# John Nemechek

John Frank Nemechek (March 12, 1970 – March 21, 1997) was an American racing driver who competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

## Life and racing career

The younger brother of four-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner Joe Nemechek, John followed his brother into racing, participating in his first race at the age of twelve in an 80 class dirtbike race. After a quick progression to the 250cc class, he moved onto mini-stock cars, where he raced against his brother, and eventually late-model stocks.
When he was not racing, Nemechek served as the front-tire changer on Joe's pit crew, and was on Joe's 1992 NASCAR Busch Series championship-winning team. He would begin attempting NASCAR races himself, and ran one Busch race at IRP in 1994. He finished 30th after his No. 89 Chevrolet suffered an engine failure. The following season, he began racing in the new Craftsman Truck Series, driving at first for Redding Motorsports, and then for his brother's NEMCO Motorsports. In the first year of competition, Nemechek ran 16 races and had two top-ten finishes. He followed that up with two more top-tens in 1996 and a thirteenth-place finish in points, running a single truck he built himself titled the War Wagon under his own team, Chek Racing.

## Death

On March 16, 1997, Nemechek was running a Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway when with 23 laps to go, he lost control and struck the first-turn wall, driver's side first, and hit his head on the wall, suffering head injuries. He was extracted and transported to a hospital, where he died on March 21, 1997.

## Legacy

Following the incident, Homestead was reconfigured into a true oval with a six-degree banking to reduce the possibility of the type of crash that killed Nemechek. His brother Joe won a Busch Series race that November at the reconfigured circuit; he later named his son John Hunter after his late brother.
In 1999, when Joe won his first Cup Race at New Hampshire, he paid tribute to John over the radio while he took the checkered flag:
“This is for my brother John. I love you.”

## Motorsports career results
### NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

#### Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results :
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | NBGNC | Pts | Ref |
| 1994 | NEMCO Motorsports | 89 | Chevy | DAY | CAR | RCH | ATL | MAR | DAR | HCY | BRI | ROU | NHA | NZH | CLT | DOV | MYB | GLN | MLW | SBO | TAL | HCY | IRP 30 | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | CLT | MAR | CAR | 92nd | 73 | |
| 1996 | NEMCO Motorsports | 89 | Chevy | DAY | CAR DNQ | RCH DNQ | ATL | NSV | DAR | BRI | HCY | NZH | CLT | DOV | SBO | MYB | GLN | MLW | NHA | TAL | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | CLT | CAR | HOM | | | NA | 0 | |

#### Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results :
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | NCTC | Pts |
| 1995 | Redding Motorsports | 89 | Chevy | PHO 13 | TUS | SGS | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 16th | 1674 |
| 1995 | NEMCO Motorsports | 87 | Chevy | | | | MMR 26 | POR 14 | EVG 27 | I70 23 | LVL 22 | BRI 29 | MLW 17 | CNS 15 | HPT | IRP 8 | FLM 20 | RCH 19 | MAR 9 | NWS 22 | SON | MMR 30 | PHO 19 | | | | | | | | | 16th | 1674 |
| 1996 | Chek Racing | 8 | Chevy | HOM 7 | PHO 14 | POR 12 | EVG 20 | TUS 17 | CNS 12 | HPT 21 | BRI 20 | NZH 20 | MLW 29 | LVL 10 | I70 16 | IRP 26 | FLM 14 | GLN 16 | NSV 21 | RCH 27 | NHA 20 | MAR 14 | NWS 19 | SON 16 | MMR 19 | PHO 17 | LVS 27 | | | 13th | 2615 |
| 1997 | Chek Racing | 8 | Chevy | WDW 36 | TUS 20 | HOM 21 | PHO | POR | EVG | I70 | NHA | TEX | BRI | NZH | MLW | LVL | CNS | HPT | IRP | FLM | NSV | GLN | RCH | MAR | SON | MMR | CAL | PHO | LVS | 71st | 258 |