NASCAR Cup Series: Daniel Hemric wins Rookie of the Year

Driving the #8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, Daniel Hemric won the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year Award over Ryan Preece and Matt Tifft.

Daniel Hemric secured the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year Award, clinching it with a 12th place finish in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He bested fellow rookie competitors Ryan Preece and Matt Tifft.

Hemric finished the season 25th in the championship standings, 23 points ahead of Preece in 26th. Tifft finished in 31st in the standings after missing the final four races of this season after suffering a seizure.

Of the trio, Hemric was the highest finishing rookie in 17 of the 36 races. Preece was the highest finishing rookie in 14 races and Tifft bested both in only five races. Hemric finished the season with four consecutive races as the highest finishing rookie. The highest finish for any of the three was a third place finish by Preece at Talladega Superspeedway in late April.

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In September of 2018, Richard Childress Racing announced that Hemric would be the driver of its #8 Chevrolet. He competed in two Cup Series races in 2018 for the team and recorded a better finish of 23rd place.

In the aforementioned April race at Talladega Superspeedway, Hemric finished in fifth place, the first top five finish in his Cup Series career. He also finished in seventh in the late July race at Pocono Raceway.

While Hemric managed only two top 10 finishes this season, Richard Childress Racing Xfinity Series driver Tyler Reddick was one of the Xfinity Series “Big 3”. Roughly one year after it was announced that Hemric would compete full-time in the Cup Series in 2019, Richard Childress Racing announced that he would not return to the team in 2020. They later confirmed that Reddick would replace him as the driver of the #8 Chevrolet next year.

Despite not having a job for 2020, Hemric continued fighting for the Rookie of the Year Award. He took his first Cup Series pole position for the round of 12 playoff race at Kansas Speedway. During the race, however, he was involved in a crash, which ended his race seven laps early. He finished in 31st place.

The week before the season ended, JR Motorsports announced that Hemric will compete in 21 Xfinity Series races for the team in 2020. He will share the #8 Chevrolet with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeb Burton. Hemric has recorded 23 top five finishes and 39 top 10 finishes and he has led 510 laps in 66 career Xfinity Series starts.

At Homestead-Miami Speedway, Reddick won the 2019 Xfinity Series season finale and his second career championship.  At the same venue, Hemric finished three laps and 13 positions ahead of Preece and clinched the Rookie of the Year Award.

Hemric is 28 years old, older than the three drivers announced to compete for the Cup Series Rookie of the Year Award next year, but he has a terrific opportunity next year. JR Motorsports are a championship-caliber Xfinity Series team, and if he performs well, including winning his first race in one of the three NASCAR national series, he should have another opportunity to compete in the Cup Series.

Congratulations to Daniel Hemric on winning the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year Award. Best of luck to him next year in the Xfinity Series behind the wheel of the #8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.