{"id":36703,"date":"2021-11-04T22:50:28","date_gmt":"2021-11-05T03:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=36703"},"modified":"2021-11-08T15:18:45","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T21:18:45","slug":"nascar-camping-world-truck-series-championship-4-media-day-notebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/04\/nascar-camping-world-truck-series-championship-4-media-day-notebook\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship 4 Media Day Notebook"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

John Hunter Nemechek is ready for his opportunity at a title<\/b><\/p>\n

With a shot to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship in Friday\u2019s Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) John Hunter Nemechek is ready to race and ready to finish out his personal best NASCAR season by hoisting a trophy.<\/p>\n

And he doesn\u2019t take the opportunity for granted after a heart-stopping penultimate Playoff race last weekend.<\/p>\n

Nemechek, 24, who drives the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, was wrecked out of last Saturday\u2019s race at Martinsville Speedway just after the halfway point and forced to watch the remainder of the event on television \u2013 hoping his points lead would be enough buffer to advance him to this week\u2019s Championship 4 Round.<\/p>\n

It was. And now Nemechek\u2019s focus is clearly set on the exclamation point to a big-time year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely was stressful, nerve-wracking, kind of every emotion I guess,” Nemechek said during Thursday\u2019s Camping World Truck Series Championship 4 Media Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cA helpless feeling sitting there on the sidelines not being able to do anything about your position.”<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely sucked,” he said, conceding he paced inside his team hauler as the race completed. Ultimately, he had just enough of a point-cushion to qualify for Friday\u2019s Championship 4 along with Ben Rhodes, three-time series champion Matt Crafton and Zane Smith.<\/p>\n

Going forward, Nemechek said he was hopeful Friday\u2019s night race would include an increased amount of competitive \u201crespect\u201d for the four drivers racing for a title. He acknowledged that the series is a major stepping-stone for young drivers trying to make a name for themselves and advance up through the ranks.<\/p>\n

And he insisted, \u201cyou can\u2019t change the past,” referring to an aggressive move by a young driver, not in Playoff contention, last week that wrecked Nemechek out of the Martinsville, Va. race.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, I was that young guy at one point, coming in and not knowing any better than just to go out and race everybody just as hard and I expect that when we race tomorrow and I expect that in all three series, everyone is going to race each other super hard,” Nemechek said. \u201cThe guys that aren\u2019t in the Playoffs are still out there to win a race.”<\/p>\n

Nemechek emphasized it was up to each driver to know who they were racing around and the motives of other drivers. His motive at this point in his career, he reiterated, was rather simple,<\/p>\n

\u201cMine, is just go race,” said Nemechek, who acknowledged his team owner, two-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch reminded him, \u201cIt\u2019s more about mindset going in and we know what we have to lose.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Naming a favorite is a toss-up among Camping World Truck Championship 4<\/b><\/p>\n

None of the four championship contenders was prepared to declare a \u201cfavorite\u201d among them. When it comes to the one-mile Phoenix Raceway, they all have compelling cases to consider themselves trophy worthy.<\/p>\n

And with a series-best five wins, Nemechek acknowledged there\u2019s a certain target on his back this week. None of these four \u2013 Nemechek, Rhodes, Smith or Crafton has won previously at Phoenix. In fact Smith, who earned his Championship 4 opportunity with a \u201cwalk-off\u201d victory last weekend at Martinsville, Va. boasts the best average finish at Phoenix; runner-up in his only start last year.<\/p>\n

Crafton, 45, who has 20 starts at Phoenix, has the top average finish (10.0) among those four with multiple starts, followed by Rhodes (10.3) and Nemechek (13.7).<\/p>\n

Crafton, a three-time series champion from California who has won late model races at Phoenix, was asked if he would be okay claiming the 2021 championship trophy without winning a truck series race during the season. Without missing a beat, Crafton said, \u201cat the end, of the day I\u2019ll sleep just fine.\u201d<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/CraftonChamp4MediaDay.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Rhodes is Ready with a capital \u201cR\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

ThorSport Racing driver Rhodes was talkative, upbeat and energetic Thursday afternoon, insisting he wishes the Championship race was immediate.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor one, I\u2019ve got some really, really awesome people around me,” Rhodes said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a brand-new truck going into this race and I\u2019d say myself as a driver, I\u2019m just a little more experienced and feeling, I\u2019d say, more mature about how I\u2019m handling things, maybe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel different as a driver, but I know the situation I\u2019m in is different. I feel like we\u2019re\u2019 going to have better success with the equipment we\u2019ve brought and the people I have around me are really, really good. I\u2019m just ready to hop in the truck and do it.”<\/p>\n

Says he hasn\u2019t \u201cdecompressed\u201d from last week\u2019s wild Playoff Round of 8 elimination race at Martinsville and that his blood pressure may actually be higher as he prepares for his first championship opportunity. The driver of the No. 99 ThorSport Racing Toyota says he\u2019s more \u201crelaxed than ever\u201d and more focused on this one race than any he\u2019s ever competed in before. He has two top-five finishes at Phoenix and his overall 9.6 average finish on the 2021 season is best among the four championship contenders.<\/p>\n

Although Rhodes, 24, acknowledged there are just some things he can\u2019t prepare for, he feels good that the team has done everything necessary to give him his best shot at a title. He was clearly upbeat and had put plenty of thought into Friday night\u2019s race.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to be the person that has to do a dirty move to get the win, that\u2019s not me,” Rhodes said. \u201cI want to have the pace and straight up win it, just wear them out, just dominate it or straight out, out-smart them on a restart and just run away with it, that would be really cool too.”<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve waited all week and now I just want to be at the race track.” Rhodes added.<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/RhodesChamp4MediaDay.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Zane Smith carries a Truck load of confidence to Phoenix<\/b><\/p>\n

Smith is one driver who couldn\u2019t be happier to have the NASCAR championship venue move from its longtime venue in Homestead, Fla. to Phoenix. A California native the 22-year-old expects a lot of family trackside Friday night to cheer him on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely special,” Smith said of racing for a title at Phoenix in Thursday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship 4 Media Day.<\/p>\n

His win last week at Martinsville Speedway in the Playoffs Round of 8 elimination race propelled him into the Championship season finale and the driver of the No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet is quite confident that the hard road he conquered has actually made him most prepared for this high-stress weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I have more momentum than anybody,” Smith said. \u201cI feel like wins and momentum in this sport are huge. Just once you get one, they come so much easier. Winning is as contagious as losing is, that\u2019s how I look at it, at least.”<\/p>\n

Smith led 48 laps and finished second to eventual season champion Sheldon Creed in last year\u2019s race.<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/SmithChamp4MediaDay.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service John Hunter Nemechek is ready for his opportunity at a title With a shot to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship in Friday\u2019s Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) John Hunter Nemechek is ready to race and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":36499,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[16,160,268],"class_list":["post-36703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-nascar-camping-world-truck-series","tag-ncwts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/GettyImages-1351502495-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-9xZ","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36703"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36709,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36703\/revisions\/36709"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}