John Hunter Nemechek Gambles Late, Finishes Fifth at Kansas Mobil 1 driver led 16 laps

By:
On:
In: NASCAR Truck Series News
John Hunter Nemechek finished fifth in the Wise Power 200 after taking a gamble by coming down pit road during the fourth caution of the evening for four scuffs. Nemechek restarted in the 11th position and worked his way up to eighth when the fifth and final caution flew off Turn 2 in the second attempt at NASCAR Overtime.
 
Nemechek restarted from the outside lane and attempted to gain valuable positions before contact with another competitor caused a tire to go down on the Mobil 1 Tundra.
 
With his fifth-place finish, Nemechek was able to extend his points lead and score the No. 4 road crew a $50,000 bonus thanks to Camping World.
 
Stage One Recap
 
  • Nemechek started from the pole position based on NASCAR’s performance-based matrix.
  • The Mobil 1 Tundra would pace the field for the first 11 laps before surrendering the lead to Sheldon Creed.
  • After falling back to the third spot, he was able to work his way back into the runner-up position in the closing laps of the stage as it went green from start to finish.
 
Stage Two Recap:
 
  • At the stage break, Nemechek radioed to crew chief Eric Phillips that his Mobil 1 Tundra was laterally free. Phillips summoned his driver to pit road for four tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment. Nemechek would restart from the third position.
  • With the second stage going green from start to finish, Nemechek would finish in second.
 
Final Stage Recap:
 
  • Under the break, Nemechek radioed that his Mobil 1 Tundra was tight throughout the run and had issues getting up to speed on the restart. Phillips summoned his driver onto pit road for four fresh tires, fuel and adjustments. With a speedy pit stop from the over-the-wall crew, Nemechek was able to restart the stage from the lead.
  • When the third caution flew on lap 71, Nemechek radioed that his Tundra was snug in traffic.
  • With the race going green, Phillips summoned Nemechek down to pit road for a green flag stop on lap 99. The over-the-wall crew changed four tires, added fuel and made adjustments. Nemechek cycled back to second before being passed by teammate Kyle Busch on lap 119.
  • The caution would fly for the fourth time on lap 129. Believing that they didn’t have a strong enough Tundra to get by Busch on the ensuing restart, Phillips gambled in the late stages of the race. He summoned Nemechek down pit road for four scuffed tires and fuel. Nemechek restarted from the 11th position.
  • At the fifth caution on lap 135, Nemechek had worked his way up to eighth and would restart from the seventh position.
  • Nemechek restarted from the outside lane and attempted to gain valuable positions before contact with another competitor caused a tire to go down on the Mobil 1 Tundra. Nemechek would finish in the fifth position and earn his fifth top five across seven starts this season.
 
 
John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra for KBM:
 
What more did you need to battle with Kyle Busch?
“We were just too loose all night. I couldn’t fire off and didn’t have any short-run speed. I figured that I had really good mid-run speed compared to Kyle (Busch) and he definitely had the long run speed. Takeaways, positive day. If a bad day for us is fifth, then we’re doing pretty good. We came down and gambled there with the second-to-last caution. I trusted Eric (Phillips, crew chief). We have two wins so why not gamble and try to go get a third. It almost worked out. If we hadn’t gotten sandwiched on that last restart, I think we would have been in pretty good shape being one of the first guys on tires there. Oh well, solid day here in Kansas. Still the points leader and still moving forward. The Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra was fast, just needed a little bit more.”
 
Wise Power 200 Recap
 
  • Kyle Busch captured his second victory of 2021 in the NASCAR beating Ross Chastain by 0.665 seconds. Austin Hill, Christian Eckes and Nemechek rounded out the top five.
  • There were five cautions for 25 laps. There were 14 lead changes among seven drivers with Nemechek leading twice times for 16 laps.
 
How John Hunter Nemechek’s KBM Teammates Fared:
 
  • Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 51 Toyota, finished first.
  • Chandler Smith, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished 11th.
 
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship Standings
 
After six races, Nemechek and the No. 4 team extend its points lead over Ben Rhodes to 33 points.
 
Next Race
 
The No. 4 returns to the track when the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series resumes action on Friday, May 7 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. Live coverage will be on FS1, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM at 7:30 p.m. ET.

KBM PR

Speedway Digest Staff
Follow Me
Latest posts by Speedway Digest Staff (see all)
Post Views: 79