When seeing the larger than life figures who make up the top of any sport like NASCAR, there’s an assumption that Xfinity Series owner-driver Jeremy Clements. A driver and team, I’m sure most fans think of or regard very highly because he isn’t the type to get on TV very often.

Jeremy Clements incredible story!

His incredible story is not very talked about by anybody. Very few pundits mention it, and consequently, not many fans are even aware of it. Which is one of the biggest shames in all of racing because this means fans don’t know one of the greatest stories this sport has to tell. One that proves enough passion, resilience, and hard work will help you achieve things that most consider impossible, even if it’s “only” 2 wins and a mid-pack Xfinity Series team.

The route he took to earning those things, however, is what we’re talking about today. 

The Clements family history!

Before we even talk about Jeremy and his team, though, we should talk about his family because some of you don’t know how deeply imbued the Clements family is in the world of stock car auto racing. When Rex White won the 1960 Grand National Series championship, it was Crawford Clements, Jeremy’s grandpa, sitting on the pit box, leading him to the glorious accomplishment.

Plus, he was the crew chief for Wendell Scott in the Cup Series in 1965. The Clements racing tradition continued with Jeremy’s father, Tony, who opened Clements Racing Engine, his own engine shop, which will be important later, so keep that in mind. 

Clements early history as a racing prodigy!

Jeremy was more than happy to continue this tradition, but instead of in the garage, he wanted to be behind the wheel. At 8 years old, Jeremy Clements began driving go-karts, but it wasn’t long before he was behind the wheel of a stock car.

In 1999, he moved on to race four-cylinder cars in both the Modified and Stock Series at Thunder Valley Speedway and Cherokee Speedway.

“I definitely was the guy to beat in race cars as well. The last year we ran in the dirt, within six days we won two big races. One race paid $12,000 to win, and the next race paid $16,000! Wow, that was a hell of a good six days, $28,000!”

By 2002, he had already had 55 wins in total, along with 2 track championships in that time. Keep in mind that he was born on January 16th, 1985. That makes him 17 years old, racing against mostly people in their middle age, and accomplishing all this. To give you the proper scope of how talented he is. 

“Thank you. Yeah, it was cool. I wish I could go back and relive those days. To be honest with you, it went by so fast, and I was having so much fun with it. So I’d like to go back and relive some of that, the good times when I won races, enjoying those times a little more. I have had a lot of fun for sure. It’s just a different kind of fun and a different kind of level of stress that you deal with now versus back in those days. But, you know, in those days I was working to this level, to NASCAR.”

Clements is making his way up the NASCAR ladder!

2002 was a pivotal year for our protagonist, as he not only advanced to driving in the Late Model division at Cherokee Speedway. There, the 17-year-old Clements continued his success, winning nine races and taking another track championship, but would also make his ARCA debut at the not-at-all scary Talladega Superspeedway with Ken Appling.

Finishing 17th before he DNQ’d the finale at Charlotte. Making him ineligible to finish last and thus win the LASTcar win for that weekend. 

2003 was the 1st time he would enter the bright lights of NASCAR. Making his Busch Series debut in not any race. It was the TrimSpa Dream Body 250 at Pikes Peak, a staple of the Busch Series at the time.

In the race Scott Wimmer won, Clements made an admittedly unimpressive debut, finishing 31st after starting 35th. He then DNQ’d his next and last attempt of the 2003 Busch Series season at the historic Atlanta, ending his Busch Series season. His racing didn’t start and end with the Busch Series, however. 

Clements did more starts in the No. 3 Ken Appling Chevy in the ARCA Re/Max Series. Specifically, 5 more at Daytona, Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, and Charlotte again.

While a struggle at the beginning, a notable 7th-place finish sandwiched in between a 34th at Daytona and a 35th at Nashville, the 2 Charlotte races brought Clements and Appling solace.

Clements earned a 3rd place finish in both events in his underfunded Chevy at the peak of competitiveness in ARCA. Beating the likes of ARCA God, Frank Kimmel; future Cup Series winner and near champion Clint Bowyer; 2-time Cup Series champion and lower series bully Kyle Busch twice; future Coca-Cola 600 winner Casey Mears; and even infamous NASCAR bust Aaron Fike. 

At this point, everything is going perfectly for the Spartanburg youngster. Sure, he still wasn’t the best funded, but his talents still impressed people enough to get a shot on a massive stage, and he was making the most of it. The NASCAR world was already paying attention to him, so another better shot was sure to come.

Clements’ tragic accident and life-altering injuries!

At least until July 24, 2004, a day that would change racing and, more importantly, the Clements family forever. At age 19, Jeremy Clements was racing at 311 Speedway, pursuing his passion and looking to improve at the craft he loves even further to make his family proud. 

The driveshaft on his late model broke and pierced all the way through his vehicle. Then through Jeremy Clements’ right hand and the rest of his body. He was taken to the Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he underwent a nine-hour orthopedic surgery. There, he was told by doctors that his racing dream is over.

“I just said, ‘Well, get (my hand) as good as you can,’ and if it could wrap around a steering wheel and gear shifter,” Clements told NBC Sports. “All I knew and had done was drive, and there was no backup plan in my mind, and I just would be devastated if I didn’t get to race again,” Clements said years after the fact with NBC Sports. 

It was that stubbornness and love for racing that motivated him to make some of the toughest decisions that most people wouldn’t dare endure. Such as going through 10 surgeries in less than a year, the doctors had to sew it to his thigh to get a skin graft.

They also did a bone graft from his hip and a graft from his foot. With physical therapy, it took Clements about a year before he could fully use his hand again.

“It’s got a scar that looks like I got burned on the top of my right hand, and there are some scars on my arm where they cut it and had to fix the bones and put the screws and plates in,” Clements said, showing his incredible mental strength and showing how he’s moved past it being a hindrance and into being motivating.

“Yeah, definitely got some marks on it for sure, but I still have it, so that’s the main thing.”

Clements’ quick comeback to racing and winning!

On July 10, 2005, not even a year after his horrifying injury and the 10 surgeries, he not only got back into a race car at the awesomely named Thunder Valley, but it didn’t take long for him to return to ARCA either. In September 2006, Clements made his return to ARCA and Ken Appling’s No. 3 Chevy at the now-missed Chicagoland Speedway, but this wasn’t a slow and steady comeback either.

He did 10 races in total throughout 2006 and showed the racing world he hadn’t lost a step despite everything.  He had a total of 3 top fives and 4 top tens, leading a total of 14 laps in a still underfunded Chevy. The most notable drive was at Pocono, when he led 10 laps but couldn’t finish due to a blown engine.

All this impressed General Motors, and they gave him a three-track test with RCR, and this won’t be the last time Clements flirts with some of the biggest teams in NASCAR either. 

2007 was as important a year for the Spartanburg driver. He came extremely close to his 1st win at the same track he led all 14 laps in 2006, Pocono. On the last lap, Clements was leading with no one near throughout all three corners at the tricky triangle, looking like he was on for a deserved fuel mileage win.

Then it turns out Clements and his crew chief miscalculated by a straightaway; coming out of 3, Clements slowed to a crawl and was now out of fuel as Michael McDowell and Josh Wise passed him.

Clements watched in disappointment and frustration as McDowell stole the win that he was a lap away from getting, a win that would’ve been Clements’s and Ken Appling’s 1st ever. That wouldn’t be his last chance, of course. 

At the Nashville Speedway in 2007, ARCA was running the Toyota ARCA 150; it would be the Ken Appling Chevy starting on the outside of the front row with, of course, Clements behind the wheel.

He used that to stay upfront all day, and by the time the white flag waved, prospect Bryan Clauson and ARCA god Frank Kimmel were battling for 2nd with the leader Jeremy Clements so far behind he probably couldn’t even see it in his rearview mirror. This time, he didn’t run out of fuel and came across the line 1st, finally an ARCA winner.

“Man, after all the Pocono misery, I just wanted to come and win a race,” Clements said. “And to beat the big development teams … this means a lot. You know, this is a small team. We build all our own engines, and we got this car from Richard Childress. Hopefully, we can get a sponsor or get a ride for me or something,” Clements said to militarynews.com after the win. 

Clements’ return to NASCAR!

He did a lot more than ARCA in 2007 with McGill Motorsports. After seeing all of Clements’ 6 top fives and 8 top tens in 12 ARCA starts and being left with no more driver for the final 5 races of the 2007 season, he saw no driver better, so he gave him the keys to the No. 36 Chevy in the Busch Series. His highest finish was a lowly 23rd in his 1st start at Charlotte, starting a notable run but one that would show a shift in Clement’s ambitions. 

He was still doing races outside of ARCA or NASCAR. Running in the SAS-East Super Late Model Series, he won at dirt tracks like Cherokee Speedway, where he had his career performance as he overcame deteriorating mechanical issues in the closing laps to seal his fourth victory of the season.

His passion for racing is helping him to overcome the trauma that comes with his awful track to still do what he loves as much as he wants. “We were skipping and popping on the start,” said Clements, who earned $2,500 for his Cherokee victory. “This was a new carburetor we just put on this engine, and it just wasn’t quite tuned in right. Luckily, we held on (to the lead) because it was getting worse and worse.”

After finally winning in ARCA and doing a few Busch Series races, Clements was looking to scale back on the ARCA and scale up in the now Nationwide Series, even if nobody was hiring. That’s right, we’re finally getting into the start of Jeremy Clements Racing, or at the beginning, the worst name, Jeremy Clements Motorsports. In the 2008 Nationwide Series season, after qualifying for Kyle Busch at Kentucky in the Joe Gibbs No. 18.

He tried to make his team’s debut at the start of the Illinois doubleheader beginning at Chicagoland, but he DQ’d. He and his team made the show at Gateway, however, and they had an impressive debut race together, finishing 22nd.

Clements becomes a Nationwide Series regular!

The team returned for 2009, beginning with Nashville. He and his family team participated in a total of six races that season. With impressive highs considering their low budget of 16th and 25th, with Gateway continuing to treat the Clements well, being the 16th place finish.

But now with firsthand experience as to how difficult the owner-driver game is, he took the opportunity in 2009 to drive for someone else, so he attempted the final 7 races of the season with the JDM No. 0, failing to qualify for the finale at Homestead but making the other 6 races.

Even getting a career high of 12th at the sadly now dead Auto Club. And he even qualified again for Kyle Busch and the JGR #18 at Iowa. 

Joe Gibbs Racing saw the potential in him that was left even after his horrible accident. They wouldn’t call up anyone to drive their cars, even if it was only to replace them for qualifying. Sadly, this partnership wasn’t meant to be due to Clements’s lack of sponsorship for JGR, but he didn’t lack sponsorship, however.

Clements’ time at JDM!

As in his JDM days, he was sponsored by the one and only Bordeaux’s Butt Paste. Which sponsored him throughout multiple races in 2010, the season in which he attempted the most races yet. Attempting 25 total races now, he failed to qualify for 7 of them. But that doesn’t tell the full story.

He earned his 1st career top 10 at Gateway at that famous 2010 race. While the world was focusing on the racing redemption Keselowski earned by winning at Gateway. Getting back the win he would’ve gotten had Edwards not wrecked him the last race here, Clements went by it all for a 10th-place finish.

He started that race 24th, and by all means, it looked like another weekend where he’d ride around the mid-pack anonymously. When that change was on lap 164. The 04 decided that during the last round of green flag pit stops, they’d stay out the longest out of anybody.

Meaning that Bordeaux’s Butt Paste car got 6 beautiful laps to lead and get some TV time for their sponsor. Gambling for a caution to come out, and luckily for the entire 04 team, Steve Wallace and Danica Patrick happened. The pair wrecked together with 10 laps to go, and Clements had used fresher tires and clever maneuvering to make his way up to 14th when the yellow came out.

He restarted 11th, but after someone in the top 10 almost wrecked and had to save the car, which dropped them out of the top 10, Clements was promoted into the top 10. He finished for the 1st time in his Xfinity career. But that wasn’t the only highlight that year.

He finished a very impressive 12th at Kentucky that year, too, and at more of a driver’s track, Charlotte, he earned a 16th, all very impressive considering he was in a car that had a hard time even making races. At least when he did, there was a good chance he’d get results. But right as things were looking up, the money dried up.

And that JDM ride he was doing so well in, he would never drive again. At this point, he had done more than most, especially in his spot. He had fought so hard to even get to this point, and now he was in that great moment at Gateway and had the funny butt paste sponsorship to hang his hat on and tell stories about.

JCR goes full-time!

He could’ve ended there, but in classic Jeremy Clements fashion, of course, he didn’t quit there. No, there was only one option, but that only made it easier for him to take and commit to it. In 2011, for the very first time, Jeremy Clements Racing would go full-time.

It wasn’t a very notable season if I’m being real. He never even achieved his career-high finish of 10th during the season. Although there were flashes of talent throughout the year. His highest finish of the year was 14th, which he earned twice at Iowa and Atlanta, which are very much driver tracks.

His 2012 would really turn a corner, though, and even earn him attention from 1 of NASCAR’s biggest teams. He earned two 10th-place finishes at Dover and Indy, although at Indy, he wasn’t driving for himself. For Indy, his ride was bought out by RCR and Ty Dillon.

Ty Dillon qualified his 51 3rd that weekend, which is where he finished, while Clements reunited with JDM (as his family was still providing them engines at this point) for his 10th-place finish, though under the JCR banner, and that wasn’t the last time either. Ty Dillon also raced the 51 at Richmond, where Clements returned to the 4.

Ty Dillon finished 7th, while Clements finished way behind his own car in 24th, which made him feel all sorts of weird ways. But it helped pay the bills, so I’m sure he wasn’t complaining. While you could ask for more, this season showed growth in the JCR, which, at the end of the day, is what you really want.

Clements’ MTV suspension!

To say 2013 couldn’t have started any worse is an understatement. Daytona went average enough with a 33rd-place finish, not making anyone excited. But it was the news that leaked after the race that turned things from bad to worse.

During the Daytona weekend, Clements was approached by a NASCAR official and an MTV reporter after a driver’s meeting. Why would an MTV reporter want to talk to 2013 Jeremy Clements? Well, she asked him if he knew the location of female driver Johnna Long’s transporter.

So Clements kindly showed her to Long’s transporter when they got to talking. While the reporter did ask him some questions, according to Clements, it wasn’t an official interview, so he was taking it casually. “And while we were walking, they started, he [MTV] started, asking me questions,” Clements said. “And it wasn’t recorded. We were just talking. So I said one remark about how I wouldn’t …”

“I can’t say that part,” he said. “That’s pretty much how it happened,” he continued. “And even after I said what I said, they still kept asking me questions. It didn’t seem like it was a big deal at all. I didn’t even think twice about it, like, after. I know I shouldn’t have said it. Even when I did say it, I shouldn’t have said it. But I didn’t think it was going to be a big deal.”

But it was, and it earned him a 2-week suspension. 1 that made JCR the only team other than RSS that Ryan Sieg has ever called home in Nationwide/Xfinity at any point. Which is if that trivia question ever comes up and you get it right. You’re very welcome.

Clements’ comeback!

It looks like this didn’t really affect him. Which, after all the hardships, as the recent climb from a near career-ending close to a first ARCA win to getting his NASCAR shot to being an owner-driver, made a small scandal a walk in the park, and his 2013 season proved his toughness.

He earned a new career with a 9th-place finish at Talladega and another top 10 at a road course with a 10th at Mid-Ohio. This was a massive step for Clements in his career, who didn’t have a background in anything road-course related. Racing only ovals till high up the stock car ladder.

But with his dirt track racing background, hard work, racing family, and technical skill developed from all that, he took to the road courses much faster than he should as a lower-budget oval driver. Showing his dedication and talent.

Progress he’s continued to show in the 2014 season. He earned his 1st top ten of the season and a new career-high finish of 6th at the famed Road America in Wisconsin. Then, 2 weeks later, he followed it up with an 8th-place finish at Daytona. Although 2015 to 2016 would really be Clement’s breakthrough.

At 1st, that statement seems odd, as he only had 1 top ten at Dover, which seems like a disappointment after multiple seasons of at least 2 top tens. But this was his most consistent season yet, with career highs in the top 15 and 20, which led to him tying his career-highest finishing position in points of 14th with the most points he’s ever earned in a season, with 801.

2016, though, was really where he’d put it all together: his consistency and ability to drive the crap out of his equipment. With a career high of 3 top tens, including a 6th place at his home track of Darlington, which must’ve felt great.

But most notably, he finally broke through and earned his first career top 5 with a 4th place at Talladega. But he still had 1 problem: most people didn’t care. Not at all. I’m sure Clements didn’t mind; he knew what came with his career choice.

Most people don’t care about the lower ends of the field, no matter how cool their story is. Because at the end of the day, they aren’t in victory lane on the regular. Besides, Clements didn’t know what it was even like to be in the spotlight.

Jeremy Clements makes a miracle happen!

So why would he care all that much about something he didn’t have? Little did he know where he’d be a year later. Especially since his 2017 didn’t actually start off that well. Until his 1st top 10 of the season at Iowa, 14 races into the season. Before that, he had only gotten 1 top 15 at Richmond with a 15th.

After that, though, the 51 crew was feeling themselves at 1st, following that up with a 15th at Daytona. Then things went even more downhill again. They are going through their worst stretch of the season. With 6 straight finishes outside of the top 20. This included two straight outside the top 30 heading into the next race at Road America.

Once qualifying was finished, it looked like typical, typical, typical for the JCR No. 51 team. When Clements qualified 24th for the race. Race day would prove to be anything but typical, though, not only for Clements and his crew but for the whole series.

Clements’ car on race day was much faster than in qualifying. He only dropped to as low as 25th all day, and by the middle of the race, he was 15th and eventually climbed into the top 10. He even averaged a 9th-place finish for the whole race.

So Clements was fast, but he wasn’t race-winning fast, but that’s when Jeremy Clements’ crew chief and father, Tony Clements, comes in. In the final round of green-flag pit stops, the 51 team stayed out way longer than everyone else, which even gave him his 1st lap led all day on lap 27.

Not only did the strategy call put him in a better track position, but it also gave him the freshest tires and the most fuel out of anyone in the field. And Jeremy Clements used every bit of talent he ever developed to chase down the leaders, and you know that’s a lot of talent.

And the man who was in the lead couldn’t be more perfect; it was Matt Tifft. At the time, a young driver who, after this race, would go through his own tragedies and struggles with a brain tumor and a diagnosis of epilepsy that cut his career short in 2019.

But this week, Matt Tifft was another snot-nosed rich kid in a ride he didn’t deserve. His mother was a part of a very successful medical drug company, and Matt quickly rose through the racing ranks. Joining JGR after going part-time with JGR, RHR, and KBM, and not doing much.

As in a JGR car, he only earned 1 top 5 the whole year heading into Road America. But he was in the lead, and in trying to get his 1st career win, he was stopping Clements from getting his. But Clements was driving that car for everything it was worth.

Charging towards 19 with vigor. Going on the grass multiple times to try and get by Tifft with 2 to go, constantly trying to open the door to let himself through, but Tifft kept closing that door and keeping the lead. Then coming into the final turn, Clements dived down to the inside with aggression and desperation.

Things that caused his 51 to get loose under Tifft, the 2 making contact and spinning around in the middle of the last corner. At this moment, it looked like his upset was done as Tifft spun; of course, it looked inevitable that Clements would follow him. And get stuck in the sand. He lost the only chance of his career so far to win a NASCAR race.

But that’s when Jeremy Clements used every ounce of talent he had ever developed over the years. To pull that car into a perfect 180 to avoid going into the gravel trap. And giving himself the ability to quickly get back on track, and, most importantly, right ahead of Annett.

Meaning as the white flag waved, Clements was still ahead of both Annett and Tifft despite the earlier wreck. And while they trailed closely behind, they ate his dust the whole way round the racetrack. Including when Clements crossed the line 1st to take the checkered flag.

And completed 1 of the biggest upsets in sports history! Winning at Road America! As soon as he heard his spotter on the radio, he was overcome with emotion. Shocked at what he pulled off and proud of himself and his team for what they’ve done.

“I’m extremely pleased right now, and it feels like a dream,” said Clements, who started 24th in the 40-car field.  “I don’t even know what to say. I’m just shocked. I mean, this is a car built in 2008. Everything we got is old and used. I just can’t believe it.”

I was licking my chops,” Clements said. “I was just so excited; I couldn’t believe that the (win) was right there for me to get. “I would love to just burn through a lot of money and make our stuff the best,” Clements said. “I would love to rent the best engines, but we have zero engineering. We have zero engineers.

“There is a lot I would like to do, but we can’t do them if we’re going to keep doing this.”

“I was really beating a lot of guys out of those last two corners. Especially the last corner; I could get in really deep. That’s where I thought I could pass (Tifft). I should have maybe been a little more patient. But it was coming on the last lap. He’s probably mad though, and I’m sorry to him.”

 “I don’t even know what to say. I’m just shocked. I mean, this is a car built in 2008. Everything we got is old and used. I just can’t believe it.”

“I can’t believe it,” Clements said. “I’m just—is this real?” “It’s been tough, obviously,” Clements said of the past five years. “Winning at Road America—that was unexpected too. We had a fast car that day, played some good strategy, and we won. That was incredible for the small guys.

“Now, Daytona is an equalizer. You can get here, survive, be in the draft, and have a shot. We showed that tonight. I backed out several times because I thought, ‘These guys are going to wreck,’ and they did. For once, I was right. I’ve been here so many times, and I think my best finish is eighth, and I’ve had so much bad luck here, so I think it was just our time to have some good luck.”

“Hopefully Chevrolet can help get us what we need for the playoffs,” Clements said. “Wow, okay,” Clements said. “I feel good about one of those tracks, but not Texas and Talladega. Like, just because we won here tonight does not mean anything about Talladega.

“We’re just going to give it our all. We’ve got nothing to lose. From here on, after tonight, everything is a bonus. I’m just happy to be here with you guys drinking a Busch Light.”

“Oh my gosh. It’s crazy! I mean, we’re spending; our budget is a fraction of a big team. This is just a dream come true. I want to drive for a big team, but it just hasn’t been the way it’s gone. I try to keep doing this, to keep my name out here and get as much experience as I can. In case I ever do get the call.”

“Hey, all you big team guys… Look at me. Let’s go.”

“Hell, I bet a bunch of people went to bed,” Clements said. “They don’t even know it. I bet they’re going to wake up and see, ‘Jeremy Clements won.’ ‘What the hell happened? Did everybody wreck?’

“I mean, seriously, it’s going to be like, can you imagine? Like the front page of the sports paper in Spartanburg (South Carolina, hometown): Jeremy Clements won what? I can’t believe it. Wow. Do I need to just shut up?”

“I hope everybody enjoyed the show!”

Probably because, as you can see, he had a lot to say about his incredible win, but who can blame him? Years of struggle and hard work have paid off in one moment that’ll give him more money than he’s ever earned in 1 race.

But it will also give him 15 minutes of fame. Doesn’t mean he forgot about the damage he caused to the 19, costing Tifft his 1st career win. Being empathetic towards being a young driver who was robbed of his 1st career win and the cost plus effort of having to repair equipment.

“I want to say sorry to Matt Tifft. I definitely didn’t mean to spin him out there. I got in there hot, and he just kind of came down; I was there. We collided.”

“Yeah, that’s my fault. That was definitely not his fault. Now, watching the replay, I got in there and got loose under him, trying to keep off of him.”

“I’m very sorry to Matt. I didn’t mean to wreck him, but I definitely had the better car. Hats off to those guys. I mean, that’s the Gibbs team. That’s the best of the best. To be faster than them at the end was pretty dang cool.”

Many would get lost in achieving their biggest accomplishment; they wouldn’t give a thought to the rich kid they spun out to get there. But Clements uses his years of pain and struggle to empathize and understand his rivals.

Something many of the sport’s biggest drivers, such as Denny Hamlin, could learn. This also clinched him a spot in the dreaded NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs for the 1st time in his and his team’s existence. Which means the most prize money his team has ever earned after a season.

He was eliminated easily in the round of 12, as he didn’t earn a single other top 10 for the rest of the season. Finishing 12th in points for 2017.

JCR’s sudden rise into regular playoff contenders!

As the 51 quickly faded back into irrelevance, many fans easily dismissed the South Carrollian win as a one-off. And that outside of that 1 brilliant moment, they wouldn’t see much of him again. But they’d all be wrong, very, very, very wrong.

Because Clements and the rest of the JCR crew, with that extra money they now had earned, were about to use it to show everyone their real talent. 2018 would be the beginning of the climb. He had 2 top tens again, an 8th at Richmond and a 10th at Kansas.

This was great enough for 15th in points by year’s end. But for anyone looking closely, the improvements were there to see. Clements achieved his highest career average finish up to that point with an 18.9 average finish.

2019, however, was really when he put Xfinity Series fans on notice. With him having not only a career season but by far his and his team’s best season to this point. He earned 4 total top tens, by far a career high, and more top 15s and top 20s than in any other season in his career.

Even earned two straight 11th places at some point. This consistency shows both the talent that was always there and the talent that he fought to make something out of his whole career. And that determined mindset had become great leadership, helping him make the most of this 51-member team.

But also help the 51 team make the most out of themselves. In 2019, this helped them be 1 of the best midpack teams in the Xfinity Series, finishing 14th in the standings. Including a very impressive top 5 at Bristol, a driver’s track, really showing his talent.

Heading into 2020, Clements and the 51 team were really in their groove. The veteran experience and incredible skill and understanding Jeremy Clements has have made him the perfect leader for a disciplined, scrappy, and loyal team.

All tools that made them perfect to handle the upcoming COVID pandemic that would swing through and defy the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Proven by those being 2 of the best seasons the 51 team had ever had to that point.

2020 would be the worst of the 2, which really shows how good a season it is. As Clements would almost make the playoffs. He missed out by only 1 spot while matching his top five and top ten counts from 2019. With 1 top five at 3rd at Pocono and 4 top tens. 2020 would be a noticeable improvement, however, for the 1st time in 2 seasons.

Not in the top five departments because he didn’t earn a single top 10 all year. But he did earn a career-best 8 top tens. This also led to a career best in average finish with 16.4 and even a career best in average start with 13.7.

His best race of the year was fittingly enough at his home state race in Darlington with a 6th place finish. But most importantly, Clements sneaked into the playoffs on his pure pace for his 2nd playoff appearance. Clements’ playoffs could’ve gone better, you could say.

He started things off terribly with a 39th at Vegas, which put him in a massive hole, a hole he’d only go down further with a 24th at Dega, putting him in a must-win situation. And winning would be far from what he’d do with a 12th at the Royal, eliminating him from the playoffs again.

Playoff elimination or not, this still shows how far Clements and the rest of the JCR team had come since the start in 2009. And still the best was yet to come. As 2022 had a very special surprise for Clements and the rest of his hardworking crew!

Clements steals another!

Clements’ 2022 started off meh, taking 7 top tens to get his 1st ever top 10 at Martinsville, but after that, he was off to the races, no pun intended. In the next 14 races, Clements earned 3 top tens, including a 4th place finish at New Hampshire, which was initially his highest finish of the year. Until Daytona.

I could describe the 2022 Wawa 250 and all the wrecks, torn-up cars, and other insanity with the same detail as this article. But this is already long enough, so instead we focus on how Clements, using all his skill and with some luck, avoided all that insanity to be 1 of a handful of competitive cars left on the final restart.

There, Austin Hill ran out of gas as soon as the green flag was waved. A moment straight out of 100% AI on NR2003. This gave Clements a very big lead, something that at most tracks is great. But at Daytona, it makes you a sitting duck as the draft reels back in your rivals.

And despite not many cars being left, he had some contenders to deal with: Timmy Hill, who always outdrives his equipment (like Clements); Brandon Brown, who won at Dega before showing his plate track skill; and AJ Allmendinger, a title contender in 2022, to hold off.

Clements blocked the crap out of everyone for almost the whole way around the track. Using his skill to get all these drivers behind until the end of turn 4, when AJ got by the 51. Behind them, Herbst spun, but Timmy Hill then gave Clements a huge push, pushing back to the lead as he took the white flag.

That’s when NASCAR, because it was almost 2 AM and I’m sure everyone was tired, decided to bring out the yellow flag, ending the race and handing Jeremy Clements his 2nd ever win at NASCAR’s most important and historic track.

“I’m speechless, man—I don’t even know what to say,” said Clements, who grabbed a playoff spot with the victory and shoved Ryan Sieg into 13th place in the standings, 12 points below the cut line. “We survived that big wreck back there. It was like a ‘Days of Thunder’ wreck.”

“Then I was like, ‘If we can just keep up with these guys, it’ll be a good day—top five—and bring this car home in one piece.’ But, wow! This is incredible.”

Five years to the day from his last Xfinity Series victory, Clements put it best: “I know it’s late as hell. It’s time to drink a beer!”

Most fans don’t remember this race as an underdog triumph as they do with the Road America win. Either they remember it for the wreckfest it was or how the abrupt finish robbed Timmy Hill of a win. But Clements was every bit as deserving as Timmy Hill at Daytona that night.

He had even less damage than Hill, which is a testament to both his incredible skill as a driver and his incredible luck that night. He played the strategy game perfectly and used pure talent to set himself up to keep that lead till the white.

Stupid caution, yes, but because of that, we’ll never really know who would’ve won had things played out, so sometimes in this sport you have to live with the best you’ve got, and Clements is by no means an undeserving winner. What didn’t help was the rest of his 2022.

It’s no surprise that Clements was dumped out of the 1st round. As this was where his underfunded team came up against the best of the best, and their cars were worth millions more dollars than his ever will be. But what was more worrying was the fact that he didn’t get a single other top 10 for the rest of the year.

JCR’s even more sudden fall!

This was a preview of things to come. 2023 was in total contrast to Clements and JCR’s 2017 to 2022. As this year, Clements wouldn’t earn or luck his way into a single top ten. And he’d finish 19th in points, the lowest position in points he’s ever finished in as a full-time driver. His 21.3 average finish is his lowest in his career since 2017.

So what happened then? Well, it’s not a case of Clements and crew doing anything wrong, but rather standing still as the world kept moving, as it always does. Clements and his team’s improvement after 2017 wasn’t an accident.

The winnings he and his team got were more than any they had ever received before. This enabled their comeback, with them being able to hire more full-time workers and better parts, all because they won and clinched a spot in the playoffs.

Corporate America and other ambitious owner-drivers, such as Tommy Joe Martins, took notice, and during Clement’s peak, the Xfinity midpack transformed from a lot of scrappy owner-drivers or ex-racers driven much more by passion and talent than money.

Along with the occasional business owner passionate about the sport. To now, businessmen passionate about the sport are starting midpack teams in hopes of getting that sponsorship and playoff revenue. Many of the old upstarts, like Clements’ old team, JDM, have shut down.

So have Brandonbilt Motorsports and the historic Jimmy Means Racing. While other teams like Mike Harmon Racing or MBM Motorsports, plus B. J. McLeod Motorsports, exist in completely different, much more limited forms and barely race in Xfinity, if they do at all.

So while the owner drivers in the mid- to late-2010s Xfinity Series were the midpack of the series. Now they’ve been priced out. But if after everything—almost losing his hand, the surgeries, coming so close but so far from his first ARCA win, the lack of funding, the suspension, the 2022 Wawa 250. He’d give up here; obviously, you’ve been skimming this article.

2024 started off with Clements doing what he does best, fighting and beating unlikely odds by finishing 6th in the second race at Atlanta, his first top ten in over a year. The rest of the season, however, showed that fighting spirit wasn’t enough.

Clements’ impressive runs in 2025!

He didn’t earn a single other top ten and finished an even lower 20th place in the points. But once Clements gritted his teeth and used his determination to lead his team to an even better 2025. Which started with a 9th-place finish at Daytona.

He followed up with an 11th-place finish at Atlanta. But of course, 2024 started with a plate track in the top 10. So for this to be a better season, he had to do way more than that. But the perfect opportunity to prove he and his 51 guys were still at work came in the series’ return to Rockingham.

In the second division’s first race at the North Carolina track since 2004. Most drivers racing that day have never raced here or have only raced a few times. Equalizing things and giving an advantage to drivers with high skill and adaptability, regardless of how much worse their cars are.

Something a few drivers took advantage of, including Clements. He finished 10th on the day to clinch his 1st season, earning multiple top tens since 2022, in one of his best drives. It wasn’t his last top ten of the year either. As JCR went on to clinch two more.

He got another top 10 plate track at Atlanta, a track with its mix of off-throttle and heavy drafting that has played to Clement’s strengths quite nicely, and used that to earn another 10th-place finish. Then he earned a 9th-place finish at Bristol, the drivers’ track, to end the drivers’ tracks.

So four top 10s. Totally, on paper, it was his best season since last making the playoffs in 2022. But in reality, it was the most inconsistent season of his whole career. He finished 21st in the standings, even lower than in 2022 or 2023.

JCR’s crew chief change from Mark Setzer, who left to join the No. 27 JAR team, to Kase Kallenbach worked out, as he was able to provide the team excellent short track and plate track setups. But to find that consistency, Clements knew that the No. 51 could no longer stay still and had to make a big move to improve things.

JCR’s biggest move ever!

And that’s exactly what he did: in the 2025 offseason, it was announced that JCR would be in a new alliance with Chevy’s brand-new team. The Haas Factory team won the 2023 Xfinity Series championship. It’s not a massive upgrade.

As Haas is also bringing RSS Racing with them from Ford. And those two have been aligned together for years. But it provides the boost they need to get the No. 51 competing with these midpack teams again and achieving consistent results.

And not the boom or bust approach we saw in 2024. “We’ve always fought hard as a single-car team, but this is a major opportunity for us, and partnering with the Haas Factory Team means a lot! We’re excited for what’s ahead,” Clements said.

“Our sponsors have always had our backs, and honestly, we wouldn’t be here without them,” Clements stated. “We’ve got a ton of sponsors to thank for making all this possible. Huge thanks to All South Electric, Alliance Driveaway Solutions, and One Stop Convenience Stores for always going above and beyond for us. We are also extremely grateful to All Weather Power Equipment, Fly and Form, First Pacific Funding, Kingdom Truck Sales, Spartan Waste, Fox Sports Spartanburg, and Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet. We couldn’t have done it without all of them. They’re the reason this partnership came together.”

This partnership is only the beginning of building up the No. 51 JCR Chevy team back to its former glory. And sneak one or a few more shock wins before Clements hangs up the wheel. Thanks a bunch for reading!