Hocevar, who had struggled much of the race, made his final stop for gas on Lap 80 of 134 and tried to hang to the end and grab the win, which would be his only way to move on in the playoffs.
It nearly worked.
Nemechek, the first car on new tires, moved into second and eight seconds behind with 14 laps remaining.
On the final lap, Nemechek easily got around Hocevar to reclaim the lead and then Hocevar’s No. 42 Chevrolet ran out of fuel, but he was able to coast back to finish second.
All the #NASCARPlayoffs drama in the last lap at @kansasspeedway! pic.twitter.com/UmK1687b09
— NASCAR Camping World Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) September 10, 2022
The win is the second this season for Nemechek and 13th is his career.
“It’s huge. I just want to thank you to everyone at Kyle Busch Motorsports. I can’t thank them enough for the truck they gave me tonight, it was absolutely unreal,” Nemechek said. “We started on the pole, won both stages, led a ton of laps and won the race.
“We came in really good points-race but we were able to get some more playoff points and it puts us in a good spot. We have some momentum on our side heading into Bristol.
“I think this one is really sweeter. It’s been a really tough week for myself emotionally with things you can’t control. It feels good to come out here and cap it off with a win.”
Hocevar and Matt Crafton ended up ninth and 10th in the playoffs standings and the first two eliminated with the conclusion of the first round.
Ryan Preece finished third, Zane Smith fourth and Grant Enfinger rounded out the top-five.
Advancing to the next round of the Truck Series playoffs are Nemechek, Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, Ty Majeski, Enfinger, Stewart Friesen, Ben Rhodes and Christian Eckes.
Stage 3
Following the break between Stages 2 and 3, the lead-lap cars all pit with Nemechek the first off pit road.
On the restart on Lap 65, Nemechek was followed by Preece, Heim and Zane Smith.
Shortly after the restart, Kaden Honeycutt spun on the backstretch to place the race back under caution.
The race resumed on Lap 70 with Nemechek out front followed by Heim, Preece and Ankrum.
On Lap 74, the engine let go in Brett Moffitt’s No. 22 Chevrolet and his truck briefly caught fire, which brought out a caution.
Big ol' boom https://t.co/urpwomrKtH pic.twitter.com/QWd7Eyqdt3
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) September 10, 2022
A handful of trucks pit but Nemechek remained on the track and in the lead when the race resumed on Lap 82.
With 40 laps to go, Nemechek maintained a 1.2 second lead over Zane Smith with Preece in third.
Nemechek kicked off a round of green-flag pit stops on Lap 103 as trucks needed to take new tires and fuel to make it to the finish of the race.
Hocevar, who had pit under the previous caution, moved into the lead on Lap 106 as he tried to make it to the finish without another stop.
With 25 laps to go, Hocevar remained out from but Nemechek – on new tires – was closing fast and back to fifth.
Nemechek moved into second and eight seconds behind the leader with 14 laps remaining.
Stage 2
Nemechek ended up claiming the Stage 2 win under caution as Bayley Currey spun late in the stage.
Zane Smith ended up second, Preece was third, Eckes fourth and Heim rounded out the top-five.
Following the break between Stages 1 and 2, the lead-lap trucks all pit with Nemechek the first off pit road.
On the restart on Lap 38, Nemechek was followed by Eckes and Majeski.
With 15 laps to go in the stage, Nemechek remained out front but had complained about the possibility of a loose wheel. Eckes was second and Zane Smith moved up to third.
On Lap 49, Zane Smith moved into the runner-up position, 1.6 seconds behind Nemechek.
Currey went around in Turn 1 to bring out a caution on Lap 56.
The race did not restart before the conclusion of the stage.
Stage 1
Nemechek held off Majeski to take the Stage 1 win, his fifth stage victory of the 2022 season.
Eckes was third, Heim fourth and Zane Smith rounded out the top-five.
Nemechek started on the pole and led the first seven laps until Majeski powered around him to move into the top spot on Lap 8.
With 15 laps remaining in the stage, Majeski maintained about a 1-second lead over Nemechek with Eckes in third.
While navigating the lapped truck of Tyler Hill, Nemechek split Hill and Majeski to move back into the lead on Lap 21.
