Hemric Banks Another Top-10 in Inaugural Running at Lime Rock

Daniel Hemric pounced on a late-race opportunity at Lime Rock Park to notch a ninth-place finish on Saturday afternoon. The driver of the No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet Silverado RST recorded his 11th top-10 finish of the season in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series’ inaugural outing at the Connecticut road course and now sits fourth in the championship standings.

Hemric qualified 11th in group time trials on Saturday afternoon but couldn’t gain traction in the opening laps. As the race’s first 35-lap segment ran clean and green, Hemric lacked grip in the left rear tire on exit of the right-hand turns and ran 13th on lap 35.

Crew chief Josh Graham and the NAPA Auto Care team gave Hemric fresh tires, fuel, and adjustments during the race’s first controlled pit stop during the stage caution. Hemric restarted in 13th on lap 40 and ran elite lap times as the second segment wore on. Despite the long run pace, Hemric ran 14th at the end of Stage 2 on lap 70.

After four-tire service during the controlled pit cycle, Hemric restarted 15th on lap 77 and briefly ran off-course in Turn 1 on lap 79. A fortuitous caution flew on lap 89 which allowed the team to seize a rare strategy opportunity. Graham called Hemric to pit road for fresh tires for the final dash to the checkers. Hemric restarted 20th on lap 96 with a significant tire advantage and put it to full use. He avoided calamity in Turn 1 on the lap 96 restart and picked off additional positions in the final laps to record a ninth-place finish.

“Wish our performance was better in general,” Hemric said. “Lacked some control, some pace. Keep studying and figure out what I needed here with our NAPA Auto Care Chevy, to be honest with you. We just were okay near the very end of the stages when everybody’s tires are the worst. It’s 25 laps plus for me to get there and be within that top four to five band on lap time. Didn’t matter if I drove harder or drove easier and took care of it, I was what I was. A lot to digest, but great call by Josh Graham to bring me down pit road. Our road crew doing our pit stop did a great job getting lug nuts tight. We restarted, whatever it was, (20th) with a couple to go and get a ninth-place finish. You can’t be upset about it.”

Start / Finish: 11 / 9
Points Standing / Total: 4th / 514 pts. (-176)

Next Race: Friday, July 25, Indianapolis Raceway Park
How to Watch or Listen: 8:00 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM

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Daniel Hemric: @DanielHemric
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