NASCAR DRIVER - JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK

"No matter what you're struggling with or no matter what you're going through, if you continue to work hard and you continue to push yourself to the limit and push yourself over the limit and just head down, elbows up as I like to say, never give up attitude, you can go anywhere in life." John Hunter Nemechek, NASCAR 

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ABOUT JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK:

John Hunter Nemechek grew up in the pits of NASCAR. Now, he is racing in 2020 for the Rookie of the Year title and driving the number 38 car sponsored by Death Wish Coffee via Front Row Motorsports. John Hunter talks about learning to drive, the difference between racing cars and trucks, and what fuels him to keep going. 

TRANSCRIPT:

Jeff:
John Hunter. Thank you so much for joining me on the show today. I'm really excited to talk to you because not only are you the first NASCAR racer we've had on the podcast, but we kind of have a connection because of Death Wish Coffee.

John Hunter:
We do.

Jeff:
That's pretty awesome. And I definitely want to talk about the current season and what you're racing and how awesome it is that we're a part of your journey this year. But I really kind of want to start off in the beginning. You grew up in a family of racers. I got to ask right off the bat. When you were a kid, was there ever an ambition to do anything else or was it always this is what I want to do?

John Hunter:
From my young childhood, I always wanted to race. I felt I didn't know what exactly I wanted to race. I got my first go-kart when I was three-years-old. I got my first dirt bike when I was four-years-old. I started racing both of those around five, six-years-old and kind of continued up through the ranks for the go-karts and Motocross. And then I took a little bit of break away from racing for about two years while I was middle school and started playing lacrosse and football and everything else kind of exploring different options or what I may want to do.

John Hunter:
And it ended up turning out, turning back to racing. I kind of decided around, I think it was 12 or 13-years-old that, "Hey, this is exactly what I want to do." I went the direction of stock cars, backed away from Motocross. I was tired of getting hurt and wrecking and everything else. I mean, it's a physically demanding sport. So having a roll cage around me and four tires on the ground, I was good with.

Jeff:
That's awesome. That's awesome. You mentioned three-years-old, you're in go-karts. Is there a sense of competition when you're three or is it just the most fun ever and you're just having fun?

John Hunter:
Honestly, I don't really remember that, but if I was a three-year-old now I would definitely say that you obviously want to beat everyone that you're racing with, but you're smiling ear to ear and having fun. And I think any kid growing up, they always want to be the first one to do something, or they always want to be better than you, or whether it's playing hide-and-seek or tag or playing with a football or whatever it may be.

John Hunter:
So I feel like just being in a go-kart at three was a pretty big deal to try and kind of learn and drive around. And I had a booster seat, pedal extensions, roll cage around it, all kinds of stuff. So I didn't run underneath cars at the shops. Never had training wheels on my dirt bike though. I hit a few trees and ran into a tractor a couple of times and different things of that sort. But you only live once and you learn once, right? You never make the same mistake twice.

Jeff:
That's true. That's true. And crashes, all they do is they teach it not to do it again and chicks dig scars and all that. I got to mention too, coming from a family that your father, Joe, obviously, well-known and respected in the sport. And you yourself have been around racing outside of just go-karts, but NASCAR itself, your entire life.

Jeff:
In fact, there's an adorable photo of you out there in 2005. It's on your Wikipedia page, actually in the pits and you're decked out looking like you're going to climb in the car and start racing. Did you spend a lot of your childhood in the pits?

John Hunter:
I did. Anytime I was able to go to the racetrack, I would sit on the pit box and have a headset on and kind of listen and learn from the spotter and dad driving and hearing his feedback and the crew chief and how they interacted in pit stops and everything else. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep a few times on the pit box with a headset every once in a while, but in the end it was a really cool opportunity to be able to sit there and learn. And I definitely think that's going to help advance my communication skills with some of the team members and whatnot from growing up and hearing different terminology and how they continue to communicate with one another.

Jeff:
Yeah. I mean, that must have been almost like double school, because not only are you sitting there, like you said, on the headset and learning from everybody around you. But I'm sure at the end of the race, you probably went back to school as your father explained a lot of the stuff that you were experiencing, right?

John Hunter:
Yes. Yeah, exactly. So being able to take all that information in and then ask questions and get everything explained to you was a really great opportunity that I felt helped advance my career. I feel like with dad too, he's been a huge influence to everything that I've been able to do from serving our truck team to late models to pretty much everything I've ever driven has been owned by him.

John Hunter:
And so the last couple of recent years where I've been able to move on and move up and he's taught me everything that he's learned in a 20-25 year period to me in a three to five year period. So it's knowledge and experience is huge and being able to have all that knowledge and experience on your side and being able to ask questions and kind of take all that information in and try and soak it up like it's a sponge. You're not just a young kid coming into the sport not knowing anything and trying to learn. At least you have that knowledge behind you to try and help push you to further advance your career and kind of be on top of your game at a younger age.

Jeff:
Yeah. And so you're driving, you're literally driving cars before technically you're legally allowed to drive a car on the road. Again, I got to ask, obviously there's a difference between driving a race car and driving on a normal road. But when you officially went to get your license, was it hard to drive slower and do the things you're supposed to do legally?

John Hunter:
Yeah, I definitely feel like it was hard at kind of just not knowing, I guess exactly how to drive on the road, different things of that sort. It wasn't me that you had to watch out for it as all the other people that you had to watch out for. So I definitely feel like that was interesting. I remember being 15 going through driver's education program and kind of sitting there and listening to them on how to start a car and how the motor works and everything else.

John Hunter:
And I was like, "I actually have to be here and listen to all this stuff? I learned this at six, seven-years-old." So my driving instructor was a pretty interesting. I was supposed to go for a last day to finish up and I told him I wasn't going to be there. And he asked why and I told him I was racing and he goes, "Street racing?" And no, it was obviously late models or something like that at the time. And he didn't believe me, absolutely didn't believe me. And that definitely stunk, but at least he figured out where the speed and everything came from and trying to get through yellow lights and everything at first was not a very good idea.

Jeff:
So when you're learning to drive in the racing circuit at such a young age, first of all, what was it like? What was that feeling like the first time that you hit 150, 200 miles an hour? Was it terrifying? Was it exciting? What was your head space at that moment?

John Hunter:
I think you're just smiling ear to ear. You're just having a good time. You're enjoying it. The sensation of speed really isn't there until stuff starts happening around you. It doesn't necessarily feel that fast until car starts spinning or you start spinning, or something happens in the field or whatever it may be. So kind of taking that all in and not really knowing how fast you're truly going until you get out.

John Hunter:
It's like, "Okay, that was fast." I think the first real sensation of speed was Dover or Bristol, somewhere in there really high banked race track. You're hauling the mail around the place and almost wide open and kind of just absolutely getting it in a sense. And those two places you forget to breathe and wherever you forget to breathe going around the corner, you're going pretty fast.

Jeff:
I bet. I bet. And another thing for someone who might casually just know about the sport of NASCAR, the stupid joke that's out there is like, "Oh yeah, you guys just get in the car and turn left 500 times and that's it." But that isn't the case at all. There is so much not only on what you are doing, but what your entire crew is doing. And I know you went through a lot of training to get to the point that you're in today. Can you talk a little bit about what it's like to train to be a driver?

John Hunter:
Yeah, I guess my training is a little bit different than what some others may be. I like to ride bikes. I like a run. I like to lift weights. I like to do kind of all of that in a nutshell, I've done a couple of Ironman triathlons kind of broaden the horizon. When you just train and train and train and train and train and train, it comes down to what am I training for? And having something that you can actually go and put your body to the test of running for five hours in a half Ironman or running for 10 hours in a full Ironman. It's something that you have to push your body over the limits and your mind over what it thinks that you're capable of.

John Hunter:
So being able to push my mind past what it thinks it's capable of and proving to myself that I can continue to push through that and then I do have more in the tank is something that I really enjoy. I enjoy the challenge of it. I enjoy the struggle of it.I enjoy trying to push my myself over the limits, trying to overachieve.

Jeff:
Wow. That's awesome. And you've not only raced cars like you're racing now, but you've raced trucks as well. Now obviously, again, on a normal road, driving a truck to a car. There's a little bit of difference. But from a racing perspective, is it very different to race a truck?

John Hunter:
It is. I feel like racing a car compared to racing a truck is quite a bit different. Racing a truck, they're more boxy, definitely feel different on how they drive. Racing a car is more sleek and more aerodynamic and go faster down the straightaway, slower in the corner compared to a truck. A truck is more dragged down the straightaway. So you're not going to as fast down the straightaway, but you're probably going faster through the corner, just from the down force and everything that they make from the airs and sturdy side.

John Hunter:
So the best way I can explain it is if you're on the highway and you're driving a car and you're behind another car, you don't really feel the air pushing you around, but if you're driving behind a truck or a big semi, you kind of feel the air buffer you around and it kind of moves your car back and forth, and you can kind of feel the steering wheel when you're on the highway, that's more of what a truck feels like. So there is some comparisons there, but definitely a totally different field.

Jeff:
Incredible. I got to ask now. We're in the 2020 season, you are not only competing normally, but you're also up for rookie of the year, which we know you're going to win, come on. And also for the next handful of races, we are so excited here at Death Wish Coffee to be sponsoring you. And I just got to say it is awesome seeing you in that jet black car. Does the look of the car help you drive at all when you're in an all black car like that?

John Hunter:
For sure. I mean, it definitely makes you feel good. If you feel good, you look good. If you look good, you feel good and hopefully you go fast. So having Death Wish on board is definitely an amazing opportunity for myself. And I'm so glad that they were able to come on board for these next few races. And I think the coolest thing is it goes back to 20, I want to say 2015, 2016, somewhere in there. Death Wish was actually on my truck in one of my first mile and a half races in Texas.

John Hunter:
So being able to have them on board during that time and then continuing to grow with them and now have them step through the ranks with myself and be in the Cup Series now is an amazing accomplishment. So as I've grown, Death Wish has grown and we've been able to come back together and now that be on a cup car. So our 38 Ford Mustang is looking really good with Death Wish Coffee on board Talladega this weekend. So I'm hoping that we can go out there and get a win for Death Wish Coffee. It'd be really cool to put the Death Wish colors in Victory Lane. I can tell you that.

Jeff:
Oh, heck yeah. We just loved seeing you race with that too. Again, it looks awesome, but we're so happy that you're behind the wheel. And now this is a question, no judgment on your answer, but I want an honest answer. Are you a coffee drinker?

John Hunter:
I am. I am. I actually drink coffee normally before I ride bikes or run or watch film and study and whatnot. It really depends on how I'm feeling. If I need a kick up during the day and need to focus on what I need to focus on and need to be 100% tuned in, I will drink coffee. I drink coffee a couple hours before the race, every single weekend.

John Hunter:
One of my routines as much as you want to stay hydrated with water and everything else, a little bit of coffee definitely doesn't hurt. I feel it's a boost with whatever you're doing. So I don't want to necessarily get addicted to coffee, but I definitely do drink it quite a bit

Jeff:
You mentioned that you drink it before riding a bike or before doing something physical. And I've heard that before that coffee is a favorite of a lot of people as almost like a pre-workout. Do you feel like that helps you as you're starting to be more physical?

John Hunter:
I definitely think so. I guess you could call it a pre-workout instead of taking like a pre-workout mix or something, drink coffee. I learned that trick from one of my good buddies that I trained with for a while here in North Carolina. And he always drank coffee, no matter if it was 90 degrees outside or 100 degrees, he always drank coffee right before we would go ride. And one day I tried it and I fell in love with it. I felt awesome while I was riding that. I felt great through the whole time, didn't have any fallout or I didn't blackout for any reason of trying to push too hard and push yourself over the limit.

John Hunter:
So kind of having that little bit of boost, I definitely think helps. And anytime from studying or watching video or kind of being a 100% tuned in, I definitely feel coffee and it just being a little bit of a boost to kind of help you focus mentally and kind of be 100% tuned in to something special as well.

Jeff:
That's awesome. And from the Death Wish Coffee side of it, I always like asking this question, especially for people like yourself, who not only are drinking the coffee. But you are wearing as you're wearing the hat and it's on your car and it's on your suit, your race suit and everything. Has anybody ever come up to you and said like, "What the hell is that?" Or had any kind of interaction?

Jeff:
Because us here at Death Wish Coffee, when we do different events, we get that all the time people come up and go, "World's strongest coffee? Bullshit" or whatever and I've just wanted to know has there been any kind of weird interaction our brand as you're wearing it?

John Hunter:
Yeah, there definitely has been, I think from the Death Wish Coffee side of having the skull and crossbones and it kind of being the strongest coffee, right? Last year, we had some in our hauler from one of our team guys and he didn't know if he wanted to try it. He didn't know if it was going to be way too strong for him or not.

John Hunter:
So I definitely feel there has been some reactions there back and forth on how strong it actually is compared to what people think and whatnot. So it's been pretty cool to have the reactions and being able to kind of prove them wrong. Once you have it, it's really good coffee though.

Jeff:
Ah thanks and it's true. I love the reactions. One of my favorite things, which I haven't been able to do, obviously during all of the, shutdown during the pandemic. But when I used to travel, anytime I would wear any type of hat or shirt with Death Wish Coffee and go through TSA, anybody in TSA would always be like, "What the hell? What are you wearing? What is that?"

Jeff:
It got to the point where I would leave bags of coffee in my luggage specifically for TSA workers. So I'd be like, "No, you have to try it. Here you go."

John Hunter:
There you go. That is awesome. Great marketing trick right there.

Jeff:
Oh yeah, of course. Of course, yeah. And outside of even coffee, I guess, one of the questions that I wanted to know. When you're in the car and a lot of these races are long, what do you do to keep your focus, to keep as sharp as you possibly can from the beginning to the end?

John Hunter:
Staying hydrated is number one, I'm taking electrolyte tabs. I'm trying to keep all the electrolytes and nutrients in your body. As we race, we burn a lot of calories. We sweat a lot. So you go through a lot of water weight, being able to keep that replenished and being able to take whether it's a supplement and a bottle that has calories and carbs in it to kind of keep your fuel going or anything like that.

John Hunter:
With the longer races, 500 mile, 600 mile races, I've actually taken goos and whatnot from different gels, supplements and whatnot that I've been accustomed to from running and riding and everything else that I've taken prior. The worst thing is if you take something it upsets your stomach, that's not what you want to do. So kind of having your routine of your supplements and whatnot that you go back to that are in your drink mixes or whatever it may be.

John Hunter:
I actually use a custom blended nutrient mix that kind of we put into place about a year and a half ago, two years ago that has certain amounts of different vitamins and whatnot in it, and electrolytes and sugars and calories and carbs and everything else to kind of fuel you for the whole race. So just having all that to stay mentally sharp and mentally focused is a really big deal.

Jeff:
Wow. And then when the race is over and you finally are out of the car for good, what's going through your head and your body at that point? Do you feel completely energetic because it's over or are you just completely wiped because of the mental and physical stuff that you've been through?

John Hunter:
Well, I think if you're not tired by the end of the race, you didn't give it a 100%, right? You, you should be worn out by the time that you get done from how hard you're pushing and everything else. As far as like cardio standpoint, I don't really feel physically drained after races. If anything it's more mentally drained of trying to hit the same line, every single lap trying not to make mistakes, trying to maximize pit road speeds. And maximize getting in your pit stall and leaving your pit stall and trying to take information in from the spotter and talk to your spotter and crew chief and all the crew guys and engineers on what adjustments you need, trying to process all that information and still while trying to drive.

John Hunter:
I definitely think is a tough task, but being able to kind of stay that mentally sharp and being able to kind of focus throughout the race. Normally when you get out of the race car, you're still on a high, as I would say, from your adrenaline and everything pumping. And then by the time that you kind of get back to the motor home to shower, or you get to the plane to fly home, that's kind of when fatigue starts setting in. And then it's all about recovery after that to get going for the next one.

Jeff:
Wow. When a race date starts, I know sometimes races are at night or sometimes races are during the day. But when does it start for you as the driver? How many hours before the race that the green flag hits? How many hours before are you they're getting ready?

John Hunter:
Well, it really depends. We stay at the racetrack pretty much the whole time while we're in our motor homes and whatnot. And depending on before the whole COVID deal, now the COVID deals a little bit different with the pandemic and everything that's happened. But prior to that, when we have fans and sponsors and everyone at the track, normally Sunday mornings are pretty hectic. Whether it's afternoon, race or night race, you're doing sponsorship events, going to suite appearances, talking to local track sponsors. Talking to your sponsors, doing autograph sessions, kind of everything in between.

John Hunter:
And then finally being able to get back, eat, and then go to the drivers meeting in church and then kind of sit down for a few minutes and get changed and get mentally focused and then go out to the grid and get ready to go race. So it's a whole day affair from the time that you wake up to the time that you're in the race car getting strapped in. You're pretty much on the go nonstop.

Jeff:
Wow. And the other side of that, when you have to get into the pit row and your incredible crew is helping you out. I mean, that is obviously part of the race, it's part of strategy. But I'm curious from a mental standpoint, you are in a race car going as fast as possible for a very long time. And then inevitably you have to stop and be in the pit. Is that a huge mental check for you as a driver?

John Hunter:
I don't know if I would say it's a mental check. I think if anything, you're still trying to maximize your pit road effort unlike IndyCar or F1 we don't have a pit road limiter. So it's all about running a special RPM down pit road to maximize your speed without speeding and getting penalized. And then trying to maximize your performance getting in the box.

John Hunter:
I mean, tenths of seconds on pit road can cost you five or six spots. So you definitely don't want to lose track position. You want to gain track position, if anything, on pit road or maintain. So it comes down to it of it being a team sport and you kind of cheering on your guys in a sense, and doing everything you can do while they do everything that they can do.

Jeff:
Yeah, it's incredible. I mean, watching the sport, it's incredible what you, as a driver and all the drivers are capable of and doing. But all of your crews are just ... it's incredible to watch like a well-oiled team. They are a machine of everything. It's just an incredible thing. You mentioned during the pandemic, things have changed and one of those things is that there are no fans. Does that affect you as a driver racing for nobody in the stands?

John Hunter:
It's definitely a weird feeling. It's almost eerie in a sense of being back at the racetrack and not having fans there. I mean, normally it's definitely energy pre-race from having all of our friends and family and sponsors and fans down on pit road. I think one of the coolest things about NASCAR is some of the pre-race activities and whatnot is having access to kind of hang out with us both before we strap in, and it just kind of being almost like a party before the race, right? While everyone's still getting focused and whatnot.

John Hunter:
So it's definitely a really weird feeling. I can't wait to have fans back. I'm looking forward to that day. I don't think it's quite as bad for us from the energy standpoint. Once we kind of get strapped in, it's really great having fans there and being able to perform for them while they're in the stands and hearing them cheer on during red flags and whatnot. But with the sounds of our race cars and whatnot, and how loud they are with our helmets and earplugs in and talking to the team, you can't really hear them until you win or do something cool.

John Hunter:
So I don't think it's as bad as necessarily like UFC or something like that where they feed off the energy of the fans and what's happening and all their reactions and whatnot. But I definitely can't wait to have them back.

Jeff:
Yeah. And I got asked too. There's been a resurgence too, which I think is incredible and NASCAR has been doing an e-sport kind of thing where it's a race, but it's a virtual thing, which the future's amazing. It's awesome that's kind of thing. Have you participated in any of those?

John Hunter:
I did. I ran the whole iRacing deal for the pro invitational or whatever they called it through the NASCAR deal. And it was a lot of fun being able to kind of race against the guys that we would race against on Sunday and do it virtually rather than at the racetrack, while everyone was stuck in their homes and being quarantined was something definitely different. And something that I definitely applaud iRacing and NASCAR for, for coming together and putting all that on to kind of give all the fans that didn't have anything to watch from live sports to actually having something to watch and something they cheer for.

John Hunter:
So I didn't win, which definitely sucked, but we were ran up front, we had a few good races. Some races we got wrecked. And I'm just glad that none of those grudges held over from iRacing to actual real life.

Jeff:
Is that like a whole other set of skills? I mean, you're not in the car, you're not doing a lot of the things that you're normally used to doing. So did you train a little bit before doing that or did they just kind of throw you guys all into it and be like, "Play the game" kind of thing?

John Hunter:
Well, I've had iRacing since 2014 I think, 2013. I was on it quite a bit when I first got it. And then through the last couple of years, I haven't really been on it at all. Just have been focused on racing in real life rather than being on virtual and whatnot. So it definitely took a little bit to get back in the flow of things. Luckily, I was able to work with a few different drivers on iRacing that run on a weekly basis and being able to kind of learn some different skill sets from them of how to apply what they're doing to iRacing and kind of throw out some of their real life techniques in a sense to get back to the virtual side of how to go fast.

John Hunter:
It's all about adapting. Everything you drive is completely different from a truck to an Xfinity car, to a cup car to racing virtually online with iRacing. So it's all about adapting and who can adapt the fastest and who can figure out ways to go the fastest. So being able to have guys that run on it every single week and every night in a sense, and being able to kind of pick their brains and soak up that information experience is king in everything that you do. So being able to kind of learn all that and put it into play was a huge benefit for myself.

Jeff:
That's awesome. Well, that brings me to the theme of this show. We are all fueled by the same thing. We're all fueled by the finish line. Death is inevitable and one day we're all going to die, but we're all trying to do our best to leave the world a little different before we inevitably leave it for good. And I just got to ask you what fuels you to keep going? What fuels you to want to continue to race and continue to just do what you do?

John Hunter:
That's a really good question. I think the thing that fuels me is being able to excel and being able to make an impact on the community. Being able to kind of do things for one another and give back. And I mean, if I could race and I guess not have the fame or the star power, I would gladly do that. But with how our sport is and how our sport works, being able to kind of give back to the community and give back to kids and kind of show different people around the world that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. No matter what you're struggling with or no matter what you're going through, if you continue to work hard and you continue to push yourself to the limit and push yourself over the limit and just head down, elbows up as I like to say, never give up attitude, you can go anywhere in life.

John Hunter:
So being able to do that and always excel and overachieve is probably what fuels me the most. Just being able to kind of give back. I think the kid part of having kids around the racetrack and them looking up to us and saying, "Hey, I want to race cars one day" or "Hey, I want to do what he's doing one day" or anything like that. I was that kid once. I was a kid walking around the garage looking up at all these guys. So being able to grow up in this sport and kind of have a sense of what they're thinking when they're looking at you or different things, we want to be their heroes.

Jeff:
That's so, so inspiring. At the end here, I got a couple fast fire questions for you. I want to know, we talked a little bit about it, but what outside of racing cars, what would be maybe your favorite hobby? What's something that maybe people don't know that you really enjoy?

John Hunter:
I enjoy the outdoors. I enjoy being on the lake. Being on a mountain bike riding through the mountains or riding through trails. Cycling, going out on country roads seeing different farms and things. But lake life is pretty big for me. Being able to wakesurf and be on the lake all the time and wakeboard. And I just enjoy that whole perspective do something that's ... I'm not very good at, but try and be good at and try and push myself. It is a lot of fun, but growing up here in North Carolina on Lake Norman has kind of shaped my life into that way.

Jeff:
That's awesome. That's awesome. Okay. Now money's not an option, anything in the world, speaking of cars, not just from a racing perspective. But if you could have any car in the world, what would be that car? That one car. It's a tough one.

John Hunter:
That is a tough one.

Jeff:
I mean, I want your car. I want that number 38. That would be mine, but I mean, you've already got that. So we've got to pick a different one.

John Hunter:
I think taking an F1 car and making it street legal, would be really, really cool. It's something different, something that you don't see. I mean, I feel like with the cars that are out there and the cars that are street legal, if you do have money and go buy any one of them, right? So being different is probably the biggest thing.

Jeff:
That's awesome. That's awesome. Right back on the racing side, then, do you have a favorite track that you've raced down in your career?

John Hunter:
I've always said that my favorite racetrack was the next one we go to or the one that we're at.

Jeff:
Nice answer.

John Hunter:
If you have a bad mentality about a racetrack or something that you're doing or somewhere that you're racing, you're probably not going to do that great. Obviously, there's racetracks that we like better than others. And I would say Bristol, Dover, places like that. Short tracks that you can kind of make a difference. Drivers racetracks, where the driver can make a huge impact rather than a car is something that I really do like.

John Hunter:
Somewhere that you slide around and kind of tires fall off and everything. I mean, that's what I grew up racing around the country was short tracks. So anytime we can go back there, it's definitely fun.

Jeff:
That's awesome. So then final question. There are so many little nuances when you're racing a car or a truck or racing around that track, what would be your favorite? Do you have a favorite moment when something just works out the best and you're just like, "Oh God, I love that when that happens." Is there like a favorite thing?

John Hunter:
Winning.

Jeff:
Well, I was going to say outside of winning.

John Hunter:
No. Anytime you can win, anytime that all the hard work pays off and you're victorious, it's very, very special. Being able win and kind of have that feeling and that emotion is huge. And you know that when that hard work pays off, it makes it that much more special.

Jeff:
That's awesome. That's awesome. Finally, obviously the best way to follow what you're doing is through your racing team and also watching NASCAR. But do you social media at all? Is there a way that fans can follow your journey or something that you post on regularly?

John Hunter:
Yeah. We're on all social media platforms. I would say we use Instagram and Twitter more than anything it's @JHNemechek. So make sure to check us out.

Jeff:
Perfect. I'll put that in this episode as well. John Hunter, I can't thank you enough for taking time out of your day to talk with me. It was truly a pleasure talking with you and learning about the sport. And I can't wait to see everything you're going to do this season. It's exciting.

John Hunter:
I appreciate it. Thank you.