NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event: Fr8 208, Race 3 of 23, 135 Laps –30/30/75; 207.9 Miles
Location: Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway at (1.54-mile Quad-oval)
Date/Broadcast: Mar. 19, 2022, at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
Nemechek #Back4More in 2022
Nemechek and the No. 4 Pye-Barker team head to Atlanta Motor Speedway looking to rebound from a 25th-place finish in the previous race at Las Vegas. After capturing the pole and finishing in the top-10 in each of the first two stages at Las Vegas, Nemechek was involved in a late-race incident, relegating him to a 25th-place finish. Nemechek currently sits 10th in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings after the first two races of the season.
The 24-year-old driver will be making his fifth career start at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He has tallied one win (2016), two top-five and two top-10 finishes with average finish of 14.3 in his first four starts at the 1.54-mile oval. In his lone NASCAR Cup Series start at the Georgia track, Nemechek finished 18th in 2020. Additionally, he has made two NASCAR Xfinity Starts at Atlanta, with a best result of fourth coming in the 2018 event.
Back on January 4th, Nemechek participated in a Goodyear Tire Test at the newly repaved Atlanta Motor Speedway where he turned over 200-laps in the new Tundra TRD Pro. The No. 4 team will unload the same chassis, KBM-53 this weekend that was used during the Goodyear Tire Test.
Pye-Barker Fire & Safety, an industry leader in commercial fire protection since 1946, will serve as the primary sponsor for Nemechek at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Pye-Barker, who acquired Nemechek’s long-term partner Fire Alarm Services in 2021, will also serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 4 Tundra TRD Pro at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (5/27), Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (9/15) and the season finale at Phoenix Raceway (11/4).
Nemechek is an 11-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 in 2021 with KBM. Across 126 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, he has compiled three poles, 1,254 laps led, 40 top-five and 66 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.8.
Nemechek spent the Truck Series off weekend racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway last weekend. He started 11th, led 11 laps and ended the day with a fifth-place finish for Sam Hunt Racing.
Eric Phillips returned to lead the No. 4 team in 2022. His 41 career Truck Series victories make him the winningest crew chief in Truck Series history, with 32 of those coming while at KBM including five last year. 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. At Atlanta, Phillip’s drivers have collected seven top-five, and seven top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 11.0 across 13 starts.
John Hunter Nemechek, Driver Q&A:
John Hunter Nemechek | Atlanta Motor Speedway
You participated in the Goodyear Tire Test at Atlanta, what’s your take on the “new Atlanta” for this race?
“Don’t know what to expect going back. We were a part of the tire test in January — I think that they are bringing a really good tire back to Atlanta Motor Speedway. Not sure how it’s going to race, though. A lot of things have changed since we were there at the tire test, double yellow line rule now, I know that they’re changing some of the walls around, some barriers for different angles so if you do hit it’s not as violent. A lot of changes going back, we were supposed to have a 50-minute practice on Friday but it doesn’t look too great with rain coming so not sure if we’ll get on track Friday. The first laps in a pack may be at the start of the race so a lot to learn, a lot to figure out in a short of time but hopefully it’ll be fun and hopefully we can bring home our first checkered flag of the year.”
In addition to running in the Truck Series, you have been running some Xfinity Series races. Does racing during those off weekends help you stay sharp?
“Yeah, I think being able to be in the seat when the Truck Series is off, being able to go out and run laps and race, you’re learning something. I think being able to run at Phoenix last week was a great addition for me with Sam Hunt Racing, being able to go turn laps, have a really solid day, not make any mistakes and learn. We raced really hard all day — had to come from the back and pass a lot of cars. That’s where our championship finale is, so the more laps the better.”
John Hunter Nemechek Career Highlights:
- Eleven-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 126 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, has compiled three poles, 1,254 laps led, 40 top-five and 66 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.8. Registered a career-high and series-leading five victories in 2021 and earned the NCWTS Regular Season championship and third in the final standings after qualifying for the Championship Four for the first time in his career.
- 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
- Across 58 career XFINITY Series starts, has totaled two wins, one pole, 375 laps led, 15 top-five and 34 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 11.6.
John Hunter Nemechek’s No. 4 Pye-Barker Tundra TRD Pro:
KBM-53: The No. 4 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety team will unload KBM-53 for Saturday’s race at Atlanta. Nemechek drove this Toyota three times throughout the 2021 season, accumulating 125 laps led and an average finish of 4.3. Nemechek wheeled KBM-53 to a third-place finish at Atlanta last spring after leading 21 of 130 laps. Back on January 4th, Nemechek participated in a Goodyear Tire Test at the newly repaved Atlanta Motor Speedway where he turned over 200-laps driving this chassis.
Click Here for KBM-53 Performance Profile:
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM drivers have collected three wins, two poles, 689 laps led, 10 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.8 across 26 starts at Atlanta. KBM Owner-driver Kyle Busch won last year and in 2019 while Christopher Bell brought home the trophy in 2017.
- KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (91) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Bristol Motor Speedway last September, Chandler Smith became the 17th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. 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 16 career victories at KBM and was the number for both of the organization’s driver championships.
