jnemechek

John Hunter Nemechek led a race high 50-laps and won the opening two stages of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway but got caught up in “the big one” while challenging for the win in the closing laps and ended the day with a disappointing 24th-place finish.

In addition to two playoff points, with the 20 stage points he earned Nemechek leaves Daytona seventh in the driver point standings despite his finish.

Stage One Recap

·        Nemechek started the NextEra Energy 250 on the front row in the second position beside ThorSport Racing driver Ty Majeski.

·        As the field took the green flag, Nemechek jumped down to the bottom lane to get help from his Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) teammate Chandler Smith who started the race in the third position.

·        On lap eight, Nemechek communicated to the No. 4 team that his Toyota Tundra TRD Pro was “tight all the way around” but still would maintain his second position.

·        Just five laps later, Nemechek came over the radio saying that he had the opposite problem as he was starting to become a little free exiting Turn 4.

·        Despite handling issues, Nemechek took the lead late in Stage One and would go on to win his first stage of the season.

Stage Two Recap:

·        Nemechek brought his Pye-Barker Tundra TRD Pro down pit road at the stage break and received fuel and a chassis adjustment.

·        The second-generation driver led the field to the green in Stage Two and would remain out front until Lap 30 when the top lane started to form and make a run, dropping Nemechek back to third.

·        With just four laps left in Stage Two, Nemechek jumped up to the top lane in front of KBM teammate Chandler Smith with help behind them.

·        As Nemechek and Smith controlled the top lane, Tyler Ankrum and Derek Kraus got loose on the bottom lane, forfeiting the lead back to the No. 4 team.

·        As the field came out of Turn 4, Nemechek was forced to block both lanes as ThorSport Racing driver Ben Rhodes had a run in the top lane.

·        Nemechek and Rhodes raced back to the line, but Nemechek ultimately beat out Rhodes by a narrow margin for his second stage win of the night.

Final Stage Recap:

·        The second-generation driver brought his No. 4 Toyota back down pit road and would restart the final stage in third.

·        Just past the midway point in the race, Nemechek would regain the lead from Halmar Friesen Racing driver Stewart Friesen.

·        On lap 65, the third caution of the race came out for an incident on the backstretch and brought the field back down pit road. Nemechek and the No. 4 team would hold their first position on the restart with just 33 laps remaining in the NextEra Energy 250.

·        As the race was winding down, a four-truck incident in Turn 4 brought out the fifth caution of the night as Nemechek was in front of the field.

·        On the restart, the bottom lane would fall back in the draft, forcing Nemechek to forfeit the lead to Ben Rhodes.

·        As the field was coming to the line on Lap 99, Nemechek was running third but would be involved in a 17-truck incident as the No. 16 would spin out in front of him causing severe right-front damage.

·        The No. 4 team worked to repair the Pye-Barker Tundra and sent Nemechek back out to finish the race two laps down in the 24th-position.

John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 Pye-Barker Tundra TRD Pro for KBM:

Talk about your race.

“I felt like I controlled the race. There were times when we were second, third, just kind of riding in line waiting for the right time to make a move. I gained a whole new respect for speedway racing after listening to Denny (Hamlin) and kind of studying some of the things that he’s done, what (Brad) Keselowski has done, what Kyle (Busch) has done, what (Joey) Logano’s done. They are some good guys at speedway racing, and I studied how they are always at the front. I worked my butt off last year studying and I feel like it has paid off. We won both stages and put ourselves in the right positing there at the end. I had Parker (Kligerman) behind me, I was committed to the 16 there for a bit and then Parker I feel like was committed to me and we just wrecked in the tri-oval. It is was it is, we put ourselves into contention and that’s all you can do. The last two superspeedway races I’ve felt like we’ve had the best truck and controlled the race, really.”

NextEra Energy 250 Recap

·        Zane Smith picked up the fourth win of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career. Ben Rhodes, Christian Eckes, Tanner Gray, and Parker Kligerman rounded out the top-five finishers.

·        There were seven cautions for 27 laps. There were 18 lead changes among 10 drivers, including Nemechek who led a race high 50 laps.

How John Hunter Nemechek's KBM Teammates Fared:

·        Chandler Smith, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished 21st.

·        Corey Heim, driver of the No. 51 Toyota, finished 32nd.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship Standings

Despite being caught in “The Big One,” Nemechek still sits in seventh in the Driver Championship Standings, just 13 tallies behind points leader, Zane Smith. Nemechek also collected two playoff points with his stage wins.

Next Race

John Hunter Nemechek came into Friday night’s championship race looking to capture his first-ever NASCAR championship. After qualifying 16^th, Nemechek knew he would have work to do as he started behind the other three Championship 4 contenders. As the field went green, Nemechek sustained damage on the opening lap in Turn One which would eventually lead to a flat tire and more damage to the No. 4 Pye-Barker Tundra.

The damage from the opening lap set Nemechek back the remainder of the race as he battled to get back on the lead lap. With 50 laps remaining, Nemechek finally got the caution flag he was looking for to put him back on the lead lap and a chance to chase down the other championship contenders. The second-generation driver began to work his way through the field and was able to pass Matt Crafton and put himself third in the championship race.

While Nemechek worked his way within three seconds of eventual champion Ben Rhodes, he would ultimately run out of time and cross the finish line in seventh, putting him third in the championship standings behind Ben Rhodes and Zane Smith.

Stage One Recap

·        Nemechek qualified 16^th for the Lucas Oil 150 with a lap time of 27.087 seconds and would start behind the other three Championship 4 contenders.

·        Heading into Turn One on the opening lap, Nemechek was pushed up the track and into the wall, damaging the No. 4 Toyota.

·        The damaged sustained from the opening lap would eventually cut down the left front tire and force Nemechek to bring the No. 4 Pye-Barker Tundra down pit road for repairs.

·        After repairs, Nemechek would be put a lap down early in the championship race.

·        With 12 laps remaining in the opening stage, veteran crew chief Eric Phillips communicated to his driver that he was running similar lap times as the drivers out front and reminded him to stay focused that it would be a long race.

·        Nemechek ultimately finished Stage One in the 30^th-position one lap down.

Stage Two Recap:

·        After restarting Stage Two in 30^th, Nemechek began to work his way back through the field and was scored in the 27^th-position on Lap 85, still one lap down.

·        Nemechek was unable to get the caution he needed in the middle stage to get him back on the lead lap.

·        As the green-and-white checkered flag came out to end Stage Two, Nemechek remained in 27^th one lap down.

Final Stage Recap:

·        Nemechek and the No. 4 team were able to gain two spots on pit road before the start of the final stage, sending the No. 4 Tundra back out onto the track in 25^th.

·        Just 10 laps into the final stage, Nemechek finally got the caution he was looking for as the No. 12 truck came to a stop on the track. This caution would put Nemechek back on the lead lap and give him a shot to chase down the other championship contenders with just 45 laps remaining.

·        After bringing the Pye-Barker Tundra down pit road for what would ultimately be the final pit stop of the race, Nemechek would restart 20^th with his sights set on chasing down the other Championship 4 drivers.

·        With 27 laps remaining in the title race, Nemechek passed fellow championship contender Matt Crafton for 11^th-place and third in the championship race

·        After completing the pass on the No. 88, crew chief Eric Phillips came over the radio to encourage his driver saying, “let’s go get the next one”.

·        Nemechek continued to gain ground on Ben Rhodes and Zane Smith and was within three seconds of Rhodes with just four laps remaining but would eventually run out of time.

·        Nemechek took the checkered flag in seventh-place, four positions behind Ben Rhodes who would claim the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title.

John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 Pye-Barker Tundra for KBM:

Lucas Oil 150 Recap

·        Chandler Smith picked up the second win of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career. Stewart Friesen, Ben Rhodes, Sheldon Creed, and Zane Smith rounded out the top-five finishers.

·        Ben Rhodes of ThorSport Racing captured the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship.

·        There were 4 cautions for 25 laps. There were 11 lead changes among three drivers.

How John Hunter Nemechek's KBM Teammates Fared:

·        Chandler Smith, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished first.

·        Drew Dollar, driver of the No. 51 Toyota, finished 18^th.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship Standings

Nemechek finished third overall in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standing behind Ben Rhodes and Zane Smith.

Next Race

John Hunter Nemechek came into the third and final race of the Round of 8 sitting 36 points above the cutoff line to advance to the Championship 4. Despite being involved in an accident on Lap 129, Nemechek still would advance as he finished just four points above the cutoff line.

Nemechek started the United Rentals 200 from the pole and would run inside of the top-five for the majority of the first two stages. The second-generation driver tallied an extra 18-stage points throughout the race by finishing third and second in the first two stages, respectively.

Stage One Recap

Stage Two Recap:

Final Stage Recap:

John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 Pye-Barker Tundra for KBM:

What happened between you and Austin Wayne Self?

“I don’t know. He shouldn’t be out here if he’s just going to hook someone in the right rear and turn them in the fence. NASCAR should definitely look at that. It’s Playoff contention. You’ve got to have respect and he doesn’t. It is what it is. Hopefully we make it to the final four and we definitely will have something for them in Phoenix.”

United Rentals 200 Recap

How John Hunter Nemechek's KBM Teammates Fared:

·        Chandler Smith, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished fourth.

·        Corey Heim, driver of the No. 51 Toyota, finished 11th.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship Standings

Nemechek closed out the Round of 8 just four points above the cutoff line to advance to the Championship 4. The second-generation driver will compete for the NASCAR Truck Series Championship against Ben Rhodes and Matt Crafton of ThorSport Racing and Zane Smith of GMS Racing.

Next Race

Nemechek will be back behind the wheel of the No. 4 Toyota Tundra as he competes for the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway on Friday, Nov. 6. Live coverage of the event will be on FS1, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM at 8 p.m. ET.