John Hunter Nemechek off to fastest start of NASCAR Cup Series career
John Hunter Nemechek is off to the fastest start of his NASCAR Cup Series career.
Two races into the NASCAR Cup Series season, John Hunter Nemechek finds himself seventh in the driver’s standings with a 15-point cushion to the playoff cutline.
Nemechek started the year with a fifth-place finish in the Daytona 500. On Sunday, he finished 10th in the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“Road crew, pit crew – everyone did a solid job all day,” Nemechek said. “We were able to keep it straight all day and salvaged another top-10. Two really good runs to start the season and looking forward to COTA next week.”
Nemechek and points leader Ryan Blaney are the only two drivers to finish inside the Top-10 in both races so far this year. Nemechek has an average finish of 7.5, second only to Blaney’s 5.5.
The 27-year-old driver is in his second season racing full-time for Legacy Motor Club. In his other full-time Cup Series seasons – 2020 and 2024 – Nemechek was ranked 18th and 13th in points, respectively, after two races.
The pair of top-10 finishes this season is also the first time he has earned back-to-back top-10 finishes.
As of Atlanta, Nemechek has a top-5 finish, nine top-10 finishes and 37 laps led in 79 career starts.
The next race is scheduled for Sunday, March 2 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. In his only start at COTA, Nemechek finished on the lead lap in 21st last year.
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.