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John Hunter Nemechek Smack-Talking NASCAR In-Season Challenge Foe Ty Dillon

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
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John Hunter Nemechek

Since the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge commenced at Atlanta Motor Speedway last month, Ty Dillon has scored shocking head-to-head victories over Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman in the NCAA tournament-style bracket.

But it’s not what Dillon has done — but, rather, it’s what he’s said — that’s garnered the most attention.

Among those who’ve clearly taken notice is his next In-Season Challenge foe, John Hunter Nemechek.

Ty Dillon’s In-Season Challenge Interviews Have Been The Gift That Keeps On Giving

After knocking off top-seeded Denny Hamlin at Atlanta, 32nd-seeded Ty Dillon threw comical shade at Denny Hamlin and the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s fans in a post-race interview that quickly spread across what many used to dub as the NASCAR Twitter-verse.

Then, the following weekend at the Chicago Street Course, Dillon aimed an equally playful yet provocative post-race soundbite at Brad Keselowski after eliminating the former Cup Series champion.

The colorful comments kept coming last Sunday at Sonoma, where TNT somehow failed to interview Dillon post-race on live television but the Performance Racing Network (PRN) did interview the Kaulig Racing driver on live radio.

Dillon took the opportunity to hurl a zinger not directly at Alex Bowman but at the PR department of the organization he drives for, Hendrick Motorsports, after executing a thrilling last-lap pass on Bowman to advance into the NASCAR In-Season Challenge’s version of the Final 4.

John Hunter Nemechek Has Been Giving Ty Dillon A Dose Of His Own Medicine Leading Up To Dover

The quick review of the last three weekends brings us to this Sunday’s In-Season Challenge showdown at Dover Motor Speedway. The top finisher at the Monster Mile between Dillon and John Hunter Nemechek, and the top finisher between Ty Gibbs and Tyler Reddick, will move on to the In-Season Challenge finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There, on July 27, the only two drivers left standing in the five-race Challenge will battle head-to-head for a $1 million winner’s prize.

While Dillon might not win a sportsmanship award for all of his punchy one-liners since the In-Season Challenge got underway, he’s been careful not to preemptively stir the proverbial pot with his In-Season Challenge competitors. The pattern has continued with this week, with Dillon keeping quiet on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter (X) and elsewhere ahead of the Dover race.

The same cannot be said for Nemechek, however. Rather than keep quiet and let the best man prevail this weekend, the Legacy Motor Club driver has targeted not one or even two but three X posts at Dillon. In one post, Nemechek’s 4-year-old daughter, Aspen, delivers a not-so-subtle message to Dillon by addressing Dillon’s 4-year-old son, Kapton.

You can check out all three posts below.

 

Ty Dillon Is Not Hitting Back At John Hunter Nemechek — For Now

Ty Dillon has not responded to John Hunter Nemechek on X. In fact, as of early Friday, Dillon had not posted on X since July 13, ahead of the Sonoma race. However, during his team’s prerace news release, he did talk about the challenges of running well at Dover — a track where his best finish in 11 Cup Series starts is 14th.

“I’ve always felt like opportunity given at the right time, we can really capitalize there,” Dillon said. “I’ve also had some really rough days and some decent days, so all over the map at Dover.”

Nemechek’s best result at Dover is 20th, but he’s entered just three races at the Delaware facility. Overall, Nemechek (21.3) has a better average finish at the high-banked concrete oval than Dillon (25.1).

“Qualifying is important at Dover with a pit road that is difficult,” Dillon said. “It’s hard to pass, so the opportunities are hit or miss. The track can change so much based on the conditions. That makes it important for is to unload with speed at the start of the weekend and try to not put ourselves behind early.”

If you’re keeping a prerace scorecard this week, it’s Nemechek 3, Dillon 0. But will Dillon get the last laugh against a higher-seeded driver, just as he has the past three weekends? Stay tuned.

Knowing Dillon, he probably has his next post-race zinger already cued up and ready to go. And after Nemechek’s posts on X, Dillon will no doubt be more than happy to unload if given the opportunity.

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
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