Hemric Comfortable to be Back at Charlotte

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer

For most, being at home is more comfortable. With the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kannapolis, N.C. native Daniel Hemric, driver of the No. 21 Anderson’s Maple Syrup Chevrolet Camaro SS, is in a comfortable position being at home, and fifth in the Playoff Standings.

Hemric has three NASCAR National Series starts at the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval. Two came in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, where he has a best finish of ninth in 2016. Hemric made his first Charlotte Xfinity Series start earlier this year, starting fourth and finishing 13th.

Hemric loved the fact that he was racing at home,

“Anytime you go back home to race it’s cool, but to do it and know you’re a part of the NASCAR Playoffs it is extra special. It will also be great to have Anderson’s Maple Syrup on the No. 21 Chevrolet for this big weekend. It is always a good feeling to know you have family, friends and people that have been around your racing career for your whole life sitting in the grandstands cheering you on. With it being a cut-off race for the XFINITY Playoffs and knowing we have the opportunity to go there and do something special by advancing to the next round is going to be fun.”

Hemric cut his teeth racing Legends Cars at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Summer Shootout Series. In that series, he scored two championships (2009 and 2012) and is the winningest driver in the Pro Division. Hemric also won the Legends Million in 2010 at Charlotte.

Hemric admitted that he may have more laps at Charlotte than most,

“Charlotte is a place I’ve always enjoyed racing, in the Camping World Truck Series and with the XFINITY Series cars. It’s a place that is easy to test, so whenever we’ve had that opportunity to test there as a rookie in either series we’ve taken advantage of that. I’ve probably ran more legitimate laps around Charlotte Motor Speedway than any other track. I feel comfortable there and have always found a way to go fast. I got myself in a little bit of trouble there earlier in the year, but I feel like I know what I need in terms of the balance of the race car heading there again this weekend. I definitely look forward to going there this weekend.”

As comfortable as Hemric may be, he will be ‘behind the eight ball’ as his crew chief, Danny Stockman, car chief, Clint Almquist, and engineer Luke Mason are suspended until Homestead. This is due to unsecured ballast (tungsten) falling out of the rear of Hemric’s Chevrolet in practice at Dover.

Hemric just signed on to another year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Richard Childress Racing in 2018. So far, he has made the Playoffs, scored six top-fives, 14 top-10s, and one pole position with RCR.

Now Hemric will try to secure a place in the Round of Eight with interim crew chief Randall Burnett.