4 drivers score best Xfinity Series finishes of career

By Jonathan Fjeld

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Richard Childress Racing drivers Daniel Hemric and Shane Lee were among four drivers to score career-high finishes in Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway.

Hemric finished second, which is the fourth such finish of his career, and leads the Xfinity Series standings heading to Texas. According to NASCAR, however, Hemric’s car was found to be too low on the left front, but any potential penalties have not been announced.

Hemric started on the pole and led five times for 128 laps, including 57 of the first 59 laps, and was on his way to his first career Xfinity Series win when a caution came out with 36 laps to go for Vinnie Miller stalling in Turn 1.

Hemric lost the lead but then took it back before being passed by eventual race winner John Hunter Nemechek with 30 to go.

“I was abnormally loose, ridiculously loose,” Hemric said of his car after the final pit stops.

Teammate Shane Lee finished fourth after being fourth and first fastest in practice sessions one and two and starting eighth. Lee’s fourth place finish is a career-best for him in Xfinity, which improves upon his previous career-best of sixth at Daytona in July.

“I was telling them from the first we unloaded the car it felt really good all weekend, it’s probably the most comfortable I felt off the trailer in the first practice,” Lee said, “I just had a feeling we’d have a pretty good run today and the car was pretty good.

“We made adjustments during the race and it just happened to be that the car drove best at the end so that really helped out more than anything.”

Jairo Avila, Jr. (18th) and Bobby Dale Earnhardt (27th) scored their best career finishes. Avila made his second career Xfinity start and Earnhardt made his third.

SOURCES
Racing-Reference.info