By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
As soon as Daniel Hemric turned a lap behind the wheel of a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car Friday at Richmond Raceway, he was itching for Lap 2.
Making his first Cup start for Richard Childress Racing’s No. 8 Chevrolet, Hemric has taken more than two decades of racing experience to hit the world’s top stock car racing series. And this weekend, the North Carolina native balances the debut with his XFINITY Series ride.
“I definitely have a new-found respect for those who do double duty every week,” said Hemric, who also races in Friday’s XFINITY event for RCR. “It’s been a lot to take in. It’s a great problem to have, trying to figure how to get to one place to the next and do it in the manner you need to.”
Qualifying for Paul Menard last year at Texas Motor Speedway, as well as testing the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval, Friday wasn’t the first time Hemric had felt the power of a Cup machine. It was, however, the first on a short track and his debut laps in his own Cup Series ride. He could feel the difference, finishing opening practice sixth on the board.
“You can simulate and do all the stuff you want to try to prepare for this, but there’s nothing like doing it in real time,” he said. “Those guys have done a great job to allow us to unload and make me feel comfortable.
“More than anything else, I’m trying to enjoy the weekend.”
A hard road to the top sure can raise one’s level of appreciation. In the era of pay-to-drive rides throughout any top series of motor racing, Hemric breaks the mold with his upbringing by making the slow, steady upward trend to the Cup Series with no easy rides along the way.
“I’m 27 years old, right? So, it’s 22 years in the making to get to this stage,” he said. “I never had a path or an age set, whenever I wanted to get here. I’ve just been fortunate to continue that uphill climb. That trend is 17, 18 years old you have to be in the top three series and full-time. I’m just doing it the way it was provided to me.”
The “taking-it-as-it-comes” mindset has kept Hemric at ease during this debut weekend. At least so far.
“I didn’t know how exactly I’d feel — I thought I’d be more nervous than what I’ve felt,” he said. “Between getting in the XFINITY car and running straight to the Cup car, it’s made the transition as easy as possible. Staying busy has kept all that stuff in check.”
One more factor that could add nerves to Saturday’s debut is the pack of people who’ll cheer him on. Practically every owner up the racing ladder, his mother and father, grandparents, wife, step-dad and “60-70 family and friends in the stands.”
“At some point in the last 10 days, I’ve talked to just about every car owner I’ve had through the ranks,” he said. “They all led to me having this shot and it’s cool to have a majority of them here.”
With everything set in stone, his pace for Saturday is what’s still up to expectation.
“Coming here, I wanted to get through practice with no issues,” he said. “In the race, I’d like to see ourselves at the end of 400 laps competing in the top 25, top 20. If we can do that as a group, being just a one-off race, it’s tough to do. We have to take it a step at a time. If we hit the top 20, it’d be a home run.”