In a COVID-ridden 2020 NASCAR season, a young, legacy driver was set to ride out his rookie year in the No. 38 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports.
That young driver was John Hunter Nemechek.
In that season he went on to earn three top-10 finishes and came home 27th in the final points standings. However, Nemechek hadn’t sniffed the winner’s circle in two years of competition, and he was getting tired of it.
After 2020, Nemechek decided to part ways with FRM. Most drivers would set their eyes on the NASCAR Xfinity Series after departing from the sport’s highest level, but Nemechek had other plans.
Nemechek made the interesting decision to drop down to the Craftsman Truck Series and, as he called it, chase some trophies. And trophy chase he did.
The then-23-year-old driver left his family-owned NEMCO Truck series team to sign with Kyle Busch Motorsports and push that team towards a championship run. He went on to win seven races in two years with the team and record 30 top 10s.
Thus, “John Hunter Neme-truck” was born.
Nemechek absolutely dominated the truck series for two full seasons, and everyone that was tuned in to the NASCAR scene was wondering what the next step was for the talented Mooresville, N.C. native.
Fast forward to this past offseason, when Nemechek got a call from Joe Gibbs Racing to pilot their No. 20 Toyota Supra in the Xfinity Series, and that brings us up to speed.
After Nemechek took home the win at Fontana this past weekend, the questions are already starting to float. Is there a path back to the Cup Series? First, one has to look at the drivers in the seats ahead of — and even around — him.
Two of those drivers are a couple of the youngest in the series in Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs. Not only are they young, but Bell is coming off of a season where he had a shot at the championship, and aside from the familial ties, Gibbs just won the Xfinity championship a year ago. Both have proven they can win in the equipment and don’t look to be going anywhere any time soon.
The best chance for Nemechek, I believe, is Martin Truex Jr.‘s spot.
Truex is 42, and the 2017 Cup series champion has been rumored to be retiring much sooner rather than later. If Nemechek can be even close to as competitive as he was in trucks, he’s…
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