Guest Post from Jason Watson, a dedicated fan

 

       The season is now over and the 33rd and final chapter of the 7th volume of the NASCAR Nationwide Series has been written.  Jeremy Clements Racing finished strong with a P13 at Homestead with the NEVER GIVE UP attitude.  The season was filled with 33 races of ups and downs.   The heartbreak of the Talladega crash with five laps to go that may very well ended up in a Top 5 if not a win.  I think one could hear the loudness of the cheers in JUGNation as Jeremy charged to the front in those final laps and then the deafening silence fall over all of us as we worried about Jeremy after the crash and the disappointment of what might have been and then not to mention weeks later the needless accident at Kentucky.   But then there were the Highs of two Top 10s in three week period.  A career best P6 finish at Elkhart Lake (Road America) and a P8 at Daytona in July that propelled the 51 into the first round of the Nationwide Dash 4 Cash at New Hampshire and a P11 at Phoenix in the last weeks, basically without any brakes.  This season to date is Jeremy’s best year in the Nationwide Series with only 2 DNFs (really only one if you take out Talladega) and best average finishing position for a season. This performance led to another Top 15 in the driver point standings and the way I see it if you take out the High Cost of Racing or Inflation so speak or maybe just Sprint Cup dollars, Jeremy finished in the Top 3 as a true single car team.

           So all of us that follow JCR know what an uphill battle these guys fight week in and week out. From a small crew to limited budget and older technology, yet they still have the never yield attitude every week.  How do they do this?  With the help of some great sponsors: Repairable Vehicles, Merit Pro,  All South Electrical Constructors, Inc., Value Lighting, Inc.,  Diamond Pistons, Graham and Turner Grading , Morristown Lumber , ANP Lighting,  St. Clair Foods , Crescent Services , BRT Extrusions,  and  the associate sponsors - Robert Ianuario, Curry's Roofing, Coca-Cola of Spartanburg, Carolina Driveline, Safety Kleen,  and Cometic Gasket as they are valuable part of this team.

    What else makes this 750 horsepower powerhouse team run?   It is you the fans.  What a great idea with the Indiegogo Crowd Funding  program that allowed fans to be apart of Team JCR.  Jeremy and Team also give back to the community by Remembering Veterans and fans in riding along with Team 51 throughout the year; honoring Wayne Chapman and the South Carolina ALS Foundation;  #DrivingWithHeroes, remembering Canadian soldiers – Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo; The USS James E Williams (DDG95);  and Racing for a Cause.   Not to mention the fans catapulted Jeremy, aka #TheFansMan, into a Top 5 finish in the NNS most popular driver vote.  What an accomplishment!

           What’s next?  Jeremy and the crew get some much needed time off, but will also be working hard toward the start of the 2015 season.   Granted the daunting task to go up against bigger budgets and newer technology every week will be still there but this team has the desire and talent to do it. The “doing more with less” most definitely defines Team 51.  What can we do as fans in the off season?  Continue to talk about JCR to co-workers, family and friends and tell them what great people there are in this organization and how their business, cause or name would look awesome on the 51 car next year.   Who wouldn’t want to be apart of this Team when JCR wins their first race?  

           The future is bright for JCR.  2015 brings a new series sponsor in Xfinity and the points set back to zero starting at Daytona in 95 days.  So to all have a Great and Safe Holiday Season!!!!!   #SeeYouUpFront  #BumperDoorClearOn2014   #TheFansMan   #51n’15

Disclaimer - I am not a writer nor even a blogger so if I left anyone or anything out my apologies.  I’m just an avid NASCAR fan but moreover a passionate JCR fan.  
                       
                                                        Thank You!
                                                                  Jason Watson

Why I'm voting #TheFansMan for NNS MPD

Most would immediately comment that I'm voting for Jeremy as NASCAR Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver - "Because you work for him."  Well, yah, that's true.  But even if I didn't work for JCR, I'd be voting everyday for Jeremy.

My relationship with Jeremy, JCR and of course "Aunt Phyll" started back in 2010.  My youngest son Ricky runs an international awareness campaign called Racing for a Cause.  He wanted to host a fundraiser in 2011 at an indoor karting facility and invite local racers and NASCAR drivers to come to race with the community.  We were lucky to get some great local racers and ARCA drivers to come.  But the only NASCAR driver who offered to attend, volunteering his time, was a NNS rookie - Jeremy Clements.


That event was the start of a really cool relationship between Jeremy and my son.  I believe you can judge a lot about a person from the way he interacts with kids.  If you were to ask my son to tell you about his hero, you would see his eyes light right up and his chest puff out with pride as he tells you all about Jeremy - including the year that Jeremy spent a few hours racing with him online for his birthday (and how he "beat" Jeremy racing online at Bristol.)  Jeremy has continued to support Ricky and his program,
becoming the National Spokesperson for Racing for a Cause.


Over the years I have had the opportunity to see Jeremy interact with his fans, and do all kinds of stuff for others that doesn't get shared publically.  I have seen him on his way to pit road for Driver Intros stop and kneel down to talk to a young boy who wants his autograph and ask him some questions;  notice a bunch of kids looking through the fence at AMS and walk over to sign autographs and let them hold his helmet; share the story of his racing injury with a child hospitalized after a bicycle accident and give him hope;  offer to a complete stranger to honor his nephew who passed away by putting the child's name on his racecar; happily volunteer to go and visit kids at Children's Hospitals; offer race tickets to fans who had never attended a race; and so much more that it would take me hours to post.  Everything he does for others isn't for any other reason than to make someone's day a little bit better and a little bit brighter.  And that speaks volumes about the person he is.

I am honored to be part of JCR and volunteer my time, alongside Aunt Phyll, to support Jeremy.  I give because he gives.  To me, and my son, he is absolutely #TheFansMan and totally deserving of the title of NNS Most Popular Driver!

You can share your stories with JCR and fans on Facebook.

TO VOTE FOR JEREMY AS NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES MOST POPULAR DRIVER, 
go to nascar.com/mostpopulardriver

Be Part of the Jeremy Clements Racing Team - Just how does this work?

As fans have seen over the last few weeks on social media, Jeremy Clements Racing's marketing partners launched a crowd funding campaign through Indiegogo, to raise funds to support Jeremy and the team be competitive in the NASCAR Nationwide Series - which will eventually pave the way for Jeremy to reach his ultimate goal and race in the Sprint Cup Series.  But for now, we need to get Jeremy and the No. 51 to victory lane.

As we all know, racing at any level costs money and to race in NNS it costs 3-5 MILLION dollars a year to be competitive.  I'd say we are definitely holding our own considering we race with less than a quarter of that budget a year.  But we are certainly at a disadvantage when we roll the No. 51 out of the hauler at the track each week.

We constantly hear from fans on how they wish they could help.  Most recently a fan shared with us that she and her mom were selling candy bars to raise money to support Jeremy.  So then was born the idea that by setting up the Indiegogo campaign, fans could support Jeremy with what they could afford and at the end, when all added up, we would have some money to help Jeremy be more competitive.

So here is how this whole idea of crowd funding works:

We start with our 11,000 + fans on Facebook.  If each fan gave $10.00, we would be at $110,000 in the blink of an eye.  However, due to Facebook's crazy way of doing things, on average only 2,000 of our fans even see our posts. 

That is where YOU come in.  Maybe you can give $10.00 (or more), but maybe you can't, and we certainly understand that.  But you CAN still support Jeremy by sharing our posts about the campaign on your page, with all your family and friends, and asking them to share it with their family and friends, etc.  Next thing you know, we are reaching over a Million people on Facebook.  If just 5,000 of those who see our campaign give a minimum of $10.00, we will reach our goal!  And let's not forget Twitter and the opportunity there to reach another million people!

For those who are able to donate to the campaign, there are also some fun perks.  Jeremy has been giving shoutouts via Twitter to all donors.  If you can give $25.00 or more, we will put your name on the No. 51 Chevy for one of any of the remaining races this year, of your choice (starting with Atlanta).  For those who can give $500.00 or more, you can come hang out at a race of your choice (2014 season), in the garage and pits with Jeremy and the Team.  Be sure to check out the Indiegogo page for more details.



We all love #TheFansMan.  Let's team up and get behind him!  Just think, $50,000 can buy 25 sets of tires....that alone will help make Jeremy more competitive and give him a shot at taking the No. 51 to Victory Lane!

GET STARTED AND SHARE THIS BLOG POST!!!

Be Part of the Jeremy Clements Racing Team
http://www.igg.me/at/jcr

Clements' fingerprints in the NASCAR Hall of Fame

With this past weekend being an off week for the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Jeremy Clements Racing, I decided to take a road trip to visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame with my son.  This would be our first visit to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Before we even entered the front doors, I saw the "fingerprints" of the Clements family.  There in the window was Buck Baker's 1957 Chevrolet, with the names of Jeremy's grandfather, Crawford Clements, and great uncle, Louis Clements, on the front fender. 

Most fans are not aware of the role the Clements brothers played in the early days of NASCAR.  I'll admit, until the off season when I began working on a story of the Clements' history in racing, I didn't even realize the extent of their contributions to the sport.  The Clements brothers played an important part in making NASCAR what it is today, with their innovative "out of the box" thinking when working on an engine or chassis, helping to create cowl induction to reduce engine temperatures, and even minor things like introducing crew uniforms.  During their careers they worked with some of the greats, including Rex White, Buck Baker, Junior Johnson, A.J. Foyt, Bud Moore, Cotton Owens,  Bobby Issac and others.   As I walked through many of the interactive displays, I could see the Clements' fingerprints on so many aspects of what makes the sport so great today.

Rex White

I had the unexpected opportunity to meet and talk with 2015 Hall of Fame Inductee Rex White, who was there posing for pictures with his 1962 Chevy Impala.  

Rex White and Louis Clements

 
Louis Clements was business partners with Rex White in White and Clements Garage.  Clements was also White's crew chief when he won the 1960 Championship. White has shared mutliple times over the years how he and Clements "were a force to be reckoned with."   White also credits Clements with helping come up with the famous gold color scheme for the No. 4 Chevrolet, by mixing clear enamel and gold dust.



While our coversation was brief, White took the time to share with me that he believed one day the Clements brothers would be in the Hall of Fame as well, as Champion Crew Chiefs.

An "Off-Week" Doesn't Mean a Week Off

Some people may think that because it is an Off-Week for the NASCAR Nationwide Series, that those who work for the race teams get a week off.   We actually prefer to look at it as a "breather" - a chance to catch our breath and prepare for the next few weeks. And there is always lots of work to be done at Jeremy Clements Racing.

Dover car

For the Team, they spent last week tearing down chassis JCR-247 after the wreck in Talladega and determining what was salvageable.  From there, they moved on to preparing the cars for the upcoming races...chassis JCR-1192 for Iowa and chassis JCR-127 for Dover, as well as preparing the motors.

For Phyllis (JCR PR) and I, it was a week with some extra hours in the day to work on projects that end up getting pushed aside during race weeks.  Time to catalog photos; time to update the website and other media accounts; time to send out hero cards and fan club packages; and time to work on other special upcoming projects.  We can always find something buried on our desks that needs attention!

And for Jeremy, it provided him a week to recuperate from the Talladega wreck and grumble about how much he hates "off-weeks", as he worked side by side with the guys in the shop.

We will have another "breather" after Dover before taking on the next consecutive 18 weeks of crisscrossing the country to race.  

We'll get our "Off-Week" when the season is over - and spend the entire time wishing next season to start!

The "Emotional" 312 - From the Stands

I think the word “emotional” is an understatement for how I felt on Saturday at the conclusion of the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway.  And after reading comments all day on social media yesterday from JCR fans, I think they would agree.  Saturday was a wild roller coaster of emotion.

On Saturday morning I jumped in the car with my son, so excited heading to Talladega Superspeedway for the Aaron’s 312.  The Team had unloaded chassis JCR-247, the superspeedway car, sporting a brand new motor for the weekend.  The Team was calling her “a Cadillac”.   Word from the track was that the Team was elated, walking through the garage area with a hop in their steps and a smile on their faces.  Even Jeremy Clements had tweeted, for the first time ever since his career start in NNS that he was “Going for the W!”  Provided we could miss “The Big One”, we had a real chance to get a win this weekend.  For our small, family owned, underfunded team, everything was right for a change and the excitement that a win was within reach was palatable.

Not needed in the pits this weekend, my son and I took our seats in the Tri-Oval Tower.  Great seats to see the whole track, and right across from the JCR pit box.   I am a true fan, dressed head to toe in my JCR Fan gear, with my radio on so I can hear Jeremy and Team during the race.   At the conclusion of the prayer before the start of the race, I added my own – that God would watch over Jeremy and the team.   I’ll admit, I tossed in “and a win would be great” at the end of that prayer.

On the very first lap, Jeremy took the No. 51 All South Electric / BRT Extrusions Chevrolet from a starting position of 33^rd to 10^th place.  I whipped my camera out as fast as I could to get a picture of the scoring tower!  He quickly fell back, keeping a close eye on the water temperatures.  Half way through the race, Jeremy started to move.  He apparently liked the middle lane, because that’s where he stayed most of the time. 

 

It got tense in the second half of the race.  Watching the No. 51 moving up, then back, like a yo-yo.  Up to 10^th, back to 15^th; up to 11^th, back to 13^th; up to 8^th, back to 12^th; and on it went, as it normally does in restrictor plate racing.  

The No. 51 running in 9th on lap 91

I’ve been a NASCAR fan most of my life, and have cheered on my favorite driver for years, but this was different.  This time it was “my” team.  This time I was cheering for the underdog; the little Team that could.   I was sitting on the edge of my seat, hands clasped, holding my breath most of the time.  My son couldn’t stay seated, standing most of the time with his hands clenched behind his head.   On lap 104, the scoring tower showed Jeremy running in 6^th.   Almost there!  The reality that Jeremy just may get that win brought tears to my eyes. 

Then it happened with 5 laps to go… The No. 51, running in 8^th,  got turned and shot head on into the outside wall, bouncing off the wall like a ping pong ball right back down the track.   My heart stopped.  Listening to the spotter trying to get Jeremy to respond and the silence that followed.  What was likely only a few seconds felt like an eternity, before we heard he got out of the car.   I was somewhat relieved, but still concerned if he was ok after a hit like that.  While the race was red flagged, the team started packing up and the radio went silent.  Now we had to rely on NASCAR and MRN to let us know if Jeremy really was ok.  Even my husband, watching the race on TV with friends, stayed in contact with me via text as we waited to hear something.  As the race went back to green, I turned to see tears running down my son’s face from behind his sunglasses.   “Why won’t anyone say anything about Jeremy, if he is ok!”  he said.

We were almost to back to the car, when we finally got word, thanks to a tweet by Chris Knight from Catchfence.com, that Jeremy had been released from the in-field care center. What a rush of relief! Since we were stuck in parking lot traffic anyway, I pulled out my phone and got to work reassuring fans that Jeremy was ok.  Hundreds of tweets and messages had poured in immediately following the wreck from fans that were just as frantic as I was to get word Jeremy was ok.

Heading home that night I heard from Jeremy via text, letting us know he is ok, just badly bruised and very sore.  

I have never watched, or been to, a race that has been so emotional for me, my own family, and I suspect from all the tweets and messages, so many other fans.   It took me an entire day on the couch to recover from the wave of emotions I had on Saturday.  But things are looking brighter for the JCR Team, so likely we will have more emotional races to come this season.  And I’m ready and excited!

 

privilege (noun):  something regarded as a rare opportunity and bringing particular pleasure

 

My name is Julie Springer, and I have the privilege of overseeing Social Media, Digital Communications, and assisting with Public Relations for Jeremy Clements Racing.  I say “privilege” because in all honesty, that is exactly what it is.  It is not just a job.  It’s not a stepping stone in the industry or a position to list on my resume.  It’s an incredible opportunity given to me by great people.

I met Jeremy in 2011, when he attended a charity event my son and I were hosting.  Immediately he bonded with my son and has since been a role model for him.  Shortly thereafter, I met his family and the rest of the race team, who welcomed me into their fold and into their family.

I started helping JCR part time almost 2 years ago, volunteering my time to help them with sponsorship. In  July 2013 left my full time position to work full time for the Team.  I may not be driving a brand new expensive car on my simple pay, but this job is worth more than my paycheck.  I get to work for people who are honest and have integrity; who never stray from their core values or faith; who have hopes and dreams of success in the industry; and who refuse to give up. And most importantly, appreciate everyone who works to support them and the Team.

I look forward to the opportunity to take you “Inside Jeremy Clements Racing”, from my perspective and share with you why it is a privilege to be part of this Team.