NASCAR: 3 possible landing spots for John Hunter Nemechek in 2023
By Randy Smith
With Kyle Busch Motorsports’ NASCAR future unknown, so is John Hunter Nemechek’s. Here are three possible landing spots for him in 2023.
With the blockbuster news of Kyle Busch officially signing with Richard Childress Racing for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, his Truck Series team, Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM), faces an unknown future.
While Busch stated in his press conference that KBM intends to compete in the Truck Series as a Chevrolet team next year, he is unsure of anything beyond that.
The uncertainty surrounding KBM leaves even more uncertainty for its drivers, as some of them are part of the Toyota Racing Development (TRD) pipeline. Specifically, Corey Heim and John Hunter Nemechek are now facing unknown futures.
Nemechek is the most affected by this uncertainty, as he took a leap of faith to leave a Cup Series team in Front Row Motorsports to join the TRD camp when he dropped back down to the Truck Series last year.
Additionally, Nemechek has scored seven wins and earned six poles since joining KBM. He finished third in the standings last year and looks to be a championship threat again this year.
Needless to say, wherever Nemechek finds himself in 2023, he’ll be a healthy addition. With an unknown future, here are three possible landing spots for him next year.
John Hunter Nemechek landing spots: No. 1 – Kyle Busch Motorsports
While Busch has said that KBM will switch to Chevrolet next year, it doesn’t necessarily mean KBM and Busch can’t recruit Nemechek out of the TRD camp. On paper, it’s the safest move to keep Nemechek in-house, given his success with the team.
Conversely, if he were to stay in the TRD camp in the Truck Series, KBM would then have to compete against him. It wouldn’t be the best bet to let go of a driver with 21 top five finishes and 30 top 10 finishes in the last (less than) two seasons.
If a Toyota team such as ThorSport Racing replaces an aging veteran such as Matt Crafton with Nemechek, he becomes competition and not an asset.
Nemechek has also driven for every manufacturer in his NASCAR career, but he has seen his most success in KBM equipment. Whether it’s with Toyota or Chevrolet, it’s a win-win scenario for the team and the 25-year-old to work out a deal to build on their success in 2023.