By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Though Daniel Hemric has been racing longer than he’s been legal to drive, the past week has put him into the spotlight more than ever.
Following the conclusion of his second XFINITY Series season in 2018, the 27-year-old will be making the ultimate jump to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2019, racing for Richard Childress Racing and their No. 31 Chevrolet.
The ride, recently piloted by Ryan Newman, will have Hemric’s name printed on the driver-side door. And this short-tracker will not believe it until he see’s it.
“It’s incredibly humbling to see everything come full circle at this time in my life,” Hemric told Kickin’ The Tires. “It makes going to sleep at night way easier to say the least. I’m incredibly fortunate to have the plan set before me for next year.”
Simply having a ride for next year (with seven weeks still remaining in the prior season) has Hemric feeling relieved come the generally stressful offseason.
“For my personal life, when you leave the track on the weekends during this time of year, you’re always crammed trying to keep this going effectively,” he said. “You can’t ignore the fact you’ll need a job next year.”
With the announcement coming with five races remaining in the XFINITY schedule, Hemric takes timing into account with his appreciation. Not only is his fate set in stone with RCR, but his entire national NASCAR career seemed to “fly by” en route to Cup.
“Time flew by on the national side of things,” he said. “Super late model nights, short track tracks to Legend cars, modifieds to get to this point — that’s what felt like took forever. Everybody said, ‘Do you have a set timeline? Did you know when you wanted to get there? What is the goal?’
“For me, it was always knowing that if I was doing all I could, I could live with that. Doing that exact thing just happened to open one door when another one closed.”
With 13 top fives in 2018, finishing a highest of second twice, Hemric also spent two full seasons in the Camping World Truck Series for the now-defunct Brad Keselowski Racing. Despite the recent experience, the Kannapolis, North Carolina native looks further down the pipeline to find what truly set him up for success in the Cup Series.
“I can think of about five key moments [in short tracks] that were huge stepping stones for me to get to the Truck level,” he said. “The appreciation I have for short track racing from the local level, is what made the opportunity to be here today.
“Nobody has more appreciation for what it takes for people to take chances on you. Different owners who shouldn’t give a kid from Kannapolis, who didn’t much of a family heritage of racing, a chance. And they did and it started at the local level and progressed.”
What a day…….. pic.twitter.com/6tmyqCresT
— Daniel Hemric (@DanielHemric) September 29, 2018
Having the support of the owners, Hemric has also gathered support from fans and fellow competitors. And many reached out to Hemric following last week’s announcement.
“You have people who maybe you haven’t heard from in a long time, people who you thought didn’t even follow you anymore,” he said. “I told my wife last night, I still have 160 text messages I haven’t replied to yet. I will reply to everybody, it’s just a matter of getting through the craziness, the good craziness of what making an announcement like that brings.”
Though the announcement was, indeed, meaningful, Hemric already has two starts in the Cup Series, running Richmond in the spring and the Charlotte ROVAL in September. And though he struggled in both events (finishing 32nd and 23rd, respectively) Hemric feels it will lack in comparison to the 2019 rules package, which will have high-drag and less overall power.
“Everything that the race teams and drivers are going to have, I think it’s going to make that transition — not easier, nothing is going to be easy — but more normal to XFINITY cars,” he said. “That side, I see opportunity.
“I almost wish I got one year in the current package so I could say I felt the more horsepower, the low downforce. On the other side, the timing in my life and what I’ve been driving for the past three years, it’s going to be a good transition for me. I will be able to maximize myself and not have to worry about as much of the dynamics of how different the cars are.”
With Cup and XFINITY cars more similar than in recent years, Hemric may feel his transition will be simplified, however, knows winning will be tougher than ever in his racing career.
And with no wins in his Truck or XFINITY careers thus far, Hemric has been kept humbled by his losses in this sport.
“I will say that before you’re willing to say, ‘I can do this’, you have to win, because your life depends on it,” he said. “That’s still the way I approach it. But I also know that if I’m attacking, it gives some comfortability knowing however I attack, everybody is giving their own.
“I’m secure enough to know I’m going into next year. It’s good to have that in my back pocket to know we can be aggressive any weekend.”
Not many drivers enter their rookie Cup season with a win in the national ranks. Though this may be seen as a negative, Hemric has consistently contended for victories since 2014 and feel’s he has a broader perspective than he would otherwise.
“It’s the box I checked in the sport I was going to play in,” he said. “I have been successful, I have won races, I’ve done it at every level getting to the Truck Series. But also, through those times — super late models and down — when you win races, there are also times where you go through strikes where you don’t. And when you don’t, that’s what builds your character. You can accept years like I’ve had this year where we’ve been so close.
“I have worked close with William [Byron] in the past, he drove for me at one point. For his path, he was in the best possible situation and he made the most of it. He was never even around to see the thing have a downfall. I stand here with pride knowing I’ve been able to withstand all that stuff.”
With a longer path to Cup, Hemric feels he is not only more appreciative of the opportunity, but more ready.
“A lot of guys who get to the Cup level when they’re really, really young,” he said. “They’ll tell you they maybe don’t appreciate when they get it that early. I can promise you, standing here at 27 years old knowing what I’ve put in, what so many others have put in, I appreciate it that much more having it take the time it did.”
And he won’t be alone when he takes the green flag for the 2019 Daytona 500. Austin Dillon will return to the No. 3 alongside Hemric. And their relationship goes back decades.
“I can remember us all having sleepovers and talking, ‘Man, what would it be like to race in the Cup Series one day?'” he said. “Now, to fast-forward from kids to now, it’s mindboggling.
“I was at Austin and Ty’s very first race when they raced Bandoleros. I was trying to figure out what I couldn’t be the No. 3 anymore but it became pretty clear to me. Being at the track together, we all became pretty good friends. We’ve embodied the teamwork side of it ever since I got to RCR’s XFINITY cars. It goes further back from us kids growing up racing together.”
Having this family atmosphere at RCR, Hemric knows he has a head start in terms of learning the team, the crew and his teammate.
“It’s not like we’re jumping in trying to figure each other out,” he said. “That was a big part of the decision to stay here, because this place feels like family to me. To know I can have a teammate like Austin, that’s a huge thing to have on my side as I approach the Cup schedule.”
(Below is a video capture of our interview with Daniel Hemric)
