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LOUDON, N.H. -- It took Joe Nemechek a long time to find out
how to win. But before he reached Victory Lane, he knew exactly
what he wanted to say.
Within a few seconds of crossing the finish line Sunday at New
Hampshire International Speedway, Nemechek called in a dedication
to his crew.
"This is for my brother, John, I love you," he said after
getting the first victory of his career in the Dura Lube 300.
|  | | Joe Nemechek holds off Tony Stewart during the final laps of the DuraLube/Kmart 300 en route to his first career Winston Cup victory Sunday. |
John Nemechek was killed in a racing accident two years ago.
"Mom and Dad weren't here today," Nemechek said of his
parents, who did not attend the race. "But John was, and he was
looking out for me."
Now, all Nemechek needs is a job. He and car owner Felix Sabates
have agreed to part company next year.
"I've got to end up in a good quality ride," Nemechek said.
"If can't make a step up, I don't know what my future will be."
He wonders if Sabates might take another look at the operation,
which Nemechek says is solid but has simply struggled in his three
seasons behind the wheel.
But Nemechek couldn't get an answer Sunday.
"Felix said he was going to be here when I won my first race,
but he isn't," he said. "We haven't even been able to reach him
on the telephone."
Nemechek's shocking upset was set up when Winston Cup points
leader Dale Jarrett was penalized for a pit road violation after
taking command midway through the race.
Nemechek, who acquired the nickname Front Row Joe because he had
two poles and had started on the outside of the front row five more
times in his career, finally won in his 180th start. Tony Stewart
was second in a race that ended under caution.
At one point, Stewart appeared ready to make a pass. But
Nemechek said the track condition was largely responsible for that.
"My tires were just loaded up with rubber, and the thing
started to turn sideways," he said of his Chevrolet. "But I just
drove it away off the corner, and it straightened out."
Stewart, fighting an ailing engine, was happy for Nemechek.
"If I had to lose to a guy, I lost to one of the best guys in
the sport," he said. "Joe Nemechek deserved it."
Stewart said his car was better on long runs, something he
couldn't get at times because 11 caution flags slowed the race for
59 laps.
"Once the tires got cool, we were sliding all over the place,"
he said.
Nemechek passed Terry Labonte on the 230st of 300 laps on the
1.058-mile oval, then held off a bid by Stewart to give Sabates his
first victory since Kyle Petty won in four years ago in Dover, Del.
Jarrett's mistake, when he stopped with his right side outside
his box on pit road, was the key to the victory. Jarrett, in
position to increase his lead in the standings to a season-high 320
points, was penalized a lap.
Jarrett wound up 18th, and now leads Bobby Labonte by 254 points
with eight of 34 races remaining.
Nemechek survived a late bid by Stewart, who was trying to
become the first rookie to win consecutively in 29 years of Winston
Cup racing. But Stewart, after closing a gap of four seconds to a
car-length, had an engine problem that allowed Nemechek to pull
away on the straightaways.
Stewart, who held off teammate Bobby Labonte, never got a final
chance to challenge because two cautions on the final nine laps
prevented the cars from getting a good roll to the end.
That was fine with Nemechek's crew chief, Tony Glover, who also
called the shots for the career breakthrough victories of Ernie
Irvan and Sterling Marlin.
"I went to bed last night for the first time in a while
thinking that if I didn't do anything real dumb, we had a good
chance to win the race today," Glover said. "Everything worked
out as well today as any Winston Cup race I've ever been involved
in.
Nemechek's victory coupled with that by Stewart a week earlier
in Richmond, Va., marked the first time new winners were crowned
back to back in NASCAR's top division since Pete Hamilton and James
Hylton in 1970.
Jarrett's situation could have been worse. Because Mark Martin
was victimized in some of the many spins and crashes, he finished
17th and fell to third in the points race.
Jarrett didn't argue with the NASCAR decision that might have
cost him his 23rd career victory, but wants more consistency from
the sanctioning body.
"That's the rule if you're outside the box," he said. "But
you need to call it all the time."
Nemechek, whose best career finish had been third, collected
$157,625 from a purse of $2 million.
The were 12 lead changes among nine drivers. The rash of
cautions slowed Nemechek's average speed to 100.673 mph.
The Pontiacs of Stewart and Labonte were followed by the Ford of
three-time NHIS winner Jeff Burton and the Chevy of two-time
defending race champion Jeff Gordon.
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DuraLube/Kmart 300 quotes
Stewart runs short on power this time
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 Joe Nemechek talks about his emotional first victory.
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Tony Stewart continues to impress at Loudon.
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