Nemechek on riding with Custer: "I don’t think Cole found it too funny"

What else could explain John Hunter Nemechek and Cole Custer riding together in the back of a truck during the parade laps at Chicagoland Speedway last Friday — the first time the teenagers laid eyes on each other since their altercation at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park?

“We talked a couple of times in Chicago — or at least tried talking,” Nemechek said. “We rode in the pace truck together at driver intros. We had a little discussion there. I didn’t think it was uncomfortable.

Each and every one of us are going to do everything we can to win a race

John Hunter Nemechek

“I guess a little bit of our personalities came out on that ride. I don’t think Cole found it too funny, but it is what it is. I thought it was great.”

Support amid controversial finish

Nemechek’s advocates remained supportive after his victory north of the border. They encouraged the 19-year-old not to change his driving style.

“I had a few calls, some text messages, they were all on my side about going out and winning races,” Nemechek said. “As we all discussed, if you could go back and change the circumstance, you would and we wouldn’t have ended up in the grass. That’s the kind of thing that set it apart and got everyone talking. If we would have stayed on the asphalt, there would have been no discussion.”

As NASCAR searches for the next generation of stars, it’s a difficult task for the young drivers to find a balance between political correctness and remaining genuine. Certainly, there was plenty of raw emotion exhibited by Nemechek and Custer on and off the track in the Chevrolet Silverado 250 in Canada. And the sanctioning body opted not to fine either driver for their actions in the spirit of competition. Nemechek doesn’t expect that to change.

“Each and every one of us are going to do everything we can to win a race,” Nemechek said. “We’re competitive young drivers. We want to win. We want championships. We’re trying to make a name for ourselves as we grow through the ranks.

“I think, as young drivers, we’re going to be as competitive as we can be, and I think that’s great for NASCAR.”

Shifting focus to the Chase

After qualifying for the inaugural Camping World Truck Series Chase, Nemechek understandably is focused on the final seven races. His strategy for the first round of the truck Chase hasn’t changed from the first 16 races in the regular season. His goal at Loudon and Las Vegas is to win--considering that anything can happen at Talladega Superspeedway — and usually does. Although his age prevented Nemechek from running the full season in 2015, he was able to race twice at Loudon and once at Las Vegas. He earned top-five finishes in all three races.

“Definitely in the first round you want to try and get a win between New Hampshire and Las Vegas,” Nemechek said. “If you can’t get a win, you want to make the most out of your day and just try to get in on points. Talladega is going to be the wild card in the first round. You have to try and stay out of the mess if you don’t have a win. Points are going to be the biggest key to advancing.

“So our strategy is to go out and run up front, get the best finishes we can and go for wins. I think earlier in the year, you would have seen us gamble more to get a win, since we were locked in. Now we’re going to be a little more conservative and make sure we have a good day overall.”

Nemechek understands that veteran such as two-time champion Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter and Timothy Peters might have an advantage over the five young guns in the field when it comes to points racing. But with this being the inaugural Chase in the trucks, all the teams are working with a clean slate.

“From the points-racing side, they definitely have more experience than us younger drivers coming in,” Nemechek said. “But it’s a new Chase format for everyone. No one in this series has ever done it — like the Cup guys. So I think it will be an even playing field. No one knows what to expect each and every race in each round.

“It’s a new experience for all of us. I think the driver that adapts the best overall will be in the final four at Homestead.”