NASCAR Cup Series: Daniel Hemric to Richard Childress Racing in 2019?
By Asher Fair
With Ryan Newman set to leave Richard Childress Racing at the end of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season, is Daniel Hemric the favorite to replace him for 2019?
It was recently announced that Ryan Newman, who has driven for Richard Childress Racing since the start of the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series season, will be leaving the team following the conclusion of the 2018 season. He is set to replace Trevor Bayne and Matt Kenseth at Roush Fenway Racing as the driver of the #6 Ford starting in 2019.
This means that Richard Childress Racing will be looking for a driver to replace the 40-year-old South Bend, Indiana native next season behind the wheel of the #31 Chevrolet as the teammate to Austin Dillon, who drives the #3 Chevrolet.
Who will that replacement be?
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At this point, all signs point to Daniel Hemric. Hemric competes full-time for Richard Childress Racing as the driver of the #21 Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series, and he has done so since the start of last season after spending two full seasons driving in the Truck Series, the first one driving for NTS Motorsports and the second one driving for Brad Keselowski Racing.
The 27-year-old Kannapolis, North Carolina native has never won a race in any NASCAR series, but he has demonstrated over the course of the last four seasons that he has what it takes to be competitive if given good equipment.
Hemric finished in seventh place in the 2015 Truck Series championship standings with four top five finishes and 13 top 10 finishes in 23 races, and he finished in sixth in the 2016 Truck Series standings with nine podium finishes, 11 top five finishes and 17 top 10 finishes.
In his first Xfinity Series season last year, he qualified for the Championship 4 despite the fact that he did not win a race all season. He finished in fourth place in the championship standings with two podium finishes, seven top five finishes, 16 top 10 finishes and one pole position in 33 races.
With 27 races down and six to go this season, Hemric is already well ahead of where he finished last season even though he is still searching for his first career victory. He has earned 10 podium finishes, 13 top five finishes, 17 top 10 finishes and two pole positions, and he currently sits in second place in the playoff picture.
On top of all of this, Hemric made his Cup Series debut driving the #8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet earlier this season in the April race at Richmond Raceway, and he is set to make his second career Cup Series start in this weekend’s race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval driving the same car.
Recently, the belief emerged that Daniel Suarez, who currently drives the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota but will likely be replaced by Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. next season since Furniture Row Racing are set to shut down, could be Newman’s replacement, but he appears to be on his way to Stewart-Haas Racing to replace Kurt Busch, who appears to be on his way to Chip Ganassi Racing to replace Jamie McMurray.
This leaves Hemric as Richard Childress Racing’s top option as far as Newman’s replacement is concerned, and given the fact that he has already been involved within the organization for two seasons, two very solid seasons, no less, a promotion for him within the team would make sense.
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Will Daniel Hemric be the driver who ends up signing with Richard Childress Racing to replace Ryan Newman for the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season? If not, for which team will he end up driving, and in which series, and which driver will Richard Childress Racing sign instead?