Daniel Hemric talks impressive start to rookie campaign

Daniel Hemric shares a laugh with his crew prior to the 2019 STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Photo: James Jackson | The Racing Experts

RIDGEWAY, Va. — One of NASCAR’s newest faces in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series field is rookie driver Daniel Hemric. Hemric was an Xfinity Series regular for many years, and now he finds himself in the No. 8 Cup series car with Richard Childress Racing (RCR). Although the results haven’t been what he was expecting, Hemric has shown a lot of speed throughout his rookie campaign so far in the Cup Series.

“The least impressive part about the numbers we’ve put up has been the finishes,” Hemric said. “I try to pride myself on the finishes but we haven’t been able to get them. Everyone is putting in the work and the time to let us have success and for some reason, it just hasn’t come full circle yet. Just like everyday when the sun comes up, you get another shot at it and that’s the way we approach it.”

Richard Childress Racing has found speed so far this season, running inside the top-10 on a consistent basis. Teammate Austin Dillon started from the Pole last weekend at Auto Club Speedway. Hemric believes RCR has faster equipment thanks to the new aero package that NASCAR implemented in 2019.

“Everyone is learning the package,” Hemric said. “One team has the advantage this week and next thing you know, another team has the advantage. I feel comfortable that we’ve had solid race cars everywhere we’ve been, but we haven’t necessarily had the dominant cars and that’s something everyone is trying to work towards.”

With plenty of racing left this season, it is clear that Hemric is a serious contender for 2019 Rookie of the Year and perhaps even a playoff birth.