Jimmie Johnson’s Star Driver Puts Kyle Busch’s ‘Pressure’ Above Richard Petty and Joe Gibbs’ Demands

John Hunter Nemechek is still adjusting to his new life racing for Jimmie Johnson’s and Richard Petty’s Legacy Motor Club. It’s not the start of the season that Nemechek or his new team expected. But the driver has made it clear, that he isn’t under pressure to deliver the results from the get-go. However, the same wasn’t the case when he was driving for Kyle Busch in the Truck Series.

The 26-year-old has had an eventful journey, reaching the pinnacle of stock car racing. It’s no secret that racing cars can be demanding on the drivers, but the philosophy varies from team to team. Having raced for some of the prominent personalities in NASCAR, Nemechek was quick to point out that his time at KBM was the most demanding one, while also sharing his experience racing with Joe Gibbs in the Xfinity Series.

John Hunter Nemechek was expected to deliver the goods while driving for Kyle Busch

In the 2021–22 Truck Series season, driving the No. 4 Toyota Truck for Busch’s team, Hunter had splendid campaigns, finishing 3rd and 5th in the championship standings. During this time, he amassed seven wins in those two seasons, but it’s fair to say that this output was somehow related to Kyle Busch’s persistence and demand to deliver results.

Explaining his experience racing for different teams, Nemechek in an interview said, “Man more pressure was driving for Kyle for sure. Driving for KB was a lot of pressure to go out and succeed. Driving for Coach was super special; Coach is more of a motivator in that aspect. If things don’t quite go right, he definitely knows what to say in those instances, and we’re getting into our relationship, driving for Jimmie and the King and Maury.”

He even shared how he is dealing with the inconsistent run of performances so far under Legacy Motor Club, and the council he receives from Jimmie Johnson. “Overall, Jimmie has been great to work with, he pushes me to be better every single week, but he’s also there for me, being able to ask questions and trying to gain knowledge, which I think is really neat as well. It’s great so far, but from the pressure standpoint, Kyle for sure.”

Although pressure is still not a factor for Nemechek driving for LMC, he is time and again reminded of how he can further improve his racecraft by his mentors at the team.

Matt Kenseth and Trevor Bayne are keeping their young star driver in check

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The Legacy Motor Club has some of the most brilliant minds in the sport working to get their team to perform better regularly. In the case of John Hunter Nemechek, Matt Kenseth has taken up the role of mentor to guide him through his journey. Also, Trevor Bayne, who serves as competition advisor for the team, has shared the duties with Kenseth to get Nemechek to perform consistently.

“It’s constructive criticism. I wouldn’t say that they are picking me apart. Just trying to learn tendencies and be able to utilize them as a source for information and things they did during their career to help them through different situations. Some on the driving aspects, some off track, from being in meetings and different things to look at but having Matt and Trevor part of the fold has been amazing,” Nemechek added.

The North Carolina native is a talented race car driver and has proved his worth throughout his racing career in NASCAR. However, he hasn’t made a lasting impression with his performances in the Cup Series so far this season.

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