NASCAR Cup Series 2019 rookie preview: Daniel Hemric

The 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season is almost ready to begin, as the Daytona 500 is just one week away. In the final part of the 2019 rookie preview series, learn more about Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award favorite Daniel Hemric!

In a world where prime NASCAR Cup Series rides are being bought instead of earned, few drivers stand against the norm. In modern times, it’s easier to bring a check to a top-tier race team than it is to bring talent. Richard Childress Racing rookie Daniel Hemric is one of few exceptions to this rule.

Let’s take a look at how the 28-year-old Kannapolis, North Carolina native paved his way to earning a full-time ride in the Cup Series for the 2019 season.

Hemric’s rise to the top started early. Born and raised in NASCAR‘s backyard, he began racing go-karts at the age of five. Gracing the local Concord Speedway, he earned 11 victories and a track championship over the next five seasons before moving up to Bandolero cars.

Hemric’s career continued to move forward at the age of 16 when he was introduced to Legends car racing. Success was not far behind him, as he won Concord Speedway’s Pro championship in Legends cars in 2008.

In the same year, Hemric won the first of two back-to-back Legends Pro national championships. At one point in 2009, he had earned just under 60 victories in fewer than 80 starts. He also won the Summer Shootout Series championship.

Hemric’s Legends car career culminated when he won the Legends Million at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2010, banking him the largest purse in Legends car history of $250,000.

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In 2010, Hemric also began spreading his wings to bigger divisions of racing when he made his debut in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour. He made two starts this season, as he finished in 15th place at Caraway Speedway and fifth at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The following season, Hemric made four more starts in the Whelen Southern Modified Tour, and he made his debut in the Whelen Modified Tour.

In 2012, Hemric competed in a handful of Whelen Modified Tour and Whelen Southern Modified Tour races in addition to competing full-time in late models. He was eventually crowned the 2012 Champion Racing Association JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour champion. He earned eight victories along the way.

In 2013, Hemric added more championships to his resume. He won his second career Summer Shootout Series, and he won the Blizzard Series championship.

The year 2013 also introduced Hemric to NASCAR’s national divisions, as he made his Truck Series debut driving for Sharp Gallaher Racing at Martinsville Speedway. He finished in 32nd place in his debut before besting that result in his second and final start of the season at ISM Raceway, where he finished in 13th.

Hemric made one start in the Truck Series during the 2014 season. He finished in 12th place at Homestead-Miami Speedway driving for NTS Motorsports.

After going a year without sniffing much mainstream NASCAR success, Hemric’s career began to blossom in 2015. The then 24-year-old earned his first full-time NASCAR ride, as he competed in the entire 23-race Truck Series season driving for NTS Motorsports.

Hemric made a name for himself over the nine-month season by recording four top five finishes and 13 top 10 finishes as a rookie. He finished in seventh place in the championship standings. In early November, he got the biggest break of his career when it was announced that he would join top-tier Truck Series team Brad Keselowski Racing for the 2016 season.

Driving for Brad Keselowski Racing, Hemric recorded 11 top five finishes and 17 top 10 finishes in the 23-race 2016 season. This resulted in him recording an average finish of 8.6 and finishing in sixth place in the championship standings.

Before the end of the season, it had already been announced that Hemric’s path to success would continue moving in an upward direction, as Richard Childress Racing named him the driver of their #21 Chevrolet for the 2017 Xfinity Series season.

In the 2017 season, Hemric did what he does best: take care of equipment and record solid finishes. He finished the season with an average finish of 13.2 and recorded seven top five finishes and 16 top 10 finishes. He qualified for the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway before facing battery troubles early in the race. He finished in fourth place in the championship standings.

Hemric headed into the 2018 season as a championship favorite, and he didn’t disappoint. He recorded career-highs in top five finishes (16) and top 10 finishes (23). His average finish of 9.0 led to a third place finish in the championship standings.

Now, we move to the 2019 season.

Hemric’s critics will point out that he lacks the ability to win. In a world where the likes of William Byron and Christopher Bell have recorded monster stats in NASCAR’s lower series, Hemric remains winless.

In fact, Hemric has never won a NASCAR-sanctioned event.

Though his lack of wins naturally bothers race fans, I’m not worried about the seasoned Hemric. I don’t know what it is, but something feels special here. In fact, I already have him pegged to win the 2019 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award. Don’t believe me? Check it out here.

I don’t want to give too much away on how I feel about Hemric considering I am writing another piece about him soon, but I think that he could be the driver who helps rebuild Richard Childress Racing.

I don’t think that Hemric is ready to win in the Cup Series, but he has 100% earned his opportunity to race on Sundays. I think he can become an all-world talent if Richard Childress Racing can get their equipment to where it needs to be.

Hemric may not have won a single race in any NASCAR series just yet, but he has won this race fan’s confidence. Only time will tell if his long road to NASCAR success will bring him the glory that he has always dreamed of.

Thanks for reading folks. I hope you enjoyed! The 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season is officially here, and I hope you have a clearer picture of some of the new faces in the garage! Have a great week leading up the Daytona 500. See you next time!