Jeremy Clements to break record for most starts in NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series history
On Saturday, Jeremy Clements will pass Kenny Wallace to become the new leader for most starts in NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series history.
He will make his 548th start on the Coronado Street Course at Naval Base Coronado just outside of San Diego.
The 41-year-old veteran from South Carolina has been a mainstay in the series, driving the Jeremy Clements Racing family owned No. 51 that he and his father Tony own.
Clements made his first start in the series in 2003 at Pikes Peak International Raceway, but didn’t attempt a full season in the series until 2011.
Since then, the team has competed full time every year since. The team was also one of the few to not be based in North Carolina calling home to Spartanburg, S.C. In 2026, the team moved shop to Haas Factory Team’s campus in Kannapolis, N.C. as part of a new alliance.
In his seventh full-time season in the series, Clements pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NASCAR history winning the Johnsonville 180 at Road America.
Clements led 10 out of 45 laps, and held on to win after spinning in the final turn with Matt Tifft coming to the white flag. He would again make the playoffs in 2021 on points.
Clements would score his second win in the series in the Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway in 2022. Clements avoided many accidents in the race en route to victory, and punched his ticket to the playoffs.
Last week at Pocono, Clements acknowledged the upcoming milestone with a special paint scheme showing a graphic of Wallace passing the torch. Clements tied Wallace in starts at Pocono with a 16th place finish.
With one of his series wins being on a road course, a good result could easily happen at Coronado.
Clements currently sits 19th in points, and 148 points outside the Chase cutline. A series of strong runs in the summer could put him in contention to make his fourth postseason appearance.
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