Gritty Performance by Hemric Results with Top-Five at North Wilkesboro

A gritty effort and late-race surge by Daniel Hemric netted his fifth top-five finish on Saturday afternoon at North Wilkesboro Speedway (NWS). The driver of the No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet Silverado earned a fourth-place result after clutch restarts and quick maneuvers in traffic during the final laps. Hemric joined his teammate Tyler Ankrum in the top-five as the duo combined for the sixth consecutive short track race with MHR trucks finishing inside the top-five.

Hemric started seventh after qualifying was scrapped due to rain but was able to take advantage of a mid-morning practice session. Despite the track time, Hemric’s NAPA Auto Care Chevy fired off significantly loose at the start of the race and ran 14th when the event’s first caution waved on lap 46. Crew chief Josh Graham kept him on track to inherit fifth position and within reach of stage points. The call paid dividends as Hemric scored three points in eighth position at Stage 1’s conclusion on lap 70.

Graham called Hemric to pit lane during the first stage caution for four tires, fuel, and a chassis adjustment to combat the loose condition. After starting at the tail of the field due to a pit road speeding penalty, Hemric restarted 26th on lap 81. Over the 58-lap run, Hemric was able to advance to 16th by the end of Stage 2 on lap 140 before pitting for a second set of tires.

The final segment went green on lap 150 with Hemric restarting 12th, courtesy of exceptional pit work by the NAPA Auto Care team. However, a free balance kept Hemric outside the top-10 and ran 13th when a caution flew on lap 210. The No. 19 team took advantage to pit for fresh tires and began moving forward when the race resumed on lap 219. Hemric ran ninth when a late yellow came out directly in front of him on lap 246. He restarted seventh for the overtime restart and avoided calamity when the leaders tangled on the final lap. Hemric evaded the incident to finish fourth and still holds the third spot in the championship standings.

“It was a bit interesting,” Hemric said after the race. “Felt like we were okay in practice with the NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet Silverado RST. Didn’t quite have everything I wanted, and had good track position to start the race, and they dropped the green flag and we were sideways. I probably led us to free up too much going into the race not really knowing what to expect. Then I sped on pit road after getting track position. Just proud of these guys for sticking with me, staying on me to stay in the fight. The line I was running down in (turns) one and two, not sure if I caught a hole and broke something with about 40 to go. I swung really, really tight. Either way, just proud for us to rebound and keep ourselves in the fight and have a solid day.”

Start / Finish: 7 / 4
Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 363 pts. (-87)

Next Race: Friday, May 23, Charlotte Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM

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Daniel Hemric: @DanielHemric
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