Daniel Hemric tackled the Tricky Triangle in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ (NCWTS) only trip to the three-turn track, earning a top-10 finish in his Pocono Raceway debut. After starting 15th, Hemric battled a lack of side bite and a tight exit throughout the event and evaded a string of accidents in the closing laps to finish ninth in his California Clean Power Chevrolet.
After running the 13th-fastest time in the weekend’s only practice session, Hemric’s qualifying effort resulted in a 15th-place starting spot for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender. Following the wave of the green flag, Hemric relayed that his truck was extremely aero-sensitive in traffic and lacking lateral grip in the turns. Advancing to the 13th position, Hemric made his first pit stop of the day under green-flag conditions on lap 30, and the NTS Motorsports crew serviced the No. 14 with four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. Hemric was in the 12th position when debris brought out the yellow flag on lap 50, and the 24-year-old conveyed that his California Clean Power machine was better than the previous run, but still needed more side bite to get pointed better off the corners. After pitting for two right-side tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment, Hemric returned to the track in the 11th position. When the green flag was shown on lap 53, wild, three-wide racing led to a caution just three laps later. An extended cleanup set the field up for its first attempt at a green/white/checkered finish. Scored 10th entering NASCAR’s version of overtime, the caution flag would be displayed twice more, both times resulting in chaotic restarts when the field was reset. Maneuvering deftly through the melee, Hemric’s No. 14 Chevrolet ultimately crossed the finish line in the ninth position, earning his seventh top 10 in the last nine events.
Daniel Hemric on Pocono Raceway
“I’ll tell you what, Pocono Raceway is such a fun racetrack; those restarts at the end were really wild. Tracks like that, with challenges and unique characteristics, are always the most fun as a driver. The bigger the challenge, the more you learn and the more you can give as a racer. We struggled a little bit today with lateral grip on entry and we were tight center off, but our NTS Motorsports team worked hard all day to give me a fast California Clean Power Chevrolet at the end. We kept fighting for more, and that’s what it’s all about. I’m really proud of my guys and the fact that we were able to bring home another top-10 finish.”
Hemric remains seventh in the NCWTS Driver Point Standings, just nine points outside the top five. The Truck Series takes a one-week break before returning to action at Michigan International Speedway. The Cooper Standard Careers for Veterans 200 airs live on FOX Sports 1 on Saturday, August 15 at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
NTS Motorsports PR
