Toyotas dominate ToyotaCare 250, John Hunter Nemechek leads KBM 1–2

Kyle Busch Motorsports continued to show why they are one of the top teams in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series when John Hunter Nemechek and owner/driver Kyle Busch led a 1–2 finish in Satuday’s ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway. True to the race name, it was a Toyota blowout as Tundras occupied all but one of the top five and led all 250 laps.

In a Toyota lockout of the first two rows, Ben Rhodes started on the pole. Ryan Reed, running his first NASCAR race since 2019, was sent to the rear as he replaced Ray Ciccarelli in CMI Motorsports’ #49, while Josh Reaume, in his first start after being reinstated, did so for unapproved adjustments. Rhodes led the first three laps before ThorSport Racing team-mate and defending race winner Grant Enfinger took the spot and led the entire stage. Nemechek, Busch, Rhodes, Austin Hill, Carson Hocevar, Raphaël Lessard, Todd Gililand, Derek Kraus, and Stewart Friesen rounded out the top ten; all but three (Hocevar, Lessard, Gilliland) were Toyota drivers.

Busch, looking to win his #51 truck’s third race in a row, led the field to the start of Stage #2 and stayed in front until lap 99 when Jennifer Jo Cobb spun. Earlier in Busch’s lead on lap 84, Hailie Deegan slid up the track and hit Tate Fogleman, sending the latter into the wall. Nemechek took the lead after Cobb’s caution and would score his sixth stage victory of the year. Enfinger, Rhodes, Hill, Busch, Zane Smith, Lessard, Gilliland, Kraus, and Smith finished behind him. As with the opening segment, seven of the top ten raced for Toyota with Smith, Lessard, and Gilliland as the holdouts for Chevrolet and Ford.

While the first stage had no on-track incidents and the second was marked by two, the third segment was plagued by numerous wrecks. Kraus spun on lap 152, Deegan collided with Smith on lap 159, Cobb was caught in multiple incidents including a tangle with Norm Benning that resulted in her being parked by NASCAR, Dawson Cram and Austin Wayne Self got together on lap 181, Codie Rohrbaugh destroyed his rear end on lap 195, and Kris Wright slammed the backstretch wall on lap 212.

At the front, Nemechek led much of Stage #3 with brief reprieves due to cautions that allowed the ThorSport Toyotas of Rhodes and Matt Crafton to lead laps. KBM team-mate Chandler Smith took the lead for the final restart, but Nemechek got by him on lap 234 and drove off to his second win of the year. Busch finished second to complete the second Nemechek/Busch top two after Las Vegas in March. It is KBM’s fourth consecutive win after Vegas, Busch winning Atlanta, and Martin Truex Jr. claiming Bristol Dirt

“It’s just so special,” Nemechek told FS1. “Just thankful for all my guys here. They are awesome and gave me one heck of a Safeway Toyota Tundra. Just can’t thank all of our partners enough for believing in me, Kyle and everybody. I know he tried getting me there at the end and this is the third time we’ve raced against each other this year and I’m one up on him so far in his own equipment so that’s nice. Just super thankful, super blessed.

“Actually, this trophy and flag, before I walked out of the motor home, (wife) Taylor said, ‘You brought me home a trophy from Vegas. Now, this is (daughter) Aspen’s first race so bring her one.’ We did it.”

Tyler Ankrum was the lone non-Toyota driver in the top five as he finished third. Gilliland and Sam Mayer, the latter running his first race for Bret Holmes Racing, joined Ankrum as the only drivers not in Tundras to score top tens.

Further down the order, Reed finished twenty-ninth in his NASCAR return while Keith McGee was behind him by one spot in his Truck début. Howie DiSavino III ended his maiden Truck race in thirty-fourth.

Race results