Race Weekend Central

John Hunter Nemechek Joining Sam Hunt Racing in Xfinity Series

In addition to his full-time effort with Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this season, John Hunter Nemechek will be joining Sam Hunt Racing for a partial Xfinity Series schedule in 2021.

Nemechek, coming off a seventh-place finish in the season-opening NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway in the Truck Series, hasn’t competed in the Xfinity Series since 2019, when he ran full time for GMS Racing and finished seventh in the standings.

“I’m so excited for the opportunity to be able to run some races for Sam Hunt,” Nemechek said in a release. “It’s awesome to see what he’s done in such a short time, being such a young team owner in the sport. I think my experience and this team can accomplish a lot and I’m excited to see what happens!”

Nemechek has one career Xfinity win (Kansas Speedway in 2018) with Chip Ganassi Racing, in addition to six Truck Series victories.

His first start with SHR will come at Dover International Speedway on May 15. His other races with the team this season were not announced.

SHR is coming off the best finish in its 11-race existence, an eighth at Daytona with driver Brandon Gdovic. The team also plans to have Santino Ferrucci, Kris Wright and now Nemechek behind the wheel of its No. 26 Toyota Supra this season.

“I’m excited to have John Hunter come back to his roots and drive for our young team in 2021,” team owner Sam Hunt said in a release. “He’s always been a mutual friend of mine, always been extremely friendly, and has always shown that he can maximize his equipment and represent his sponsors. Working with so many rookies this year, his experience and feedback will be invaluable to our program’s growth.”

This weekend at the Daytona road course, SHR will have Wright behind the wheel in his first start with the team.

About the author

Davey is in his fifth season with Frontstretch and currently serves as a multimedia editor and reporter. He authors the "NASCAR Mailbox" column, spearheads the site's video content and hosts the Frontstretch Podcast weekly. He's covered the K&N Pro Series and ARCA extensively for NASCAR.com and currently serves as an associate producer for SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and production assistant for NBC Sports Washington. Follow him on Twitter @DaveyCenter.

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