John Hunter Nemechek: Driver, No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event: Toyota 200, Race 11 of 23, 160 Laps – 35/35/90; 200 Miles
Location: World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Ill. (1.25-mile oval)
Date/Broadcast: June 4, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
Neme’chek’ the Facts:
John Hunter Nemechek and the No. 4 Mobil 1 team head to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Ill. for race No. 11 of the 2022 Camping World Truck Series campaign. Nemechek is coming off a third-place finish at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway this past weekend, extending his top-10 streak to a career best seven races. The second-generation driver continues to hold the top spot in the Camping World Truck Series championship standings and has extended his lead to seven points over reigning champion Ben Rhodes.
In addition to leading the point standings through the first 10 races of 2022, Nemechek leads all Camping World Truck Series regulars in poles (four), average starting position (6.7), and average running position (6.771). He is also ranks second in driver rating (105.9) and third in laps led (171).
Saturday’s race will be the first of three races in the Truck Series Triple Truck Challenge, with an extra $50,000 on the line for the winner. The remaining two races of the Triple Truck Challenge will be June 24 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway and July 9 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington. If a driver can win two of the three races, they will be awarded an extra $50,000 totaling $150,000 and if the same driver wins all three races, they earn a $300,000 bonus bringing the total to $500,000. Nemechek took advantage of the program last season, collecting an extra $50,000 for his win at Charlotte.
The North Carolina driver has made six starts at Gateway in Camping World Truck Series action. Nemechek was victorious at the 1.25-mile facility in June of 2017 while driving for family-owned NEMCO Motorsports. In his first six starts, Nemechek has tallied one win, 100 laps led, two top-five and three top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.2.
The world’s leading synthetic motor oil, Mobil 1, will adorn the hood of the No. 4 Tundra TRD Pro Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway. Mobil 1 returns as the primary sponsor of Nemechek’s Toyota for four more races in 2022; June 18 at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway, June 24 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway, July 9 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and Oct. 1 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
Nemechek is a 12-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 and 2022 with KBM. Across 134 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, he has compiled six poles, 1,352 laps led, 45 top-five and 73 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.4.
Eric Phillips returned to lead the No. 4 team in 2022. His 42 career Truck Series victories make him the winningest crew chief in Truck Series history, with 33 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. Phillips has called the shots for eight starts at Gateway in Camping World Truck Series action. In those eight starts, his drivers have tallied one win (Mike Skinner – 2009), 13 laps led, two top-five and four top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.9.
John Hunter Nemechek, Driver Q&A:
Is Gateway a unique track?
“Gateway is unique. They repaved it not long ago, so it has quite a bit of grip now. Definitely a little bit different with the spec motor compared to the built motors that we used to run, but overall, the same race track. I really enjoy going to Gateway, you use quite a bit of brake there, you shift some and I would call it a big short track.”
Are you excited about the Triple Truck Challenge coming back this year?
“I’m very excited about the Triple Truck Challenge this year – it’s a great thing that Marcus (Lemonis) and everyone at Camping World does to put a little extra money on the line for us series regulars. We were able to capitalize on it last year and bring home an extra $50,000 — hopefully this year we can bring home the whole thing. This No. 4 team has really been hitting our stride recently and now we just need to turn our top fives and top 10s into more wins and start to build up our playoff bonus points as we get closer to the end of the regular season.”
John Hunter Nemechek Career Highlights:
- Twelve-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 with KBM in 2021 and 2022. Across 134 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, has compiled six poles, 1,352 laps led, 45 top-five and 73 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.4. 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 61 career XFINITY Series starts, has totaled two wins, one pole, 510 laps led, 17 top-five and 36 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 11.8.
John Hunter Nemechek’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Tundra TRD Pro:
KBM-58: The No. 4 Mobil 1 team will unload KBM-58 for Saturday’s race at Gateway. Nemechek piloted KBM-58 once earlier this season at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway where he brought home a fourth-place finish. In 2021, Nemechek produced three of his series leading five wins with this Toyota at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, Richmond (Va.) Raceway, and Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch also produced a victory with this Tundra TRD Pro at Charlotte in 2019.
KBM-58 Performance Profile
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM drivers have tallied two wins, 422 laps led, six top-five and 12 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 14.9 across 26 starts at Gateway.
- Christopher Bell was victorious at the 1.25-mile track in 2016 and Darrell Wallace Jr., won the 2014 event.
- KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (93) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19, Corey Heim became the 18th 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 17 career victories at KBM and was the number for both of the organization’s driver championships.
