NASCAR: Joe Nemechek ties a Richard Petty all-time record

Joe Nemechek tied an all-time NASCAR record that was previously held solely by seven-time Cup Series champion and 200-time Cup Series winner Richard Petty this past weekend.

Last Sunday afternoon, Joe Nemechek made up the father portion of the first father-son duo to compete in a NASCAR Cup Series race since the 2005 season, joining son John Hunter Nemechek in John Hunter’s Cup Series debut at Texas Motor Speedway.

One week later, the Nemecheks both ran triple duty in the Truck Series, Xfinity Series and Cup Series races at ISM Raceway, becoming the first father-son duo to ever pull off the feat.

In doing so, the elder Nemechek tied an all-time NASCAR record that was previously held solely by Richard Petty.

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Friday night’s Truck Series race at the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) ISM Raceway oval in Avondale, Arizona was the 56-year-old Naples, Florida native’s 68th career Truck Series start. Saturday afternoon’s Xfinity Series race at the track was his 444th career Xfinity Series start. Finally, Sunday afternoon’s Cup Series race there was his 673rd career Cup Series start.

Add them all up, and you find that Nemechek made his 1,183rd, 1,184th and 1,185th career NASCAR starts this past weekend.

Petty entered the weekend with the all-time starts record across the Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Truck Series having competed in 1,185 races, all in the Cup Series. But now Nemechek has tied that record, and he is well-positioned to break it.

Petty ultimately retired having won an all-time record seven championships, a mark that has since been tied twice by Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson, and having recorded an all-time record 200 victories, a record that will likely never fall in the Cup Series alone but was broken by Kyle Busch across all three series in March.

In his 673 Cup Series starts, which span from 1993 to now, Nemechek has tallied four victories, 18 top five finishes, 62 top 10 finishes and 10 pole positions. He has led 1,246 of the 154,882 laps that he has completed and recorded an average finish of 28.3.

In his 444 Xfinity Series starts, which span from 1989 to now, Nemechek has tallied 16 victories, 74 top five finishes, 126 top 10 finishes and 18 pole positions. He has led 2,906 of the 73,487 laps that he has completed and recorded an average finish of 18.8.

Finally, in his 68 Truck Series starts, which span from 1996 to now, Nemechek has tallied four top five finishes and 19 top 10 finishes. He has led 49 of the 5,257 laps that he has completed and recorded an average finish of 21.1.

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While it isn’t a wins or championships record, the fact that Joe Nemechek has now competed in more NASCAR races across the Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Truck Series than anybody not nicknamed “The King” — and likely soon more than anybody ever — is impressive and well worth praising, especially considering the fact that it did not garner much attention this past weekend when he accomplished it.

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