DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—When the dust settled and the smoked cleared in Saturday night’s crashfest at Daytona International Speedway, Joe Nemechek’s No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet came home in one piece with an 18th-place finish.
The Sprint Cup result was not only the best of the season for Nemechek, but it was also a career best for the single-car Furniture Row Racing team.
“We have improved our finishing position in the last five races and it’s uplifting to see all the hard work and dedication of this team pay off,” said Joe Garone, general manager of the Denver-based Furniture Row Racing team.
For Nemechek, the race to the checkered flag was all about staying out of trouble, especially in the closing laps.
“Those last 10 laps were as wild as I have seen in a while,” said Nemechek. “Cars were spinning and crashing in every direction. But we hung there and grinded it out. In a race like this, you just want to get to the checkered flag with all the fenders and tires on the car.”
After starting fourth in the 160-lap, 400-mile race, Nemechek utilized his superspeedway skills as he maintained his position on the lead lap. He had some handling issues with his No. 78 Chevy, but stayed patient at the challenging 2.5-mile oval.
“Joe did everything he needed to do and got the job done,” said crew chief Jay Guy. “Because it was an impound race and we only practiced in qualifying trim, it took a long time to get the car dialed in to where Joe could race it.”
“We’re gaining ground and making progress,” added Guy. “We’re certainly not where we want to be yet. But we’ll take the momentum, take the points and go on to Chicago next week. “
Next week’s Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill will be another Saturday night event.
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