No. 4 ROMCO Equipment Co. Tundra Camping World Trucks Texas Post Race Report

Race Information:
Date:                       June 12, 2021
Event:                     SpeedyCash.com 220 (Race 11 of 22)
Series:                    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location:               Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (1.5-mile quad-oval)
Format:                 Three Stages; 35 laps/35 laps/77 laps
Start/Finish:       1st/1st (Running, completed 147 of 147 laps)
Winner:                John Hunter Nemechek of Kyle Busch Motorsports (Toyota)
John Hunter Nemechek captured his fourth victory of the 2021 season in the SpeedyCash.com 220 at Texas Motor Speedway. Nemechek was running second to 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott as teams began making their final scheduled pit stops. Crew chief Eric Phillips played the strategy card and kept the ROMCO Equipment Co. Tundra out longer than Elliott under green flag conditions in the final stage and when stops cycled through the move paid off and Nemechek was at the front of the field. Nemechek led a race-high 64 laps en route to his 10th career Truck Series victory.
Stage One Recap
  • Nemechek started from the pole based on NASCAR’s performance-matrix formula.
  • In the opening stint, Nemechek radioed to his crew that his ROMCO Equipment Co. Tundra was a touch free to start. At the first caution on lap 7, Nemechek continued to lead, but he restarted from the second position after NASCAR deemed that he did not maintain caution car speed.
  • Despite restarting second, Nemechek was able to quickly regain the lead. While leading, a piece of debris attached itself to the nose of Nemechek’s ROMCO Equipment Co. Tundra. By the second caution on lap 21, the debris was no longer an issue.
  • During the second caution, Nemechek radioed that his ROMCO Tundra was free overall. Phillips elected to keep his driver on the racetrack to restart from the race lead.
  • With a caution flying on lap 33, Nemechek was able to secure his eighth stage win of the 2021 season.
Stage Two Recap:
  • At the stage break, Nemechek radioed that his Tundra was better but that the back was stepping out. Phillips summoned his driver to pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments. Nemechek would restart from the 10th position behind those that stayed out.
  • At the fourth cation on lap 52, Nemechek worked his way to the second position.
  • At the fifth caution on lap 62, Nemechek worked his way up to the fourth position and radioed to his crew that he was trying to navigate the dirty air. Phillips summoned Nemechek onto pit road for four tires and fuel. Nemechek restarted from the 10th position.
  • With the second stage ending under caution, Nemechek would be credited with a ninth-place finish but would receive points for an eighth-place finish due to a disqualification of another competitor in post-race technical inspection.
Final Stage Recap:
  • With the strategy call by Phillips, Nemechek stayed out under the stage caution to restart in the fourth position.
  • Prior to pitting under green-flag conditions, Nemechek radioed that the balance of the ROMCO Equipment Co. Tundra was good but snug exiting turn 2. With the race leaders making pit stops and Nemechek running second, Phillips kept Nemechek on the racetrack until lap 119 when the over-the-wall crew added fuel and changed four tires. Nemechek cycled back to the lead on lap 126.
  • Nemechek would maintain the lead to score his fourth victory of 2021.
John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 ROMCO Equipment Co. Tundra for KBM:
Are you starting to make a statement with this team right now?
“Yeah, I definitely think so. I feel like we’ve been making a statement all year. I feel like we’re one of the favorites every time that we show up to the racetrack. I can’t say enough about Eric Phillips (crew chief) and all these guys. Everyone, the pit crew, everyone at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports), the fab shop, machine shop, chassis shop. Everyone does so good with building our trucks and I’m just lucky enough to be behind the wheel. It’s amazing to get win number four here. I haven’t won with ROMCO Equipment on board yet in my career so finally we were able to get them a win. There’s 250 of their employees here today so huge shoutout to them as well as the fans.”
How would you describe your race today?
“I feel like we had the dominant truck kind of like we do every single week. I’m just proud to be able to be behind the wheel and blessed to be behind the wheel. Huge shoutout to Kyle (Busch, team owner) and Jack (Irving, TRD) and Tyler (Gibbs, TRD) and David Wilson (president, TRD) and everyone at Toyota for giving me this opportunity. Without them, none of this would be possible. ROMCO Equipment on board, their first win with me so it will be cool to be able to go to victory lane with them. These fans are awesome. We have 250 ROMCO employees here as well today. We just want to keep racking them up. We’re #Here4Wins.”
Are you Playoff ready or what does this team need to work on prior to the Playoffs starting?
“I hope this is only the beginning. I hope that we have a lot more to come. I feel like we have a lot more work to do. These guys work their tails off. I know Eric (Phillips, crew chief) is one of the first guys there and last ones to leave every night. It’s awesome. Win number 41 for him. Win number 10 for me. Just have to keep it going. We’re #Here4Wins.”
SpeedyCash.com 220 Recap
  • Nemechek captured his fourth victory of 2021 and 10th of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career beating Chase Elliott to the stripe by 3.361 seconds. Grant Enfinger, Austin Hill, and Chandler Smith rounded out the top five.
  • There were six cautions for 38 laps. There were 14 lead changes among seven different drivers with Nemechek leading a race-high 64 laps.
How John Hunter Nemechek's KBM Teammates Fared:
  • Drew Dollar, driver of the No. 51 Toyota, finished 33rd.
  • Chandler Smith, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished fifth.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship Standings
After 11 races, Nemechek and the No. 4 team continue to lead Ben Rhodes in the point standings by 78 points.
Next Race
The No. 4 team returns to the track when the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series resumes action on Friday, June 18 at Nashville Superspeedway. Live coverage will be on FS1, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM at 8 p.m. ET.

by jnemechek

No. 4 ROMCO Equipment Co. Camping World Trucks Texas Preview

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event:                                 SpeedyCash.com 220, Race 11 of 22, 147 Laps – 35/35/77; 220.5 Miles
Location:                         Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (1.5-mile quad-oval)
Date/Broadcast:           June 12, 2021 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
Neme'chek' The Facts:
  • John Hunter Nemechek and the No. 4 ROMCO Equipment Co team roll into Texas Motor Speedway riding momentum after capturing the team’s third win of the 2021 season at Charlotte (N.C) Motor Speedway. The SpeedyCash.com 220 Saturday afternoon at Texas marks the halfway point of the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. So far in 2021, Nemechek leads the series in wins (three), stage wins (eight), top fives (six), and laps led (409). Nemechek continues to lead Ben Rhodes by 44 points in the point standings with five races remaining in the regular season.
  • In NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition at Texas, Nemechek has five starts at the 1.5-mile facility. His best career finish at Texas was seventh in 2021. Across his five starts, he has completed 95.7% (742/775) of the laps, has an average start of 14.6, and an average finish of 15.2. Nemechek finished 21st in his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Texas in November of 2019 and finished 22nd in both of his NASCAR Cup Series starts at Texas last season. In his three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, Nemechek finished in the top-10 in all three including a best finish of fourth in 2018.
  • Nemechek is a nine-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 112 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, the second-generation driver has compiled two poles, 1018 laps led, 34 top-five and 58 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.7. 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.
  • KBM has collected the trophy at all four mile-and-a-half races in 2021, with Nemechek winning at Charlotte and Las Vegas while Kyle Busch brought home the trophy at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. KBM drivers have combined to lead 70.1% (379/538) of the total laps in the four races on 1.5-mile tracks this season.
  • 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 40 career Truck Series victories make him the winningest crew chief in Truck Series history, with 30 of those coming while at KBM. Across 19 starts at Texas, Phillips has collected three wins, six top fives, 11 top 10s, and an average finish of 11.9. Phillips won in 2006 with Clint Bowyer and with Kyle Busch in 2010 and 2014. He also captured one NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Texas with John Hunter Nemechek’s father, Joe, in March of 2003.
John Hunter Nemechek, Driver Q&A:
John Hunter Nemechek | Texas Preview
After everything that happened at Charlotte, what did it mean to get the win?
“Starting off the way we did at Charlotte by going P1 on the board to the next lap hitting the fence was not the way we wanted to start off the weekend. I guess we got it out of the way early. We were able to fix that truck and take it to victory lane. It meant a lot to myself and the team. We were in there working, trying to get it back together to not pull a backup truck out, and luckily it wasn’t as bad as we thought it was. We were able to get it going.”
How similar is Texas compared to Charlotte?
“I feel like it used to be similar before the repave. I feel like it’s definitely changed a lot now with the repave. The same aspect applies with the PJ1 being applied like Charlotte did. Hopefully it will make for some great racing and come in fast since we are the first ones on the track this weekend. There are a lot of unknowns going into the weekend. Texas has always been a good place for me. I hope to bring home another win on a mile-and-a-half.”
With five races left in the regular season, is winning the regular season championship on your mind?
“Getting the regular season championship is a goal for us. We are #Here4Wins. We want to win everything we can, from races to championships to anything plus. Winning the regular season championship gives you a big bonus going into the Playoffs. We have five more races to go and try to win to continue our points lead. We have to maximize our days and our potential and can increase that lead by the end of those five races.”
John Hunter Nemechek Career Highlights:
  • Nine-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. Across 112 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, has compiled two poles, 1,018 laps led, 34 top-five and 58 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.7.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Across 52 career XFINITY Series starts, has totaled one win (Kansas Speedway, 10/20/18), one pole, 225 laps led, 12 top-five and 30 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.0.
John Hunter Nemechek's No. 4 ROMCO Equipment Co. Tundra:
KBM-038: The No. 4 ROMCO team will unload KBM-038 Saturday at Texas. So far in 2021, KBM-038 has ran once at Kansas Speedway where Nemechek piloted the chassis to a fifth-place finish. Overall, “38 Special” has collected six wins across 21 career starts. Three with Christopher Bell and one each with Kyle Busch, William Byron and Noah Gragson.
KBM Notes of Interest:
  • KBM drivers have collected eight wins, three poles, 18 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 10.9 across 53 starts in the Lone Star State.
  • Owner-driver Kyle Busch’s victory in July 2020 was his fourth for his organization (2010, 2014, 2019 & 2020), Greg Biffle (2020), Christopher Bell (2017), William Byron (2016) and Erik Jones (2015) all have one victory at Texas.
  • KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (86) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Track, Martin Truex Jr. became the 16th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner's Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
  • The No. 4 has 14 career victories at KBM and was the number for both of the organization’s driver championships.

by jnemechek

Charlotte

by jnemechek

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

Race Information:
Date:                      May 28, 2021
Event:                     N.C. Education Lottery 200 (Race 10 of 22)
Series:                    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location:              Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile quad-oval)
Format:                 Three Stages; 30 laps/30 laps/74 laps
Start/Finish:       4th/1st (Running, completed 134 of 134 laps)
Winner:                John Hunter Nemechek of Kyle Busch Motorsports (Toyota)
John Hunter Nemechek captured the checkered flag in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte (N.C) Motor Speedway for his third win of 2021. With his win, Nemechek extends his points lead over Ben Rhodes to 44 points. Eric Phillips, the winningest crew chief in series history, scored his 40th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory Friday night.
Stage One Recap
  • Nemechek started in the fourth position after qualifying was canceled due to weather and the field was set according to the rulebook.
  • During the stage, Nemechek radioed to his Mobil 1 team that his Tundra was free firing off and needed more lateral grip.
  • With the stage going caution free to green-checkered, Nemechek would finish the stage in the fourth position.
Stage Two Recap:
  • At the stage break, Nemechek radioed that his Tundra was free overall. Crew chief Eric Phillips brought Nemechek to pit road for four tires, fuel and an adjustment to the Mobil 1 Tundra. Nemechek would start the stage from the second position. On the restart, Nemechek was able to complete a pass for the race lead.
  • During the second caution period of the night on lap 50, Nemechek radioed that his Mobil 1 Tundra was still too free. Phillips elected to not bring Nemechek down pit road. Nemechek would continue as the race leader.
  • During the third caution period of the evening, Nemechek was summoned to pit road from the race lead for four tires, fuel and an adjustment. Nemechek would restart from the 14th position.
  • Nemechek would finish the stage in the 10th position.
Final Stage Recap:
  • With the strategy call by Phillips, Nemechek stayed out under the stage caution to restart in the fourth position when the race restarted on lap 69. By lap 70, Nemechek had regained the race lead.
  • Prior to pitting under green-flag conditions on lap 102, Nemechek radioed that his Mobil 1 Tundra needed to be a tick tighter. Phillips summoned Nemechek onto pit road during the green flag run for four tires, and fuel.
  • The fifth and final caution of the evening caught Nemechek in a precarious position. As he was exiting turn 4, a tire from a three-truck incident hit the windshield of the Mobil 1 Tundra. After running a couple of laps under caution, Nemechek radioed that his Tundra felt fine.
  • Nemechek was able to hold off Carson Hocevar on the restart with 10 laps remaining to score his third victory of 2021.
John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra for KBM:
What does it mean to overcome the practice incident and make it to victory lane?
“I completed two laps and wrecked on lap three. Huge shoutout to all my guys – Eric Phillips (crew chief) and all our guys here and back at the shop. The pit crew pretty much won the race tonight I feel like on pit road. We were able to jump some guys there after the first stage. It was so hard to pass. It was amazing. Eric did a great job making adjustments all night and I was telling him what we needed. This was our baby truck, this one has won three races for me this year and sadly it’s going to have to get fixed with that crazy crash. Just huge shoutout to everyone that made this possible – Kyle (Busch, team owner), thank you for the opportunity. Jack (Irving, TRD), Tyler (Gibbs, TRD), David Wilson (president, TRD) and everyone at Toyota and TRD for all their help, Mobil 1 as well. My wife’s here so we’re going to celebrate. Sadly, baby is back home sleeping, but she will have a trophy in the morning.”
Did you notice any difference in the handling after sustaining the damage from the accident?
“That might be a speed secret, I don’t know.”
How important is it to recover with this win after the 12th-place run last weekend?
“We’re #Here4Wins and we’ve been using that hashtag since I announced I was coming to KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) last year and it’s a dominant team, dominant truck every single week. We’re going to have weeks where we’re off and we’ll struggle, but we’ll keep getting through it. I didn’t lose confidence in Eric (Phillips, crew chief) and he didn’t lose confidence in me. It’s just one bad race. You have to move on from it and look, we’re in victory lane here.”

by jnemechek

COTA

by jnemechek

No. 4 ROMCO Equipment Co. Tundra Camping World Trucks COTA Post Race

Race Information:
Date:                      May 22, 2021
Event:                   Toyota Tundra 225 (Race 9 of 22)
Series:                  NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location:            Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas (3.426-mile 20-turn road course)
Format:               Three Stages; 12 laps/14 laps/15 laps
Start/Finish:      6th/12th (Running, completed 41 of 41 laps)
Winner:              Todd Gilliland of Front Row Motorsports (Ford)
John Hunter Nemechek ran in the top 10 for most of the Toyota Tundra 225 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas before an uncontrolled tire penalty on lap 23 sent Nemechek to the rear of the field to start the final stage. Despite the penalty, Nemechek was able to rebound to finish in the 12th position.
Stage One Recap
  • Nemechek qualified his No. 4 ROMCO Equipment Co. Tundra in the sixth position with an average speed of 74.414 mph around the 20-turn circuit in wet conditions. The race would also start in “wet” conditions.
  • In the middle of the stage, Nemechek radioed to his ROMCO Equipment Co. team that his Tundra needed more front turn.
  • With the stage going caution-free to green-checkered, Nemechek would finish the stage in the eighth position.
Stage Two Recap:
  • At the stage break, Nemechek radioed that he had no drive and no turn in his Tundra. Crew chief Eric Phillips brought Nemechek down pit road for four wet weather tires, fuel and adjustments. Nemechek would start the stage from the eighth position.
  • Nemechek radioed that his ROMCO Equipment Co. Tundra fired off better during the green-flag run but that it needed long-run speed.
  • On lap 23, Phillips summoned Nemechek onto pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments. During the pit stop, NASCAR deemed that the No. 4 team had an uncontrolled tire and would start the team at the tail end of the field.
  • Nemechek would cross the line in the ninth position, but he did not receive any stage points due to his penalty.
Final Stage Recap:
  • Because of the penalty, Phillips elected to bring Nemechek onto pit road during the stage break to top off with fuel and make adjustments to help the turn and drive of the ROMCO Equipment Co. Tundra. Nemechek restarted in the 33rd position at the tail end of the field.
  • With the final stage going caution free from green to checkered, Nemechek worked his way through the field to finish 12th.
John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 ROMCO Equipment Co. Tundra for KBM:
How did your race go today?
“We never really had the speed we had hoped for in our ROMCO Tundra this weekend in practice, the race or qualifying. We struggled pretty bad during the race and once we had to go to the tail of the field it was tough going to work back forward, but we were able to salvage a 12th-place finish. Always appreciate ROMCO’s support, they have been with me for a long time, and I had hoped to get them to victory lane today. We’ll regroup this week and try to go get us another win at Charlotte.”

by jnemechek

No. 4 Mobil 1 Camping World Trucks Charlotte Preview

Neme'chek' The Facts:
  • John Hunter Nemechek and the No. 4 Mobil 1 team roll into Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200. Nemechek is coming off a 12th-place finish at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Nemechek currently sits at the top of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points standings leading Ben Rhodes by 33 points. The second-generation driver also leads the series in stage wins (seven), laps led (338), fastest laps run (170), average finish (4.0), average running position (5.38), driver rating (117.6), top-five finishes (five), and is tied for the series lead with two wins.
  • In NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition at Charlotte, Nemechek has four starts at the 1.5-mile facility. His best career finish at Charlotte was sixth in 2020. Across his four starts, he has completed 99.6 % (534/536) of the laps, has an average start of 20.3, and an average finish of 12.3. Nemechek finished inside the top 20 in both of his NASCAR Cup Series at Charlotte last season including a 13th-place finish in the second race. He finished 12th in his lone Xfinity Series start at his home state track in 2019.
  • The Triple Truck Challenge presented by Womply in the Camping World Truck Series concludes this weekend. This year’s program consisted of the events at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and concludes at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. An extra $50,000 is on the line Friday night. Sheldon Creed and Todd Gilliland captured the $50,000 bonus at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and Circuit of the Americas.
  • 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 110 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, the second-generation driver has compiled two poles, 947 laps led, 33 top-five and 57 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.8. 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.
  • 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 Charlotte, Phillips has collected three wins with Kyle Busch (2010, 2011, 2014), four top fives, eight top 10s, and an average finish of 7.4.
John Hunter Nemechek, Driver Q&A:
John Hunter Nemechek | Charlotte Preview
 How special is it to race in front of a hometown crowd at Charlotte?
“It’s definitely a big ordeal to race in front of friends, families, all the employees here at KBM, and all of our partners that are around this area as well. Being a hometown driver and myself being from Charlotte, North Carolina, it is definitely a place that you want to win and make everybody proud. It’s a special race and racetrack. It’s Memorial Day weekend as well, so thank you to all the men and women who sacrificed your lives. I’m just proud to be an American.”
The past couple of races haven’t been what you or your team have wanted, but your worst finish was 12th. What does it say about the resiliency of your team?
“When things don’t go right and you can still finish 12th and that being your worst finish, I guess is pretty good situation I feel like. I feel like there are some other guys that have worse days than we do. To run like we have and be consistent, we knew there were weekends where we were going to be off. You can’t win every single race, but we definitely wish that we could. We have to continue to put fast trucks on the racetrack and be there at the end when it counts. It says a lot about this team. We have a never give up attitude. We want to continue to push and strive for more and continue to kind of be perfect every single weekend. Hopefully, we can continue that here at Charlotte. We’ve been good at 1.5-mile tracks this year. Hopefully, we can bring back another W.”
How excited are you to get back to racing on a 1.5-mile track?
“It’s very exciting to get back to a mile-and-a-half. I feel like our 1.5-mile and short track programs have been really good. I feel like our whole program in general has been good. We kind of missed it on one of the road courses and the dirt stuff. I feel like we can kind of throw those away now and focus on the future. We have some really good racetracks coming up as well. Some more mile-and-a-halves, short tracks and another dirt and road course race that I really enjoy, but first things first, I have to go take care of business at Charlotte.”

by jnemechek

Darlington

by jnemechek

No. 4 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Tundra Camping World Trucks Darlington Post Race Report

Race Information:
Date:                      May 7, 2021
Event:                   LiftKits4Less.com 200 (Race 8 of 22)
Series:                  NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location:            Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.36-mile egg-shaped oval)
Format:                Three Stages; 45 laps/45 laps/57 laps
Start/Finish:      1st/8th (Running, completed 147 of 147 laps)
Winner:              Sheldon Creed of GMS Racing (Chevrolet)
John Hunter Nemechek’s dominate day at Darlington was spoiled after an accident on the lap 118 restart when fellow KBM teammate Corey Heim was turned into the Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Tundra causing a 17-truck pileup entering Turn One. After a valiant effort by the over-the-wall crew, Nemechek was able to charge from the tail of the field in the closing laps to finish eighth.
Nemechek led 65 laps and scored the stage two win to extend his points lead over Ben Rhodes to 46 tallies heading into Circuit of the Americas.
Stage One Recap
  • Nemechek started from the pole position based on NASCAR’s performance-based matrix.
  • Prior to the competition caution on lap 15, Nemechek radioed to his crew that his Pye-Barker Tundra was on the splitter. During the caution, he radioed that his Tundra was on the tight side. Eric Phillips summoned Nemechek onto pit road for four tires and fuel. Nemechek restarted from the seventh position.
  • After a five-lap run before the second caution of the evening, Nemechek worked his way back up to second and radioed that his Tundra fired off free but was overall good.
  • When the green-checkered flag flew on lap 45, Nemechek was scored in the second position.
Stage Two Recap:
  • At the break, Nemechek radioed that his Pye-Barker Tundra needed more lateral grip. Phillips summoned his driver onto pit road for a track bar adjustment, four tires and fuel. Nemechek would start the stage from the fourth position.
  • By the following caution on lap 82, Nemechek had worked his way back up to the race lead. Under caution, Nemechek radioed that he was still laterally free. Phillips called Nemechek down pit road for four tires, fuel and an adjustment. Nemechek was first off pit road but would restart fourth after three competitors elected to stay out.
  • After a two-lap dash, Nemechek would take the race lead to score his seventh stage victory of 2021.
Final Stage Recap:
  • Nemechek and his Pye-Barker team elected to stay out under the break due to the two-lap dash to conclude the second stage. Nemechek maintained the race lead.
  • Nemechek’s dominate day turned for the worse when KBM teammate Corey Heim was turned into the No. 4 Tundra on a restart. With Heim’s spin, Nemechek, who elected the outside lane, was forced into the outside wall causing damage to his Tundra. Despite the repairs, Nemechek and the Pye-Barker team were able to stay on the lead lap. Nemechek would restart from the 19th position.
  • Despite two cautions in the closing laps, Nemechek was able to work his way up to the eighth position before the caution flew on the final lap.
John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 Pye-Barker Tundra for KBM:
Tell us about your day
“We had a really fast Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota Tundra. I definitely had the fastest truck and had the field covered. It was just a disappointing day. I don’t know how that happens. All I know is that I was going straight one minute and the next I was in the fence at a 45-degree angle. I have to go back and watch some replays. Overall, it was a solid performance for our team. They fixed it. We ended up with a top-10 finish by finishing eighth. This one hurt. We gave one away. I really wanted to win here in Darlington. Onto the next one.”

by jnemechek

No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra Camping World Trucks Darlington Preview

Neme'chek' The Facts:
  • John Hunter Nemechek and the No. 4 Pye-Barker team roll into Darlington (S.C.) Raceway after scoring a fifth-place finish at Kansas Speedway last week. After seven races, Nemechek continues to sit at the top of the Camping World Trucks championship standings, 33 tallies ahead of Ben Rhodes. In addition to his lead in the point standings, Nemechek tops Truck Series regulars this season in average finish (3.3), laps led (273), driver rating (118.9), average running position (5.5) and fastest laps (144).
  • Nemechek will be making his first career start at Darlington in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition. In 2020, Nemechek made three NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington with a best finish of ninth coming in NASCAR’s return to racing in May following a 10-week shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2019, Nemechek made his sole NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the 1.366-mile facility and finished 21st.
  • KBM enters Friday’s event having won the last five Camping World Truck Series races. Nemechek started the streak at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway in March and at Richmond (Va.) Raceway in April. Busch was victorious at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway and captured KBM’s most recent victory at Kansas Speedway. Martin Truex Jr. captured his first Truck Series victory at the Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway Dirt Track. It’s the first time in the organization’s history that they’ve collected five straight victories.
  • This weekend kicks off the Triple Truck Challenge presented by Womply in the Camping World Truck Series. This year’s program will consist of the events at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and concludes at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. An extra $50,000 is on the line for each of those events. If a driver can win all three races, they will get a $500,000 bonus.
  • 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 109 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, the second-generation driver has compiled two poles, 882 laps led, 33 top-five and 56 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 Darlington, Phillips has three starts with one win coming in 2011 when Kasey Kahne led a race-high 95 laps driving KBM’s No. 18 Tundra.
  • Pye-Barker Fire & Safety, an industry leader in commercial fire protection since 1946, will adorn the hood of Nemechek’s Tundra this weekend at Darlington, at Talladega (Ala) Superspeedway (Oct. 2), and for the season finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway (Nov. 5). Pye-Barker recently acquired Nemechek’s long-time supporter Fire Alarm Services.
John Hunter Nemechek, Driver Q&A:
John Hunter Nemechek | Darlington Preview
What does it mean to have Pye-Barker on board this weekend at Darlington?
“It’s very neat to have Fire Alarm Service and Pye-Barker on board this week. It’s a new company that Fire Alarm Services is a part of now. It’s their first race with us, so they are going to have quite a few guests in the grandstands which will be really neat. Hopefully, we can go out and get them their first win in their first start.”
What are your expectations going into Darlington?
“The last racetrack I’d been to that wasn’t in a truck ended up pretty well at Richmond. Hopefully we have the same outcome here at Darlington. It’s one of my better racetracks. It was one of my best runs last year in the Cup series right after the return from the COVID pandemic. I’m looking forward to this weekend. It’s too tough to tame for sure. There are a lot of characteristics with the racetrack. I don’t know how the lines will vary from the Cup car to the truck, but it is something that we will have to figure out. We’re coming off some momentum still after a fifth-place run last weekend and a pretty solid truck. I’m proud of everyone at KBM and look forward to getting going.”
Your crew chief Eric Phillips took a gamble last week at Kansas. As a driver, how does it feel knowing you have a couple of wins under your belt so that you can gamble throughout a race?
“It feels good knowing that we have a couple of wins under our belt and some playoff points. We didn’t feel like we had a truck capable of winning from where we were at during the second-to-last caution. Being able to take a gamble and come down pit road, I have all the faith in Eric and his call to come down and get a little bit of an advantage. It almost worked out. There was a little chaos there at the end. Overall, it was a solid day and solid performance. I’m still gaining on the points lead, so that’s a positive.”

by jnemechek