Why Daniel Hemric chose Truck Series racing in 2025

Around the time of the Michigan race in August, Daniel Hemric realized he wasn’t going to be returning for a second season at Kaulig Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Hemric was past the midway point in his return season to NASCAR’s elite series, and was at a point in his contract where he was freed up to be able to talk with other teams and explore possible options for 2025.

Hemric ended the season in Cup with four Top-10 finishes and a 29th-overall finish in points.

“I got a couple of texts from folks inside the industry if I had any thoughts or any consideration of possibly driving a Truck,” Hemric said to The Racing Experts. “I said ‘Well, obviously it would have to be a race-winning organization.’

“And next thing you know, I was on the phone with Bill McAnally, and he literally started our conversation off with “Hey, I want you to know, and I want to go on the record that I’m calling you,’ and we started to talk.”

Hemric talked it over with his wife, slept on it for a couple of days, and made his decision to move forward with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.

Hemric had some options to continue to race in Cup, but he ultimately chose the Truck Series deal, citing that his goals aligned most with the offer to go racing with MHR.

Next year will be the first time since 2016 that Hemric will race full-time in the Truck Series.

“The desire to win on a Sunday, like I told Bill McAnally, will always be there for me, that desire will never change,” Hemric said. “That’s what got me into the sport, chasing the chance, possibility to race on Sundays for wins, and just the way its worked out, that opportunity hasn’t been there.”

The deal itself is vague, in the fact Hemric could spend one season — or more with the team.

“I’ll drive for you to the end of my career, if that makes sense,” Hemric said he told McAnally.

Hemric has taken on a hands-on approach, being involved in the hiring and rebuilding process of the No. 19 team, which has included being a part of the interviews for positions on the team.

As for goals in 2025, Hemric said hes cognizant of what benchmarks need to be hit before and during the year. Afterall, the No. 19 team and Christian Eckes knew how to win often, earning eight victories in the last two years and a Championship 4 appearance this season. 

Despite the consistency in winning, and the fact Hemric himself hasn’t won in the Truck Series yet, Hemric says there is no added pressure to perform in the ride.

“For me, specifically, I wouldn’t have done this had a not thought we’d have a chance to win early, win often, and make a deep run into the to the playoffs with an opportunity to give ourselves a championship,” Hemric said. 

“I think we do all the right things, there’s no reason why we can’t capture a handful of wins and put ourselves into those exact positions, that we talked about to have a year we’ll all be content with when it’s all said and done.

“This is something we could do together for a really long time, if we all do our jobs.”

The 2021 champion, in fact, said it feels similar to when he was Joe Gibbs Racing and the team’s 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship run, except this time, it is not possibly just a one-year deal.

“I’m excited to have that chance to be relevant, have a chance to win, and really have a chance to work with really great people,” Hemric said.

The focus for next year is the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Hemric, but what if a Cup Series or an Xfinity Series team reaches out for the opportunity to run races? The 33-year-old is open to the opportunity, but would talk it over with McAnally to see if it would be a good fit.

“I have been reached out to maybe do some stuff,” Hemric said of opportunities in other series, adding “but nothing of substance yet.”