NASCAR: John Hunter Nemechek lands full-time 2021 ride
By Asher Fair
John Hunter Nemechek is set to drive full-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the 2021 NASCAR Truck Series season after leaving Front Row Motorsports.
John Hunter Nemechek made the decision last week that he would not return to Front Row Motorsports for what would have been a second year with the team behind the wheel of the #38 Ford in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
It has now been confirmed that the 23-year-old Mooresville, North Carolina native will not return to the Cup Series next season, at least not as a full-time driver.
But he is set to return to NASCAR in a full-time capacity, and he is set to do so in the Truck Series with Kyle Busch Motorsports.
Nemechek is set to replace Raphael Lessard behind the wheel of the #4 Toyota.
John Hunter Nemechek will drive full time and earn driver points in the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 truck in 2021. #nascar
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 23, 2020
Kyle Busch on hiring John Hunter Nemechek: "With next year’s Truck Series schedule including a lot of events where it’s just show up and race, having an experienced driver in one of our full-time Tundras is going to be beneficial to our whole organization.” #nascar
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 23, 2020
While he is taking two steps back by dropping down from the Cup Series to the Truck Series, this move sets up Nemechek for a potential career path with Toyota.
Nemechek now has his rookie season of Cup racing under his belt, and with 23XI Racing being set for their first Cup Series season in 2021 and having a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, Nemechek would be an ideal candidate to drive a second car if and when they expand beyond their current one-car effort with Bubba Wallace.
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Nemechek has six career victories in 102 Truck Series starts over eight seasons, including two seasons as a full-time driver in 2016 and 2017. All 102 of his starts have been made behind the wheel of a truck for the family-owned NEMCO Motorsports.
In his rookie Cup Series season, he finished in 27th place in the championship standings with three top 10 finishes, including two career-high eighth place efforts in the races at Talladega Superspeedway and an impressive ninth place finish in his first start at the challenging Darlington Raceway.
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The 2021 Truck Series season is scheduled to get underway on Friday, February 12 with the NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway.