Joseph Frank Nemechek III (born September 26, 1963) is an American professional stock car racing driver who last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 24 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. Nemechek has made the second most national series starts in NASCAR history. He claimed the record in 2019 after he passed seven-time Cup Series champion Richard Petty, but was surpassed by Kevin Harvick in 2021. Nemechek won the 1992 NASCAR Busch Series championship. He is the older brother of the late John Nemechek, who died in a crash in the Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 1997. He is the father of John Hunter Nemechek, who competes full-time in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is nicknamed "Front-Row Joe," which was coined by former teammate Wally Dallenbach for his tendency in the late 1990s to be a regular contender for a front-row starting position. Racing career Early career and Busch Series Nemechek began racing at the age of 13 in motocross and won 300 career races over the next six years. After winning various awards in different short-track series around the country, Nemechek made his Busch Series debut at North Carolina Speedway in 1989, where he started 40th and finished 33rd after suffering an engine failure in his No. 88 Buick. Nemechek moved up to the Busch Series in 1990, running the No. 87 with sponsorship from Master Machine & Tool, posting two top-fives and finishing 17th in points, winning Rookie of the Year honors. He had 16 top-ten finishes and finished sixth in points the following year. In 1992, Nemechek got full-time sponsorship from Texas Pete sauce, and got his first two career wins and defeated Bobby Labonte for the championship by three points. He did not win again in 1993, but he won three poles and finished fifth in points. That season, he made his Winston Cup debut at New Hampshire International Speedway for his NEMCO team, starting 15th before finishing 36th after suffering rocker arm failure. After running two more races in the 87, he ran a pair of races for Morgan-McClure Motorsports, his best finish 23rd at Rockingham. Early Cup career In 1994, Nemechek joined Larry Hedrick Motorsports to drive the No. 41 Meineke Discount Mufflers-sponsored Chevy. Despite missing two races, he had three Top 10 finishes and finished 27th in the points standings. The next season, he