John Hunter Nemechek won the pole for Saturday’s (May 14) NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway, laying down a fast lap of 176.644 mph in qualifying.
The Darlington Raceway winner claimed his third pole of the year and fifth of his career.
“I’m pumped up,” Nemechek told FOX Sports after his run. “All the guys on this No. 4 KBM Toyota Tundra TRD Pro team have brought a really fast piece, I’m just lucky to be the one behind the wheel, holding the steering wheel and working the pedals. Mobil 1 colors are looking fast for sure. It’s always good to start up front, hopefully we can stay there.
“Felt like we were fast here last year and Kyle (Busch) just outdueled us a little bit there at the end. I’ve learned a lot, I think him and I actually sat down and went over this race at one point. Going to try to put all of that knowledge to use and stay up front and try and go get a win.”
It’s an all Kyle Busch Motorsports front row, as Corey Heim qualified in second.
ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski starts third and Zane Smith, who was quickest in practice, will start alongside Majeski in fourth place.
Bubba Wallace, filling in for Stewart Friesen in practice and qualifying after Friesen had some delayed flights coming to Kansas, qualified fifth. Friesen will drop to the rear due to driver change. He appears to have made it successfully to the track for the race.
Looks like @StewartFriesen made it. He'll start at the rear tonight. #NASCAR https://t.co/FyFxVyl7et
— Beth Lunkenheimer (@NASCARBeth) May 14, 2022
Chandler Smith, Riley Herbst, Derek Kraus, Tanner Gray and Matt Crafton finish up the top 10 starters, in sixth through 10th, respectively.
Tate Fogleman had mechanical issues and did not make a lap in qualifying. He’ll still run in the race, as there are just 35 trucks entered.
Truck Starting Lineup for Kansas
The Heart of America 200 airs at 8 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.
About the author
Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised watching motorsports and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.
A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.