It’s been a long, strange year for Joe Nemechek, so it was not surprising to hear him talk about next season with as much enthusiasm as Tony Stewart had for the one he just completed.

Nemechek finished second behind Kurt Busch in last Sunday’s Ford 400, the NASCAR Winston Cup season finale, capping a year in which his team shut down early in the season and one in which he found a new home.

“Things are going in the right direction,” said Nemechek, who led a field-best 111 of the 267 laps during the race. Nemechek finished 34th in the series standings, 2,118 points behind Stewart.

After struggling through much of the season, Nemechek has blossomed since Peter Sospenzo was named crew chief on Sept. 10. Since then, Nemechek has earned three top-five finishes and has started five races in the first seven rows.