NASCAR: John Hunter Nemechek to drive for Front Row Motorsports in 2020

Front Row Motorsports have confirmed that John Hunter Nemechek is set to join the team as a rookie for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

After Matt Tifft had a seizure at Martinsville Speedway in late October and was replaced by Matt Crafton in the NASCAR Cup Series race at the track that weekend, John Hunter Nemechek was announced as his replacement behind the wheel of the #36 Ford for Front Row Motorsports throughout the remainder of the 2019 season.

Nemechek competed in the final three races of the year at Texas Motor Speedway, ISM Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, recording a top finish of 21st place at Texas and an average finish of 23.67 without finishing lower than 27th.

With Front Row Motorsports’ driver lineup set to change with Tifft and the team having parted ways and David Ragan having retired after the 2019 season, the 22-year-old Mooresville, North Carolina native was heavily rumored to land a full-time ride with the organization for the 2020 season.

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Adding to that speculation was the fact that GMS Racing, the team for which Nemechek drove full-time in the Xfinity Series this past season, shuttered their Xfinity Series program to put a bigger focus on Truck Series and ARCA Menard Series competition.

Now that has been confirmed, as Nemechek is slated to drive the #38 Ford that Ragan drove from the 2017 season to the 2019 season next year.

Nemechek is the sixth confirmed rookie for the 2020 season. The other five are Premium Motorsports’ Brennan Poole, StarCom Racing’s Quin Houff, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer, Leavine Family Racing’s Christopher Bell and Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick.

Here is what Nemechek had to say about the opportunity to join Front Row Motorsports in a full-time capacity for the 2020 season, according to NASCAR.

"“I want to run every lap. You’re not learning anything if you’re on jack stands. It’s more of a learning year for me. If we can go out to Daytona or Talladega and have a shot to win or run up front with Michael or whatever it may be, that would be great. At Front Row Motorsports it’s all about maximizing your opportunities and utilizing your resources to the max to have the best performance that you can.”"

Here is what Front Row Motorsports team owner Bob Jenkins had to add.

"“We are looking to the future with a young talent like John Hunter Nemechek. John Hunter impressed us at the end of last season, he comes from a racing family, and he’s a winning driver. We believe that we can grow with him in the years to come.”"

Front Row Motorsports are set to downsize, going from three cars to two cars, next year. Michael McDowell is set to return to the team as the teammate to Nemechek and the driver of the #34 Ford, the car he drove in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Jenkins added the following about the team’s 2020 driver lineup.

"“Most importantly, both Michael and John Hunter also fit our team values and are tremendous assets to our partners on-and-off the track.”"

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to get underway in just over two months at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida with the 62nd annual Daytona 500.