When the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series field takes the green at Naval Base Coronado, history will be made. Jeremy Clements, driving his own No. 51 Chevrolet Camaro, will take over the record for the most series starts all time.
Clements will make his 548th career start, earning himself the impressive feat. In 548 starts spanning 21 different seasons, Clements has earned two wins, seven top-5s, 44 top-10s, and a career best points finish of 12th on four separate occasions.
“It will be a hell of a milestone,” Clements said to Jayski’s Silly Season Site. “To beat Kenny Wallace, he’s had that record for [11] years now, so it’s a hard record to beat. [Eleven] years is a long time to hold something. I raced with Kenny and all the guys that we’ve passed with the starts. Just to be able to keep going at this point – I’m only 41 – Kenny was 51 when he broke it.”
In order to achieve this record, Clements has been full-time every season since 2011. Since the 2010 season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway, the 41-year old has only missed two races.
For a new record to be broken, an old record must be surpassed. Nine-time winner Kenny Wallace will have held the all time starts record for 15 years. The 62-year old expected to be passed at some point, but did not expect Clements to be the one to pass him.
“I didn’t think that the Clements family was going to have enough money to keep going because the sport was getting so expensive,” Wallace told Jayski. “That’s why I admire the Clements family, because they are still going. Most people would have given up by now. I had Justin Allgaier penciled in to pass me.”
Assuming Allgaier stays full-time, the 40-year old will also pass Wallace in the 11th race of the 2027 NOAPS season.
In the past decades, racing has become so much more dependent on funding. Multiple other small, family owned teams such as Brandonbilt Motorsports, Jimmy Means Racing, and JD Motorsports have shut down in recent years due to a lack of funding.
“I’ve raced my whole life, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon,” Clements said to Jayski. “The hardest part about all of this is keeping it funded. The racing part is the easiest for me. I love it, so that’s why I keep doing it. The money is the hard part.”
Clements will turn 42-years-old heading into the 2027 NOAPS season. Wallace was 51-years-old when he broke the record for himself. As long as he is financially able to, Clements intends to set an “unbeatable” starts record.
Like the veterans of Allgaier and Denny Hamlin in the NASCAR Cup Series, the driver-owner is having his best season in several years. He earned his first top-5 since 2022 at Talladega Superspeedway, earned his first top-10 on an intermediate track since 2021, and currently sits 19th in points after points finishes of 20th and 21st the past two seasons.
