Team MB2 Motorsport Car/Make No. 01/Chevrolet Sponsor U.S. Army Crew Chief Ryan Pemberton
STATS	2003	CAREER
Rank	25	15*
Wins	1	3
Top 5	2	13
Top 10	6	41
DNFs	6	57
Top Finish	1 (Richmond)	1
*Indicates best career points finish

2003 recap
The good: Nemechek's season started strong as he piloted his Hendrick Motorsports-owned No. 25 Chevy to two top 10s in the season's first five races, yielding a ninth-place ranking. Nemechek won the 11th race of the year, the Spring event at Richmond International Raceway, and appeared poised for one of the best years of his career.

The bad: After winning the Spring race at Richmond, though, things went South. By the time the Series returned to race at Richmond a second time Nemechek had been fired by Hendrick Motorsports. Nemechek caught on with MB2 Motorsports, eerily by way of another driver's misfortune at Richmond (Jerry Nadeau had driven the 01 until a wreck there), and will race for them in 2004 while Nadeau runs a mixed Cup, Busch and ARCA schedule.

Key stat: 91.9. Despite driving for different car owners and not racing a full schedule, Nemechek still completed over 90 percent of the total laps run in 2003.

2004 outlook
What needs to be done: The 01 team wasn't schooling the Cup comp by any means when Nadeau got injured, but the chemistry was evolving fast and there was some serious momentum. Nemechek will need to find that kind of chemistry with the team as soon as possible.

Key change: GM is no longer supporting its Pontiac program, so the team will be moving to Chevy's. This is no big change for the driver, who ran Hendrick Chevy's in the past, but the team will need to get some cars ready fast.

Prediction: Don't look for a career season from Nemechek this year, but he could sneak into Victory Lane.

Did you know: The man they call "Front Row" Joe only has six pole positions in NASCAR's Cup Series.

Your take
Will Nemechek surprise the pundits and better his career-high 15th-place finish of 2000? Or are the odds stacked too highly against him? Share your thoughts on Nemechek's prospects for 2004.