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

June 3, 2021NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

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

June 3, 2021NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

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

Kansas

June 3, 2021NASCAR Camping World Truck Series,Photography

by jnemechek

No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra Camping World Trucks Kansas Preview

June 3, 2021NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

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 17th, 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:
John Hunter Nemechek | Kansas Preview
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!”

by jnemechek

Richmond

June 3, 2021NASCAR Camping World Truck Series,Photography

by jnemechek

No. 4 Safeway Tundra Camping World Trucks Richmond Preview

June 3, 2021NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

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 30th 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:
John Hunter Nemechek | Richmond Preview
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.”

by jnemechek

Bristol Dirt

March 31, 2021NASCAR Camping World Truck Series,Photography

by jnemechek

Atlanta

March 31, 2021NASCAR Camping World Truck Series,Photography

by jnemechek

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

March 30, 2021News,NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

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.”

by jnemechek

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

March 22, 2021News,NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

John Hunter Nemechek continued his momentum to start the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway with a third-place finish. Nemechek was able to score two playoff points by winning the opening two stages at Atlanta and extended his lead in the championship standings to 47 over Ben Rhodes.

Stage One Recap

Nemechek started from the pole position after a performance matrix based off of finishing position from the previous race, ranking in owner points standings and the fastest lap from the previous race at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. At the competition caution on Lap 15, Nemechek radioed to his crew that he was taking care of his equipment. Crew chief Eric Phillips elected to keep his driver on the racetrack under the caution. Nemechek was able to capture the stage victory by passing team owner Kyle Busch in the closing laps to score 10 championship points and an additional playoff point.

Stage Two Recap:

Under the stage caution, Nemechek radioed to his crew that he needed help running the bottom of the racetrack. Phillips summoned his driver to pit road for four tires, adjustments and fuel. After a speedy pit stop by the Mobil 1 crew, Nemechek would restart the stage from the race lead. With the second stage going green from start to finish, Nemechek radioed to his Mobil 1 crew in the middle of the run that the nose of his Tundra needed to be more off the racetrack to help with tire conservation. Nemechek would once again pass Busch to add another playoff point to his name.

Final Stage Recap:

Under the break, Nemechek radioed to his crew that his Mobil 1 Tundra lost lateral grip near the end of the run. Phillips brought his driver to pit road for four tires, fuel, and adjustments. Nemechek would restart the final stage from second behind Busch. Prior to coming down pit road for green flag pit stops, Nemechek radioed that his Mobil 1 Tundra was free running the top lane and that his Tundra could be a touch tighter. Phillips summoned his driver to pit road on Lap 100. Nemechek would cycle back to the third position and would finish the race in the same position.

John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra for KBM:

Couldn’t quite out-do the boss today, but how was your run overall? “I felt like we were strong in stage one and stage two. I felt like we could hang with Kyle (Busch), and then we got around in him in lap traffic at the end of the stages. Solid points day overall for our Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra. I can’t thank everyone at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) enough and all of our partners for supporting this deal. Overall, I’m happy with the day, but I’m disappointed. I was hoping to beat Kyle today, but I didn’t have anything for him there at the end. I’ve got to go study some green-flag pit stop stuff and get better there. It’s always a work in progress. We will be back next week at Bristol dirt and hopefully go get us a win there.”

by Barry Cantrell