Hemric’s Playoff Road Ends at Martinsville

Venue: Martinsville Speedway

FINISH: 31st

Start: 9th

Laps Led: 0

NCTS Point Standings Position: 8th

A playoff run that began with great promise for Daniel Hemric came to an early end on Friday night at Martinsville Speedway. The driver of the No. 19 NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet Silverado RST dealt with crash damage, high temperatures, and ultimately a sour piston which led to a 31st-place finish at “The Paperclip”, which officially eliminated him from title contention. With one race remaining in his first season with MHR, Hemric sits eighth in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) standings.

Hemric and stablemate Tyler Ankrum entered Martinsville Speedway as the only pair of teammates still alive in the NCTS playoffs. Hemric, who was seeking his second-straight win at the Commonwealth short track, started from ninth position and began to inch his way forward from the outset. He climbed to eighth and was putting pressure on trucks immediately ahead of him before the race’s second caution flew on lap 21. Trouble struck on the lap 29 restart as the race leader missed a shift which resulted in a multi-truck chain reaction.

Hemric suffered severe damage to the nose, lower front fascia, grille screen, duct work and right front fender in the stack up. The ultimate result was a skyrocketing water temperature and loss of front downforce. Prior to the end of Stage 1, the NAPA Nightvision crew had to cycle cool water through the radiator to cool the engine. Hemric was 30th by the conclusion of Stage 1, but immediately rejoined the lead lap at the stage caution.

After a second sequence of pitting to cool the system, losing a lap and regaining the lap early in Stage 2, crew chief Kevin Bellicourt pitted for four tires and fuel on lap 73 after earning the Lucky Dog award. Hemric managed his equipment for the balance of Stage 2, and flipped the track position at the end of the segment on lap 100. He restarted sixth on lap 112, but ultimately succumbed to trucks with significantly fresher tires shortly thereafter. Immediately after pitting for fresh tires under a lap 138 caution, Hemric reported that he had lost a cylinder and was down on power. The night and playoff run came to an end after completing 163 laps and was credited with a 31st-place result.

Daniel Hemric Quote:

“Just a hard way to end our playoff run. I hate it for all these guys because of their effort and commitment all year. We barely got to race for it before that big stack up on the restart in Stage 1. We had all sorts of damage to the nose, duct work, and hurt the radiator in our NAPA Nightvision Chevy. The temps must have been too hot for too long and finally the motor started laying down. The guys did a great job staying in the fight, making repairs, and we were trying to find a pathway back to the front.”