By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer
For Daniel Hemric, the 2017 season reunites him and Richard Childress Racing with a familiar car number. Hemric will make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Daytona International Speedway in the No. 21 Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff Chevrolet Camaro.
For Richard Childress Racing, the No. 21 has a very successful legacy. Mike Dillon was the first to pilot the No. 21 in 2000. The first win for Childress’ No. 21 came at Pikes Peak with Jeff Purvis behind the wheel. Dakoda Armstrong was the last driver to pilot the No. 21 for Childress in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Kansas Speedway in 2013.
In total, the Childress 21 has visited victory lane 25 times between 2000 and 2013. Many of these wins came in 2006 when Kevin Harvick drove 30 races in the No. 21 en route to his second Xfinity Series Championship.
Hemric won the Legends Car Million at Charlotte Motor Speedway driving the No. 21. In his NASCAR career, Hemric has 49 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts including 15 top fives and 30 Top 10s. That gives Hemric a Top 10 finishing percentage of 61.2. Hemric made the first-ever NCWTS Playoff in 2016, but failed to advance all the way to the Championship Round at Homestead.
When Hemric was asked about driving full-time for RCR and being reunited with the No. 21, he could not contain his excitement,
“It was honestly surreal. You couldn’t help but laugh when you looked at how things come full circle. To be a part of RCR was a very exciting moment for me and my family, but to be able to use the No. 21 was the icing on the cake. Luckily, I was able to have a lot of success with that number growing up. One of the biggest wins of my career came in the No. 21, the Legends Car Million at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Hopefully, we can repeat and have similar success this year.”
Hemric and his Richard Childress Racing team will now look forward to Daytona International Speedway as he continues to fight for his first victory in NASCAR’s top three series.
