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 In NASCAR’s early days, a man by the name of Crawford Clements wrenched on the cars of drivers like Fireball Roberts, Junior Johnson, Buck Baker and Wendell Scott.
Working as a mechanic and engine builder, Clements became one of the most respected men in the NASCAR garages. In the 1970’s, Clements left the NASCAR circuit to build motors for local and regional series’ drivers. Now, another Clements is making his mark on NASCAR: Crawford’s grandson Jeremy Clements.
At 24-years-old, young Clements has worked his way up to the NASCAR Nationwide Series from the go-kart he began racing when he was only seven years old. Along the way, he has been behind the wheel of stock four cylinders, dirt late models and more. In 2003, at the age of 18, Clements was the youngest person in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (then the Busch Grand National Series) field at Pikes Peak where he made his Series debut. After being caught up in an accident, Clements ended up 31st but knew he would race again in NASCAR’s number two series. However, fate dealt him a very unlucky blow the following year when he was racing a dirt late model in North Carolina. The driveshaft on his car broke, shot into the cockpit of the car and tore through Clements’ right hand. His 2004 season was over and he was on the long road to recovery. Mid-way through the 2005 season, after more than eight surgeries, he was cleared to drive again. The first few years after his injury, Clements focused on dirt late models and the ARCA Series before attempting his 2nd Nationwide Series event in 2007. He ended up running in five Nationwide races that year with a best finish of 23rd. The following year he ran two more and last season he managed to start in 12 events. In the Copart 300 at Fontana in October, Clements drove his way to a new career-best finish of 12th in the No. 0 Saxon Group/SponsorDavis.com Chevrolet for JD Motorsports. While he is still looking for a full-time ride, Clements has overcome all the odds to prove that he belongs in NASCAR.  MORE NASCAR NEWS
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