John Hunter Nemechek reveals a strange but helpful kids' activity he practices to keep himself calm between NASCAR sessions

John Hunter Nemechek has revealed that he practices a unique and efficient kids' activity, coloring, to stay calm between racing weekends. He has indicated that coloring before the NASCAR sessions helps calm him down and clear his head in a time of race weekend pressure and intensity.

So far in 2025, John Hunter Nemechek has not won a race or earned a pole position in his 21 NASCAR Cup Series starts. His best race finish so far this year is fifth, which came at the season-opener at Daytona in February.

Ahead of the next race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, John Hunter Nemechek was spotted coloring in the pit lane. The strategy, suggested to him by his sports psychologist, crew chief, Travis Mack and his team of supporters, was designed to keep him relaxed in high-pressure moments. The team explained it is easy to hyper-analyse the data provided and "overthink" the details of race day.

Instead, Nemechek is using coloring as a tool to remain grounded and keep them from overthinking or stressing out. He thanked his crew chief for being a tremendous support system all year and for helping them find the strategies that best worked to stay calm and execute. When asked about his coloring activity, he said (via NASCAR):

"Yeah, I'm just coloring something that Sports psych and Travis kind of come up with that. Keep me calm during practice or post-practice going into qualifying not trying to overanalyze Data and hyper focus on something so something that has really helped me through this year. Travis has been a tremendous help to me through the year and Trying to figure out what works for us. So yeah, the theme is yellow shirts this weekend for Indy."

Hunter Nemechek’s use of coloring showcases how athletes over time have preferred to prioritise calmness to maintain peak condition during competition.

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John Hunter Nemechek's playful dig at Ty Dillon during Round 4 NASCAR In-Season Challenge

John Hunter Nemechek took a clever dig at Ty Dillon before the latter's head-to-head competition in Round 4 of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge at Dover. The playful exchange stemmed from a recent interview where Dillon praised the Hendrick Motorsports PR team after his last-lap move against Alex Bowman at Sonoma Raceway, which helped him advance in the challenge.

Nemechek replied to Dillon's comment on X about the "glass slipper fitting one last time". He wrote:

"Key word: last."

Both drivers have been surprising contenders in the tournament, with Dillon knocking off high-profile opponents such as Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Bowman, while Nemechek eliminated Josh Berry, Chase Elliott, and Erik Jones.

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Edited by Sumeet Kavthale