With the Daytona 500 two weeks away from Sunday, Joe Nemechek is skeptical on if his team will field an entry for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season opener. Nemechek, who competed in 15 Sprint Cup races in 2014, says his team’s primary focus for 2015 is the Camping World Truck Series. “Everything’s based on funding,” he said. “Right now, the Truck team is definitely priority.” According to Nemechek, goals for his team in 2015 include running all 23 races, compete for the owner’s championship and see son John Hunter Nemechek score his first career win in NASCAR’s third-tier series. Nemechek partnered his Cup operation with Identity Ventures Racing in 2014, eventually being bought out of his role during the second half of last season. “I’m back to having my own team, which we are right now preparing cars for this year,” Nemechek said. “We’re only going to make a few starts this year, but we’re getting geared up again to run a few races out of NEMCO Motorsports and our #87 Chevy.” NEMCO Motorsports will field entries in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series in 2015. But the organization’s Cup effort will be a complete reboot, with Nemechek’s team not having most of its fleet of cars from 2014. “We’re basically starting over,” Nemechek said. “Most of the cars that were current and were running [in 2014] are all with the other Cup team. “[It’s] one day at a time. Both trucks are almost finished for Daytona, [we’re] getting our [Xfinity] car together for Daytona, and still working on the Cup stuff. We’ll see how far we get.”(The Racing Experts)(2-6-2015)
RCR names Daytona 500 crew chiefs for Ty Dillon and Brian Scott: Richard Childress Racing confirmed that two veteran, Daytona 500-winning crew chiefs will oversee the teams for Ty Dillon’s and Brian Scott’s runs in the Great American Race on Feb. 22. Todd Parrott, who won the 500 with Dale Jarrett in 1996 and 2000, will serve as crew chief the #33 Chevy with Dillon. Parrott also won the July race at Daytona with Jarrett at Robert Yates Racing in 1999 – the season the #88 team won the Sprint Cup title. In 20 seasons, Parrott led teams to 31 wins, 144 top fives, 230 top 10s and 23 pole positions. Parrott joined RCR at the end of last season to run its Xfinity Series program.
Slugger Labbe will oversee Scott’s effort in the #62 Chevy [earlier reports had Scott running the #29]. Labbe led Michael Waltrip to his 2003 Daytona 500 victory – six months after the pair won the July race. It was the first Harley J. Earl trophy for Labbe and the second for Waltrip. Together the pair won three restrictor plate races. Labbe guided Paul Menard to his first career victory three seasons ago at the Brickyard. Labbe stepped down as crew chief for the #27 Menard’s team in October to oversee RCR’s R&D dept.(Motorsport)(2-6-2015)