John Hunter Nemechek: Driver, No. 4 Fire Alarm Services Toyota
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event: NextEra Energy 250, Race 1 of 22, 100 Laps – 20/20/60; 250 Miles
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile tri-oval)
Date/Broadcast: Feb. 12, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
Neme’check’ the Facts
- John Hunter Nemechek will make his much anticipated Kyle Busch Motorsports debut driving the No. 4 Fire Alarm Services Tundra Friday night in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season-opening event at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
- Nemechek is a six-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. Across 102 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, the second-generation driver has compiled two poles, 609 laps led, 28 top-five and 50 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 13.2. 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 second-generation driver has made three starts in Camping World Truck Series action at Daytona, with a best result of seventh coming in the 2017 event. He finished 11th last year in his first career Daytona 500 and equaled that finish in the August Cup Series event at the 2.5-mile tri-oval. Nemechek also has two NASCAR XFINITY Series starts at the World Center of Racing, with an eighth-place finish in the 2019 season-opening event being his best result.
- 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 37 career Truck Series victories make him the winningest crew chief in Truck Series history, with 27 of those coming while at KBM. Owner-driver Kyle Busch collected his organization’s lone Truck Series victory at Daytona with Phillips atop the pit box in 2014.
- Fire Alarm Services, a one-stop shop safety company with a proven track record of providing excellent service for over 20 years, will adorn the hood of Nemechek’s No. 4 Tundra for eight events on Camping World Truck Series schedule in 2021. Mobil 1, the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand, will be the primary sponsor for the No. 4 team next week when teams return to Florida take on the road course at Daytona.
John Hunter Nemechek, Driver Q&A:
Are you looking forward to being back in the Camping World Truck Series this year?
“I definitely am looking forward to being back in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this year. I am looking forward to getting things kicked off this weekend at Daytona with our KBM Fire Alarm Services Toyota Tundra. I am looking forward to getting the year started and hopefully coming home with a truck covered in confetti!”
What does it mean to have a sponsor like Fire Alarm Services supporting your career?
“I can’t say thank you enough to Fire Alarm Services, Shannon and Connie, and everyone that is involved for having my back for so many years back when I started truck racing quite a few years ago from moving up to the Xfinity and Cup series and now back to the Truck Series. It’s something that we didn’t anticipate coming, but they want to win as much as I do. We are here for wins this season. Hopefully, we can get them to victory lane like we have in the past in almost every series and bring them home a championship come Phoenix.”
Did you set any goals for this season?
“There are definitely some internal goals. I don’t want to publicize those goals. The goal is to obviously win races and be a contender for the championship come Phoenix for our finale. Hopefully, we can accomplish all that, get as many wins as possible, and be a contender each week.”
What does it take to be successful at Daytona?
“I think the biggest thing to be successful is to survive. You must be able to survive and be there at the end to have a shot to win it. If you don’t have a truck or anything capable of running at the end of the race, then you don’t have a shot to win it. You must make the right moves. You must communicate well with Eric (Phillips, crew chief) and Tony (Hirschman, spotter) up on the spotter stand to see how the race plays out. It’s going to be hairy. I feel like it always is. It’s not if there is going to be a big one, but when. We have to get through the big one and hope everything turns out the right way for us.”
John Hunter Nemechek Career Highlights:
- Six-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. Across 102 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, has compiled two poles, 609 laps led, 28 top-five and 50 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 13.2.
- 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.
- 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.
- Across 51 career XFINITY Series starts, has totaled one win (Kansas Speedway, 10/20/18), one pole, 225 laps led, 12 top-five and 30 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 11.6.
John Hunter Nemechek’s No. 4 Fire Alarm Services Tundra:
KBM-51: The No. 4 Fire Alarm Services team will unload KBM-51 for Friday’s season-opening event at Daytona. Christian Eckes captured the pole with this Tundra in the 2019 Daytona race. The truck’s best finish was a third-place result with Riley Herbst at Talladega in 2019.
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM drivers have collected one win, three poles, 102 laps led, four top-five and eight top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 17.1 across 28 starts at Daytona. Owner-driver Kyle Busch picked up the team’s lone victory at the 2.5-mile tri-oval in dramatic fashion in the 2014 season opener, finishing .016 seconds ahead of fellow Toyota competitor Timothy Peters.
- KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (80) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
- The No. 4 has 11 career victories at KBM and was the number for both of the organization’s driver championships.
