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HAMPTON, Ga. — John Hunter Nemechek’s Xfinity debut started with near spins in the first 10 laps and a cut tire — and ended with a fourth-place finish in Saturday’s Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“That first stage was pretty hectic … overall a great day,” Nemehek said on pit road. “We cut down a right front early on in the race and had to rebound from that. We went a lap down, ended up getting the lucky dog and came back through the field. (No. 42 crew chief Mike) Shiplett and all the guys here at Chip Ganassi Racing …”
“You had a full day there, boy,” team owner Chip Ganassi said, approaching Nemechek with a smile.
Nemechek laughed. “Appreciate it!”
He continued, “If it wasn’t for Chip, I wouldn’t have had this opportunity, so I have to thank him. Overall, it was a fun day, a long day, a lot of work, but I guess that’s what is supposed to be made in your debut. Really great learning day overall adjustment-wise, talking with Shiplett on the box and trying to get the car better. To come top five, that was my goal and we came home fourth.
“So, I’m happy with that, so now to the next one and hopefully we can keep improving finishing positions.”
Nemechek’s whirlwind of a day began at Lap 7 when eventual race winner Kevin Harvick tagged him while passing his No. 42 Chevrolet for third. After saving the car, Nemechek tangled with Elliott Sadler, who was making a big run and tapped Nemechek. The contact caused Nemechek to hit Cole Custer’s No. 00 Ford, ending Custer’s day early and prompting Nemechek to apologize to Custer and the No. 00 team post-race.
Later in the race, he cut a tire and was forced to battle back through the field. The resilience impressed one very important figure; Nemechek’s father and Camping World Truck Series driver Joe Nemechek.
“He definitely passed more cars than anybody today,” the elder Nemechek said ahead of climbing into his own No. 8 truck on Saturday. “In a season debut, that’s probably the hardest thing ever to overcome, when you have adversity and just all the things that are going against you stacked and then you rebound to have a fourth-place finish. Pretty incredible day.”
Before his Xfinity debut Saturday, John Hunter had driven full-time for Joe Nemechek-owned NEMCO Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series since 2016. He will continue to make select starts for his family-owned team in the Truck Series.
As a father and an owner, Nemechek knows what his son is able to accomplish.
“(Ganassi is) happy and he keeps telling me, ‘as a dad you’ve got to be so proud’ and I am,” he said. “I just know how capable of a race car driver he is given the right tools. And we’ve been able, as far as myself and our family team … to give him the tools he needed to get to this point and now, to make the next step, you’ve got to have more tools. And Chip’s going to give that to him.
“I think you’re going to see him be very, very competitive this year.”
Nemechek is slated to run a part-time schedule in the No. 42 Chevrolet this season, splitting seat time with Kyle Larson. His next race will come on March 17 at Auto Club Speedway.
For the young driver, Saturday’s run is a solid start to his season.
“I had an open mindset coming into the season,” he said. “I didn’t know what to expect, didn’t know where we were going to stack up in practice, didn’t know where we were going to stack up in qualifying, didn’t know where we were going to stack up in the race.
“My goal this weekend was to learn as much as I could and to try and run up front if our car was capable or if I was capable … after practice yesterday and after qualifying, I thought we were going to have a shot to run top three or even try and contend for the win.
“It’s definitely something that I’m looking forward to — it’s a great opportunity and great debut in my opinion.”