Nemechek Finishes 25th in Rockingham

Joe Nemechek

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (Nov. 9, 2003) – The United States Army Racing Team could not find the right rhythm Sunday as driver Joe Nemechek posted a 25th–place finish in the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 here at North Carolina Speedway.

“There’s not much to say, it wasn’t a good day all around,” said Nemechek, who started sixth in the 393-lap race. “We had some good green-flag runs, but just didn’t have the consistency when it came to the handling of the car.”

For the first 75 laps, Nemechek had the U.S. Army Pontiac running in the top 10, but problems started to set in, costing the team track position on the 1.017-mile oval.

The big blow for the U.S. Army team came on lap 190 when Nemechek was forced to pit during a green-flag run due the left rear tire going down. The unscheduled pit stop dropped Nemechek to 35th and two laps back of the leaders.

“That one hurt,” commented Nemechek. “Going a couple of laps down on this track is difficult to overcome. We did get some of the track position back, but we were looking for a lot more. We’ll take our lumps, forget about it and start focusing on next week’s race in Homestead.”

Speaking of next Sunday’s season finale in Homestead, Fla., the U.S. Army team will arrive early to conduct a NASCAR-approved test session Wednesday on the reconfigured Homestead-Miami Speedway oval.