Nemechek Makes Last Lap Pass to win Truck Race in Kansas

KANSAS CITY, KS - RIS - John Hunter Nemechek passed Carson Hocevar on the final lap to win THE Kansas Lottery 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck race Friday night. Nemechek chased down Hocevar over the final laps at Kansas Speedway on Friday night, passing him as the white flag flew and Hocevar ran out of fuel in his last-gasp chance at advancing in the NASCAR Truck Series playoffs. Hocevar coasted across in second place but needed the win to advance. Nemechek’s late pass allowed Christian Eckes to sneak into the final playoff spot, while three-time series champion Matt Crafton also was eliminated.

Ryan Preece finished third while playoff contenders Zane Smith and Grant Enfinger rounded out the top five. 

"Our truck 3as absolutely on rails," Nemechek said.  "We came in here pretty good points wise and it made sense to pad our stage points and finish well.  And we did."

Hocevar’s team gambled with strategy by going to the pits early in the final stage, putting him in front with about 30 laps left but on tires that were much older than just about everyone else. And when Nemechek got fresh tires, the No. 4 quickly began tracking Hocevar down, biting away about a second per lap during a long green-flag run to the finish.

Nemechek led 88 of the 134 laps in Friday’s Kansas Lottery 200, piloting the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota to his second win of the season. His first victory on the 1.5-mile Kansas City track was the 13th of his Camping World Truck Series career.

Chandler Smith and Enfinger had already clinched their places in the next round of the playoffs with wins earlier in the round, leaving six spots up in the air as the series made its second trip of the year to Kansas.

Nemechek, who was sixth in the spring race, was nearly unbeatable from the moment he unloaded, setting the pace during practice and earning the pole. He then cruised through the opening 30-lap stage to earn enough points to clinch his spot in the next round, then held off Ty Majeski again to win Stage 2 under caution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zane Smith also clinched his playoff spot after the first stage while Majeski wrapped up his after the second.

Everybody on pit road was left doing some tricky math when the race resumed with 65 laps to go: Ben Rhodes could clinch a spot by finishing 10th or better, Stewart Friesen could do the same with a top-20, and Eckes, Hocevar and Crafton found themselves in what amounted to a three-way fight for the final berth in the round of eight.

Eckes wound up getting the final playoff spot by three points over Hocevar and 10 ahead of Crafton.

The Camping World Truck Series’ next race is the UNOH 200, scheduled Thursday (9 p.m. ET, at Bristol Motor Speedway. That event opens the three-race Round of 8, the next set of races in the postseason.

Unofficial Results: Inaugural Kansas Lottery 200: September 9, 2022 - Kansas Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Truck, Laps , St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 1, John Hunter Nemechek (P), No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota, 134, 1, 1, 5, 88, 7, 60, Running
2) 15, Carson Hocevar (P), No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 134, , 10, 1, 28, , 36, Running
3) 7, Ryan Preece (P), No. 17 Morton Buildings Ford, 134, 6, 3, , , , 47, Running
4) 9, Zane Smith (P), No. 38 Hamsters USA Ford, 134, 5, 2, 2, 2, , 48, Running
5) 12, Grant Enfinger (P), No. 23 Allegiant.com Chevrolet, 134, , , 1, 1, , 32, Running
6) 5, Chandler Smith (P), No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota, 134, 8, , , , , 34, Running
7) 3, Corey Heim # (P), No. 51 JBL Toyota, 134, 4, 5, , , , 43, Running
8) 2, Ty Majeski (P), No. 66 Road Ranger Toyota, 134, 2, 6, 2, 14, , 43, Running
9) 18, Colby Howard, No. 91 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet, 134, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 4, Christian Eckes (P), No. 98 CMRroofing.com Toyota, 134, 3, 4, 1, 1, , 42, Running
11) 24, Parker Kligerman, No. 75 Food Country USA Toyota, 134, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 14, Matt Dibenedetto, No. 25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet, 134, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 6, Ben Rhodes (P), No. 99 Kubota Toyota, 134, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 19, Tyler Ankrum, No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota, 134, , 7, , , , 27, Running
15) 8, Matt Crafton (P), No. 88 Flex Seal/Menards Toyota, 133, 9, 9, , , , 26, Running
16) 10, Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance Ford, 133, 10, , , , , 22, Running
17) 26, Bret Holmes, No. 32 Golden Eagle/Bridger Aerospace Chevrolet, 133, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 30, Kaz Grala, No. 02 Buchanan Hauling & Rigging Chevrolet, 133, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 25, Timmy Hill, No. 56 Hill Motorsports Toyota, 133, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 11, Stewart Friesen (P), No. 52 Halmar International Toyota, 133, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 13, Derek Kraus, No. 19 Kafka Granite Chevrolet, 133, 7, 8, , , , 23, Running
22) 17, Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Odyssey Battery Ford, 133, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 23, Dean Thompson #, No. 40 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 133, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 21, Kaden Honeycutt, No. 30 Friends of Jaclyn Toyota, 133, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 22, Chase Purdy, No. 61 BAMA Buggies Toyota, 132, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 27, Jack Wood #, No. 24 Sevwins Chevrolet, 132, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 16, Bayley Currey(i), No. 44 Niece Chevrolet, 132, , , , , , 0, Running
28) 33, Jesse Little, No. 20 NCS Wash/RANDCO Chevrolet, 132, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 32, Tyler Hill, No. 5 Hill Motorsports Toyota, 130, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 29, Blaine Perkins #, No. 9 RACELINE Chevrolet, 130, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 28, Lawless Alan #, No. 45 AUTOParkit Chevrolet, 130, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 36, Mason Maggio, No. 33 Professional Ag Services Toyota, 126, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 34, Spencer Boyd, No. 12 Probuilt Pool & Patio Chevrolet, 124, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 31, Brennan Poole, No. 46 Macc Door Systems Toyota, 123, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 35, Armani Williams, No. 43 Hedgehog Health Chevrolet, 86, , , , , , 2, Too Slow
36) 20, Brett Moffitt(i), No. 22 Concrete Supply/Destiny Homes Chevrolet, 73, , , , , , 0, Engine
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Race Length: 134 Laps, 201 Miles
Time: 1 Hrs, 42 Mins, 11 Secs.
Average Speed: 118.023 MPH
Margin of Victory: 1.815 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 4, 66, 98, 51, 38, 17, 19, 18, 88, 15
Stage 2 Top 10: 4, 38, 17, 98, 51, 66, 16, 19, 88, 42

Comments: John Hunter Nemechek won the Kansas Lottery 200, his 13th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory.

Prior to the start the following trucks dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: No. 22, 33, 43 and 46 (unapproved adjustments).

Failed to Qualify: (2) 26 Tate Fogleman, 14 Trey Hutchens.

Cautions: 4 for 25 laps;
Laps: 32-37 (Stage 1 Conclusion [56]);
57-64 (#30 and 40 Incident on the Backstretch [24]);
66-69 (#44 Spin on the Frontstretch [02]);
75-81 (Fluid on the Track from #22 [20]).

Lead Changes: 11 among 6 drivers;
J. Nemechek (P) 1-7;
T. Majeski (P) 8-20;
J. Nemechek (P) 21-33;
T. Majeski (P) 34;
J. Nemechek (P) 35-60;
Z. Smith (P) 61;
J. Nemechek (P) 62-102;
Z. Smith (P) 103;
G. Enfinger (P) 104;
C. Eckes (P) 105;
C. Hocevar (P) 106-133;
J. Nemechek (P) 134.