Joe Nemechek
Joe Nemechek
Joseph Frank "Joe" Nemechek IIIis an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the Xfinity Series, driving the No. 87 Toyota Camry 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...
feeling freedom gut happen laps leading next number package pole protecting race result shot starting troops victory win
We had the right package today. But not having a shot at the victory after starting from the pole and leading a number of laps is disappointing. I thought this was the race we were going to win for our soldiers, who are protecting our freedom here and abroad. We'll get that victory for our troops and I have a gut feeling it's going to happen soon. But for now, we'll take the eighth-place result and go on to the next race.
drivers gives race running shoot time tracks
I got in the right place at the right time and had success. It gives all the drivers at all the race tracks something to shoot for. It wasn't that long ago that I was running there.
capable cup definitely race team win
My team is definitely capable of being in the Chase. Any Nextel Cup race you can win is big. It's the most competitive thing I've done.
army bonus coming contending dollar finish giving goal goes last million proved race repeat run since spirit tracks
Since we didn't make the Chase, our goal right now is to finish 11th and we can do that. We have some race tracks coming up that we like and can run well at. We proved that last year, and if we can repeat that performance, we'll be contending for 11th place and the one million dollar bonus that goes with it. We have that Army spirit of never giving up.
almost came couple crew flying gained guys incredible needed pit quick race stop towards
The pit crew was incredible tonight, we gained on almost every stop and towards the end of the race when we really needed a couple of quick stops, the guys came through with flying colors.
army bad best car cars chevy chief crew finish good great incredible mean practice race ryan setup start struggled yesterday
Not a great finish but an outstanding effort. We struggled in practice yesterday and I had concern. But Ryan (crew chief Ryan Pemberton) and the crew put a whole new setup in the car for the start of the race and let me tell you -- the Army Chevy was bad to the bone. One of the best cars I have ever driven. It was just incredible, I mean incredible on how good the car drove.
atlanta california chase definitely deserved dozen february finishes gotten happen heading next races richmond running solid spoil strong year
It's definitely a long shot. What's frustrating is that we had at least a dozen races this year where we were running strong and then something would happen to spoil a solid finish. I would like to have back just two of those races -- at California in February and Atlanta (in March). Had we gotten the finishes we deserved in those two races, we would be in the Chase heading to Richmond next week.
cup daytona defines mean race win
As a driver, it would mean a lot. But I don't think it defines a driver. Daytona is a big race, but any Nextel Cup race you can win is big.
air caused damage extensive fender heard hit laps race turned whatever
I don't think the race was 10 laps old when I heard a thump. I didn't think much of it at the time, but it turned out to be very costly. I don't know what hit us, but whatever it was, it caused extensive damage to the right-front fender and the air dam.
team opportunity race
There are a lot of other things I could be doing out there, but I love to race. I'm fortunate to have the opportunity, to have the team and to have the resources to be able to do this.
good opportunity
What's frustrating is that we had a good car, but never had the opportunity to be a challenger.
army awesome bad crew effort excellent fight great pit quit result
We had the Army fight today. No one quit -- we were excellent soldiers. The pit crew was awesome again. It was just too bad we didn't get the result that we deserved. It was a great effort by everybody.
toughest
The toughest break, I think, we had was the Coca-Cola 600.
continue good hopefully michigan next track
Michigan has always been a good track for us and hopefully it will continue being that come next Sunday.