In November 2020, just a few days after completing his NASCAR Cup series rookie season, John Hunter Nemecek informed Front Row Motorsports that he would not return to the organization in 2021. Just a week later, Kyle Busch Motorsport announced that it had added a 24-year-old to its Camping World truck series to stabilize.

"I started my career in the Xfinity series at NEMCO. I have a long-term relationship with Joe and the Nemechek family, so I am very happy to see that I can sign John Hunter to participate in the KBM race. Everything is going well," team boss Kyle Bu​ Xi said at the time. "John Hunter is a recognized winner in the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series. We believe he can consistently put the No. 4 Tundra in front and compete for victory in every race. Race."

Driving the No. 4 Toyota vacated by Raphael Lessard, he won only one victory in the 2020 season and ranked 12th in the championship standings, with Nemechek as The veteran of the organization entered KBM.

The main reason Nemechek returned to the Truck Series was the opportunity to compete for a team that would allow him to fight for victory every week.

And victory is what he did.

After finishing seventh and third at the Daytona International Speedway and the track and road configuration at the start of the season, Nemecek won his first victory of the year at the Las Vegas Speedway.

That victory was the first of five victories this season, when he topped the championship standings. With victories at Richmond Speedway, Charlotte Speedway, Texas Speedway and Pocono Speedway, Nemechek easily won the regular season championship by nearly 100 points. He also took away 15 playoff points to increase the 34 points he accumulated throughout the regular season, with 9 victories and 5 victories.

Nemechek must be the champion's favorite, right?

The playoffs did not start well for the 4th place team. They suffered a brake rotor failure at the World Wide Technology Raceway in Gateway and ended with Nemechek in 22nd place, 5 laps behind. But the accumulated playoff points, coupled with the second and third results at Darlington Circuit and Bristol Circuit respectively, allowed him to easily advance to the quarterfinals.

Once again, the next round of the playoffs did not start smoothly. Despite a victory in Las Vegas earlier this season, Nemechek left the mile and a half in 33rd place after completing 85 of the scheduled 133 laps. After starting from pole position and leading the first 33 tracks, Nemecek slowed down significantly on the track, initially believed to be a flat tire. It turned out that the problem was power loss, with almost no explanation, and the problem was so important that No. 4 painted yellow twice after slowing down on the track.

However, the good news is that repairing the truck and completing the race in close to 50 laps still allows Nemechek to be ahead of several other playoff competitors who are facing problems.

The following week at Talladega Superspeedway is a week where all playoff teams hope to pass without causing significant damage to their position in the championship battle. Somehow, Nemechek managed to avoid the massacre in a race, and 21 of the 28 trucks that were driving at the time participated in the race. At the end of the chaotic overtime, he led the game, but his contact with Tate Forgeman opened the door for the rookie and put Nemecek in fourth place.

The following week was almost as tense as Talladega at Martinsville. The victory of Fogleman and Christian Eckes in the 8 rounds meant that the shortest track on the track set the championship 4th place, and the post-season drivers did not lock in before the race.

This is where the situation of the 4th team becomes quite tense. The 131-lap accident with Austin Wayne Self caused Nemechek to slam into the exterior wall and went straight into the garage in a frustrating 39th place.

Did we just see @JHNemechek's championship dream disappear? pic.twitter.com/t67FVXHDOi

— NASCAR Camping World Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) October 30, 2021

Many people think that automatically winning the championship 4 seats suddenly depends on the situation of the remaining seven post-season racers. Zane Smith eventually won. He was below the tangent line when he entered the race. This put Nemechek only 4 points ahead of Sheldon Creed, who was the first driver to miss the final round of the playoffs. Team No. 4 is barely alive, fighting for the championship.

When Phoenix Raceway rolled over the next week, qualifying was back in such an important race, and Nemechek started in 16th place. But on lap 1, when contact with Jack Wood led to more contact with Chris Wright, things changed. As a result, a flat tire and an unplanned pit stop left Nemechek two laps behind, and the championship seemed out of reach.

This is what happened: pic.twitter.com/CKpmUHOf00

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) November 6, 2021

The No. 4 team repaired the truck and the speed remained stable, but Nemechek was stuck outside the lead lap. And there were only two warnings in events other than the rest of the stage, and it was not until the 102nd lap warning that Nemechek was given his second free pass and a chance to rush to the leader.

The final 45 laps of the green flag race were not long enough to make up for the space needed to win the title. Nemechek ended up in seventh place and third in the championship standings.

"I was asked if we failed this year if we didn't win the championship," Nemechek told Frontstretch after the game. "Now I'm there, no, it's not a failure. We have speed all year round. We are one of the most popular people every week. So no, it doesn’t make me feel that we have one of the best trucks tonight. Surprised. I think (Kyle Busch Motorsports) is very strong here. This is one of my best tracks. (Crew captain) Eric Phillips is really strong here."

Despite the disappointment, Nemechek will return to KBM in 2022 with the same goal as his goal in 2021: to win the game and the championship.

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