Though he was able to hang on to sixth, Nemire admitted that he made one mistake that nearly cost him.
“On the last lap, I got pretty loose and almost spun, so I thought we were gonna be screwed … but we ended up hanging around fifth for pretty much the entire day before (Jacob) Wilson went out right at the end and beat us. To hang on to sixth and to be as lucky as we did when we went out when there was still a little bit of heat in the track was pretty cool.”
When it comes to race day on Saturday, Nemire said that even though a fast qualifying effort is nice, it doesn’t necessarily mean much because of the variables that can spring up over the course of 500 laps.
“Like I’ve told everyone, (qualifying well) really doesn’t mean much. Sixth is cool or whatever, but until you can finish 500 laps that doesn’t matter.”
“You could qualify first or you could qualify 33rd and still have a chance of winning it. It’s all about the end of 500 laps. It does help being up at the front to start, because you can stay out of the way for a little while. It does make it easier in that sense.”
Nemire’s biggest asset so far has been teammate and two-time Little 500 pole winner Aaron Pierce, someone who he has leaned heavily on in the weeks leading up to the big race.
“When we came out here a couple months ago and I got into a 410 for the first time, I only like made 20 laps… so yesterday to go into the last practice session with (Aaron) helped a lot. He’s obviously given me a good car, so all the experience I’ve had up to now helps and I can promise you, I’ll probably get a few more pointers before we turn 500 laps.”
So what would the young rookie consider a successful run on Saturday night?
“I’m hoping for a top 10, but if you can finish all 500 laps … more often than not that will put you in the top 10 at the end of the day. I’m excited; we’ll see what happens!”
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: news@racechaseronline.com
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