The car number (36) will remain the same but there’ll be a different face and body behind the wheel for this weekend’s NASCAR Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway.
John Hunter Nemechek will replace Matt Tifft, who will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a seizure this past weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
The 22-year-old Nemechek, who is in his first full season of racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, is looking forward to making his first career Cup start in Tifft’s place – but wishes the circumstances were a bit different.
“This definitely isn’t the way any driver wants to be able to go and make their first NASCAR Monster Energy Series debut,” Nemechek told Dave Moody on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s SiriusXM Speedway. “I’m really hoping Matt is okay, gets better really soon and is back in his car as soon as possible. That’s what’s important right now.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity and go and make Front Row Motorsports, their partners and Matt proud in the next few weeks.”
Front Row Motorsports had to scramble to find a replacement driver after Tifft was taken to a hospital in Martinsville. Matt Crafton replaced him in this past Sunday’s Cup race there.
Fortunately for Nemechek, when Front Row came knocking, Chevrolet agreed to let its young driver go out and pilot a Ford Mustang for the remaining three Cup races – while also still driving a Chevy for GMS Racing in the Xfinity Series.
“It really happened overnight,” Nemechek told Moody. “It’s just something that kind of happened. I’m really grateful for Bob Jenkins and everyone at Front Row to make this opportunity happen for myself and all of our partners in GMS Racing and for Chevrolet willing to let me go to drive a Cup car and gain some valuable experience.
“Once you’re tied to a manufacturer, it’s really hard to go and drive for another one. I’m very grateful for Chevrolet and everything they’ve done for me in my career and how they’ve been loyal to myself and dedicated and pushed me through the ranks over the last couple of years and I definitely don’t want to upset them. But when this opportunity came up, we’re going to drive a Cup car. It’s pretty amazing.”
In addition to gaining his first amount of Cup experience, Nemechek also has another bit of motivation: “We’re leaving Matt’s name on the car. It’s his ride, his car. I’m just filling in, trying to get the most of what we can, run some laps and finish it off.”
Son of veteran NASCAR driver Joe Nemechek, the younger Nemechek is already feeling butterflies – and he hasn’t even gotten to the Lone Star State yet.
“There most definitely is,” Nemechek said when Moody asked if he’s feeling any anxiety. “Any time you’re racing in a new series, you get butterflies. As a young guy continuing to move up the ranks, this is what we all dream about. We all want to be in the Cup Series one day, and it’s our goal when we’re running in the Xfinity and Truck series.
“Growing up, I wanted to be in the top level of the sport. This weekend, there’s definitely going to be butterflies, but you just have to take what it’ll give us, try to have a solid debut, run all the laps and gain all the experience I can. You ain’t learning anything if you’re up on jack stands is what I’ve been told (by his father Joe), so we just have to go out and do the best we can.
“I really like Texas Motor Speedway. It’s a great race track and a great opportunity for myself. I’ve always liked Texas ever since I was old enough to run there. I remember going there with dad and having a lot of fun with him when I was young. We’ve run really well there in the Truck Series and have run pretty well in the Xfinity Series. Should have won the Xfinity race there last year. It’s another good mile-and-a-half race track. It’s going to be exciting, for sure.”
Nemechek has had good success at Texas in the past in other series. He’s made two Xfinity Series starts there, finishing ninth (last fall) and fourth (this spring). In five Truck Series starts there, he has one top-10 and three other top-20 finishes.
While he still plans on driving the last two Xfinity races of the season for GMS Racing in addition to the last three Cup races, Nemechek does not have a contract to race for any team in any series for 2020 yet. That’s why Texas is an important litmus test of sorts.
“Being able to go run in the Cup Series and be somewhat competitive and be able to go out and earn respect from the top Cup guys,” he said when asked what he hopes to achieve in Sunday’s Cup debut. “There’s guys racing for a championship right now, so you definitely don’t want to be that guy that gets in their way.
“The storyline is we want to go and have a quiet weekend for us, just run as many laps as we possibly can and gain as much experience and just have a solid weekend. That’s our goal. It’s all new for me, I’ve never driven a Cup car before so it’s going to be a whole new process and whole new learning curve.”
You might say things will get a bit Rowdy on today’s episode of NASCAR America Presents Motormouths as special guest Kyle Busch returns for an encore performance from 5-6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Rutledge Wood and Kyle Petty will host the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as he makes his second appearance on MotorMouths this month and third time since mid-July.
You can join the conversation by calling 1-844-NASCARNBC or reach out on Twitter via #LetMeSayThis.
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Roush Fenway Racing announced Wednesday it has extended its sponsorship program with Oscar Mayer through the 2021 season.
Oscar Meyer will return as primary sponsor for multiple races on the No. 6 Ford Mustang driven by Ryan Newman in 2020 and 2021, beginning with the TicketGuardian 500 in Phoenix on March 8, 2020.
“After a strong 2019 season, we at Oscar Mayer couldn’t be prouder to continue our season-long sponsorship of driver Ryan Newman and Roush Fenway Racing,” Oscar Mayer associate director Matt Riezman said in a media release. “Through our sponsorship, we’re able to connect with fans in a whole new way from our paint schemes to pre-race celebrations. We look forward to supporting the sport and No. 6 over the next two seasons and feeding people’s love of meat, both on and off the track.”
In addition, RFR and Oscar Mayer – which has sponsored the No. 6 in seven races this season – revealed that fans will help design the 2020 paint scheme for Newman’s car.
Starting today, fans can visit Oscar Mayer’s social channels (Facebook, Twitter or Instagram) to download a car template and give their own unique take on what Newman’s ride should look like in 2020.
“We’re obviously excited to continue our relationship with such a great brand in Oscar Mayer and the Kraft-Heinz Company,” Newman said in the release. “The Oscar Mayer team and everyone at Roush Fenway has done a great job on collaborating on various innovative ideas throughout this season, and we’re looking forward to more creative excitement both on and off the track in the future.”
When the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season debuts next February in Daytona, a new team will be pulling out of the garage and onto the race track.
Our Motorsports, which has previously competed in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the ARCA Menards Series, will expand into the Xfinity Series with a full-time entry, it announced Wednesday.
The Statesville, North Carolina-based organization, owned by Massachusetts native Chris Our, will field the No. 02 Chevrolet with former NASCAR Whelen Modified champ Andy Seuss as its initial driver.
“We’re excited to be expanding to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2020,” Our said in a team media release. “NASCAR’s marketing platform offers an opportunity like no other for both our existing partners and potential new partners.
“We have a great group of employees at Our Motorsports, who continue to work hard to grow the team. I am looking forward to getting to Daytona in February and seeing the No. 02 on the track.”
Seuss has managed the organization’s day-to-day operations for the last two years and will expand those duties by overseeing the new Xfinity team. Seuss is expected to drive the No. 2 in several races during the season, but an official driver lineup will be announced in January, the team announced.
“Chris Our has been a huge influence and supporter of helping to continue the dream of competing at the highest level in NASCAR,” Seuss said in the release. “He is a great guy, whose passion for motorsports has helped countless drivers over the years live their dreams to compete for wins every weekend.”
In addition to the Xfinity team, Our Motorsports will continue to compete part-time in the ARCA Series, also in the No. 02 Chevrolet.
After two weeks atop the NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings, Denny Hamlin is out and Martinsville winner Martin Truex Jr. is back in the No. 1 spot.
But fear not Hamlin fans. Your driver didn’t fall far. He drops to second place, three points behind his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate in the weekly voting of NBC Sports’ NASCAR writers.
As for the other JGR driver still in the playoffs, Kyle Busch, he plummets from second to 10th this week. But at least he’s not like Chase Elliott, who fell out of this week’s rankings after being third last week.
The biggest gainer is William Byron (eighth last week to third this week).
Here are the power rankings ahead of Sunday’s Round of 8 playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN):
1. Martin Truex Jr. (39 points). Had never won a short track race in Cup before this year. Now has three wins. And also has three wins in the playoffs. 3 + 3 = No. 1 in the rankings. Last week: Fourth.
2. Denny Hamlin (36 points). Could the championship come down to a battle between the two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates? It’s sure starting to look like that. Last week: First.
3. William Byron (30 points). If he had just a couple more laps or a slightly faster car, Byron might have earned his first Cup career win at Martinsville. Don’t be surprised if he wins one of the three remaining races this season – he’s ready. Last week: Eighth.
4. Ryan Blaney (24 points). Fifth-place finish gave him three top fives at short tracks this season. Last week: Ninth (tied).
5. Kevin Harvick (23 points). Has been kind of quiet of late but could generate a lot of noise in the next two races at two of his favorite race tracks. Last week: Fifth.
6. Joey Logano (14 points). Given the number of confrontations with other drivers he’s had this season – as well as with Denny Hamlin throughout his career – karma may be harder to beat than all his rivals. Last week: Ninth (tied).
7. Brad Keselowski (13 points). Showed he still has a lot of gas left in his tank despite no longer being in contention for the championship. Could still be a dangerous spoiler for remaining title contenders. Last week: Unranked.
(tie) 8. Kurt Busch (11 points). Who would have thought he’d be ranked higher in this week’s rankings than his little brother? Even though he’s no longer in the playoffs, he’s driving like he still is. Like Keselowski, could be a dark horse in the remaining three races. Last week: Unranked.
(tie) 9. Kyle Larson (11 points). Scoring nine points in Stage 2 at Martinsville helped take the sting away from a rough race and ninth-place finish. Last week: Seventh.
10. Kyle Busch (8 points). Has he smiled once since the playoffs began? An even better question: Could anyone have expected that the regular season champ would fall this far? Last week: Second.
Others receiving votes: Chase Elliott (6 points), Ryan Newman (2 points), Todd Gilliland (2 points), Bubba Wallace (1 point).
- Kyle Busch is scheduled to be on NASCAR America’s MotorMouths from 5-6 p.m. ET today on NBCSN.
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