Nemechek Feeling Doubly Proud About Richmond

DENVER (April 29, 2008) -- Joe Nemechek has a couple of good reasons for feeling proud about this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway.

The Furniture Row Racing driver is not only coming off his best performance of the season, but Saturday night's race also marks the fifth anniversary of his win at Richmond, which came on May 3, 2003 while driving the No. 25 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports.

Nemechek and the Furniture Row Racing team had a successful outing in last weekend's Cup event at Talladega Superspeedway. Along with capturing the pole in the No. 78 Chevy Impala SS, Nemechek ran a strong race until getting collected in a 12-car wreck on the final lap. The accident was costly for Nemechek, who saw a potential top-10 finish turn into a 25th-place result.

"What's important about Talladega is that our performance was very encouraging," said Nemechek. "Yeah, I am disappointed about the last lap pileup because it cost us a strong finish and tore up a good superspeedway car. But winning the pole and running up front were a great morale boost to this single-car team."

The Denver-based team is looking to continue its momentum, and for Nemechek, it couldn't come at a better track than Richmond’s .75-mile oval.

"Richmond has always been a special place for me, even before I won there in 2003," noted Nemechek. "It's a fun track to race at because you can pass and make things happen on your own. I can't believe it's been five years since my win there. It seems like yesterday I was celebrating in Victory Lane."

Nemechek says he and the Furniture Row Racing Team are sill learning the intricacies about the Car of Tomorrow (COT).

"We're making progress with the COT, but there's a lot to learn about the car," said Nemechek."The key about Richmond is that the car needs to get through the corner. It sounds simple, but there's a lot of work and research that goes into finding the right combination."