John Hunter Nemechek will not return to Front Row Motorsports for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. On Monday, the team confirmed the two parties have parted ways after one season together.
“We want to thank John Hunter for being a part of Front Row Motorsports and beginning his NASCAR Cup Series career with us,” said team owner Bob Jenkins. “He certainly helped elevate our performance this past season and brought added value to our No. 38 team. We wish him the best in the next phase of his career and he will always be a friend of ours.”
Nemechek, who was then racing in the Xfinity Series with GMS Racing, joined FRM in late 2019 for the final three races of the Cup season as an interim driver in their #36 car after Matt Tifft was sidelined with health issues. After finishing his lone full-time Xfinity campaign with a seventh-place points finish, he moved up to the Cup level in FRM’s #38. He finished his rookie year with three top tens, two of which were eighth-place finishes at Talladega, and a standings placement of twenty-seventh.
With Nemechek’s departure, FRM will have to look for a new driver to serve as Michael McDowell‘s partner in the #38. On the other side, Nemechek will enter the free agent market, where some Cup seats remain available; incidentally, one open slot is a ride co-owned by Tifft.
“I’m so thankful for the chance that Bob Jenkins, (general manager) Jerry Freeze and all our partners took on myself this past season,” wrote a statement from Nemechek. “I would like to thank every employee for the opportunity and the hard work that they put into myself and the #38 team at Front Row Motorsports. I am grateful for my time, relationships, and all the knowledge I have gained. I appreciate the patience of our fans, with future plans to be announced at a later date.”
