John Hunter Nemechek will once again return to Joe Gibbs Racing’s NASCAR Xfinity Series program in 2022, getting behind the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota GR Supra in three events this season.
The 24-year-old will make his season debut for Joe Gibbs Racing at Richmond Raceway (April 2nd), where he scored the first career top-five finish for Sam Hunt Racing last season. Safeway will support Nemechek’s efforts at the Virginia short track.
Later in the month, Nemechek will return to Dover Motor Speedway (April 30) for his second of three races with the championship-winning organization, with sponsorship backing from ACME.
Finally, the Mooresville, North Carolina-native will look to defend his Xfinity Series victory from last season at Texas Motor Speedway, with backing from long-time partner ROMCO Equipment.
“I am really excited to have this opportunity to race again in JGR’s Xfinity Series program after the success we had last season,” said Nemechek. “We were able to pick up a win in just three starts and hopefully we can add to that success this season. I am also looking forward to working with crew chief Jason Ratcliff, who has found victory lane with a lot of different drivers over the years. I really appreciate the support of my long-term partners Safeway, ACME, and ROMCO for coming on board to support me and of course Toyota.”
Nemechek joins a driver lineup that featured a mixed bag of experience throughout NASCAR’s top-three series, which includes 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne, a decade-long veteran of NASCAR in Ryan Truex, coupled with ARCA winner Drew Dollar.
“John Hunter was impressive in his starts with us last year and we’re excited to have him back this season to work with Jason (Ratcliff) and our 18 team for a few races,” said Steve de Souza, Executive Vice President of Xfinity Series and Development for Joe Gibbs Racing. “He really has made the most of every opportunity and we expect he will run up front again in these races.”
