Richmond Post Race Report

John Hunter Nemechek came into Richmond (Va.) Raceway looking to defend his 2021 victory at the 0.75-mile facility and punch his ticket to the Round of 8. After 250 laps, the second-generation driver came up one spot short and took the checkered flag in second, earning an additional 18 stage points along the way.

Coming into Richmond, Nemechek was 24 points above the cutoff line to advance to the Round of 8 but was able to extend that gap to 43 points with one race remaining in the Round of 10.

Stage One Recap

·        Nemechek lined up in seventh for Saturday’s 250-lap event at Richmond Raceway after laying down a lap time of 22.799 seconds at 118.426 mph in the qualifying session earlier in the day.

·        Just 10 laps into the race, Nemechek broke into the top-five where he would stay for the rest of the night.

·        As the laps were winding down in the opening stanza, Nemechek was running in third and was able to track down his KBM teammate Chandler Smith as they were navigating lapped traffic.

·        Nemechek completed the pass on Smith with seven laps to go in the stage and would take the green-and-white checkered flag in second, earning nine stage points.

Stage Two Recap:

·        At the stage break, the second-generation driver communicated that his Safeway Tundra was “a little snug, but overall, not too bad”.

·        The No. 4 team executed a four-tire and fuel stop at the break and sent Nemechek back out on track to restart Stage Two in second.

·        As the field went back green, Nemechek was on the inside of Chandler Smith as the two battled into Turn 1. Nemechek was unable to complete the pass for the lead and settled into second as the stage continued.

·        Nemechek remained three seconds back of Smith for the entirety of the middle stanza before taking the green-and-white checkered flag in second, adding nine more stage points to his total.

Final Stage Recap:

·        Another four-tire and fuel stop by the No. 4 over-the-wall crew at the stage break put Nemechek on the front row to restart the final stage.

·        Much like the Stage Two restart, Nemechek and Smith battled for the lead as the field headed down into Turn 1. As they came out of Turn 2 and down the backstretch, the second-generation driver settled back into the second position.

·        With 45 laps to go, the leaders were navigating lapped traffic as Chandler Smith got hung up with the No. 62 of Layne Riggs, opening the door for Nemechek to make a move for the lead.

·        Nemechek made a three-wide move to the outside heading into Turn 1 but was unable to complete the pass for the lead as they ran into more lapped traffic.

·        The third and final caution of the night came out with just 34 laps to go in the race and Nemechek scored in second.

·        The No. 4 team executed their final stop of the stop night and set Nemechek up on the front row for the ensuing restart.

·        Unable to make the pass for the lead on the restart, Nemechek drove the final 28 laps in second where he would take the checkered flag, earning his eighth top-five finish of the season.

After the race, Nemechek came over the radio and said “I’m sorry. Thank you for a good truck, really appreciate it”.

John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 Safewy Tundra TRD PRo:

What did you need to make a run at Chandler Smith for the win tonight?

“We didn’t adjust quite like we needed to from day to night. Partly on me, so I’ll take that one. Overall, solid day for our Safeway Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Thank you to all of our great partners that are on this Tundra TRD and everyone that helps out and keeps us going here. Just big picture racing I would say. Really good points day. Second, second and second for all three stages. Can’t complain about that, just one spot short. It’s good to be disappointed when you have a run like that with second, second and second. Really good points day, let’s go advance to the next round. Only thing that matters is getting to the final four in Phoenix to compete for a championship.”

What are you going to do in the two weeks before the Kansas race?

“I’m going to run two races for Sam Hunt Racing in the Toyota GR Supra. Excited to go stay in the seat and keep everything that I can sharp and go have some fun racing.”

Worldwide Express 250 Recap

How John Hunter Nemechek’s KBM Teammates Fared:

·        Chandler Smith, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished first.

·        Corey Heim, driver of the No. 51 Toyota, finished fifth.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship Standings

After two races in the Round of 10 of the Camping World Truck Series playoffs, Nemechek increased his gap and now sits in fourth 43 points above the cutoff line for advancing to the Round of 8.

Next Race

Nemechek and the No. 4 Mobil 1 team will be off for three weeks before heading to Kansas Speedway for the cutoff race in the Round of 10 on Sept. 9. Live coverage of the Kansas Lottery 200 will be on Fs1, Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM at 7:30 p.m. ET.