Hemric Locks Into Chase with Top-10 Result in Loudon

Daniel Hemric clinched his second-consecutive berth into the Chase for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series championship with an eighth-place finish on Saturday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 19 Delphi Chevrolet Silverado RST not only secured his spot but improved his seeding by scoring 41 points on the afternoon, moving to eighth in the standings. The seven-race dash for the title will begin with Hemric 60 markers out of the lead at Bristol Motor Speedway next month after his eighth top-10 result of the season.

His second-straight top-10 effort began with a strong qualifying run on Friday afternoon, which placed Hemric sixth on the starting grid. The Delphi Chevrolet cracked the top five in the opening laps and was seen as one of the strongest trucks in the field during the opening stage. Following two early yellows, Hemric claimed third position on lap 30 and held the podium spot to score eight points at the end of Stage 1 on lap 55.

The team’s first pit stop of the day came under the stage caution when Hemric received four tires, fuel, and minor air pressure adjustments to aid his loose condition on corner entry. After restarting eighth on lap 64, Hemric bolted back into fifth but faded to eighth after a restart on lap 83. His long run speed showed up at the end of the segment, and Hemric was able to notch four points in seventh position at the end of Stage 2 on lap 110.

A hiccup on the team’s second pit stop of the day sent Hemric back to 24th for the ensuing restart. He made methodical progress back to 15th by lap 153 before a caution five laps from the scheduled distance changed the event’s complexion. He took the opportunity to put on two tires and restarted 17th for the first overtime restart. Hemric narrowly avoided a multi-truck accident in Turn 2 and climbed to 14th. On the final restart of the day, 13 laps past the advertised distance, Hemric vaulted from 14th to eighth to notch consecutive top-10 finishes.

“It feels great to lock into the Chase,” Hemric said after the finish. “Starting the year off, this is the first goal to get to this point of the year and have a chance to rerack and have a chance to compete for a championship. Thanks to this No. 19 team, [crew chief] Kevin Bellicourt, everyone at MHR to put three trucks in the Chase. We pulled the alarm a few weeks ago to make bigger gains to improve, and we’ve had a lot of speed the last two weeks. The Delphi Chevrolet was really good to start the day, just weren’t able to keep our track position, but it’s encouraging to see the pace we had this weekend. There’s plenty to look forward to now and we’ll work hard to start strong at Bristol.”

Start / Finish: 6 / 8
Points Standing / Total: 8th / 2,040 pts. (-60)

Next Race: Thursday, Sept. 17, Bristol Motor Speedway
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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