“It was a long day. We gave up a lot of track position early. Just probably got us too loose, in general, in practice going into the race with not really knowing what to expect out of this car. We fell back and were kind of stuck back there. The team made a great call to just keep us in the game. We stayed out a little longer there on that last green-flag cycle stop – it was kind of like an early Christmas present to us. It got us back on the lead lap.
It was just really rewarding for all of us on the No. 31 Poppy Banky Chevy team to put us inside the top-10 and be able to run there. We know our pace was there, it’s just a matter of getting track position. That’s the name of the game here. Overall, I’m proud of everyone on the No. 31 Poppy Bank Chevy team." - Daniel
Daniel Hemric qualified 19th for the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
By lap seven, Hemric had made his way to the front of the pack, leading a total of six laps, before being told to conserve fuel. He stayed in the top 10 for a majority of the stage, before pitting on lap 41 for fuel only. He went on to finish 19th in a caution-free opening stage.
Hemric radioed that the No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1 was a little tight throughout the bottom and middle on exit the last 15 laps of the opening stage. He pitted during the first stage break for four tires and fuel and started the second stage from 18th. Hemric stayed just outside the top 10 before dropping back to play it safe. The race remained caution-free, and Hemric pitted on lap 104 with teammate, van Gisbergen, for two seconds of fuel. He went on to finish stage two in 20th.
Hemric started the final stage in 20th and made it to 11th, before the first caution of the day came out on lap 134. The No. 31 Cirkul Chevy pitted to top off with fuel and restarted third on lap 139. Hemric led another lap before being told to save fuel. As some cars pitted, Hemric was running fifth when a caution came out on lap 156. Hemric pitted under caution for fuel only before restating 12th with 28 laps to go. As cars in front of him wrecked at the checkered, Hemric made it through unscathed and finished the race in ninth, earning his first top-10 finish of the season.
