Nemechek Beats Busch Again at Pocono

Photo Credit to James Gilbert/Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR

John Hunter Nemechek Beats Kyle Busch for Fifth Win of Year at Pocono

LONG POND, Pa. – For his fifth and final Truck Series start of 2021, Kyle Busch entered Pocono as a heavy favorite. However, it would be Busch’s protégé John Hunter Nemechek getting the win over the 51 truck. In Busch’s five Truck races this year, he has two wins and now three second-place finishes. All three of those runner-up results came to the 4 truck, as Pocono marks win five of the season for Nemechek.

Stage 1 Starts and Stops

Before the field even hit turn one on the opening lap, a caution flew. Due to Jack Wood missing a shift at the start/finish line, the 24 got ran into by Chandler Smith. This sent Wood hard into the outside wall, and into the path of Johnny Sauter. Wood did not continue and finished last, while Sauter did not fare much better. The first man outside of the Playoffs, the 13 ended Pocono in 35th.

Aside from this start gone awry, Stage 1 did remain clean and green. On the restart Zane Smith grabbed the lead and held serve out front. This marked Stage win number three on the year for the 21 truck, while Kyle Busch was a distant second. Busch had rallied from starting 22nd, but just ran out of time to go after the lead.

Nemechek Takes Another Stage

Stage 2 was dominated by GMS drivers, with Zane Smith and Sheldon Creed swapping the top spot. Due to both of them short-pitting this Stage though, the Stage went in the favor of John Hunter Nemechek. For the 4 truck, Stage 2 was the ninth Stage win of 2021. Many opted to short-pit Stage 2, following the 51 in for service.

Busch would cycle out to the lead after the Stage break, and the 51 took off on the restart. Although Creed kept Busch on his toes for a few laps, the 51 eventually built up quite a lead.

With just over 10 laps left, Busch began to save fuel with a large gap over the 2. That plan would go out the window though with a late caution. On lap 50, the 52 of Stewart Friesen pounded the turn one wall.

Close Call for Busch

With a restart, many fast trucks were all of a sudden back in contention for the win. On the drag race into turn one, John Hunter Nemechek got the upper hand over Busch. Busch then had to fend off Creed for second, as laps ticked away. At one point, Creed got to Busch’s inside and washed up, getting loose and nearly taking out both trucks. Both drivers did save it however, but this sealed the win for Nemechek. The 4 would drive off to the win by more than a second over his team owner.

The tally for 2021 now stands at 3-2 in Nemechek’s favor, as he beat Busch at Las Vegas, Richmond, and now Pocono. While Nemechek is certainly the Truck Series’ title favorite, Busch is done for the season. The 61-time race winner did say prerace that this was the final ride for the 51 with sponsors Cessna and Beechcraft. Over the course of four years, KB has taken these partners to victory lane 15 times. Busch will return for select Truck Series events in 2022, but with new colors on his Toyota.

Nemechek’s Winning Reaction

“(Beating Kyle) just means a lot,” Nemechek said in victory lane. “This whole group works so hard, these guys never give up. We weren’t really good in the first Stage, we were off. But we pitted for our one and only stop, and ended up way (better). Overall just proud of everyone at KBM, the fab shop, all of our partners that help make this whole program go. Without this opportunity, without Kyle and Toyota I wouldn’t have had it. Just very blessed. Super pumped for 5 wins this year and to beat Kyle. 3-for-5 against Kyle is pretty good odds.”

Top 10 Pocono Results

Behind the top three of Nemechek, Busch, and Creed, Tyler Ankrum and Austin Hill rounded out the top five. With the fifth-place effort, Hill clinched a 2021 Playoff spot on points. Matt Crafton, Todd Gilliland, Zane Smith, Ryan Preece, and Derek Kraus were the rest of the top 10.

Playoff Picture after Pocono

Following Pocono, half of the 10-driver Truck Series Playoff field is determined. As the regular season quickly winds down, the bubble battle is down to 28 points. Chandler Smith currently holds the final spot over Johnny Sauter. While some drivers feel safe about their postseason position, Smith is anything but. It may come down to the wire between this young racer and the crafty veteran.

What’s Next for Trucks

Only two races remain until the 2021 Truck Series Playoffs, and the next event could be a wildcard. On July 9th, the Truckers will take to the dirt once again, but this time at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa. Coverage will be at 9:00 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. After nine years of dirt racing at Eldora, this will mark the Truck Series’ inaugural showing at the ‘Sprint Car Capital of the World.’ 5 Playoff spots remain with two regular season races left, who can win big on the dirt? Will a new track lead to a new winner and a possible Playoff upset?

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to James Gilbert/Getty Images for NASCAR