NASCAR: Nemechek clinches ’21 Trucks regular-season title

John Hunter Nemechek clinched the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular-season championship a race early.

In the second-to-last event of the 15-race regular season, Nemechek finished 11th at Knoxville Raceway. That awarded him 26 points. He also placed 17th in Stage 1 and seventh in Stage 2, giving him four additional points. Those 31 points put him at 605 points on the season and 85 points ahead of second-place Ben Rhodes, making it impossible for Nemechek’s total to be beaten with just a single race left. The most a driver can score in a single race is 60 points by a max allocation of 40 for winning the race and 20 stage points.

The regular-season title gives Nemechek 15 additional playoff points. He has been locked into the 10-driver playoff field ever since the third race of the season, which will be officially set after the Aug. 7 finale at Watkins Glen International (12:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The Round of 10 — the first of three postseason rounds — then begins Aug. 20 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. There will be four playoff races before the ultimate title battle Nov. 5 at Phoenix Raceway.

Nemechek has truly dominated this year, winning a career-best and series-high five times – Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway. He led laps in all but three races and boasts eight top-five and 11 top-10 runs. Nemechek has held the top spot of the standings ever since Week 3.

The 24-year-old from Mooresville, North Carolina, has raced in the Camping World Truck Series since 2013, with previous full-time seasons in 2016 and 2017 (finished eighth overall both times; two wins in each). He currently drives for Kyle Busch Motorsports, piloting the No. 4 Toyota. Nemechek has 11 career wins in 116 starts.