John Hunter Nemechek completes unfinished business with a Darlington Raceway win in the NASCAR Truck Series Dead On Tools 200 on Friday night.

The fastest truck won Friday’s Dead On Tools 200 at Darlington Raceway, but not without much ado between the green flag and the checkers.

John Hunter Nemechek Completes Unfinished Business with a Darlington Win

Pole winner John Hunter Nemechek fought through ten cautions, an extra pit stop to tighten a loose wheel, and an overtime restart to post his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season, holding off hard-luck Carson Hocevar by 0.552 seconds in the two-lap shootout to the finish.

“Just a huge shoutout to all the guys that work on this No. 4 KBM Toyota Tundra,” Nemechek said after spinning his truck like a dervish in a celebratory burnout on the frontstretch.

“I thought we gave it away early, honestly, and we were able to rebound and battle back. I learned a lot tonight. I was finally able to bring home the first win of the year.”

Runner-up last fall at Darlington in a race he thought he should have won, Nemechek led a race-high 69 laps in triumphing for the first time at the Lady in Black and the 12th time in his career. In winning the pole earlier in the day, he was 0.432 seconds faster than second-place qualifier Ty Majeski.

Clearly, Nemechek had the speed, but his victory was by no means assured after he brought his truck to pit road under caution for a second time on lap 61 to remedy a loose left-front wheel. That left Nemechek 26th for a restart on lap 63, but by the end of Stage 2 on lap 90, he had climbed back to fifth in the running order.

On Lap 123, he passed Christian Eckes for the lead and held it the rest of the way, through the two final cautions and the overtime.

Runnerup Carson Hocevar Looking for More

Hocevar was the victor in Stage 2—the first stage win of his career—but he lost ground on pit road under caution for the stage break and ultimately recovered to restart side-by-side with Nemechek in the overtime.

Nemechek had the advantage of the outside lane for the final two laps and pulled away to win by the half-second margin.

“A lot of emotions,” said Hocevar, who ran a close second to Ben Rhodes in the previous race on Bristol Dirt. “I was freaking out for a second. I had an electrical issue, and every once in a while it would stumble, and it flat out shut off in the middle of (turns) one and two coming to the white (flag)…

“The 4 truck (Nemechek) was really good. I was hoping I maybe could have got him. I would have done a lot into (turns) three and four. I was better than him in one and two. He was better than me in three and four, but I could have done a lot—just like every race car driver, right? But close once again. Hopefully, we’ll be one spot better next week.”

The Best of the Rest

Grant Enfinger was third, followed by Majeski, Stage 1 winner Parker Kilgerman, Ryan Preece, Zane Smith, and Tyler Ankrum.

Fifty-eight-year-old Todd Bodine, making his 796th NASCAR national series start en route to 800, came home ninth, posting his first top ten since 2012, followed by Matt DiBenedetto in tenth.

The Camping World Truck Series Point Standings

1. (1)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 149.
2. (6)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 149.
3. (3)  Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 149.
4. (2)  Ty Majeski, Toyota, 149.
5. (9)  Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 149.
6. (13)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 149.
7. (4)  Zane Smith, Ford, 149.
8. (12)  Tyler Ankrum, Toyota, 149.
9. (18)  Todd Bodine, Toyota, 149.
10. (8)  Matt Dibenedetto, Chevrolet, 149.
11. (23)  Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 149.
12. (19)  Colby Howard, Chevrolet, 149.
13. (16)  Jesse Little, Chevrolet, 149.
14. (33)  Dean Thompson #, Chevrolet, 149.
15. (24)  Timmy Hill, Toyota, 149.
16. (11)  Christian Eckes, Toyota, 149.
17. (20)  Jack Wood #, Chevrolet, 149.
18. (14)  Derek Kraus, Chevrolet, 149.
19. (26)  Lawless Alan #, Chevrolet, 149.
20. (28)  Chandler Smith, Toyota, 149.
21. (29)  Danny Bohn, Chevrolet, 149.
22. (5)  Corey Heim #, Toyota, 149.
23. (32)  Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 149.
24. (15)  Ben Rhodes, Toyota, 148.
25. (10)  Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 148.
26. (31)  Austin Wayne Self, Chevrolet, 147.
27. (36)  Josh Reaume, Toyota, 147.
28. (25)  Hailie Deegan, Ford, Accident, 137.
29. (27)  Brennan Poole(i), Toyota, 125.
30. (30)  Blaine Perkins #, Chevrolet, Accident, 124.
31. (34)  Tate Fogleman, Toyota, Accident, 123.
32. (21)  Kris Wright, Chevrolet, Accident, 105.
33. (17)  Tanner Gray, Ford, Accident, 98.
34. (22)  Chase Purdy, Toyota, Accident, 97.
35. (35)  Akinori Ogata, Toyota, Engine, 54.
36. (7)  Matt Crafton, Toyota, 149.

The Dead On Tools 200 Stats

Average Speed of Race Winner:  91.625 mph.

Time of Race:  Two Hrs, 13 Mins, 17 Secs. The Margin of Victory:  .552 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  Ten for 54 laps.

Lead Changes:  16 among nine drivers.

Lap Leaders:   J. Nemechek 1-12;Z. Smith 13-21; J. Nemechek 22-39; P. Kligerman 40-48; R. Chastain(i) 49-53;C.Hocevar 54;R. Chastain(i) 55-75;T. Bodine 76-78;R. Chastain(i) 79-85;C. Hocevar 86-93;R. Chastain(i) 94-106;J. Nemechek 107-118;C. Howard 119;C. Eckes 120;G. Enfinger 121;C. Eckes 122;J. Nemechek 123-149.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  John Hunter Nemechek four times for 69 laps; Ross Chastain(i) four times for 46 laps; Carson Hocevar two times for nine laps; Zane Smith one time for nine laps; Parker Kligerman one time for nine laps; Todd Bodine one time for three laps; Christian Eckes two times for two laps; Colby Howard one time for one lap; Grant Enfinger one time for one lap.

Stage 1 Top Ten: 75,41,42,23,18,4,15,99,52,66

Stage 2 Top Ten: 42,41,75,23,4,98,17,99,18,51