Jeremy Clements – Focused, Fueled & Frustrated Following Nashville

By Michelle Petroff, Team Press Release,

SPARTANBURG, SC (April 18, 2006) – Twenty-one year old speed jockey Jeremy Clements and his family-owned Georgia Boot/Harrison’s Workwear #3 Chevy Monte Carlo trekked to Nashville Superspeedway for the second event of the 2006 ARCA RE/MAX Series’ tour. Clements started the season with a strong top-15 finish at Daytona and was looking to up the ante at Nashville’s “PFG Lester 150”.

“We’ve ran Nashville before and had pretty good luck,” stated Clements. “We don’t have the funding to participate in the full tour so we take things one event at a time and come out prepared to put in 110% hoping that we can really highlight our strengths to gain positive attention. Nashville was one of events where we felt we could do well.”

Clements’ one of only 41 teams to start the event with a record-setting 70 entries on hand, qualified an impressive 12th and felt his #3 ride still had more to offer come race time. From the drop of the green, the team proved to be a contender against the ARCA RE/MAX veterans and NASCAR-backed development teams as they ran in the top-10 and top-5. But when a red flag break in the action came late in the race, the Clements’ team realized that their fuel gamble was about to roll snake eyes.

The team contemplated pitting for a splash of fuel a few laps prior but they opted not to relinquish their top-5 position. The team was running second to eventual race winner Stephen Leicht of Robert Yates Racing when the car ran out of fuel with seven laps remaining. The team officially finished a disappointing 29th place.

“If they would have kept running laps under caution instead of stopping us, we could have made it,” commented Clements. “When we had to crank the car back up that really hurt us. We took a risk and we thought it was going to be close. I guess we just miscalculated it.”

Clements, who almost lost his right hand to a driveshaft part malfunction in July 2004, was just making his fourth asphalt start since his amazing comeback. Frustrated in the final result at Nashville, Clements was hopeful that Saturday’s run was yet another impressive indication that his family-owned team can go toe-to-toe with the resources of the well-funded Nextel Cup-backed organizations that have taken to the ARCA RE/MAX Series as a training ground for development drivers.

“The car was great. We were having a good time out there. I’m just disappointed in our finish. We’re just a low-budget team and we can do that good. We made a costly gamble with fuel but so did teams from Evernham Motorsports and Rusty Wallace Racing who sure know a lot more than us. Just imagine how good I could do if some Cup guy put me in his car. That’s what keeps me focused to keep working hard.”

Frustration will only fuel Jeremy Clements’ desire to return to racing. The team will return to the ARCA RE/MAX Series at their next speedway appearance slotted for May 13th’s “Harley-Davidson of Cincinnati 150” at Kentucky Speedway. More information on Jeremy Clements Racing is available online at http://www.jeremyclementsracing.com

Clements’ #3 Chevy Monte Carlo is sponsored by Georgia Boot, Harrison’s Work Wear, One-Stop Convenience Store, Starette Trucking, M&S Concrete, Hamrick’s Manufacturing and Clements Automotive/House of Power.