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.
John Hunter Nemechek landing spots: No. 2 – Sam Hunt Racing
If John Hunter Nemechek wishes to stay in the TRD camp and look outside of KBM, a move to Sam Hunt Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series could be an option as well. Nemechek has competed for the team on a part-time basis since 2021, with his most recent race there coming at Darlington Raceway.
It’s uncertain whether Sam Hunt Racing can bring on a full-time driver, as they have provided a rotational ride for Xfinity Series journeymen and developmental rides for TRD prospects. But if the Mooresville, North Carolina-based team is looking to commit to a full-time driver for 2023, Nemechek should be their guy.
Of the plethora of drivers to compete for their team, Nemechek has made the most out of their equipment. He gave the team their best finish at Richmond Raceway in 2021 when he finished in third place.
This season alone, he has already scored two top five finishes, higher than any other driver to pilot the #26 Toyota. The upside that Nemechek brings to Sam Hunt Racing shouldn’t be ignored and should be explored as an option for both sides for 2023.
Drivers who have helped out Sam Hunt Racing, such as Jeffery Earnhardt, serve as great veterans who bring funding that may help out the team on an occasional basis, but they aren’t the permanent answer.
For Earnhardt specifically, it’s clear that a full-time role is his priority, and he will take any ride in the process, just as he did this year when he split time with both Sam Hunt Racing and Richard Childress Racing to bring the #3 Chevrolet back in the Xfinity Series.
But Sam Hunt Racing should consider committing to a full-time driver. Sponsorship, like always in NASCAR, will be the biggest gap to fill for both Nemechek and the team. But if a company is willing to put faith in both, it would give Nemechek a home for 2023, and it would secure Sam Hunt Racing a championship caliber flagship driver as well.
John Hunter Nemechek landing spots: No. 3 – Joe Gibbs Racing (Xfinity Series)
If a full-time ride with Sam Hunt Racing isn’t in the cards for John Hunter Nemechek, Joe Gibbs Racing could be the most likely Xfinity Series landing spot for him.
Like he has for Sam Hunt Racing, Nemechek has competed for the team on a part-time basis since last year, furthering his experience in the TRD Xfinity Series program. But unlike his time with Sam Hunt Racing, his tenure with JGR has seen him visit victory lane. He won at Texas Motor Speedway in the #54 Toyota last year.
Nemechek’s alignment with JGR and their affiliated teams is closely noted, as he was the original driver lined up to replace Kurt Busch at 23XI Racing when Busch suffered concussion-like symptoms after a wreck at Pocono Raceway.
Team co-owner and JGR driver Denny Hamlin revealed that Nemechek was selected as the team’s reserve/replacement driver back in January, so it seems that both Toyota and Nemechek want to keep their relationship flowing.
With Ty Gibbs serving as the not-so-subtle replacement favorite for Kyle Busch next year in the Cup Series, JGR should have an opening in their Xfinity Series program next year. If/when Gibbs’s move to the #18 Toyota happens, the team should quickly sign Nemechek to fill the seat.
In his limited starts with JGR in the Xfinity Series this year, he nearly brought them another victory. Ironically enough, if it weren’t for being moved in the last corner on the final lap by Gibbs, he would have won at Richmond Raceway.
With Gibbs most likely set to join the Cup Series full-time next year, Nemechek is the obvious candidate to take the reins from him. This move would keep him in the TRD camp and give him a chance to compete for a championship in a series he hasn’t competed full-time in since 2019.