Next year marks the second time in John Hunter Nemechek’s career that he’s had to transition from the Cup Series into one of NASCAR’s other national touring series, but he says this time it’s different from 2021.
“That was a completely different scenario,” Nemechek said. “I had been a year in Cup and was kind of trying to revamp my career. I don’t necessarily see this as a revamp. I feel like my headspace and maturity level and a lot of things are different than they were in 2021.”
Between the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Nemechek moved from Front Row Motorsports’ Cup team to Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Truck Series operation. In 2021, he won five races for KBM, posted 12 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes and placed third in the standings. He followed that with two victories, seven poles, 10 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes, and a fifth-place finish in the standings in 2022.
In 2024, Nemechek returned to Cup with Legacy Motor Club, but in three years he never placed in the top 20 in the driver standings. In fact, he didn’t have any experience in the current Cup car, and he admitted he leaned heavily on teammate Erik Jones. Now, for 2027 Nemechek is joining Haas Factory Team’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series operation.
Haas Factory Team President Joe Custer said he challenged Nemechek with being the team’s O’Reilly Series leader.
“This experience with us can make him a better overall driver if he embraces it,” Custer said. “He hasn’t had that … responsibility … of making sure our cars are going in the right direction.”
Nemechek said when he went to KBM in 2021 he was in a similar situation.
“I had Chandler Smith as a teammate and Corey Heim that was coming in to run select races,” Nemechek said. “So, when Kyle and I sat down and everyone from Toyota, they kind of expected the same thing from me of how do we continue to grow this program? How do we turn our trucks around? I think at that time, Kyle was the only one that had won in a truck other than the regulars in the past three years. So, it’s how do we push the ball forward and continue to grow and progress? It’ll be the first time in a few years (that I’ve had these responsibilities).”
Before joining Haas, Nemechek talked with RFK Racing about driving its third unchartered Cup car, but he said they couldn’t commit to a specific number of races.
At Haas Factory team, Nemechek and Dean Thompson are replacing Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer. Nemechek is driving the No. 41 Chevrolet, while Thompson is handling the No. 00 next year. Mayer is returning to JR Motorsports, while Creed is moving to Sam Hunt Racing in 2027. Custer says they have plans for a third O’Reilly Series car, but it’s not their current focus.
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.
