John Hunter Nemechek: Driver, No. 4 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event: Lucas Oil 150, Race 23 of 23 (Championship 4)
150 Laps – 45/45/60; 150 Miles
Location: Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway (one-mile oval)
Date/Broadcast: Nov. 4, 2022, at 10 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
Neme’chek’ the Facts:
John Hunter Nemechek and the No. 4 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety team head to Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway for the final race of the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series campaign. Nemechek’s bid for a spot in the Championship 4 for the second consecutive year came up short as the No. 4 team experienced multiple flat-tire issues in the Round of 8 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The tire issues set back the 25-year-old driver multiple laps early in the race and ultimately took the checkered flag in 35th.
The second-generation driver heads to Phoenix Raceway this Friday for his ninth start in Camping World Truck Series action. In his first eight starts, he has posted 31 laps led, two top-five and five top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.9. Nemechek has also made three NASCAR Cup Series start at the one-mile oval, earning a best finish of 25th in the Spring 2020 event. Earlier this season, Nemechek notched a fifth-place finish for Sam Hunt Racing piloting the No. 26 GR Supra in the Xfinity Series back in March. Across five Xfinity starts, he has two top-five and five top-five finishes.
With one race left in the Camping World Truck Series season, Nemechek leads Truck Series regulars in poles (seven) and is second in driver rating (101.9) and average starting position (7.8). He also sits third in laps led (372).
Pye-Barker Fire & Safety, an industry leader in commercial fire protection since 1946, will serve as the primary sponsor for Nemechek at Phoenix. Pye-Barker, who acquired Nemechek’s long-term partner Fire Alarm Services in 2021, has served as the primary sponsor on the No. 4 Tundra five times this season.
Nemechek is a 13-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 146 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, he has compiled nine poles, 1,553 laps led, 49 top-five and 80 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.5.
Eric Phillips returned to lead the No. 4 team in 2022. His 43 career Truck Series victories make him the winningest crew chief in Truck Series history, with 34 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 Series history to capture an owner’s championship in its first season of competition. In 2014, the Illinois native led the first team in Truck 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 Phoenix, Phillip’s drivers have collected three wins, one pole, five top-five and seven top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 10.2 across 11 starts. He was victorious at the one-mile oval with KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch (2011), Brian Scott (2012), and Erik Jones (2014).
John Hunter Nemechek, Driver Q&A:
Reflect on your two seasons with Kyle Busch Motorsports.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity that Kyle, Toyota, TRD and everyone has given me to be a part of KBM. I’m proud to be a part of the KBM family and winning races over the last two years with a regular season championship and a final four appearance. The goal was to step back and be able to win races and I’ve been able to do that with the support and personnel at KBM.”
What would it mean to end your tenure at KBM going out with a win at Phoenix on Friday?
“It would mean a lot to end with a win and getting the final win with KBM and Toyota. Eric, all of the No. 4 guys, Kyle, the KBM employees in the machine shop (Rowdy Manufacturing), the fab shop, and all of our partners.”
John Hunter Nemechek Career Highlights:
- 13-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 146 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, has compiled nine poles, 1,553 laps led, 49 top-five and 80 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.5. Registered a career-high and series-leading five victories in 2021, earned the NCWTS Regular Season championship and finished 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 67 career XFINITY Series starts, has totaled two wins, one pole, 570 laps led, 17 top-five and 37 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.5.
John Hunter Nemechek’s No. 4 Pye-Barker Tundra TRD Pro:
KBM-56: The No. 4 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety team will unload KBM-056 for Friday night’s race at Phoenix. Nemechek has raced this Tundra on four different occasions in 2022, most recently at Kansas Speedway where he started on the pole, led a race-high 88 laps, and swept all three stages en route to his second win of the season. Overall, KBM-056 has made 15 starts, recording two wins (Nemechek – 2021 & 2022), four top-five and eight top-10 finishes with an average finish of 11.9.
KBM-56 Performance Profile
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM drivers have collected six wins, six poles, 953 laps led, 15 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 9.1 across 34 starts at Phoenix Raceway. The organization’s six victories at the Arizona track have come with five different drivers, with Chandler Smith’s victory in last year’s event being the most recent. Kyle Busch won in 2011, Brian Scott in 2012, Erik Jones went back-to-back in 2013 and 2014 while Daniel Suarez claimed the top spot in 2016.
- KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (98) 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 18 career victories at KBM and was the number for both of the organization’s driver championships.
