Daniel Hemric persevered through an eventful Ambetter Health 200 to soldier home in fourth. (Photo: Sam Draiss | The Podium Finish)
LOUDON, N.H. – Sometimes, grinding it out is all that matters to achieve maximum results as Daniel Hemric showcased after Saturday’s Ambetter Health 200.
Naturally, the flashy noisemakers and storyline athletes and teams garner the attention of the masses. However, Saturday’s eventful NASCAR XFINITY Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway illustrated how patience and methodical driving paid off in Hemric’s case.
Then again, Hemric is not all about flashy and controversial soundbites. Instead, he speaks his mind by racing methodically and steadily up the scoring order.
Prior to Saturday’s 18th race of the 2023 season, the 32-year-old Kannapolis, North Carolina has turned his season around. After a 13th place result at Sonoma, the driver of the No. 11 Campers Inn RV Chevrolet Camaro entry has finishes of eighth at Nashville, seventh at Chicago and a runner up at Atlanta.
Climbing from 11th to eighth in the points standings, the 2021 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion looked forward to Round 18 at the 1.058-mile speedway. Starting from the 11th position, Hemric clawed his way to a ninth place finish in Stage 1, garnering two stage points.
As quiet and steady as Hemric was in Stage 1, it was equally a bit of a struggle in Stage 2, slipping to a 14th place result. Naturally, the North Carolinian fought hard to keep his Kaulig Racing entry in the fight for a strong finish.
Initially, it was not looking too good with Hemric needing to take a wave around to rejoin the lead lap fray. Despite lacking pace prevalent with the Joe Gibbs duo of John Hunter. Nemechek and Sammy Smith, Hemric was not deterred.
Unlike those around him in the top 15, Hemric’s car was nary a scratch. Resuming his battles in the lead lap in Stage 3, Hemric was smooth and steady, working his way inside the top 10 like a New England craftsman.
It was an up and down afternoon for Hemric at New Hampshire. (Photo: Josh Jones | The Podium Finish)
Tallying the ninth highest driver rating in an action packed race, Hemric put his veteran experience to good use. When a Lap 198 caution for Sam Mayer, Joe Graf Jr. and Connor Mossack in Turn 2 bunched the field up for an Overtime restart, it was white knuckle time for Hemric.
Restarting in seventh position, Hemric seemed destined for another quiet but respectable top 10 result. Rounding his way to the stripe for the final lap, trouble ensued ahead of him when Cole Custer and Sheldon Creed tangled in a battle for third position.
Instinctively, Hemric veered to the left to avoid the fracas and it paid dividends with the incident resulting in the race’s final caution. While John Hunter Nemechek netted his fourth win of the season, Hemric persevered to place fourth.
All things considered, Hemric relied on instincts, experience and patience to nab his third top five result of the season.
“Our day was pretty uneventful,” Hemric said. “We struggled about midway through run one after we got to about seventh and started to lose a little bit of speed and kind of struggled with the same stuff up until the green flag stop there in Stage 3. And once once we did come down pit road, I felt like we lost a lot of time to the leaders on pit road.
“We ended up having take the wave around once the last yellow come out. But I felt like my balance was the best they’ve been all day. So I appreciate Campers Inn RV for being on board. I’m glad we’re able to use a couple restarts there in the end and get a couple spots.”
Likewise, Hemric compiled a New Englander’s effort at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Rather than being bombastic and a seeker for highlight reels, he demonstrated his nonsense driving style to net a Granite State worthy finish.
“Just a little bit of experience here,” he said. “In the past, I felt like the bottom lane was going to really, really struggle with old tires. And luckily, they paid off like I thought it would and were able to jump six or eight spots.”
Although Hemric may have tallied another solid result, he hopes to sharpen his knives for more consistency to nab a Playoffs spot and his second career XFINITY win.
Despite a strong result at Loudon, New Hampshire, Hemric wants better performances and results from himself and his No. 11 team. (Photo: Josh Jones | The Podium Finish)
“I feel like we’re OK (with) our mile and a half stuff, even our road course and superspeedway package,” he said. “I’m just struggling with our package on the on the short track (with) the style (of) Richmond.
“I feel pretty good about Martinsville, but obviously my teammate Chandler (Smith) does a great job with this package. He’s got a really good feel for what he wants and what he needs here, and I’m just continuing to struggle at these places. So yeah, just got to be better.”
All in all, Hemric had a much better day than last year’s race at “The Magic Mile” when he wound up on the wrecker after a Turn 3 accident on Lap 107. Regardless, Hemric is not beating around the bushes about his latest performance at New Hampshire as he pursues his second championship.
“I ran about ninth to 12th all day and we let one get away this (past) week,” Hemric said. “But we stole a top five today.”
Editor’s Notes
Nathan Solomon contributed to this article on-site from New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire.
