Daniel Hemric leads Denny Hamlin during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway. (Photo: Jennie Mae Lingle | The Podium Finish)
DOVER, Del. – After a strong run at Talladega Superspeedway, a second top-10 finish was just what the doctor ordered for Daniel Hemric. While he didn’t run up front for much of Sunday’s Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway, Hemric benefitted from a savvy pit call.
The Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro stayed on track with 80 laps left when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. crashed in Turn 2 and used the newfound track position to score a ninth-place finish.
Hemric has two consecutive top-10 finishes, the first time he’s accomplished the feat in his NASCAR Cup Series career.
“It was just really rewarding for all of us on the No. 31 Poppy Bank Chevy team to put us inside the top 10 and be able to run there,” Hemric said. “We knew our pace was there, it’s just a matter of track position.”
After starting 14th, his best qualifying effort of the season, Hemric started to fade in the opening stages. He scored zero stage points in the race but held off Corey Heim in a tense free-pass battle to get back on the lead lap as Kyle Larson took the green and white checkered flag.
Daniel Hemric, Corey LaJoie and Corey Heim battle during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway. (Photo: Daniel Rankin | The Podium Finish)
With an average running position of 19th throughout the day, Hemric and crew chief Trent Owens had to shake things up to salvage a good finish. That came courtesy of green-flag pit stops as Hemric stayed out long enough for the caution to come out.
“It was kind of like an early Christmas present to us,” Hemric said. “It got us back on the lead lap.”
The timely caution left Hemric as one of eight drivers on the lead lap before wave-arounds.
With only one caution in the final 72 laps, Hemric remained competitive en route to salvaging a second-consecutive ninth-place finish.
“We know our pace was there, it’s just a matter of getting track position,” Hemric said. “That’s the name of the game here.”
The Kannapolis, N.C., native sits 29th in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings.
The NASCAR Cup Series rolls onto Kansas Speedway next weekend, the track where Hemric scored his only career pole in 2019 while driving for Richard Childress Racing. The race is set for 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Denny Hamlin, who ultimately won Sunday at Dover, is the defending champion at Kansas.
