Hemric Scores First Top-Five of the Season at Homestead-Miami

Daniel Hemric delivered a steady effort on Friday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS) to secure his first top-five result of the season. The driver of the No. 19 NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet Silverado RST captured a fifth-place finish, earned points in both stages, and recorded 39 points on the evening, fifth-most of all drivers. At night’s end, Hemric sits seventh in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series standings with four races in the books.

Hemric qualified 14th on Friday afternoon and had to immediately be on his toes when the green flag flew. On lap one, Hemric narrowly avoided a multi-truck incident in Turn 1. He restarted 11th on lap seven and methodically worked forward during the first stage. By lap 26, he advanced to seventh and held that position to earn four points at the end of Stage 1 on lap 30.

The NAPA Nightvision crew flexed their muscle throughout the night, and got buzzing with a quick four tire stop under caution to gain Hemric two positions. He restarted sixth on lap 38 and ran comfortably inside the top-10. A lack of lateral grip in the right rear and tightness in the center of the corners halted his progress yet still collected three points at the end of Stage 2 on lap 60 while running eighth.

The No. 19 team ripped off their best four-tire pit stop of the night under the stage caution and gained four positions with a blistering four-tire effort. The adjustments at the pit stop improved Hemric’s balance as he elevated himself to a top-five truck during the second half. He ran fifth on lap 77 and inherited fourth position when a caution flew on lap 90. He restarted on the front row on lap 96 after the final four-tire pit stop of the night. He settled into fourth by lap 100 and took the checkered flag fifth, joining his MHR teammate Tyler Ankrum inside the top-five.

“What an incredible job by [the pit crew],” Hemric said after the race. “They really saved us, because we kind of struggled kind of the mid-run. Our truck was really good. So, appreciate everyone at NAPA Nightvision, NAPA Auto Care. But yeah, those boys were on top of it. I was hoping to line up on the front row and put use to the good stops. It just didn’t have quite enough on the shorter runs. I appreciate them. Appreciate the effort. Two trucks out of MHR in the top-five. Appreciate the team, everyone at Gates Hydraulics and Chevrolet too for giving us what they do.”

Start / Finish: 14 / 5
Points Standing / Total: 7th / 125 pts. (-52)

Next Race: Friday, March 28, Martinsville Speedway
How to Watch or Listen: 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 or SiriusXM

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