Hemric Fighting for “Champ 4” Berth at Martinsville
Venue: Martinsville Speedway
Events: Slim Jim 200
Date: Friday, October 24
Location: Ridgeway, VA
Track Description: 0.526-mile oval
Distance: 200 laps, 105.2 miles (6:00 p.m. ET – FOX Sports 1, Motor Racing Network)
Take Care of Business … There’s no place Daniel Hemric would rather race to take care of business than Martinsville Speedway. The driver of the No. 19 NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet Silverado RST is seventh in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) playoff standings, 32 markers behind the cut line to advance to the Championship finale. Hemric has the pedigree to seize crucial moments, evidenced by his 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship, and captured his first-career NCTS victory at “The Paperclip” in March. While the math can work in Hemric’s favor to point his way into the “Champ 4”, a second-straight Martinsville victory is the only guaranteed scenario for the No. 19 team to advance.
Excelling at Short Tracks … Hemric has excelled at short tracks this season and will need to do so again on Friday night to keep his championship aspirations alive. The No. 19 Chevrolet has claimed the last three grandfather clocks at the 0.526-mile bullring, including a sweep by Christian Eckes in 2024 and Hemric’s thrilling victory this spring. The spring race at Martinsville also featured MHR’s third one-two finish in team history with Tyler Ankrum finishing second. Hemric and crew chief Kevin Bellicourt have posted two finishes of seventh or better in two of the last three short track races, including a fifth at Bristol Motor Speedway in the playoffs. Hemric has totaled one win, three top-five’s and four top-10 finishes in the six prior short track races this season.
Season to Date … Three remaining “Champ 4” spots will be decided on Friday evening at Martinsville. Hemric is seventh in the playoff standings after an early incident took him out of contention at Talladega Superspeedway a week ago. Hemric has accumulated 10 top-five’s and 15 top-10 finishes through 23 races this season with the third-best average finish among full-time NCTS competitors of 10.1.
Tune In … Action from “The Paperclip” gets underway at 2:00 p.m. ET on Friday with practice and qualifying on FOX Sports 2. The “Round of 8” climax goes green on FOX Sports 1 at 6:00 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 19 NAPA Nightvision team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmr_nascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Daniel Hemric Quote:
On returning to Martinsville to defend his victory:
“Ever since we left Talladega, I’ve been looking forward to Martinsville. The best part about the playoff format is that the opportunity is always in front of you. Our NAPA Nightvision team as a chance to take care of business with a win, just like we did in the spring. We might have a points deficit, but we know what we’re capable of and it’s about executing that on Friday night. This company, obviously, has a lot of history at Martinsville and it was great to add to that back in the spring. If we can qualify towards the front, we’ll give ourselves a great chance to stay in the fight.”