HEMRIC FINISHES FOURTH AT DARLINGTON
Date: May 8, 2021 Event: Steakhouse Elite 200 (Round 9 of 33) Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series Location: Darlington Raceway (1.366-mile egg-shaped oval) Format: 147 laps (Stages: 45 laps / 45 laps / 57 laps) Start / Finish: 7th / 4th (Running, 148 of 148 laps) Point Standing: 2nd (349 points, -39 points out of first) Race Winner: Justin Allgaier Stage 1 Winner: Austin Cindric Stage 2 Winner: Harrison Burton Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-45)
Daniel Hemric started seventh in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway and finished fourth in stage one.
Wheeling a white and gold Poppy Bank Toyota Supra honoring NASCAR legend Red Farmer, Hemric climbed into the top five early in the race while reporting that he was happy with his car.
After three cautions in the first 25 laps, Hemric was scored sixth.
The Kannapolis, North Carolina native chose to restart in the outside lane with 20 laps remaining in the opening 45-lap segment. He quickly grabbed fourth and held the spot until the conclusion of the stage.
Following stage one, Hemric pitted for four tires, fuel, and a chassis adjustment. A great pit stop by the Poppy Bank team vaulted the No. 18 Supra into the lead for the start of stage two.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 46-90)
Hemric started first and finished 30th in stage two.
The Poppy Bank Supra proved to be incredibly strong in the second stage as Hemric muscled his way into the lead and built a huge advantage over second place prior to a caution on Lap 83.
Crew chief Dave Rogers instructed Hemric not to pit as part of the team’s strategy. Unfortunately, prior to the restart, the team noticed the No. 18 Supra’s left-rear tire going flat and Hemric was forced to pit before the Lap-88 restart.
Back on track, Hemric coasted around to finish 30th when the stage ended on Lap 90.
The No. 18 team remained on track while others pitted during the stage break, and he moved back into the top 15.
Stage 3 Recap (Laps 91-148)
Hemric started the final stage in 11th and finished fifth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway.
The Poppy Bank Supra moved back into the top 10 early in the final segment.
Hemric was scored 10th when a caution on Lap 125 brought the leaders to pit road for the final time. After pitting for four tires and fuel, the No. 18 Supra restarted seventh with 16 laps to go.
He climbed back into the top five on Lap 139 before another caution slowed the race three laps later.
Knowing that the outside lane would be preferred for the restart, Hemric chose to restart sixth for an overtime restart.
In the end, the Poppy Bank Supra crossed the finish line in the fifth position for the team’s fifth top-five effort in nine races this season.
Additional Notes
Hemric led 38 laps in Saturday’s race. His 204 laps led this season rank second amongst all Xfinity Series drivers.
Brandon Jones’ third-place finish led Joe Gibbs Racing at Darlington. Hemric was fifth with Harrison Burton 11th and Ty Gibbs 18th.
Noah Gragson was disqualified post-race bumping Daniel up from fifth to fourth.
Daniel Hemric, driver of the No. 18 Poppy Bank Toyota Supra Describe where you are at right now with this fourth-place run. “Frustrated. That’s where I’m at. I thought we had a Poppy Bank Toyota Supra way capable of winning this race today. I’m disappointed it didn’t work out. We had a left-rear tire going down when we had that caution with just a couple laps to go in stage two. I appreciate (A.J.) Allmendinger radioing our guys that they thought the left-rear looked soft. When you are at these places, you try not to swerve the car back and forth because you are just taking tire life out of it, so I hadn’t tugged on the wheel any, but with him radioing our guys, I tugged on the wheel and immediately knew it was flat. That put us behind. We never really had a chance to rebound. This race is so short. You have stuff like that happen and it’s hard to come back from. I’m proud of the effort. I, for sure, look forward to coming back here later this year.” Next Up: The NASCAR Xfinity Series travels to Dover, Delaware next weekend for racing at the Monster Mile. The race will be broadcast live Saturday, May 15, at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
-JGR-