John Hunter Nemechek earned the pole for Friday night’s Victoria’s Voice 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after putting down a lap time of 30.238 in the qualifying session earlier in the day. The Mobil 1 driver battled handling issues throughout much of the first stage but was able to recover for an eighth-place finish in the opening stanza, earning three stage points.
The second-generation driver would battle within the top-five for most of Friday night’s contest including leading three different times for a total of 23 laps. As the race was winding down, Nemechek got shuffled back on the final restart of the night before suffering a flat tire and being caught up in a two-truck incident, relegating him to a 25th-place finish.
Stage One Recap
· Nemechek earned the pole ahead of KBM teammates Kyle Busch and Chandler Smith earlier in the day after posting a lap time of 30.238 in Friday’s one-round, single-truck qualifying session.
· The second-generation driver led the opening lap of the race before getting caught in the middle of a three-wide battle with Busch and Smith, forcing him to forfeit the lead and fall back to fourth.
· During the first caution of the night, the No. 4 team elected to come down pit road while the first five trucks stayed out on track, sending the Mobil 1 Tundra TRD Pro back out on the track in the 11th-position.
· Nemechek communicated to his No. 4 team that the truck was too loose throughout much of the opening stage and that he was having trouble turning the wheel getting into the corners.
· Despite the handling issues, Nemechek earned three stage points as the first stage of the race ended under caution.
Stage Two Recap:
· Nemechek and the No. 4 team would restart the second stage in sixth position on the outside lane behind owner-driver Kyle Busch.
· Midway through the second stage, Nemechek passed the No. 42 of Carson Hocevar for second with his sights set on chasing down the owner, Kyle Busch.
· The Mobil 1 driver communicated that his Tundra TRD Pro was handling was better throughout the second stage but still needed more work.
· As the green-and-white checkered flag flew to end the second stanza of the night, Nemechek was scored fourth, picking up an additional seven stage points.
Final Stage Recap:
· As the final stage was underway, Nemechek regained the lead on lap 72 for the second time of the night from owner-driver Kyle Busch.
· Nemechek continued to lead for the next 20 laps of the race and communicated to the No. 4 team that his Mobil 1 Tundra TRD Pro was now “snugged up but way better”.
· The second-generation driver continued to battle within the top-five for the majority of the final stanza before getting shuffled back in the pack on what would be the final restart of the race on lap 131.
· As Nemechek was shuffled back into the field, he suffered a flat tire which caused his Mobil 1 Tundra TRD Pro to spin out entering turn 3 on the final lap. As the field was coming around, the No. 3 truck of Jordan Anderson had nowhere to go and collected Nemechek in the incident.
Nemechek limped his No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra back to the start finish line where he was scored 25th.
John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 Pye-Barker Tundra TRD Pro for KBM:
What happened at the end of the race?
“I guess I messed up on one of the final restarts there with Kyle behind me pushing and we didn’t get a good launch and the No. 18 sucked us back and put us back in traffic, and at that point I lost control of the race which sucks to be in that position. Then you just get back there with a bunch of squirrels racing and it’s part of it, I guess. I was running the very top and couldn’t go any higher and got hit in the left rear which ended up cutting a tire down with one to go and kind of ruined our day. I thought our trucks were way better on the long run. When you get pack style racing like that on restarts, anybody can be a hero that’s for sure. KBM went to work over the offseason and put a lot of work into the Toyota Tundra TRD Pro’s and. I’m looking forward to what’s next.”
Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 Recap
· Chandler Smith picked up the third win of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career and first of 2022. Busch, Stewart Friesen, Ryan Preece, and Tanner Gray rounded out the top-five finishers.
· There were 10 cautions for 52 laps. There were 21 lead changes among 10 drivers, including Nemechek who led three times for 23 laps.
How John Hunter Nemechek’s KBM Teammates Fared:
· Chandler Smith, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished first.
· Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 51 Toyota, finished second.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship Standings
Nemechek currently sits 10th in the Camping World Truck Series Driver Standings after the first two races of the season. He sits 32 points behind KBM teammate, Chandler Smith in first place.
