John Nemechek

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For his namesake, the son of Joe Nemechek, see John Hunter Nemechek.
John Nemechek
John Nemechek.jpg
Nemechek in 1996
BornJohn Frank Nemechek
(1970-03-12)March 12, 1970
Lakeland, Florida, U.S.
DiedMarch 21, 1997(1997-03-21) (aged 27)
Homestead, Florida, U.S.
Cause of deathMajor head injuries from racing accident at Homestead-Miami Speedway
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish92nd (1994)
First race1994 Kroger 200 (IRP)
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
43 races run over 3 years
Best finish13th (1996)
First race1995 Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic (Phoenix)
Last race1997 Florida Dodge Dealers 400 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 4 0

John Frank Nemechek (March 12, 1970 – March 21, 1997) was an American race car driver who most notably competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Life and racing career[]

Nemechek's 1996 truck

The younger brother of four-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner Joe Nemechek, John followed his brother into racing, participating in his first race at the age of twelve in an 80 class dirtbike race. After a quick progression to the 250cc class, he moved onto mini-stock cars, where he raced against his brother, and eventually late-model stocks.

When he was not racing, Nemechek served as the front-tire changer on Joe's pit crew, and was on Joe's 1992 NASCAR Busch Series championship-winning team. He would begin attempting NASCAR races himself, and ran one Busch race at IRP in 1994.[1] He finished 30th after his No. 89 Chevrolet suffered an engine failure. The following season, he began racing in the new Craftsman Truck Series, driving at first for ,[2] and then for his brother's NEMCO Motorsports. In the first year of competition, Nemechek ran 16 races and had two top-ten finishes. He followed that up with two more top-tens in 1996 and a thirteenth-place finish in points, running a single truck he built himself titled the War Wagon under his own team, .

Death[]

On March 16, 1997, Nemechek was running a Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway when with 25 laps to go, he lost control and struck the first-turn wall, driver's side first, and hit his head on the wall, suffering head injuries. He was extricated and transported to hospital, where he died on March 21. At the time of his death, a company had agreed to fully sponsor his truck team beginning at the next race. It was meant to be a surprise for him at the end of the race.

Legacy[]

Following the incident, Homestead was reconfigured into a true oval with a six-degree banking to reduce the possibility of the type of crash that killed Nemechek. His brother Joe was able to pay tribute to his brother by winning a Busch Series race that November at the now-reconfigured circuit; he later named his son John Hunter after his late brother.

Motorsports career results[]

NASCAR[]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series[]

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 NBGNC Pts
1994 NEMCO Motorsports 89 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL MAR DAR HCY BRI NHA NZH CLT DOV MYB GLN MLW SBO TAL HCY IRP
30 		MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT MAR CAR 92nd 73
1996 NEMCO Motorsports 89 Chevy DAY CAR
DNQ 		RCH
DNQ 		ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY NZH CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NHA TAL IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM NA 0

Craftsman Truck Series[]

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 NCTC Pts
1995 89 Chevy PHO
13 		TUS SGS 16th 1674
NEMCO Motorsports 87 Chevy MMR
26
14
27 		I70
23 		LVL
22 		BRI
29 		MLW
17 		CNS
15 		HPT IRP
8
20 		RCH
19 		MAR
9 		NWS
22 		SON MMR
30 		PHO
19
1996 8 Chevy HOM
7 		PHO
14 		POR
12
20 		TUS
17 		CNS
12 		HPT
21 		BRI
20
20 		MLW
29 		LVL
10 		I70
16 		IRP
26 		FLM
14 		GLN
16 		NSV
21 		RCH
27 		NHA
20 		MAR
14 		NWS
19
16 		MMR
19 		PHO
17 		LVS
27 		13th 2615
1997 WDW
36 		TUS
20 		HOM
21 		PHO POR EVG I70 NHA TEX BRI NZH MLW LVL CNS HPT IRP FLM NSV GLN RCH MAR SON MMR CAL PHO LVS 71st 258

References[]

  1. ^ Barker, John (August 5, 1994). "Third Sportsman 100 tonight at L.I.S." The Ledger. Lakeland, FL. p. 2D. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
  2. ^ Barker, John (December 13, 1994). "Younger Nemechek to drive Super Truck Series". The Ledger. Lakeland, FL. p. 3D. Retrieved 2014-04-02.

External links[]

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