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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
NEMECHEK: Longing To Lock In
Saturday will be a huge day for our teams - NASCAR locks into the Daytona 500 the two fastest cars in Saturday’s session...
Joe Nemechek  | http://www.FrontRowJoe.com  |  Posted February 06, 2010   Daytona Beach, FL
The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season marks the 17th year of competition for veteran driver and team owner Joe Nemechek. (Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images for NASCAR)
The off-season is officially a thing of the past and now we’re down here in Daytona preparing for Saturday’s qualifying session for the Daytona 500.

We’re still working diligently at Nemco Motorsports to secure sponsorship for this or any of the 36 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, but haven’t sealed the deal at this point. We’re getting closer but nothing is finalized. So, qualifying will be an extremely stressful and important day for us.

I’ve added Jeff Fuller as my teammate in the No. 97 Nemco Motorsports Toyota this weekend at Daytona, so we have two cars we’re trying to lock into the Daytona 500 on speed during Saturday’s qualifying session.

Saturday will be a huge day for our teams. NASCAR locks into the Daytona 500 the two fastest cars in Saturday’s session and despite what might happen to them in next Thursday’s Gatorade Duel at Daytona, they’ll still start the race. And with NASCAR letting us go at it with the bump drafting, coupled with the fact so many drivers are willing to do anything to make this race, the Duel should be an extremely exciting show.

But I’d much rather sit on the pole or the outside pole and know that I’m all set for the 500 despite what mess I might get caught up in a few days later. With such limited resources, tearing up our equipment in a qualifying race could set us behind and make the weekend a much steeper uphill climb.

And I can’t begin to describe the pressure of trying to make the 500 in the Gatorade Duel at Daytona. In addition to making sure our car is fast and driving well, we’ve got to negotiate the big unknowns such as bump drafting, which inevitably will lead to some big wrecks. The key is going to be making it to the checkered flag.

Finishing the Duel in order to get to the Daytona 500 is vital to the rest of our season because this event is how we kick off our year. Nemco Motorsports faces some huge challenges by not being locked into the top 35 owner points and missing Daytona would make our task that much more difficult. We’d be in a big hole before the season barely got kicked off.

We were the first car to miss the 500 last year and we lost the opportunity on the last lap of the second Duel. I was unable to make the pass for the position because I got hit. I was right there and had it all set up but couldn’t seal the deal. We spend so much money getting down here and making sure our equipment is competitive, so watching it slip through your fingers is very frustrating. Devastating, actually.

Hopefully, instead of watching it slip through our fingers this year, we’ll have a starting spot firmly in our grasp. That would go a long way toward assisting in our sponsorship search efforts for the season. We are very fortunate to land D.A.B. Constructors on board the No. 87 Nationwide car and their support will be a big boost in helping me make a charge at winning that race.

But for this weekend, locking in for the Daytona 500 would be a win in my book.

Joe Nemechek, driver of the No. 87 Nemco Motorsports Toyota, celebrates his 17th season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2010. In 2009, he climbed behind the wheel of his own Cup car for the first time since 1996, making him one of a small number of current independent owner/drivers in NASCAR’s top division. Since his 1989 debut in the sport, the 1992 Nationwide Series champion has claimed four Sprint Cup and 16 NASCAR Nationwide Series victories. His uncanny knack for snagging pole positions earned him the nickname “Front Row Joe” years ago, and he has proven its validity by collecting 10 Sprint Cup and 18 Nationwide Series pole positions. Nemechek, 1990 Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year, was voted Most Popular Driver in ’92 and ’93. The Florida native cut his racing teeth in motocross at age 13, claiming more than 300 wins in six years, and since has gone on to post victories in every series in which he has competed. For more information on Nemechek, please visit www.joenemechek.com.

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Joe Nemechek

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