Start/Finish: 37th/11th (Running, completed 179 of 179 laps)
Winner: Austin Hill of Hattori Racing Enterprises (Toyota)
John Hunter Nemechek clinched the 2021 regular season NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship with an 11th-place finish on the dirt at Knoxville Raceway. The driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra spun coming to the checkered flag but managed to lose minimal spots and would finish 11th.
On Thursday evening, Nemechek made contact with the outside wall during practice and damaged his primary Tundra enough that crew chief Eric Phillips made the decision to go to a backup truck. On Friday, Nemechek then pulled off during his qualifying race, as he would have to start at the rear of the feature regardless.
Nemechek began the race at the tail of the field, but steadily marched toward the front, arriving in the top-10 by lap 73. After a chaotic final stage, Nemechek was ninth coming to the checkers and spun, but managed to continue, losing only two spots to cross the finish line in 11th.
Stage One Recap
After wrecking in practice and going to a backup, Nemechek started the race at the tail end of the field, in 37th position.
He quickly began to move forward and reported that the No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra was a little bit snug in the center of the corner and snappy off the corner.
Despite the handling issues, Nemechek entered the top-20 on lap 29.
Nemechek finished the first stage in the 17th position.
Stage Two Recap:
At the stage break, Phillips called Nemechek to pit road for four tires and fuel during the modified pit stop.
The No. 4 began the second stage in 17th.
After a caution on lap 66, Nemechek reported that he had right front fender damage from contact with the No. 52 and that he was still having handling issues.
By lap 73, Nemechek was in the sixth position, but lost one spot in the closing laps of the stanza and would go on to finish the second stage in seventh.
Final Stage Recap:
During the stage break, Nemechek reported that his Tundra was really tight and either had the toe knocked out of it or had a tire going down.
Phillips called him to pit road under the modified pit stop period to change four tires, fill up with fuel, make adjustments and repair damage.
The final stage was full of cautions and restarts, and Nemechek remained in or near the top-ten.
After four overtime attempts for an extra 29 laps, Nemechek was coming to the checkered flag in ninth, but spun. The young driver managed to quickly right the No. 4 Tundra and only lost two spots, crossing the line in 11th and clinching the regular season championship.
John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra for KBM:
How was your night?
“It was a fun night overall in the Mobil 1 Tundra. It was fun sliding around, not too great of a result, but driving up from 40th, up to the front, back to the back, back to the front, and coming home 11th is not a bad night. Locking up the regular season championship is good too.”
Corn Belt 150 Recap
Austin Hill scored the Camping World Truck Series victory, beating Chandler Smith to the checkered flag by 1.207 seconds. Grant Enfinger, Todd Gilliland, and Derek Kraus rounded out the top-five finishers.
There were 14 cautions for 80 laps. There were 20 lead changes among seven drivers.
How John Hunter Nemechek’s KBM Teammates Fared:
· Chandler Smith, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished 2nd.
· Brian Brown, driver of the No. 51 Toyota, finished 8th.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship Standings
After 14 races, Nemechek leads Ben Rhodes in the point standings by 85 points and has clinched the regular season championship with one race remaining.
Next Race
The No. 4 team returns to the track when the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series resumes action on Saturday, August 7 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. Live coverage will be on FS1, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM at 12:30 p.m. ET.
