Sometimes a little extra experience is exactly what the doctor ordered.
That’s the case for John Hunter Nemechek, who will make his ARCA Menards Series debut Friday in the Dawn 150 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio (5 p.m. ET on FS1).
Nemechek, who competes for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, is joining Venturini Motorsports to pilot the No. 55 Mobil 1 Toyota in order to gain a little extra experience at the challenging 13-turn, 2.258-mile road course.
“I’m looking forward to running Mid-Ohio this weekend with Toyota and Venturini Motorsports, with Mobil 1 on board,” Nemechek said. “Mid-Ohio is one of my favorite road courses to go to, and being able to run two races there this weekend and get extra laps before the truck race is very valuable and a huge opportunity.
“Ready to go chase a couple checkered flags this weekend.”
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Nemechek has one previous start at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in NASCAR competition. It came in 2019, when he was competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for GMS Racing. He started 15th and finished 31st that day after being involved in a crash.
The arrangement for Nemechek to join Venturini Motorsports for Friday’s race at Mid-Ohio was facilitated thanks to Toyota and TRD.
“Working with TRD opens the availability for us to work with some incredible young drivers,” Venturini Motorsports general manager Billy Venturini said. “He’s more experienced than most of the drivers when I get them. It’s a privilege to have John Hunter be a part of Venturini Motorsports, and hopefully we can bring home the win for Toyota.”
Nemechek is in the midst of his second season with Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Last year, he won five races and finished the year ranked third in the championship standings.
This season, he already has one victory, which came at Darlington Raceway on May 6. He is hoping some extra laps Friday at Mid-Ohio will help him earn his second Truck Series victory of the season during Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 150.
(Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
