Race 13: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Coca-Cola 600 No. 8 Cessna/Beechcraft Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Daniel Hemric will make his first start in the 60th annual Coca-Cola 600 this Sunday. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native made a name for himself on Charlotte Motor Speedway's quarter-mile track racing Legend Cars and Bandoleros, earning multiple race wins and championships, including the 2010 Legends Million race. In three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 1.5-mile speedway, Hemric holds an average start of 9.7 with an average finish of 9.0.
600 Miles of Remembrance
Hemric will honor US Navy SEAL Team Six Senior Chief Petty Officer Kyle Milliken of Falmouth, Maine on the windshield of the No. 8 Cessna Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The 38-year-old special warfare operator was killed in action during a mission in Somalia in 2017. Milliken was the first US service member killed in Somalia since 1993. He earned multiple personal and unit awards including five Bronze Stars with valor for actions in both Iraq and Afghanistan and a Silver Star (posthumously) for heroic actions in combat. He is survived by his wife and two children, who will be in attendance for this weekend's Coca-Cola 600.
About Cessna
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Meet the Driver
Hemric will be at the RCR merchandise hauler in the fan zone signing autographs on Sunday, May 26, starting at 12:25 p.m.
Quote:
This will be your first Coca-Cola 600, but do you feel as if that race is still a test of man and machine or are the cars so durable now that it is not as much of a challenge for the drivers and teams as it used to be?
"With this new package, I believe this year's Coca-Cola 600 will be even more of a challenge than it has ever been. The corner speeds are so fast that you feel like you are white knuckling it all the time. Some of the best in the garage - past champions, current champions, the best in the business - those guys are saying how much their bodies are feeling the load and speeds that we are carrying for a sustained amount of time like we are. Take all of that and now you have to do that for 600 miles around one of the most grueling racetracks under some of the most grueling conditions - it is supposed to be in the mid-90s and the humidity will probably be through the roof - I think it's going to be a true test for everybody physically. We showed a lot of speed during All-Star weekend, but this is a different package so we will see how we make out with our No. 8 Cessna Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. I am looking forward to my first 600-mile race at Charlotte and hope we put on a strong showing for Cessna, everyone at RCR and all those fans cheering us on from the grandstands."