Hemric Recovers from Early Incident at MIS to Finish 13th

Daniel Hemric executed a swift recovery after an incident on the opening lap on Saturday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway to post a top-15 finish. The driver of the No. 19 Cloyes, Rotomaster Chevrolet Silverado RST finished 13th after regaining his lap at the halfway mark and advanced through the field to preserve his ninth-place position in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series standings.

Hemric qualified 24th on Saturday morning as the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing teams directed their handling balance for race trim rather than outright one-lap speed on the sweeping two-mile venue. At the drop of the green flag, Hemric followed teammate Christian Eckes to the high lane in Turns 1 and 2 to pick up numerous positions, but a sudden wake of dirty air unhooked his Chevrolet, resulting in substantial contact with the outside wall. Hemric immediately pitted to clearance the right side fenders and take on right side tires. The repairs resulted in him losing a lap and placed him 30th on the rundown at the end of Stage 1.

The day’s tide began to turn for Hemric after the second stage when a caution at lap 68 allowed him to regain his lap while running 28th and earn the Lucky Dog. He restarted 28th on lap 74 and quickly advanced inside the top-15 by lap 81. He made his final pit stop of the day for four tires and fuel under a lap-88 caution and restarted 22nd as several trucks took two tires. After the day’s final restart on lap 100, Hemric methodically picked off positions over the remaining 26 laps. Displaying his long-run speed, he netted eight positions gained over that time and took the checkered flag in 13th position.

“Nice recovery from where the day started,” Eckes said after the checkered flag flew. “We were packed up on the first lap, got put in a really bad aero spot and just shoved us up the hill in the wall. Appreciate this Cloyes, Rotomaster No. 19 team for hanging in there, staying in the game on our adjustments. They did a great job to clearance the fenders because we didn’t have any issues the rest of the day. Certainly not a clean day by any means, but glad we could drive forward on the last run and make something of it.”

Start / Finish: 24 / 13
Points Standing / Total: 9th / 278 pts. (-219)

Next Race: Friday, June 19, Naval Base Coronado, San Diego, Calif.
How to Watch or Listen: 7:00 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM

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Daniel Hemric: @DanielHemric
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