Hemric Gains Ground in Chase Opener at Bristol

Daniel Hemric gained ground in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series standings as the Chase opened on Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 19 Delphi Chevrolet Silverado RST battled throughout the 250-lap outing to record points in both stages and en route to a 12th-place finish. Hemric was tied for scoring the fourth-most points among Chase contenders and sits seventh in the point standings, 56 markers behind the lead.

After weather forced the cancellation of qualifying, Hemric took the green flag from seventh position. The Delphi Chevrolet immediately established himself as a contender with strong pace during the opening 65-lap run. Hemric ran as high as sixth for most of the stint but began to deal with a wavering balance. A tight condition developed as the run progressed, yet Hemric still banked four points in seventh position at the end of Stage 1 on lap 65.

Crew chief Kevin Bellicourt called Hemric to pit road for four tires, fuel, and air pressure adjustments to improve the rotation in the Delphi Silverado RST. Hemric restarted eighth on lap 77 and fought with a progressively tighter condition as more rubber stacked on Bristol’s concrete, running 13th at the end of the second stage on lap 130.

Bellicourt employed a two-tire strategy during the second stage caution in hopes to gain track position and armed Hemric with a sizable track bar adjustment. He restarted eighth on lap 142 yet continued to deal with a tight balance, hampering his center corner speed. While running as high as seventh, Hemric’s handling condition deteriorated, and he was scored 15th when the final yellow flew at lap 213. The Delphi crew bolted on a cooler set of scuff tires and returned Hemric to the track in 17th position. The call paid dividends as it produced a net gain by the time the checkers were unfurled. Hemric was able to gain five positions to drive up to 12th and scored 29 points on the evening.

“The first run fired off really well,” Hemric said. “Maybe about 30 laps in, I had a weird front tire slip that I hadn’t experienced. We managed that in Stage 1 and progressively got worse in Stage 2 and Stage 3. Kevin Bellicourt and everyone on the No. 19 Delphi Chevrolet did what they could to adjust and adapt and try to make it better. Took a swing at track position putting two tires on. When we put two tires on, we really struggled, backed up hard…We managed the night as best we could, and knew we just needed to get to the end of the race seeing what was going on with the guys were racing against. We lived to fight another day at Kansas next week and we’ll try to make up some more ground.”

Start / Finish: 7 / 12
Points Standing / Total: 7th / 2,069 pts. (-56)

Next Race: Saturday, September 26, Kansas Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 1:00 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM

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