Daniel Hemric Advances to the Round of 8 with a Third-Place Finish
At Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL
Date: October 9, 2021
Event: Driver for the Cure (Round 29 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL (2.28-mile road course)
Format: 67 laps (Stages: 20 laps / 20 laps / 27 laps)
Start / Finish: 3rd / 3rd (Running, 68 of 68 laps - Overtime)
Point Standing: 5th (3016 points, -34 points out of first)
Race Winner: AJ Allmendinger
Stage 1 Winner: Daniel Hemric
Stage 2 Winner: Daniel Hemric
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-20)
Daniel Hemric started Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL from the third position and crossed the finish line third to advance to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs.
The Poppy Bank Toyota Supra passed Justin Allgaier for fourth on lap 4 and took over the lead on lap 7 when leader Austin Cindric missed the backstretch chicane and had to serve a stop-and-go penalty.
While several teams pitted right before the stage end, Hemric stayed out and grabbed the Stage 1 win giving him valuable stage points.
Under the Stage 1 caution, crew chief Dave Rogers summoned his driver to pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments to help with the handling on this No.18 Supra.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 21-40)
Hemric started sixth and won stage two grabbing more valuable stage points.
On the restart, Hemric quickly made his way back up to third on lap 23.
On lap 28, the yellow flag flew for debris on the backstretch. The yellow turned into a red flag that last just over four minutes to fix the chicane.
The Poppy Bank team stuck to its plan and kept its driver on the racing surface during the caution period and continued to run in the third position.
Another caution flag flew on lap 36 for debris and several lead lap teams hit pit road giving Hemric the lead with just three laps remaining in Stage 2.
Hemric kept the lead on the restart and captured his second stage win of the day.
Rogers brought his driver to pit road between stages for four tires, fuel and another round of adjustments to help with the handling on the No. 18 Poppy Bank Supra.
Stage 3 Recap (Laps 41-68)
Since several teams opted to stay out under the Stage 2 Caution, Hemric started the final stage mid-pack.
With a fast Supra, Hemric worked his way into 11th by lap 44 and was running sixth on lap 50.
A caution flag flew with four laps remaining, giving Hemric one last attempt at the leaders.
Rogers summoned his driver to pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires and fuel. The Poppy Bank Supra was the first team off pit road but several teams stayed on the racing surface. Hemric restarted 12th.
With fresh tires, Hemric quickly moved through the field and was running in the top five on the final lap.
Hemric was the fastest car on the racing surface, but ran out of laps crossing the finish line third.
Additional Notes
Harrison Burton and Brandon Jones also advanced into the Round of 8.
Next Up: The NASCAR Xfinity Series travels to Texas Motor Speedway next weekend. The race will be broadcast live Saturday, October 16, at 3:00 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.