Joe Nemechek | |||||||
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Nemechek in 2011
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Born | Joseph Frank Nemechek III September 26, 1963 Lakeland, Florida |
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Achievements | 1989 All PRO Super Series Champion 1992 NASCAR Busch Series Champion |
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Awards | 1988 USAR Rookie of the Year 1990 Busch Series Rookie of the Year 1992, 1993 Busch Series Most Popular Driver |
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Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
667 races run over 23 years | |||||||
2015 position | 68th | ||||||
Best finish | 15th (2000) | ||||||
First race | 1993 Slick 50 300 (New Hampshire) | ||||||
Last race | 2015 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (Atlanta) | ||||||
First win | 1999 Dura Lube/Kmart 300 (New Hampshire) | ||||||
Last win | 2004 Banquet 400 (Kansas) | ||||||
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NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
427 races run over 26 years | |||||||
2016 position | 112th | ||||||
Best finish | 1st (1992) | ||||||
First race | 1989 AC-Delco 500 (Rockingham) | ||||||
Last race | 2016 Subway Firecracker 250 (Daytona) | ||||||
First win | 1992 Kroger 200 (IRP) | ||||||
Last win | 2004 Mr. Goodcents 300 (Kansas) | ||||||
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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career | |||||||
25 races run over 7 years | |||||||
Truck no., team | No. 87 (NEMCO Motorsports) | ||||||
2015 position | 33rd | ||||||
Best finish | 19th (2014) | ||||||
First race | 1996 Parts America 150 (Watkins Glen) | ||||||
Last race | 2017 Active Pest Control 200 (Atlanta) | ||||||
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Statistics current as of March 4, 2017. |
Joseph Frank "Joe" Nemechek III (born September 26, 1963) is an American professional driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Series, driving the No. 87 Chevrolet Silverado for NEMCO Motorsports. He won the 1992 NASCAR Busch Series championship. He was born in Lakeland, Florida, the older brother of John Nemechek, and is nicknamed "Front Row Joe", a nickname given him by former teammate Wally Dallenbach for his tendency in the late 1990s to be a regular contender for a front row starting position. He is the father of John Hunter Nemechek.
Nemechek began racing at the age of thirteen in , and won three hundred career races over the next six years. After winning various awards in different short track series around the country, Nemechek made his Busch Series debut at North Carolina Speedway in 1989, where he started 40th and finishing 33rd after suffering engine failure in his No. 88 Buick.
Nemechek moved up to the Busch Series in 1990, running the No. 87 with sponsorship from Master Machine & Tool, posting two top-fives and finishing seventeenth in points, winning Rookie of the Year honors. He had sixteen top-ten finishes and finished sixth in points the following year. In 1992, Nemechek got full-time sponsorship from Texas Pete sauce, and got his first two career wins and defeated Bobby Labonte for the championship by three points. He did not win again in 1993, but he won three poles and finished fifth in points. That season, he made his Cup debut at New Hampshire International Speedway for his NEMCO team, starting 15th before finishing 36th after suffering rocker arm failure. After running two more races in the 87, he ran a pair of races for Morgan-McClure Motorsports, his best finish 23rd at Rockingham.