TALLADEGA, Ala. (April 27,
2008) -- A potential top-10
finish turned into a
25th-place result for Joe
Nemechek, who was collected
in a 12-car wreck on the
final lap of Sunday's NASCAR
Sprint Cup race at Talladega
Superspeedway.
Nemechek, who put his No.
78 National Day of
Prayer/Furniture Row Racing
Chevy on the pole, was in
the lead draft as the race
was winding down on the
ultra-fast 2.66-mile oval.
"After the white flag
waved, we were in good
position to get into the top
10," said Nemechek. "But
then came the big wreck. I
thought I had missed it, but
at the last second the No.
48 (Jimmie Johnson's car)
came across my hood. We had
a lot of damage to our Chevy
Impala SS and I could barely
get it to the finish line."
Though Nemechek was
disappointed with the
result, the veteran driver
was proud of the effort by
the Furniture Row Racing
team.
"Yeah, we're a little
frustrated right now," noted
Nemechek. "But looking at
the big picture, we had a
great weekend of racing.
Qualifying No. 1 in the
National Day of Prayer car
gave us a big lift and we
backed that up with a solid
performance in the race. We
continue to improve and
that's what it's all about.
We're a team on the move."
After taking the green
flag to start the 500-mile
race, Nemechek ran in the
top five until the first
caution came out on Lap 19
of 188. He dropped to the
back of the field, but came
on strong and was running
again in the top five by Lap
85.
"This is Talladega -- you
can go back and forth in a
hurry," explained Nemechek.
"But the good news for us,
we were running with the
lead pack for a good portion
of the race."
"Jay (crew chief, Jay
Guy) called a great race and
the pit crew also did an
excellent job on pit road,"
added Nemechek. "It was a
solid team effort."
The next stop for the
Furniture Row Racing team
will be Saturday night when
the Sprint Cup Series
competes at Richmond
International Raceway.