Hemric Tallies Stage Points, Rallies for Top-15 in Nashville
Venue: Nashville Superspeedway
FINISH: 15th
Start: 10th
Stage 1: 10th
Stage 2: 9th
Laps Led: 0
Points Position: 9th (tied)
Daniel Hemric recorded a 15th-place finish on Friday night at Nashville Superspeedway to maintain his position on the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) provisional Chase grid. The driver of the No. 19 NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet Silverado RST is tied for ninth in the NCTS standings with seven races remaining in the regular season.
After light showers scrapped qualifying on Friday afternoon, a sequence of precipitation delayed the start of the 150-lap event by roughly three hours. Despite the delay, Hemric was a fixture inside the top-10 for nearly the entire duration of the first 45-lap stage. His NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet was on the tight side for most of the early laps, yet Hemric found himself 10th at the end of Stage 1 on lap 45.
Crew chief Kevin Bellicourt aided Hemric’s balance on the first pit stop with a track bar adjustment complimenting a set of fresh tires and fuel. Hemric restarted 14th on lap 55 to begin a caution-filled second stage. Four cautions slowed the field in the segment but Hemric used the restarts to advance back into the top 10. He took the ninth position on a lap 85 restart and earned two points by holding that position at the end of Stage 2 on lap 95.
He made his second pit stop of the evening under the ensuing stage caution for another set of four tries as multiple different strategies unfolded during the caution. Hemric restarted 17th on lap 104 but was hindered by dirty air in the subsequent laps. While running in 20th position, a caution on lap 119 allowed Hemric to take tires and gain an advantage on rubber for the final 30 circuits. He took the green flag in 18th on lap 125 and gained three positions in the waning laps to take the checkered flag in 15th position.
Daniel Hemric Quote:
“We fought tight for most of the night with our NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet. Kevin [Bellicourt] and this No. 19 team put a bunch of effort in to helping the balance, but we just couldn’t get track position at any point. Appreciate the fight from everyone on this team tonight. We’ll go to Michigan and try to put ourselves in a position to contend like we did last year.”
