John Hunter Nemechek was fastest in practice, won the pole and led a race-high 69 laps en route to his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win of the season Friday night at Darlington Raceway. But it was not without its challenges.
He survived 10 cautions, an additional pit stop under caution during Stage 2 due to a loose wheel and an overtime restart to earn his 12th career win in the series.
“Just a huge shout-out to all the guys that work on this No. 4 KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) Toyota Tundra,” he said. “I thought we gave it away early, honestly, and we were able to rebound and battle back. I learned a lot tonight. I was finally able to bring home the first win of the year.”
Niece Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar won Stage 2 and finished 0.552 seconds behind Nemechek in his No. 42 Chevrolet to claim second, his fourth top-10 this season. It was the second consecutive runner-up finish for Hocevar who said he was experiencing electrical issues.
“Every once in a while it would stumble, and it flat out shut off in the middle of 1 and 2 coming to the white (flag).”
Grant Enfinger was third, followed by Ty Majeski, Parker Kligerman, Ryan Preece, Zane Smith, Tyler Ankrum, Todd Bodine, and Matt DiBenedetto to complete the top-10 finishers at Darlington.
Matt Crafton, who was originally scored in fifth, was disqualified during post-race inspection for his Truck being too low in front.
Dean Thompson was the highest finishing rookie in 15th place. There were 16 lead changes among nine drivers, with 10 cautions for 54 laps.
Ben Rhodes leads the driver standings with 284 points, followed by Nemechek (254), Chandler Smith (252), Stewart Friesen (242) and Zane Smith (241) in fifth.
Up Next: May 14 at Kansas Speedway for the Heart of America 200 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
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