Hemric Jumpstarts Title Hopes with Runner-Up at Darlington

Daniel Hemric executed a stout afternoon in the first race of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) playoffs at Darlington Raceway. The driver of the No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST Gray Ghost notched a second-place finish and 49-points on the day for his fifth podium result of the season. Hemric padded his position in the playoff standings to sit 33 points above the provisional cut line in third.

Hemric posted the seventh-quickest lap in qualifying on Friday afternoon and trended forward when the green flag dropped on Saturday. The Gray Ghost NAPA Shocks Regal Ride throwback paint scheme ran sixth by lap 12 and cracked the top five on lap 20. Hemric maintained his tires better than several other frontrunners in the first segment and ran fourth at the end of Stage 1 on lap 45.

Crew chief Kevin Bellicourt and the NAPA team put four tires on the No. 19 Chevy during the first stage caution, along with fuel and a minor air pressure adjustment. Hemric restarted sixth on lap 54 and rocketed to second in one lap by utilizing the outside lane to perfection. His handling slightly deteriorated in the second stage, swinging too free in Turns 3 and 4 while running against the wall. He pocketed another seven valuable points on lap 90 while running fourth to close out Stage 2.

The NAPA team rinsed and repeated on the second pit stop with four tires, fuel, and air pressure changes. He restarted sixth on lap 99 and took advantage of the outside lane once again to advance to third. Hemric held a podium spot until the event’s final caution flew on lap 128. The NAPA Auto Care team saved their best stop of the day for the end and got Hemric off pit road third after four-tire stop. Hemric restarted fourth on lap 134 and stuck to his bread and butter on the outside groove to take second. Over the final 14 laps, Hemric delivered a valiant effort to chase down the leader but took the checkered flag in the runner-up position.

“It meant a lot to start off like you want to,” Hemric said after the runner-up finish. “Everybody is going to pick up throughout these playoffs, right? So, when you have the opportunity to have a good day, you have to have them. I appreciate Kevin Bellicourt, everyone on this No. 19 NAPA Gray Ghost throwback Silverado RST for giving me everything, NAPA letting us run this cool paint scheme. We just had what we needed on short runs most of the day, just the No. 11 was really good, as he’s been all year. We struggled on the backside of the run, but the short run at the end kind of helped us to maximize our day. So, I appreciate their efforts, pushing Chevrolet hard, they’ve been pushing us, so it’s good to see something good come out of it.”

Start / Finish: 7 / 2
Points Standing / Total: 3rd / +33 above cutline

Next Race: Thursday, Sept. 11, Bristol Motor Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 8:00 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM

NAPA: @NAPARacing
Daniel Hemric: @DanielHemric
Bill McAnally Racing / McAnally-Hilgemann Racing: @BMR_NASCAR