2003 season to join MB2 Motorsports (now Ginn Racing). He was reunited with his former crew chief when Sospenzo joined Ginn Racing late last year to direct the new No. 13 team in 2007.

"When you go back to a track where you had success it does boost the confidence level," said Nemechek, who will drive the No. 13 CertainTeed Chevrolet in Saturday night's Nextel Cup race in Richmond. "Wins are tough to come by in this business so I do remember that night as if it were yesterday. We had a great car all weekend. It was a special evening of racing -- one that I will always remember. I am sure Peter feels the same way."

When asked about that victory, Sospenzo said, "That was a pretty awesome night. The best car won the race, we were strong from the get go. However, this weekend is a different deal with the Car of Tomorrow (COT). We had a good COT test in Richmond last month and also had a pretty good COT race in Phoenix two weeks ago. We're progressing with the COT and would like to win again, but being a realist -- a top-10 finish would be great."

Nemechek was going for another victory the following spring at Richmond. But as he was moving into second place at the midpoint of the 2004 race, he and Jamie McMurray got tangled, sending both cars into the concrete wall with race-ending damage.

"It's obvious I like the Richmond track, it's fun to race at because you can pass and make things happen on your own," offered Nemechek. "We're looking for a good weekend in the CertainTeed Chevy."

Though Nemechek has a fondness for the Richmond track and has run well there, he has not had good fortune since his win. In the ensuing seven races his average finish has been 26.8.

"We've had our share of troubles on the track in Richmond -- seems like we've been in the wrong place at the wrong time on too many occasions," explained Nemechek. "Good and bad luck are cyclical. Hopefully our good-luck cycle will return this weekend."

-credit: gr

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Richmond: Round ten preview

Next article BUSCH: Richmond: Goodyear Racing preview

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Mercedes explains why its upgrade made its F1 car harder to drive

Formula 1

Singapore GP

Mercedes explains why its upgrade made its F1 car harder to drive

How Geri Halliwell helped Christian Horner deal with fan hate

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1 26 min

How Geri Halliwell helped Christian Horner deal with fan hate

Max Verstappen stars with 15-place charge in 45 minutes: 'I learned a lot and had fun'

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance

WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance

Portimão

52 min

Max Verstappen stars with 15-place charge in 45 minutes: 'I learned a lot and had fun'

How levelling the playing field isn’t antithetical to the principles of F1

Formula 1

How levelling the playing field isn’t antithetical to the principles of F1

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts