When John Hunter Nemechek made an Instagram comment back in May 2025 about wanting to drive one of Ryan Tuerck's drift trucks, he probably would have been the last person on Earth to actually expect that to blossom into a reality.
Thanks to Mobil 1, he got the surprise of a lifetime.
"It was production week here for us," Nemechek told Beyond the Flag. "We had like seven days of production going on, and on my calendar, it was a Mobil 1 production day, which makes sense, right? So didn’t think anything of it."
Up to that point, Nemechek was expecting just that: another production day.
John Hunter Nemechek surprised by Mobil 1
"They had posted a video and some pictures of the drift truck that Ryan had built with Mobil 1, and I commented on the Instagram post and asked when I could drive it," he explained.
Even when he arrived, the surprise was, quite literally, still under wraps.
"When I pulled in, it was underneath the cover," Nemechek said. "It turned out to be really unique and really neat. I really enjoyed the whole experience.
"I had met Ryan before, but definitely not to that extent. And then being able to drift with him, and being able to hop in myself and learn from him, just being able to drive that thing, I loved it. It was one of the most fun things that I’ve ever done in my lifetime."
Thanks to @Mobil1, @JHNemechek got to see an Instagram comment become a reality. pic.twitter.com/dKu1DUWDh2
— Beyond the Flag (@Beyond_The_Flag) February 7, 2026
"Instagram to reality, thanks to Mobil 1," Nemechek continued. "It was a great surprise. Had a lot of fun with it. Really enjoyed that day."
Nemechek, who realigned with Mobil 1 back when he realigned with Toyota Racing Development following his brief initial Cup Series stint with Front Row Motorsports and Ford back in 2020, spoke about the benefits of having a great partner like Mobil 1, not just on the race track but away from it, like he got to experience with the recent drift truck surprise.
"It's awesome," he said. "Mobil 1 has been a great partner of mine since I made my return to Toyota and the Truck Series in 2021. We’ve won a lot of races together. We’ve done a lot of cool things together. This one definitely is up there for sure.
"When you have partners that take opportunities like that to create content and memories and really show what it’s all about, driving, having fun, the passion of racing, and really what Mobil 1 stands for, it’s just amazing. They want to excel in those spaces and treat their drivers, brand ambassadors, and everyone who's a part of the Mobil 1 family really well. It’s really neat to bring two different motorsport worlds together and be able to enjoy the moment like we were able to."
As for how a driver who has quite literally been around NASCAR his whole life became such a big fan of drifting, the 28-year-old Mooresville, North Carolina native had a very simple answer.
"It’s just fun!" he admitted. "I’ve enjoyed it for a long time. I’ve drifted some production vehicles and whatnot, but never anything purposely built to go drift. So, more or less when I made that comment, I wasn’t really talking about drifting in a sense; that just kind of came with it. I just wanted to drive the thing. It was so cool.
"Being able to see the motor in it, all of the work in the chassis, original body parts – it’s from 1966 – it’s really neat to see the work and effort that went into it. And man, it was fun to drive."