Daniel Hemric Finishes 12th at Indy Road Course
Date: August 14, 2021
Event: Pennzoil 150 (Round 21 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (2.439-mile road course)
Format: 62 laps (Stages: 20 laps / 20 laps / 22 laps)
Start / Finish: 13th / 12th (Running, 62 of 62 laps)
Point Standing: 3rd (737 points, -159 points out of first)
Race Winner: Austin Cindric
Stage 1 Winner: Justin Haley
Stage 2 Winner: AJ Allmendinger
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-20)
Daniel Hemric started Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course from the 13th position and finished 11th in stage one.
The Poppy Bank Toyota Supra jumped into the top 10 on lap 1 and Hemric found his way up to eighth before a caution on lap 16.
During the caution period, crew chief Dave Rogers called Hemric to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel.
After several cars opted not to pit, Hemric restarted 12th with two laps to go in the first stage. He gained one position in the final laps of the segment to finish 11th.
The No. 18 did not pit between stages and Hemric moved up to seventh.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 21-40)
Hemric started seventh and finished seventh in stage two.
On the restart to begin stage two, Hemric and teammate Ty Gibbs made contact that sent the No. 54 car spinning. For Hemric, the contact resulted in a significant left-front tire rub that ultimately forced the Poppy Bank team to make an unscheduled pit stop on lap 26.
Following a caution period, Hemric restarted 24th with eight laps remaining in the stage.
He climbed back into the top 15 and remained on track when many of the leaders pitted. By not pitting, Hemric moved up to seventh when the segment ended on lap 40.
Rogers brought his driver to pit road between stages for fuel only as the team wanted to save their final set of sticker tires in case there was a late-race caution.
Stage 3 Recap (Laps 41-62)
Hemric started the final stage in the ninth position and finished 12th in Saturday’s race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
The No. 18 Supra dropped back several positions as cars with fresher tires were able to get past Hemric in the first laps of the stage.
The segment continued to run green for the duration and Hemric finished the day with a 12th-place result.
Additional Notes
Harrison Burton led Joe Gibbs Racing with a ninth-place finish. Hemric ended the day in 12th with Ty Gibbs 19th and Brandon Jones 36th.
Next Up: The NASCAR Xfinity Series travels to Michigan International Speedway next weekend. The race will be broadcast live Saturday, August 21, at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
-JGR-