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Nemechek Still Searching For Sponsorship

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 14, 2009

DAYTONA BEACH - He still doesn't have a sponsor, and his Sprint Cup car did not make Sunday's Daytona 500, but Lakeland's Joe Nemechek was able to smile Friday.

Nemechek's No. 87 Chevrolet qualified 14th for today's Nationwide Series race, guaranteeing him a check this weekend. Making the Camping World 300 saved what could have been a devastating weekend for the independent NEMCO Motorsports team.

"Thursday was a pretty frustrating day," Nemechek said about his 11th-place finish in Thursday's first 150-mile qualifier. "Missing it by so little, both in qualifying and the race.

"There were a couple scenarios - if we had done one thing just a tick different, we would have been locked in and been in the race. If I didn't get blocked at the end I thought I would have made the pass."

Nemechek, 45, put a Sprint Cup team together three weeks ago. He is trying to find sponsorship to run the full season in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide divisions.

As of Friday night, Nemechek still didn't have a sponsor for either car. But he's hoping that will change before today's race.

Nemechek's mother, Martha Nemechek, and son, John Hunter Nemechek, were wearing shirts trying to drum up sponsorship. Martha's shirt said "This Space For Rent," and John Hunter's said, "Help. Help. My Dads Need $ or Sponser #87 sic."

WHY NO. 14?

Tony Stewart is using No. 14 because it was the number used by his racing hero, A.J. Foyt.

But how did Foyt come to use the number? He explained Friday.

"One year I'd win the championship and the next year I wouldn't, so I'd have the No. 1 one year, No. 5 the next year, No. 6 this year and then back to No. 1," Foyt said, referring to the fact numbers would be assigned according to points finishes.

"The late, great Bill Vukovich, who was a hell of a race car driver - and that's when I was way young ... I never raced against him because he lost his life and he'd always run the No. 14 at Indianapolis.

"Then I picked No. 14, and I had Mack Reed run it one year in the Ontario 500 and won with it, and I just said after that even when I won the championship I still wanted the No. 14, so I just identified myself with car No. 14, and I've had it ever since."

HARVICK ON POLE

Kevin Harvick won the pole for the Nationwide race with a lap at 180.799 mph. Fellow Sprint Cup driver Matt Kenseth joins him in the front row.

Thirteen drivers who qualified for the Daytona 500 are entered in the Nationwide race. Other notables include Stewart (fifth), Carl Edwards (10th), Michael Waltrip (11th), Zephyrhills' David Reutimann (21st) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (24th).

Harvick's pole came after he wrecked his primary Sprint Cup car during practice. He will have to go to his backup car, which is the car he won last week's Budweiser Shootout with.

The change will force Harvick to the rear of the grid. It also means the past two Daytona 500 champions - Ryan Newman and Harvick (2007) - will be driving backup cars.

Rick Harmon

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