John Hunter Nemechek Comes Back to Atlanta As a True Contender

John Hunter Nemechek came out of the gates very strongly in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. The driver of the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota scored a fifth-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500, and he followed that great run up with a 10th-place result the following week at Atlanta Motor Speedway (now known as EchoPark Speedway).

While it was a strong start, many were skeptical that Nemechek could keep the momentum going as the 28-year-old racer struggled mightily to a 34th-place finish in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings in 2024, his first season with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB.

Fast forward to June, and as the NASCAR Cup Series prepares its return to EchoPark Speedway, Nemechek and the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team appear to be much more of a contender than many pundits expected coming into the year.

Nemechek comes into this weekend's Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway, the first of five races in NASCAR's inaugural In-Season Tournament, on an incredible wave of momentum as he has recorded back-to-back sixth-place runs at the 2.42-mile Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course and the 2.5-mile triangular Pocono Raceway.

The racer, who also scored a career-best fourth-place starting spot this past weekend at Pocono, was proud of the effort for the entire LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team after The Great American Getaway 400.

“Both cars had speed this weekend right off the truck and qualified really well. It was my best qualifying effort in the Cup Series, and we raced well also,” said Nemechek. “I’m proud of everything they’ve put in at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB – all the men and women and the effort they’ve been putting in.”

Nemechek, without a doubt, is feeling the confidence rise as everything continues to click for his No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team week-in and week-out.

“Looking forward to continuing to come to the racetrack when you have the speed," Nemechek explained. "Just a testament to this No. 42 team. Travis Mack (crew chief), and I have been working really hard, and we’ve been communicating well. Sydney, our primary engineer, Dex, Carl, Josh, and everyone who works on this thing. I’m just proud of the effort.”

The driver, who scored a career-best four top-10 finishes a season ago, is already up to six top-10 results in 2025, and there is more than half of the season left to go. It's been an incredible turnaround for the young driver and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB as a whole, as Erik Jones, the driver of the team's No. 43 Toyota, has also come on strong in recent weeks.

Entering this weekend's race, Jones ranks 18th in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, while Nemechek sits in a tie for 21st with Michael McDowell (McDowell currently wins the tie-breaker due to best overall finish).

Heading into race 18 a season ago, Nemechek found himself 28th in the championship standings, while Jones was 26th at this point a season ago.

Collectively, the two LEGACY MOTOR CLUB drivers have improved their rank in the point standings by 13 positions. It's a heck of a turnaround, and now, the series heads to a form of racing that Nemechek has really come to life at -- superspeedway racing.

Five of Nemechek's 13 career NASCAR Cup Series top-10 finishes have come at drafting tracks (Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta). As long as he can avoid the calamity that inevitably pops up in races at superspeedways in NASCAR, he should be in the mix for at the very least his seventh top-10 finish of the season. Who knows, if everything falls perfectly, we could see Nemechek upend the Playoff Grid with a win on Saturday night.

Recommended Articles