NASCAR: 5 candidates for a second 23XI Racing seat
By Asher Fair
Candidates for 23XI Racing expansion: No. 3 – John Hunter Nemechek
If 23XI Racing opt to expand and go the younger driver route, it would be hard to pass up John Hunter Nemechek, given what he has been able to do this season with Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Truck Series.
Nemechek was a Cup Series rookie last season with Front Row Motorsports and had a solid year, but seeing that the trajectory of his career wasn’t what he wanted it to be, he opted to take a gamble and drop down two levels to the Truck Series.
Nemechek landed a competitive ride behind the wheel of the #4 Toyota with Kyle Busch Motorsports, and he has been phenomenal thus far, winning five of the season’s first 14 races and recording three other top five finishes. He leads the point standings with one race remaining in the regular season, and he is the clear favorite to win the championship.
He has now won 12 races in the Truck Series and Xfinity Series, despite the fact that this is only his fourth season as a full-time driver in either one.
Kyle Busch has said that he wanted to hire a Matt Crafton-type guy to compete for his Truck Series team and win races year after year, and Nemechek could certainly fulfill that role. But at just 24 years old, he is still capable of making a jump up to a competitive Cup Series ride, and an opportunity to do so would be hard to pass up.
Back with Toyota after spending several years away, he just might have the opportunity to do that if a second seat at 23XI Racing opens up — even if that means waiting until 2023.