Nemechek More Interested in Second Quarterly Report

RICHMOND, Va. (May 3, 2006) -- With nine of the 36 races completed in the 2006 Nextel Cup season, Joe Nemechek is looking forward to the second quarter of the year with hopes of overcoming the early disappointments which have plagued his U.S. Army team.

"Too many fluky incidents have prevented us from hitting our stride in the early part of the season," said Nemechek, who saw a potentially strong finish fade in Talladega Monday when he was collected in a multicar accident with 14 laps remaining.

The first "fluky" incident for the 01 team happened very early in the season. Before Nemechek completed the first lap in the season-opening Daytona 500, he was already in trouble when a piece of tire tread from a competitor's car landed on the Army Chevrolet, causing extensive aerodynamic damage.

"Looking back I guess that was an omen," offered Nemechek. "After Daytona, we had one thing after another that has halted our momentum. We've been collected in accidents, bumped, spun out -- I guess you can say we've been in the wrong place at the wrong time. That needs to change."

Testing his resolve is nothing new for Nemechek, who has bounced back from adversity a number of times during his 13-year career in NASCAR's premier series.

"Racing definitely tests your patience and will," noted Nemechek, who is currently 29th in the driver point standings. "It's like anything else, in order to succeed, you need to put the past behind you, not worry about the future and just be focused on the present. We'll bounce back and it could be as early as this weekend in Richmond."

Nemechek always looks forward to Richmond International Raceway’s .75-mile oval, site of Saturday night's Crown Royal 400. It's one of the tracks where he has claimed victory at – in May, 2003.

"I am confident that once we have a strong race, many more will follow," said Nemechek. "We have shown signs that we can run up front, but as I said, too many fluky things have stopped us from getting the finishes that we are capable of achieving. We are good soldiers and we will complete the mission."