Joe Nemechek

Biography

Joe Nemechek began his racing career in motocross at age 13 taking home more than 300 trophies in six years. Making the transition to stock cars in 1986, he has posted victories in every series in which he has raced along the way.

Early achievements include All-Pro Late Model Rookie of the Year in 1989 and NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year in 1990. He led his family-owned team to the NASCAR Busch Series Championship in 1992 and was named Most Popular Driver in 1992 and 1993.

Nemechek made the jump to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series in 1994. Since that time, he has collected eight pole awards lending credence to his claim upon the nickname "Front Row Joe." His victory in the 1999 Jiffy Lube 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, however, stood out as the first major milestone of a promising career. Win number two came in the late stages of the 2001 season when Nemechek dominated the Pop Secret 400 at North Carolina Motor Speedway.

In 2003, Nemechek took over the wheel of the No. 25 UAW-Delphi Chevy driving for Hendrick Motorsports. Only 11 races into the season, he claimed victory in the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Late in the season, Nemechek was named as driver of the MB2 Motorsports/U.S. Army entry for the 2004 season. In grand style, Nemechek and his US Army team picked up both the pole award and their first win together at Kansas Speedway this past October.

In addition to his NEXTEL Cup Series career, Nemechek maintains a Busch Series operation with which he competes on a limited schedule basis with backing from Cellular One. With proven success on every type of track on the NASCAR circuit, Nemechek's team has earned the reputation of being one of the premier operations in the Busch Series with 16 wins, 17 poles, 71 top-fives and 114 top-ten finishes. In 2003 alone, the team logged three poles and three wins. 2004 did not disappoint, with a victory at Kansas, just one day before his Cup win.

Building on the success of the team, the NEMCO operation expanded in 2001 with the addition of a second Busch Series entry. Halfway through the 2003 season, defending series champion Greg Biffle took over the ride and collected wins at Lowe's Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway. In 2004, Nemechek put various drivers in the seat of his team car including Wally Dallenbach, Jeff Fuller and former NASCAR Modified Series Champion, Todd Szegedy. The team operation will remain in 2005 and will be filled by various drivers including road-racing specialist Chris Cook.

A true competitor, Nemechek's key focus remains on his performance behind the wheel. In 2004, the Cellular One team underwent major changes with the addition of crew chief Gary Putnam. In only his third outing, Putnam led the team to the victory in Kansas. 2005 holds great promise with Cellular One returning for their sixth season, and, after setting a hot pace at the end of 2004, the US Army team is primed for a run for the 2005 Chase for the Championship.