KANSAS CITY, KANSAS – SEPTEMBER 09: John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the #4 Mobil 1 Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Kansas Lottery 200 at Kansas Speedway on September 09, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — John Hunter Nemechek swept the stages and led 88 laps en route to a victory in Friday’s Kansas Lottery 200 at Kansas Speedway.
But, his victory didn’t come as easy as it seems.
Nemechek started off his weekend by winning the pole, his sixth of the season. After leading the first seven laps, he surrendered his lead to Ty Majeski before passing him back on Lap 21.
Nemechek captured his Stage 1 win on Lap 30 and led all but one lap in the second stage to earn a full 20 stage points and two playoff points.
Two cautions — one for a Bayley Currey spin and one for a Brett Moffitt fire — disrupted the early laps of stage three. Nemechek restarted on Lap 81 as the leader but surrendered his position when made his last pit stop on Lap 103. He would’ve cycled back into the lead, but Carson Hocevar stayed out and tried to make it on fuel.
Hocevar likely needed to win the race to advance in the playoffs. He struggled all night and it was likely his only hope.
But as the laps ticked down, Nemechek quickly cut into a 15-second deficit. He weaved through lapped traffic and closed in on Hocevar as the 19-year-old’s tires faded. On the final lap, Nemechek passed Hocevar to win his second race of the season and the 13th of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career.
“I was really glad that there wasn’t a caution on that final run,” Nemechek said after the race. “Sometimes the races go green, sometimes they are a caution-fest… I wasn’t worried about the five bonus points. I just wanted to win the race.
“I’ve had to figure out and go back and strategically close out races that I haven’t closed out this year that we’ve had fast trucks. I’ve put myself in a lot of bad situations this year. I just feel like it was our time, we had the truck to beat and I was going to do everything in my power to go out and get the checkered flag.”
Nemechek enters the Round of 8 third in points, only trailing regular-season champion Zane Smith and teammate Chandler Smith. He is up to 24 playoff points and 11 points above the cutline.
Though he would rather win one of the next three races to punch his ticket to Phoenix, Nemechek said he feels pointing his way in is also possible.
“Winning earlier in the round is obviously better going to Phoenix,” he said. “Looking forward to trying to that next week at Bristol. We have some momentum on our side, we have a lot of good things aligning for us. Definitely think that it’s going to be tough to get in if you don’t win, but I think there’s definitely a chance.”
Hocevar finished second and missed transferring to the Round of 8 by three points. It would’ve been his second consecutive berth in the second round. Three-time series champion Matt Crafton also failed to transfer.
Results
STAGE 1: John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Corey Heim, Zane Smith, Ryan Preece, Derek Kraus, Chandler Smith, Matt Crafton, Tanner Gray
STAGE 2: John Hunter Nemechek, Zane Smith, Ryan Preece, Christian Eckes, Corey Heim, Ty Majeski, Tyler Ankrum, Derek Kraus, Matt Crafton, Carson Hocevar
FINAL: John Hunter Nemechek, Carson Hocevar, Ryan Preece, Zane Smith, Grant Enfinger, Chandler Smith, Corey Heim, Ty Majeski, Colby Howard, Christian Eckes
Standings (Points Reset)
- Zane Smith | +24
- Chandler Smith | +15
- John Hunter Nemechek | +11
- Ben Rhodes | +4
- Stewart Friesen | -4
- Ty Majeski | -9
- Grant Enfinger | -10
- Christian Eckes | -10
Next
After a four-week hiatus, the Truck Series has a short turnaround for the UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics at Bristol Motor Speedway. The race is scheduled for Thursday, September 15 at 9 p.m. ET on FS1. Chandler Smith won the race last year.
