Jeremy Clements Bio
Jeremy Wayne Clements, born on January 16, 1985, is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 51 Chevrolet Camaro SS for his family-owned team, Jeremy Clements Racing. Over more than two decades in the sport, Clements has built a reputation as a determined independent competitor, highlighted by two Xfinity Series victories and a long list of hard-earned top-ten finishes.
The son of Tony Clements, owner of Clements Racing Engines, Jeremy grew up immersed in the mechanical and competitive sides of short-track racing. Despite a devastating injury early in his career, he rebuilt his program from the ground up and has remained a fixture in NASCAR’s national touring ranks.
Early Life and Background
Jeremy Wayne Clements was born on January 16, 1985, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. A native of the region, he grew up around engines and race shops thanks to his father Tony Clements, who runs Clements Racing Engines. That family connection gave Jeremy an early understanding of both the driving and mechanical sides of the sport.
Clements began his racing career at the age of eight, competing in go-karts. By 1999, he had moved on to four-cylinder cars, racing in both the Modified and Stock Series at Thunder Valley Speedway and Cherokee Speedway. Over the next three seasons, he accumulated 55 feature wins and two track championships, establishing himself as one of the Southeast’s most promising young short-track talents.
Path to NASCAR
In 2002, Clements advanced to the Late Model division, where he won nine overall races and captured the championship at Cherokee Speedway. That same year, he made his ARCA Series debut at Talladega Superspeedway, starting sixth and finishing seventeenth in the No. 3 Chevrolet. He continued splitting time between Late Models and ARCA over the next several seasons, sharpening the skills that would eventually carry him to NASCAR’s national series.
On July 24, 2004, Clements suffered a serious injury at 311 Speedway in North Carolina. A broken driveshaft pierced the cockpit and severely damaged his right hand, requiring nine hours of surgery at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. The recovery included ten additional procedures, including a skin graft that temporarily attached his hand to his hip and bone grafts taken from his hip. After more than a year of rehabilitation, he returned to the cockpit on July 10, 2005, testing a Late Model at Thunder Valley Speedway.
Jeremy Clements Career
Early Career (2002-2006)
Following his return from injury, Clements resumed his climb through the ARCA Re/Max Series. In 2006, he ran ten ARCA races in Ken Appling’s No. 3 Chevrolet, earning four top-ten finishes, including three consecutive top-fives. His performances during this stretch also caught the attention of General Motors, which selected him to participate in a three-track test with Richard Childress Racing.
Clements made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in 2003 at Pikes Peak International Raceway, driving the No. 71 Chevrolet for Young Racing. He started 35th and finished 31st after an early crash, beginning a long and patient path toward consistent national-series results.
Xfinity Series Breakthrough (2007-2017)
Clements returned to the Xfinity Series in 2007, signing with McGill Motorsports for the final five races of the season in the No. 36 Chevrolet. Over the next several years, he split time between his family-owned No. 50 team and partnerships with JD Motorsports, steadily improving his results. In 2010, he earned his first career top-ten finish at Gateway International Raceway, crossing the line tenth and leading six laps along the way.
After running a full 34-race schedule in 2011 and finishing fifteenth in points, Clements continued to grind away at the Xfinity level. He posted his first top-five finish in 2016, placing fourth at Talladega Superspeedway. The breakthrough came in 2017, when he won the Johnsonville 180 at Road America after a last-lap incident with Matt Tifft. That victory made Clements the first independent Xfinity Series driver to win a race since David Gilliland at Kentucky in 2006.
Jeremy Clements Racing Era (2018-Present)
Since 2018, Clements has continued to build Jeremy Clements Racing into one of the most respected independent operations in the Xfinity garage. He has finished inside the top twenty in points in nearly every full season, including a career-best twelfth-place result in 2021, when he scored eight top-ten finishes and qualified for the playoffs on points.
In 2022, Clements captured his second career victory, winning the Wawa 250 at Daytona after a dramatic overtime finish. Although an L2 penalty initially threatened his playoff eligibility, an appeal panel overturned the punishment in September, allowing him to compete in the postseason. He has since remained a regular contender for top-fifteenth and top-twentieth finishes each year.
Driving Style and Strengths
Clements is widely regarded as a smooth, consistent driver who excels on road courses and demanding intermediate tracks. His willingness to log long runs and preserve equipment has made him a frequent threat at venues like Road America, Watkins Glen, and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. That patience has been especially valuable given the resources of a single-car, family-run operation competing against multi-car organizations.
Notable Races and Milestones
Clements’ two career Xfinity wins, at Road America in 2017 and Daytona in 2022, bookend more than two decades of national-series competition. In 2025, he made his 500th Xfinity Series start at Circuit of the Americas, joining a small group of drivers to reach that milestone. Along the way, he has also scored memorable results at Talladega, where he earned his first top-five in 2016, and at Road America, where he has produced several of his strongest runs.
Jeremy Clements Career Wins
Jeremy Clements has recorded two NASCAR Xfinity Series victories across his career. Both wins came in dramatic late-race fashion, with the first at Road America in 2017 and the second at Daytona in 2022. Together, they represent the cornerstone achievements of one of the most resilient independent teams in the garage.
Xfinity Series Highlights
Clements opened his Xfinity win account at the Johnsonville 180 at Road America in 2017, capitalizing on contact with Matt Tifft in the closing laps. Five years later, he added the Wawa 250 at Daytona, winning in overtime under the lights. That second victory initially came with an L2 penalty for an illegal intake manifold, but the team successfully appealed, preserving both the win and his playoff eligibility.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond his Xfinity success, Clements scored his only ARCA Series victory on August 11, 2007, at Nashville Superspeedway, leading 48 laps from the second starting position. He also collected numerous Late Model wins and championships at short tracks in South Carolina, including a Late Model title at Cherokee Speedway in 2002.
Jeremy Clements Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Clements is the son of Tony Clements, a longtime engine builder and the owner of Clements Racing Engines. That family business has been central to Jeremy Clements Racing, providing the in-house preparation that has allowed the single-car team to remain competitive in the Xfinity Series for years.
Personal Life
A native of Spartanburg, South Carolina, Clements has spent much of his life around the short tracks of the Southeast. He continues to operate Jeremy Clements Racing as a family-led effort, with his father Tony playing a key role in the team’s engine and chassis programs.
2025 Season Performance
Clements opened the 2025 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season with a ninth-place finish at Daytona, and was also awarded an extra point for posting the Xfinity Fastest Lap of the race. That strong start set the tone for a season built on consistency rather than headline-grabbing results.
At Circuit of the Americas, Clements made his 500th career Xfinity Series start, becoming just the fourth driver in series history to reach that mark. He went on to record four top-ten finishes across the year, with road-course and superspeedway events continuing to be his strongest venues. He closed the season twenty-first in the final standings.
Looking ahead, Clements remains committed to Jeremy Clements Racing and the No. 51 Chevrolet Camaro SS program. With two career wins and more than 500 series starts to his name, he continues to be a benchmark for independent teams competing at the national level of NASCAR.