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.”
