The NASCAR family lost another member this week, as Ryan Pemberton passed away on Sunday at the age of 54.
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Pemberton, who spent many years in the sport, including on the pit box for several years, most recently worked for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at JR Motorsports.
He served as the competition director for the NASCAR Xfinity Series team, according to Kelly Crandall from Racer.com.
In the 10 years Pemberton spent at JR Motorsports, the team won three driver championships. The first was with Chase Elliott in 2014, before William Byron and Tyler Reddick won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018.
While that was a memorable part of his work in NASCAR, Pemberton spent plenty of time atop the pit box as well, serving as the crew chief for the No. 7 team at JR Motorsports in 2014, and guiding Regan Smith to a victory that season.
Kelly Earnhardt-Miller reflected on the hard work and dedication Ryan gave to JR Motorsports in a statement on social media wishing his family well during such a difficult time.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Pemberton family. pic.twitter.com/Zu7kXIwyPz
— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) January 15, 2024
"Ryan Pemberton was instrumental to JR Motorsports' success during the decade he spent with us," Earnhardt-Miller wrote. "He had such a passion for competition and, as a leader, knew how to motivate everyone he worked with. He will always be part of the JRM family. Our hearts go out to his wife Andrea and daughters Payton and Britton during this tremendously difficult time."
His success in NASCAR wasn't in the Xfinity Series alone, as he was also atop the pit box at the Cup Level and worked with plenty of talented drivers. That included two wins as a Cup crew chief with Joe Nemechek in 2004 and Brian Vickers in 2009.
Pemberton worked with Derrike Cope, Ernie Irvan, Jerry Nadeau, Dave Blaney and Mark Martin throughout his 561 Cup races as a crew chief. The most famous of which was the 2007 Daytona 500, when Martin lost by mere inches to Kevin Harvick.
Ryan's family has long had a presence in NASCAR as his older brother Robin is a former vice president of competition for NASCAR, and brother Randy was a television broadcaster in the sport.
The news of Ryan's passing has only made things harder for the family, as they previously lost Randy in 2022 and Robin's son Bray in 2021. It's been such a rough few years for a family that has given so much to NASCAR. Thankfully, the NASCAR community will be sure to give its support to the grieving Pemberton family.
