NEMECHEK BATTLES THROUGH THE FIELD TO A RUNNER-UP FINISH
John Hunter Nemechek leads three Kyle Busch Motorsports Tundra TRD Pros in the top-five
AUSTIN, TEXAS (March 26, 2022) – John Hunter Nemechek (second), Kyle Busch (third), Ben Rhodes (fourth) and Chandler Smith (fifth) led Toyota with top-five finishes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series XPEL 225 at Circuit of the Americas on Saturday afternoon.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Circuit of the Americas
Race 4 of 23 – 42 Laps, 143.22 Miles
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Zane Smith*
2nd, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
3rd, KYLE BUSCH
4th, BEN RHODES
5th, CHANDLER SMITH
6th, CHRISTIAN ECKES
7th, TYLER ANKRUM
9th, STEWART FRIESEN
13th, MATT CRAFTON
16th, CHASE PURDY
18th, TATE FOGLEMAN
20th, BRAD PEREZ
21st, WILL RODGERS
22nd, TIMMY HILL
30th, TY MAJESKI
33rd, MATT JASKOL
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 4 ROMCO Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 2nd
Can you describe those closing laps and how good this run was for you?
“The season has been frustrating for sure. We never give up at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports). We never give up as an organization. I didn’t have the fastest truck today. We struggled most of the day. I got spun by Zane (Smith). I’m a little ticked off there. That’s two weeks in a row that we’ve got screwed by the 38. On to next week. I’m going to run the Richmond Xfinity race. Thanks to ROMCO Equipment, Toyota, everyone at KBM, TRD for all they do for us. Hopefully, we can keep this ship righted the right way and take this and carry the momentum. It’s way better finishing second than 24th, 25th, 24th in the first three. Still got a lot to go, a lot to learn and a lot to build on, but a long season ahead.”
KYLE BUSCH, No. 51 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 3rd
What did you see at the end that happened that forced you to give up the lead at that point?
“We had a great race all day. I really appreciate everyone at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) and their hard work and everyone there who does a good job building such fast trucks. I felt like we deserved that one, but it doesn’t matter if you deserve it or not. It’s just a matter if you get it. You have to be the first one to the checkered flag to win these things and we just weren’t.”
BEN RHODES, No. 99 Tenda Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
How are you feeling after a top-five finish?
“I’m definitely glad it is over. I’m pretty tired, I’m not going to lie. Not as bad as I’ve been at some other places. Daytona road course really wore me out a few years ago, but overall our Tenda Toyota Tundra was pretty fast. We made some improvements from last year. I wanted one more spot. I wanted a podium in front of Kyle Busch. I was hoping some of those guys were going to run out of gas. I could feel mine start to sputter and I thought, man, there is hope, but fourth-place isn’t bad. It’s a good points day and we are going to go on to the next one and see what we can do.”
CHANDLER SMITH, No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Kyle Buch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 5th
What was the biggest challenge for you today at COTA?
“Track position and then at the very end – we probably would have ran second if everything had went good. We just had a loose wheel and had to come in and get tires, and we still ended up salvaging a top-five at the very end with the green-white-checkered. Happy with my whole Safelite, ChargeMe Toyota KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) group and on forward.”
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