jnemechek – Page 9 – John Hunter Nemechek

Kansas

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No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra Camping World Trucks Kansas Preview

Neme'chek' The Facts:

After a week off, John Hunter Nemechek and the No. 4 Mobil 1 team roll into Kansas Speedway coming off their second win of the weekend at Richmond Raceway, where Nemechek was able to hold off a late-race charge from Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) driver-owner Kyle Busch. After six races, Nemechek continues to sit at the top of the Camping World Trucks championship standings, 20 tallies ahead of Ben Rhodes.
In NCWTS competition, Nemechek has three starts at the 1.5-mile track, where his best finish of third came in 2017. In 2020, Nemechek made two NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas with a best finish of 17^th, which came in the October event. In 2018, Nemechek captured his first career win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Kansas.
KBM enters Saturday’s event having won the last four Camping World Truck Series races. Nemechek started the streak at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway in March and captured KBM’s most recent triumph at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. Busch was victorious at Atlanta and Martin Truex Jr. captured his first Truck Series victory at the Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway Dirt Track. It’s the fifth time in the organization’s history that they’ve collected four straight victories but have yet to make it more than four straight.
Nemechek is an eight-time winner in Camping World Truck Series action, winning at least one race each season from 2015 to 2018 for his family-owned team, NEMCO Motorsports, and returning to victory lane this year with KBM. Across 108 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, the second-generation driver has compiled two poles, 866 laps led, 32 top-five and 55 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.9. The North Carolina native qualified for the Camping World Truck Series playoffs in each of his two full-time seasons, finishing eighth in the championship standings in both 2016 and 2017. He was voted the series most popular driver in 2015.
The 23-year-old driver produced three top-10 finishes and an average result of 22.4 while competing for rookie of the year honors in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020. He recorded a career-best eighth-place finish twice, both coming at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, earned the Sunoco Rookie of the Race award four times and finished 23rd in the championship standings.
Eric Phillips returns to KBM to lead the No. 4 team this season. Phillips led the No. 18 team at KBM in its debut season in 2010 and helped build the organization into one of the premier teams in all of NASCAR before departing at the end of the 2014 season. Under his guidance, the No. 18 team won eight races in its inaugural campaign and became the first team in Truck Series history to capture an owner’s championship in its first season of competition. In 2014, the Illinois native led the No. 51 team to an owner’s championship and his team’s 10 wins spearheaded KBM to a single-season Truck Series record of 14 wins. His 39 career Truck Series victories make him the winningest crew chief in Truck Series history, with 29 of those coming while at KBM. At Kansas, Phillips has 10 starts with two wins coming with Mike Skinner (2009) and Kyle Busch (2014).

John Hunter Nemechek, Driver Q&A:

Kansas was the site of your first NASCAR Xfinity Series win. Is it a place that’s special to you each time you go back?

“Going back to Kansas this weekend. It’s where I got my first NASCAR Xfinity Series win there in 2018. It’s a very special place for me and our family. My dad (Joe Nemechek) swept the weekend there in 2004, and I was able to be in victory lane as well as getting my first Xfinity win there. It’s a special place. It’s a really unique racetrack. I like going there. It’s one of my favorite racetracks to go to. I’m looking forward to this weekend.”

You haven’t raced a truck at Kansas since 2018, but the truck series had three races there last year. How much will you look at KBM’s notes from those races at Kansas last year?

“The trucks raced at Kansas three times last year. They have a lot of notes compiled from those three races. I haven’t been in a truck at Kansas since 2018. It’s unique circumstances. I don’t think it will slow us down. I am confident in my Mobil 1 team. I look forward to getting on track to see what we have. We just have to be consistent and go out and beat the boss.”

At the beginning of the season, Marcus Lemonis from Camping World announced that the team leading the point standings after Kansas would receive a $50,000 team bonus. You have a 20-point lead heading into this race. Are you looking forward to having that extra incentive on the line for your team Saturday?

“I’m definitely looking forward to having the incentive for the extra bonus for our team this weekend. We have to go and just hold the points lead. I hope that we can do so. We have a really strong team. I’m proud of all my guys. They’ve put in a lot of effort and work alongside everyone at KBM. Hopefully we can go out there and get it done!”

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Richmond

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No. 4 Safeway Tundra Camping World Trucks Richmond Preview

Neme'chek' The Facts:

After a two-week break and a disappointing 39th-place finish on the dirt at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, John Hunter Nemechek and the No. 4 Safeway team return to action Saturday afternoon in the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. After five races, Nemechek sits at the top of the Camping World Trucks championship standings, six tallies ahead of Ben Rhodes.
Since the Camping World Truck Series last raced, Nemechek became a father. He and his wife Taylor celebrated the birth of their first child, a baby girl, Aspen Palmer Nemechek, on March 31.
Saturday will be Nemechek’s first Camping World Truck Series on the 0.75-mile oval. In 2020, Nemechek made his sole NASCAR Cup Series start at Richmond, where he finished in the 30^th position. In NASCAR Xfinity Series competition, Nemechek has three career starts with a best finish of seventh in April 2019.
Nemechek is a seven-time winner in Camping World Truck Series action, winning at least one race each season from 2015 to 2018 for his family-owned team, NEMCO Motorsports, and returning to victory lane this year with KBM. Across 107 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, the second-generation driver has compiled two poles, 752 laps led, 31 top-five and 54 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 13.1. The North Carolina native qualified for the Camping World Truck Series playoffs in each of his two full-time seasons, finishing eighth in the championship standings in both 2016 and 2017. He was voted the series most popular driver in 2015.
The 23-year-old driver produced three top-10 finishes and an average result of 22.4 while competing for rookie of the year honors in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020. He recorded a career-best eighth-place finish twice, both coming at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, earned the Sunoco Rookie of the Race award four times and finished 23rd in the championship standings.
Eric Phillips returns to KBM to lead the No. 4 team this season. Phillips led the No. 18 team at KBM in its debut season in 2010 and helped build the organization into one of the premier teams in all of NASCAR before departing at the end of the 2014 season. Under his guidance, the No. 18 team won eight races in its inaugural campaign and became the first team in Truck Series history to capture an owner’s championship in its first season of competition. In 2014, the Illinois native led the No. 51 team to an owner’s championship and his team’s 10 wins spearheaded KBM to a single-season Truck Series record of 14 wins. His 38 career Truck Series victories make him the winningest crew chief in Truck Series history, with 28 of those coming while at KBM. At Richmond, Phillips has two career starts with a best finish of 31st in 2004 with Travis Kvapil.
All three KBM Tundras will carry a special decal on the B post this week promoting Autism Awareness that includes the website address of NASCAR Sammy (NASCARSammy.com), an avid NASCAR fan autism advocate. Fans can visit his site to purchase a decal and help support his mission.

John Hunter Nemechek, Driver Q&A:

You recently became a father. How is that going for you?

“It’s all going good. Being a dad is something that has definitely been very exciting and amusing. It’s something I don’t think anyone can explain until it happens to them. It’s a pretty amazing experience so far. Aspen has been doing good. Taylor is doing very well. Hopefully, we can get her to victory lane soon. I’m excited to get her out to the racetrack.”

What does it take to be successful at Richmond?

“To be successful in a Truck at Richmond, I don’t know. I will let you know come Saturday. For us, it’s going to be pushing the limits of our truck and to not make any mistakes. We start kind of far back from our whole Bristol dirt deal, so we have to drive up through there. We have to maximize stage points and make the right adjustments. It will be the first time I’ve driven a truck at Richmond. It’s the first time I’ve been in any type of vehicle that has downforce at Richmond. Everything that I’ve driven there from the Xfinity and Cup car has always been low downforce. It’s a whole new task for me, but I look forward to learning and being a part of the journey.”

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Bristol Dirt

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Atlanta

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No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra Camping World Trucks Bristol Post Race Report

John Hunter Nemechek was relegated to a 39th-place finish on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway due to another competitor making contact with the nose of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra after he spun at the front of the field on lap 48. Prior to spinning, Nemechek was running in fifth position.

Nemechek’s lead in the point standings shrinks to six tallies over Toyota teammate Ben Rhodes.

Stage One Recap
With the qualifying races rained out on Saturday, Nemechek started from the pole position after a performance matrix based on based off of finishing position from the previous race, ranking in owner points standings and the fastest lap from the previous race at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway. When the field went green, Nemechek fell back through the field to the ninth position. Nemechek radioed to his Mobil 1 crew that his Tundra was tight. After a slow start, Nemechek was able to recover to finish the opening stanza in the fifth position.

Stage Two Recap
Under the stage caution, Nemechek radioed to his crew that there was enough drive in his Tundra. Crew chief Eric Phillips elected to keep Nemechek out on the racetrack under the controlled caution, due to track position being key. Nemechek restarted in the second position. While Nemechek was running in the fifth position, Matt Crafton tapped the bumper of the Mobil 1 Tundra and sent the No. 4 for a spin. As he waited for traffic to clear, Derek Kraus spun, hitting Nemechek to knock the radiator out. Nemechek was relegated to a 39th-place finish.

What exactly happened there?
“I don’t know. Matt (Crafton) just flat-out ran over me, so that one will be in the memory bank, but we were fine. We didn’t hit anything and then towards the end of that whole deal, the 19 (Derek Kraus) – I guess him and his spotter both need a set of glasses, so I will have those for them at Richmond.”

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John Hunter Nemechek Beats the Boss to Win At Las Vegas

John Hunter Nemechek was able to hold off KBM team owner Kyle Busch over the final seven laps of the Bucked Up 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to score his first victory of 2021 and the seventh of his Camping World Truck Series career.

Nemechek led a race-high 94 laps. With his victory at Las Vegas, the 23-year-old driver secured the Camping World Trucks points lead. The talented driver and his father are the first father-son duo to have a NASCAR national series victory at Las Vegas.

Stage One Recap
Nemechek started in the third position after a performance matrix based on based off of finishing position from the previous race, the No. 4 team’s ranking in the 2020 owner points standings and the fastest lap from the previous race on the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway Road Course. Nemechek was able to capture the race lead on the first restart of the night on Lap 7 and would remain out front for the remainder of the stanza to score the stage victory, his third of the season.

Stage Two Recap:
Under the stage caution, Nemechek radioed to his crew that he was free during the run and needed more lateral grip. Veteran crew chief Eric Phillips summoned his driver to pit road for four tires and fuel. After a speedy pit stop by the Mobil 1 crew, Nemechek would restart the stage from the race lead.
The second-generation driver would hold the lead until Busch maneuvered around him with 12 laps remaining in the stage.
Nemechek would finish the second stage in the second position.

Final Stage Recap:
Under the break, Nemechek radioed to his crew that his Mobil 1 Tundra felt free and that lateral stability was needed. Phillips brought his driver to pit road for four tires, fuel, and adjustments. Nemechek would restart the final stage from second. Nemechek would garner the race lead on Lap 68. At the sixth caution of the evening on Lap 90, Nemechek radioed that his Mobil 1 Tundra needed to be a little bit tighter. Phillips summoned his driver to pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments. Nemechek would restart in the seventh position. Before the race resumed under green flag conditions, Nemechek was asked to take care of his equipment. After three green flag laps, Nemechek worked his way back up to the second position. After the seventh caution, Nemechek was able to secure the race lead again on the restart on Lap 104.

Over the next two cautions, Nemechek was asked to save fuel and take care of his tires. Nemechek was able to hold off team owner Kyle Busch in the closing seven laps of the race to score his first victory of 2021.

You won the race and beat the boss. How was that finish for you?
“I just can’t thank everyone at Toyota, Jack Irving (TRD), Kyle Busch, Uncle Eric (Phillips, crew chief) for this opportunity. It means a lot to me. Mobil 1 on board, coming back to the Truck Series, that was the plan, that was the goal. We came into this year with the hashtag here for wins and we are here for wins. I definitely think experience paid off tonight. We did an amazing job. I can’t thank Fire Alarm Services, ROMCO, all of our partners for all of their help. Thank you fans for being here. It’s awesome to have you guys back. I can’t wait to go celebrate.”

Once you were clear, what were you thinking?
“He was faster than me in stage two, so I really didn’t know. It was all about using our truck to the best we could possibly do, wrapping the bottom and taking the dirty air away. He had to run up and it created more lap time for him. Overall, it was an awesome victory. I wish my wife Taylor was here. Thank you for all of the support, my family, everyone involved. She had to stay home because we are about to be on baby watch. It’s awesome.”

How crazy were the restarts during the race?
“They definitely were. Overall, it was an amazing day. Our restarts were on point all day. Just a lot of fun and that’s all we can ask for. We’re here to have fun, we’re here for wins and we’re doing it.”

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No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra Camping World Trucks Daytona RC Post Race Report

John Hunter Nemechek finished third in the BrakeBest Brake Pads 159 at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. Nemechek was able to score his second stage win of the season in the opening stanza of the event. Prior to coming to pit road for the first time in the second stage, Nemechek ran out of fuel. The Mobil 1 driver was able to rebound and get a lap back in the final stage to finish third.

With his stage win, Nemechek now sits second in the Camping World Trucks driver’s standings just nine points behind leader Ben Rhodes.

Stage One Recap
Nemechek started in the fourth position after a performance matrix based off the No. 4 team’s final ranking in the 2020 owner points standings, as well as his finishing position and the fastest lap he turned during the Camping World Truck Series’ previous race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Nemechek was able to garner the race lead on the opening lap of the race after NASCAR deemed the race to be run under “wet” conditions. When the first caution fell on Lap 10, Nemechek radioed to his Mobil 1 crew that he was having slight trouble with the drive off the corners. Veteran crew chief Eric Phillips kept his driver on the racetrack. Nemechek would win Stage One.

Stage Two Recap:
At the stage break, Phillips would keep his driver out on the racetrack. Nemechek would start the stage from the lead. As the Mobil 1 crew was about to come to pit road to put on slicks, Nemechek would run out of fuel coming out of the bus stop on the backstretch. Nemechek would receive a push to pit road and lose one lap. Nemechek would finish the final stage in the 36th position.

Final Stage Recap:
Under the break, Nemechek was told to take care of his Mobil 1 Tundra and to get in the free pass position as the No. 4 team believed more cautions would be imminent. Nemechek would restart the stage from the 35th position. The break for the Mobil 1 team came on Lap 40 when the fourth caution of the night came. Nemechek was able to take the free pass. Under the caution, Nemechek was reassured that he had a fast Toyota Tundra when he was told that if he would have been on the lead lap, he would have worked his way up to the 14th position from the back of the pack. Nemechek would restart at the rear of the field in the 26th position. After a couple of green flag laps before the fifth caution, Nemechek would restart from the 15th position and be asked to make smart decisions. In the restart coming out of the sixth caution period, Nemechek went through the grass entering Turn One. Nemechek would work his way up to the ninth position before the seventh caution came out on Lap 43. Because he went through the grass on the restart, the No. 4 crew made sure there was no grass on the grille of his Tundra. On the restart on Lap 45, Nemechek worked the inside lane to work his way up to third before the eighth caution of the night on Lap 46. Nemechek was able to work his way to the second position before the ninth caution flew on Lap 49. After the third attempt at NASCAR Overtime, Nemechek would finish the race in the third position.

How do you describe this race and the last few laps?
“Very frustrating day. Had a really fast Tundra and led most of the race. Second stage, we thought we were good on mileage with the wet conditions and how slow we were. Ended up running out of gas. Just a mistake. Honest mistake. We win and lose as a team. Fought hard, got our lap back and got back to the front, made some moves and we did some things there on strategy that hurt us, but put us in a good position for that last restart. I just messed up. Go back and study and be better next time.”

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No. 4 Fire Alarm Services Tundra Camping World Trucks Daytona Post Race Report

Despite being involved in a late-race incident in the NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway, John Hunter Nemechek was able to bring the Fire Alarm Services Tundra home in the seventh position. Nemechek was able to lead 14 laps in his Kyle Busch Motorsports debut (KBM), score 17 stage points and earn one playoff point via his win in Stage Two.

Stage One Recap
Nemechek started in the seventh position after laying down a speed of 179.344 mph in a qualifying session held Friday afternoon. After one caution in the opening stanza, Nemechek was able to work his Fire Alarm Services Tundra up to the fourth position to score seven stage points to kick off the 2021 campaign.

Stage Two Recap:
At the stage break, Nemechek radioed to his No. 4 crew that his Tundra was tight in traffic. Veteran crew chief Eric Phillips summoned his driver to pit road for a fuel-only stop. Nemechek would start the second stage from the second position. On Lap 27, Nemechek was able to get the race lead. He would lose the lead for one lap before garnering it back for the next 10 laps. On Lap 36, the third caution of the night flew as Nemechek was leading. With the stage break approaching, Nemechek radioed to his Fire Alarm Services crew that he was tight throughout the corner. Phillips elected to keep Nemechek out on the racetrack for a two-lap dash to the stage end.

Nemechek would hold off the field to score the stage victory garnering 10 championship points and one playoff point.

Final Stage Recap:
Under the break, Phillips summoned his driver to pit road for tires, fuel and adjustments for the final stage. Nemechek would restart 15th.
When the fifth caution of the night flew on Lap 51, Nemechek was running in the 18th position. Phillips summoned his driver down pit road for a full load of fuel with the Fire Alarm Services Tundra returning to pit road with one lap remaining before green to top off with fuel. He would restart in the 25th position. At the sixth caution on Lap 62, Nemechek worked his way up to 20th. During the caution, Nemechek radioed to his crew that he may have slid his tires trying to avoid the incident. Phillips summoned his driver to pit road for fresh tires and fuel. Nemechek would restart in the 11th position. At the Lap 66 caution, Nemechek worked his way up to 15th and was told to stay out and to begin conserving fuel. He would restart 13th.
At the eighth caution on Lap 73, Nemechek radioed to his crew that he may have some damage to the nose of his Fire Alarm Services Tundra after making contact with the bumper of the No. 88 Tundra. After an assessment, Nemechek stayed out and would restart in the 10th position. While running in the middle of the lead draft on Lap 96, calamity ensued off Turn 2. Nemechek running on the outside line was pinched and made contact with the outside SAFER barrier. Nemechek brought his Tundra to pit road for the Fire Alarm Services crew to assess and repair the damage. Nemechek would restart in the 20th position. When the checkered flag flew on Lap 101, Nemechek was scored in the seventh position.

John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 Fire Alarm Services Tundra for KBM:
Solid start to your season, John Hunter. How was your race as a whole?
“I felt like our race was okay – or decent at least. I feel like we had a really fast Fire Alarm Services Toyota Tundra. We made gains through the weekend. I felt like we were pretty good right off of the truck. Eric (Phillips, crew chief) and all of the guys at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) gave us a really good truck that we could contend with. I felt good about our chances overall tonight. We stayed up there in Stage One and ended up winning Stage Two. In stage three, we did a strategy call. We took tires and it put us behind a little bit and never could get back to the front. I felt like we got trapped back there. We were making our way back up there towards the end and then we ended up getting caught up in the second-to-last wreck. It kind of sandwiched the truck, and I got tagged in the left rear and spun out. We had tires go down and damage. We started in the back on the final restart on the green-white-checkered. I was able to somehow get a pretty good suck going down the back and made it to the bottom lane in (turns) three and four. I got down and they all started wrecking almost to the tri-oval. They wrecked a bunch of them, somehow, we managed to make it through that without getting in the grass and wrecking and came home seventh. Overall, really solid points day. I’m looking forward to the rest of the year, and this is just a start of what we can do.”

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