John Hunter Nemechek responds to Hamlin's podcast ponderings: 'I'm here to make a name for myself as well'
Nemechek's remarks came in a media availability Wednesday afternoon, three days after his fifth-place finish in Sunday's season-opening event. The result was part of a banner day for his Legacy Motor Club team, led by owner/driver Jimmie Johnson's third-place effort and teammate Erik Jones in 12th.
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Hamlin made an extended critique of the Daytona 500 finish earlier this week in his 'Actions Detrimental' podcast, saying that superspeedway skill had been minimized by current NASCAR Cup Series rules and procedures. 'I just want to see us do something different, to put the sport back in it and take luck back out of these prestigious events,' Hamlin said.
Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, said that Sunday's victory by William Byron — who squirted past a last-lap crash that foiled Hamlin and multiple others — helped to legitimize the outcome, given Byron's star power and his ability to repeat in the 'Great American Race.' Hamlin then asked rhetorically, 'Let me ask you this, how do we feel if John Hunter Nemechek was in William Byron's spot?' before offering, 'that's not a knock on John Hunter. I just think that, I believe that the people would view it differently.'
Nemechek said he was made aware of Hamlin's comments in the moments before Wednesday's availability, adding that he hadn't discussed them with his fellow Toyota driver. He added that Hamlin was one of the drivers he confided in when he was at a career crossroads after the 2020 season.
'I mean, I guess I get it from the perspective that I haven't necessarily made a name for myself in the Cup Series yet, but that's what I'm here to do,' said Nemechek, who is beginning his second season with Legacy M.C. 'I'm out on the race track, racing as hard as I can. We're up front with Denny at the end. He was pushing me, and our car wasn't super-fast to lead the lane, but he stayed committed to me. So in that circumstance, I know that he's pissed about not winning the race, but like I said, I'm here to make a name for myself as well, whether that's winning the Daytona 500 or winning another race throughout the year. Yes, anyone can win at the Daytona 500 or any superspeedway race, in my opinion. But to second that, I would also say that you have to put yourself in the right position. You have to execute all day as a race-car driver, and there are a few guys that are really good at superspeedways, and they're the ones that are always up there.
'For my Cup career at Daytona, especially, I finished relatively well in every start, so I'm not really sure why I was the example of that, but from the standpoint of promoting the sport and things of that sort, I guess, like I said, William already has his name established from winning a bunch of races, being a championship contender, and I really haven't had that shot yet in the NASCAR Cup Series, so not really sure what he was thinking or where his head is at with that. Part of me wants to say, 'Screw you, Denny,' but at the same time, I also have to earn respect from those guys, and I get that. But I feel like, for myself, I feel like I do a great job promoting the sport, and I'm not saying he said that I don't.'
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Nemechek and the rest of the Legacy Motor Club organization aim to build on their solid showing in Daytona Speedweeks in Sunday's Ambetter Health 400 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Atlanta Motor Speedway, an intermediate-sized track with superspeedway-style characteristics. The 27-year-old driver pointed to a handful of key personnel moves that LMC made to prepare for the 2025 season, plus its learnings from a week in Daytona, as reasons for optimism.
'It's a testament to everyone that is working hard and a lot of long hours during the offseason in the shop and just trying to get the place running smoothly and like we want it to be able to be a contender one day,' Nemechek said. 'Brick by brick, we want to build this place to be able to try and win races and have the opportunity to win championships.'
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