The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Darlington Raceway on Friday night saw driver John Hunter Nemechek take home first place.
Retweet to congratulate John Hunter Nemechek on his NASCAR Truck Series WIN at Darlington!#NASCARonFS1 | @KBMteam pic.twitter.com/xD7zyjamZj
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 7, 2022
While the night should have been memorable for Nemechek and his team, the event was nearly overshadowed by a dangerous post-race incident.
Nemechek celebrated his win during a post-race interview, but was barely out of the way of a beer can that was hurled by a reckless fan at him following the event.
The full beer thrown at John Hunter Nemechek https://t.co/bSur8ExdLU pic.twitter.com/yJ6fP9TGB7
— Thomas Schlarp (@TSchlarp) May 7, 2022
Nemechek was just far enough for the can to narrowly miss him and hit the car short of him instead, but the seemingly-full beer can certainly could have done some serious damage if it had hit him.
Racing fans took to social media to voice their displeasure with the fan for his behavior following the race.
I've never been a fan of postrace frontstretch interviews and last night showed why they should go back to victory lane interviews. John Hunter Nemechek could've been hurt by that flying beer can and the person who threw it, should be banned from future races. @NASCAR
— C WiL (@C_WiLyt) May 7, 2022
Whoever threw that beer can at John Hunter Nemechek deserves to be banned from the track. It also helps the 'winner in victory lane' TV interview crowd.
— Mark Kristl (@MarkKristl) May 7, 2022
Few things:
– John Hunter Nemechek. Is JHN’s dominance finally back?
– I have no clue how NASCAR missed Ty Majeski driving over the Choose Cone. Not good at all.
– Very glad to see everyone is okay after someone threw a bottle(?) onto the track. Completely unacceptable.
— Austin Konenski (@AustinKonenski) May 7, 2022
This incident gives more credence to the belief that post-race interviews should be done on victory lane away from the fans, instead of in the middle of the race track where both racers and interviewers are susceptible to attacks.
Aside from this ugly incident, it was a great night for Nemechek and his team, who now has 13 career wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series over his career.
That’s a strong result for Nemechek. He currently sits in third place in the 2022 Camping World Truck Standings, and is looking like one of the best young racers in the sport today.
