Hemric Contends in Top Five at Kansas

Daniel Hemric’s climb in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) standings continued during a marathon day at Kansas Speedway. The driver of the No. 19 Cloyes / Rotomaster Chevrolet Silverado RST tallied his first top-five run of the Chase with a fourth-place result. The workman-like effort by Hemric and company advanced them to sixth in the NCTS standings and placed two McAnally-Hilgemann Racing entries in the top-five.

Hemric’s third top-five finish of the season originated from the 12th position after rainy skies washed out practice and qualifying on Friday afternoon. At the drop of the green on Saturday, Hemric utilized the high side to generate momentum and instantly climb to sixth position on the opening lap. While he briefly slipped to eighth at lap 13, Hemric’s balance swung tight during the opening 30-lap segment. Despite wrestling with the handling primarily on corner entry, Hemric advanced to seventh position at the end of Stage 1 and pocketed four points at lap 30.

During the first stage caution, Hemric pitted the Cloyes / Rotomaster Chevy for four tires and a slight air pressure adjustment. He restarted fifth on lap 37 as the action intensified with the threat of weather moving in. Hemric stayed inside the top seven when a caution flew on lap 43 and restarted eighth on lap 49. A short, five-lap run closed the second stage with Hemric in seventh as a multi-truck incident prematurely ended Stage 2. While under yellow, persistent rain moved over the speedway and prompted a nearly five-hour red flag period.

When the skies cleared, action resumed around 6:30 p.m. local time with Hemric restarting in ninth position on lap 78. Cooler track temps improved the balance of Hemric’s Chevy and allowed him to move to fifth over the next 11 circuits before caution flew at lap 95. Hemric pitted for fresh tires, fuel, and another adjustment and restarted seventh on lap 103. He made quick work to rejoin the top five by lap 106 but another caution on lap 116 allowed most of the lead lap trucks to pit for the final time. After the last four-tire stop, two restarts decided the evening on lap 122 and lap 128. Hemric lined up eighth for the final restart of the night, navigating his way through traffic and around two trucks with flat tires. He crossed under the checkered flag in fourth position for his second top-five result at Kansas Speedway.

“Nothing like hard work,” Hemric said following the race. “Appreciate everyone at MHR for their efforts. Not just tonight. This has been a 12, 16, 18-month progression. Really grateful to be part of this organization, of course Chevrolet, and appreciate everyone Cloyes and Rotomaster, all of our partners, NAPA, Gates Hydraulics, Motion Industries, Arnott Suspension, Delphi. All the folks that allow us to come do this every week. When they invest in our company, we can make progress. We’ve done that. We did it tonight.”

Start / Finish: 12 / 4
Points Standing / Total: 6th / 2,110 pts. (-87)

Next Race: Friday, October 9, Charlotte Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 5:00 p.m. ET on FOX or SiriusXM

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