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Tag: Jeremy Clements Racing

  • Jeremy Clements captures sixth consecutive top 15 at New Hampshire

    Jeremy Clements captures sixth consecutive top 15 at New Hampshire

    Jeremy Clements finished 15th Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, earning his sixth consecutive top 15 finish this year. Even more encouraging, in his last eight races, his lowest result has been a 16th place finish at Pocono Raceway.

    For the small family-owned team with only three full-time employees in the road crew and two at the shop, it’s a testament to what dedication and hard work can accomplish. But for Clements, it’s not enough. I spoke to him about his finish at Loudon and what has contributed to his increased consistency this season.

    “For the race at Loudon, I would say we practiced good and thought we had a better car than what we raced. In the race, we just couldn’t get it balanced right. Would start off too loose and it would come in for a few laps and then get pretty tight. Could have been from the track changing with the PJ1 with the modified race before ours and all the Cup practice. But we ran with good cars,” he said, “just disappointed we weren’t better.”

    While the beginning of the year had its challenges with a couple of engine issues, the team has experienced a resurgence in the second half of the season. Clements credits their current consistency to the preparation that takes place before the No. 51 Chevrolet hits the track.

    “I would say the consistency is just getting the cars in the ballpark and not trying crazy setup stuff,” Clements explained. “We have run 3 of the same springs every week from short track to intermediate. It took us some races to get a hold on these cars, as well.

    “We have a new guy in the shop that is one of the main guys that puts them together as well as not having a full-time crew chief. We’ve had Andrew Abbott from Tyler Young’s Truck Series team come in on the weekends and crew chief so us working together has been good and fun but the more we do it the better we seem to get. There’s been a couple of races my dad had to do it as well since Andrew couldn’t be there.

    “But it’s just all about preparation at the shop and getting the cars tuned up there. If you unload good off the truck it makes your weekend way smoother than just throwing stuff at it to get it in the ballpark.”

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Iowa Raceway Saturday, July 27. Clements, who finished 12th at Iowa in June, will undoubtedly be looking for more.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • Jeremy Clements Captures Career-Best Finish at Talladega

    Jeremy Clements Captures Career-Best Finish at Talladega

    Jeremy Clements survived a tumultuous finish at Talladega Superspeedway to snare a career-best finish of fourth place in the Sparks Energy 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race and win the Mobil 1 Driver of the Race award.

    The driver of the No. 51 Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet/BRTExtrusions Chevrolet with new sponsor Signs and Displays Direct (SDD) drove from a 34th starting position to lead seven laps and contend for the win. The race ended under caution in overtime when Joey Logano made contact with leader Elliott Sadler, sending Logano into the outside wall.

    Clements’ fourth place result moved him up three positions to 13th place in the championship standings. In 209 XFINITY starts, his previous best finish was sixth at Road America in 2014.

    The top five is a career defining moment for this small family-owned team. Jeremy Clements Racing (JCR) only has two full-time and three part-time employees but what they lack in numbers, they make up for with dedication.

    They have a rich history entrenched in NASCAR. Clements is the grandson of Crawford Clements, acclaimed engine builder, and the nephew of crew chief Louis Clements who won a championship with NASCAR Hall of Famer Rex White in 1960. Their engine development program continues today under the leadership of his father and uncle at Clements Automotive Racing. They play a vital role in the team’s success by supplying the engines for the No. 51 Chevy.

    Jeremy Clements receives a hug from his Dad after a series career-best fourth place finish at Talladega, April 30, 2016 - Photo Credit: Jason Watson
    Jeremy Clements receives a hug from his Dad after a career-best fourth place finish at Talladega, April 30, 2016. Photo Credit: Jason Watson

    Clements has an affinity for Talladega and heading into the race, he commented on the unpredictable nature of the track.

    “There’s nothing like Talladega,” he said. “We always seem to run well there. In 2013, we scored a Top 10. In 2014, we led but with six laps to go, got clipped in the right rear and sent into the wall. I think we were running seventh or eighth at that point and moving forward.  The car got pretty well wrecked, but at least we got our sponsors some face time on TV that day. They’re back with us for this weekend, so hopefully, we can get them some more exposure, but for the right reasons this time.”

    Clements’ hopes were realized Saturday and he was ecstatic after the race. I spoke with him about the significance of the top five finish, both personally and for his team.

    “I’m pretty excited for sure with our career-best finish,” he said. “It was a lotta fun and I am glad we survived typical plate racing, push the guy that is in front of you for all it’s worth. Great race for us, needed (it) a lot, ‘cause we have been struggling with bump stops, so it gives a great boost to our three-man team.”

    Clements is hopeful that it will be the catalyst needed to bring more sponsorship to the underfunded JCR organization, saying, “Definitely, this could help getting our foot in the door with new sponsors.”

    He is also confident that his fourth place finish at Talladega will give his team “momentum going into Dover in a couple of weeks.” It’s a track where they have put together good runs in the past, including a top 10 last year.

    The series returns to the track May 14 at Dover International Speedway as Clements and the No. 51 team continue to pursue their goal of making it into the top 12 to compete in the first elimination-style Chase for the XFINITY Series.

  • Jeremy Clements – Achieving More with Less In NASCAR

    Jeremy Clements – Achieving More with Less In NASCAR

    Jeremy Clement’s recipe for success is a combination of talent, tenacity and mathematical wizardry. Throw some sponsorship dollars and a little luck into the mix and it would not be surprising to see him standing in victory lane.

    He drives the No. 51 Chevy in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for family owned team, Jeremy Clements Racing and seven races into the season is ranked 18th in the point standings. Driving for a small, underfunded team often requires juggling expectations with financial limitations. But drivers race with one goal, winning races. After an 18th place finish at Texas, I asked Clements if he would repeat that finish at Darlington Raceway.

    “Heck no, we always want better. A top 20 is good for our team but we always want better,” he said.

    Clements went on to talk about the issues he would face at this unique track, saying, “The biggest challenge is probably just trying to stay off the wall and conserve tires. The other problem is we don’t have sticker tires for tonight. You need four sets for the race, plus the one you start with.  It’s just about tire management. We still need two more sets. One set we have has four laps on them but that’s an every week thing, honestly. Four laps doesn’t sound like a lot. It’s not but it is, especially here. You don’t have the grip. You take off and they’ll just leave you.”

    Clements qualified 21st at Darlington and had a competitive car. But a faulty power steering hose caused him to go 10 laps down during repairs and they had to settle for a disappointing 31st place finish.

    Photo Credit: David Yeazell
    Photo Credit: David Yeazell

    Each race has its own set of problems but the one constant for Jeremy Clements Racing and other small teams is the lack of sponsorship dollars. They don’t have the newest engines or best equipment and sometimes can’t afford many of the items that better funded teams take for granted. Most race off the purse, using winnings from the previous race to finance the next one. If they’re lucky enough to have a sponsor for a race, they have to decide where to spend that money because it’s never enough.

    Clements used the following example to explain the dilemma.

    “We have two sets of four lap tires that we could buy for $100 each or spend four grand on two sets of stickers and we’d still need more. So what do you do? How much money do you have for this race? You want to run good of course, that’s the whole reason we’re here but you can’t break the bank. It’s frustrating. You want to run good every week but you know you’re kind of handicapped somewhat.”

    Although he admits that the financial struggles can sometimes be slightly overwhelming, he is also quick to point out that he’s not complaining. He is, after all, living his dream and when all is said and done, it comes down to this; Jeremy Clements is a racer. It is not a job description; but rather, defines who he is.