Ryan Pemberton, a veteran of the NASCAR garage, died on Sunday. He was 54.
Pemberton most recently worked with JR Motorsports as the competition director for the NASCAR Xfinity Series program. In the decade Pemberton spent with the company, it won the driver’s championship three times – first with Chase Elliott (2014) and later with Tyler Reddick (2018 and 2019).
Much of what Pemberton will be remembered for was his time spent atop the pit box as a crew chief. Pemberton oversaw the No. 7 team at JR Motorsports in 2014 and guided Regan Smith to a victory.
“Ryan was instrumental to JR Motorsports’ success during the decade he spent with us,” Kelley Earnhardt Miller said in a statement. “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.”