Homestead-Miami an emotional stop on the NASCAR truck tour for the Nemechek family
A crash at the track claimed the life of John Nemechek in 1997.
Photo by: Action Sports Photography
Joe Nemechek has had much success at Homestead-Miami Speedway and looks to add a NCWTS win to his credit as the teams hit the 1.5-mile oval for the Ford EcoBoost 200 on Friday, November 14. Among the Lakeland, Fla. native's accomplishments in 30 NASCAR Homestead-Miami starts are six top-fives, 10 top-10's and three wins in Nationwide Series action.
Arguably the most memorable of the wins came in 1997 when Nemechek drove to victory just eight months after a racing incident claimed the life of his 27-year old brother, John, at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Joe Nemechek has shared the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule this season with his son, John Hunter Nemechek, which is a first in NASCAR's three premier series. At 17, John Hunter is restricted to running the 10 events on tracks 1.25 miles or less as well as the road course. Joe has taken on the balance of the schedule to round out the season. The younger Nemechek chose the No. 8 in honor of his uncle who also raced the No. 8 truck.
17 top-10s in 21 starts this year
Together this season, Joe and John Hunter Nemechek have collaborated for two top-five and 17 top-10 finishes in 21 starts. They currently sit seventh in NCWTS Owner's Standings just three points out of sixth and 25 out of fifth.
Plans for the 2015 season mirror this year's until the younger Nemechek turns 18 in June. He is then permitted to race all tracks and if funding allows, SWM-NEMCO's program will include a two-truck effort fielding entries for both Nemecheks.
Joe Nemechek will carry the banner of co-owner Sid Mauldin's company, SWM Gun Runner and SWMTX.com. SWM International, Inc. is a premier manufacturing facility in Pampa, TX that specializes in the custom design and development of the highest quality oil field completion tools. This includes the best oil well perforating guns in the industry. Mauldin's passion for being at the forefront of technology has given the company cutting-edge machines and production capabilities unsurpassed by any other company in this industry. The shop also produces suspension and frame parts for the NASCAR market.
John Hunter Nemechek's NCWTS season ended with a seventh-place effort at Phoenix International Raceway this past weekend, but still on tap for the rising star is the 47th Annual Snowball Derby Super Late Model event at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. on December 7, 2014. He will also compete in the Snowflake Pro Late Model race on Saturday, December 6. He has enjoyed four wins this season including his most recent Pro-Late Model victory in the All-American 400 at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville (TN) on November 1.
Said Joe Nemechek: "Homestead has always been a special place and to win this weekend would mean the world to me and my family. We've had so much success there so it's been a place of joy but also a place of heartbreak having lost my brother, John, there. I'm looking forward to running a truck at Homestead again and especially a truck with my brother's number on it. We have three Homestead wins in the Nationwide Series but after running this season with my son, winning in this truck would be the ultimate way to honor John.
"We're bringing one of our newest trucks so we're looking forward to running well and we're ready to go. I'm proud of how hard everyone has worked this season to get John Hunter to where he is and being able to make the adjustments every week to get us both what we need in the truck because he and I have two totally different driving styles. Our team continues to make great strides every week and hopefully this is the race where we get it done and get our first truck series win."
Nemco
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