- Second-generation driver John Hunter Nemechek gave up a chance to continue racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, where he competed full time in 2020, to come to Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) for the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. Nemechek came to the most successful team in Truck Series history with one goal in mind, winning. He made his announcement with #Here4Wins and winning is what he’s done at KBM this year. Nemechek led the Truck Series in race wins (five), stage wins (11), won the regular season championship, and now heads to Phoenix Raceway on Friday with hopes of winning his first NASCAR National Series title.
- Nemechek’s chance to compete for the Truck Series championship Friday nearly got derailed last weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The Toyota Racing driver entered the final race in the Round of 8 36 points above the cutoff line for advancing and helped his cause by earning 17 stage points with finishes of third and second, respectively in the opening two stages. He hit pit road at the end of Stage Two, and then lined up 14th when the Final Stage went green due to differing pit strategies throughout the field. Marching back towards the front, Nemechek made his way to the inside of Austin Wayne Self and was nearly clear when Self turned left into the right side of Nemechek’s Toyota and sent him shotting up the track into the outside wall. With severe damage, Nemechek was unable to continue and relegated to a 39th-place finish. He would spend the remainder of the race watching the television broadcast from inside his hauler, seeing his name move in and out of the Championship 4 before ultimately making it in by four points.
- The 24-year-old driver registered his fifth Truck Series win of 2021 June 26 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. The talented wheelman has posted victories at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway in March, Richmond (Va.) Raceway in April, Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in May and in June at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. In addition to leading the circuit in race wins (five) and stage wins (11), he leads the Truck Series in top fives (12), fastest laps run (287), driver rating (113.5) and average running position (7.545).
- Nemechek is competing in the Camping World Truck Series playoffs for the third time in his career. He finished eighth in the championship standings for his family-owned team, NEMCO Motorsports, in 2016 and 2017. 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 this year with KBM.
- KBM will be shooting for its eighth owner’s Truck Series championship Friday. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships (2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019), the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017). Both of KBM’s driver championships came with the No. 4 team. The team’s most recent championship was the 2019 owner’s crown with the No. 51 team.
- Eric Phillips returned to KBM to lead the No. 4 team this season. 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. His 41 career Truck Series victories make him the winningest crew chief in Truck Series history, with 32 of those coming while at KBM.
- Across 10 starts At Phoenix, Phillip’s drivers have three wins, five top-five and six top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 10.5. In his last three Truck Series races at the one-mile track, he has won with three different drivers: Kyle Busch (2011), Brian Scott (2012) and Erik Jones (2014).
- Mobil 1, Fire Alarm Services, ROMCO, Berry’s Manufacturing, Safeway and Power Up Trail Mix have all served as primary sponsors of the No. 4 for at least one race in 2021.
No. 4 Tundra – Phoenix Raceway Advance Page Two
You came to KBM to win, and you’ve won five races this year but was winning the championship the ultimate goal?
“Coming to KBM this year was coming back to win races. We were #Here4Wins, we used it when announced me coming back. I wanted to come here to be able to park it and victory lane and take checkered flags home. For me, it was proving to myself that I could still do this. When we use that hashtag, we’re not just using it to win races, we’re here to win practice, qualifying, stages, races, and championships. Luckily, we were able to lock up the regular season championship earlier this year, so now trying to go for the playoff championship. Hopefully, we’ll be the ones hosting that trophy over our head come Friday night.”
What would it mean to you to win a NASCAR National Series championship?
“It would mean a lot to me to win a NASCAR championship. As a kid this is the kind of stuff that you dream about. I’m not here just to be in the Cup Series, I’m not here just to be in the Xfinity Series, I want to be where I feel like I can win races and championships. I’m here to try and win as much as I can, set records and break them as well. All here, #Here4Wins”
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 123 career starts in NASCAR’s third division, has compiled two poles, 1,181 laps led, 40 top-five and 65 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 12.6.
- Qualified for the Camping World Truck Series playoffs in each of his two full-time seasons, finishing eighth in the championship standings in both 2016 and 2017.
- 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, earned the Sunoco Rookie of the Race award four times and finished 23rd in the championship standings.
- Across 55 career XFINITY Series starts, has totaled two wins, one pole, 325 laps led, 14 top-five and 32 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 11.8.
John Hunter Nemechek’s No. 4 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Tundra:
KBM-56: The No. 4 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety team will unload KBM-56 for the Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway. Nemechek piloted this Tundra twice this season, including at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., where he was victorious. In its most recent outing, KBM-56 raced at Las Vegas, where it was out front for 33 laps but experienced some mechanical issues and was relegated to a 33rd-place finish.
KBM-56 Performance Profile:
| Starts | Wins | Average Start | Average Finish | Laps Led |
| 10 | 1 | 10.8 | 13.7 | 54 |
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM drivers have collected five wins, five poles, 914 laps led, 14 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 9.2 across 31 starts at Phoenix Raceway.
- The organization’s five victories at the Arizona track have come with four different drivers. 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 (89) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Bristol Motor Speedway 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.
