John Hunter Nemechek Can Break an Important Tie at Knoxville Raceway

The Camping World Truck Series takes on Knoxville Raceway on June 18, marking the second dirt race of the year. Kyle Busch Motorsports driver John Hunter Nemechek will use the opportunity to potentially break a tie with a former champion.

The driver of the No. 4 KBM Toyota Tundra TRD Pro enters the Truck Series race with 12 career wins. This puts him in a tie with 2018 champion Brett Moffitt for the 15th most all-time. If Nemechek can capture his first dirt race victory, he will move past Moffitt and into a tie with 2002 Truck Series champion Mike Bliss (13 wins) and multi-time contender Joe Ruttman.

Nemechek already has one win in the 2022 Truck Series season. He captured the Throwback Weekend race at Darlington on May 6 after winning the pole. Nemechek led 69 laps in the No. 4 KBM Toyota Tundra before punching his ticket to the playoffs.

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Nemechek will try to add another win to his resume on June 18 when he suits up for the Truck Series race at Knoxville. FS1 will provide coverage for both the qualifying heat races at 7 p.m. ET and the Clean Harbors 150 at 9 p.m. ET. FOX Sports reporter Jamie Little will spearhead the coverage while doing play-by-play. Phil Parsons and Trevor Bayne will join her in the booth as analysts.

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Nemechek Will Battle With a Former Champion for the Win

Securing the win will not be a simple task. Nemechek hasn’t reached Victory Lane in eight previous dirt track starts. Though he has a third-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway and four top-10s at Eldora Speedway in his Truck Series career.

There is another hurdle that Nemechek will have to overcome before he breaks the tie with Moffitt. He will actually have to face off with the 2018 Truck Series champion at Knoxville Raceway on June 17.

Moffitt is making a one-off return to the Truck Series to help out another team. He will take over the No. 22 Chevrolet Silverado for AM Racing. The reason is that regular driver Austin Wayne Self is taking a step back from the competition in order to spend time with his wife and their newborn daughter.

Moffitt will make his first start of the 2022 Truck Series season at Knoxville Raceway, and he will face off with Nemechek as the 2021 regular-season champion tries to break a tie with him on the all-time wins list. He may also suit up at Nashville Superspeedway, but AM Racing will not reveal that information until a later date.

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A Win Means So Much More for Nemechek

Securing a win at Knoxville Raceway would be important considering that it would break the tie with Moffitt and move Nemechek up the all-time list. It would also play a significant role in the 2022 regular-season battle.

Nemechek is currently fourth in the championship standings with 430 total points. He is a mere two points behind Zane Smith, who has three wins in 2022. Nemechek is also only 14 points behind points leader Ben Rhodes, who punched his ticket to the playoffs with a win at Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt track.

If Nemechek can secure a win, he will move one step closer to Rhodes’ lead. He most likely would end the weekend still behind his peer, but he could increase the amount of intrigue surrounding the regular-season championship.

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