Daniel Hemric

Daniel Hemric
Hemric at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2024
Born	Daniel Brian Hemric (1991-01-27) January 27, 1991 (age 33) Kannapolis, North Carolina, U.S.
Achievements	2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion 2015 All American 400 Winner 2014 RedBud 300 Winner 2013 Southern Super Series Champion 2013 Blizzard Series Champion 2012 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Champion 2010 Legends Million Winner (inaugural race)
Awards	2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
81 races run over 4 years
Car no., team	No. 31 (Kaulig Racing)
2022 position	46th
Best finish	25th (2019)
First race	2018 Toyota Owners 400 (Richmond)
Last race	2024 Xfinity 500 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 7 1
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
186 races run over 6 years
2023 position	8th
Best finish	1st (2021)
First race	2017 PowerShares QQQ 300 (Daytona)
Last race	2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race (Phoenix)
First win	2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 104 6
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
50 races run over 5 years
2018 position	103rd
Best finish	6th (2016)
First race	2013 Kroger 200 (Martinsville)
Last race	2018 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 30 0
ARCA Menards Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	103rd (2015)
First race	2015 Lucas Oil 200 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
ARCA Menards Series East career
3 races run over 1 year
Best finish	27th (2015)
First race	2015 Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 (Greenville-Pickens)
Last race	2015 Bully Hill Vineyards 125 (Watkins Glen)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 3 1
ARCA Menards Series West career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	36th (2019)
First race	2019 Procore 200 (Sonoma)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0
Statistics current as of October 27, 2024.

Daniel Brian Hemric (born January 27, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing.

After beginning his career in short track racing, Hemric moved up to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and raced full-time in the series in 2015 and 2016 for Brad Keselowski Racing. He ran two full seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Richard Childress Racing, reaching the Championship Round of the NASCAR playoffs in both years, before competing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for the team in 2019. Following one Cup season, he lost his ride with RCR and joined JR Motorsports for a part-time Xfinity schedule. In 2021, Hemric joined Joe Gibbs Racing and won his first career NASCAR race and the Xfinity Series championship.^[1]

A native of Kannapolis, North Carolina,^[2] Hemric began his career at the age of five, competing in go-kart racing at the 1/5-mile Concord Speedway, winning 11 races and a track championship at the North Carolina facility before moving up to Bandolero car five years later.^[3] During that time, he started doing his backflip celebration, which was taken from Carl Edwards.^[4] At 16, Hemric moved up to Legends cars, and in 2008, he won the track's Pro championship, as well as the first of two back-to-back Legends Pro national championships.^[3] In 2009, with nearly 60 wins in just under 80 starts, he maxed out his National Points early on the way to winning his second national Legends Pro championship, in addition to earning the Summer Shootout Series championship on the strength of six wins in 10 starts.^[5] In 2010, Hemric won the Legends Million at Charlotte Motor Speedway, winning the largest paycheck in Legends car history, $250,000.^[6]

Late in the 2010 racing season, Hemric made his debut in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour;^[3] he would run selected races in that series and in the Whelen Modified Tour over the next three years, while in 2012 he ran a full season in late model cars, winning the Champion Racing Association JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour championship, scoring eight victories on his way to the title.^[5] Hemric won the Summer Shootout Series championship again in 2013,^[5] in addition to competing in the Southern Super Series late model championship,^[2] driving the No. 98 Ford for Carswell Motorsports.^[7] He also competed in the Blizzard Series late model tour,^[8] winning the series' 2013 championship.^[9]

In October 2013, Hemric made his debut in NASCAR national series competition at Martinsville Speedway, driving the No. 6 Chevrolet for Sharp Gallaher Racing in the Camping World Truck Series.^[10] He suffered early issues, finishing 32nd.^[11] On November 2, he finished second in the 29th annual All American 400 late model race to Chase Elliott, winning the 2013 Southern Super Series championship by one point over Bubba Pollard.^[12] In early November 2013, he finished 13th in his second Truck Series race, at Phoenix International Raceway.^[13] Hemric made his third Truck start in 2014 for NTS Motorsports, finishing a solid 12th at Homestead.

In 2015, Hemric announced that he would compete full-time for the first time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with NTS Motorsports. Hemric drove the No. 14 California Clean Power Chevrolet Silverado and competed for the 2015 NASCAR Rookie of the Year title.^[14] Hemric earned a best finish of fourth (Dover International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park) and ran as high as fifth in the NCWTS Driver Point Standings, ultimately finishing the season seventh in the championship standings.^[15]

On November 3, Hemric announced that he would join Brad Keselowski Racing to drive the No. 19 Ford F-Series in 2016.^[16] Hemric started the season with an 8th-place finish at Daytona. Hemric later majority of the races with many top 5 finishes but no wins. Hemric would make the Chase after being the highest non-winner points.

On September 17, 2016, it was announced that Hemric would join Richard Childress Racing in 2017. Hemric ran the full Xfinity Series schedule and competed for Rookie of the Year, driving the No. 21 Chevy Camaro.^[17] Hemric made his Xfinity debut at the 2017 PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona, which is where he finished 31st after being caught up in an early crash. He rebounded the next week at Atlanta, finishing 9th for his first career Xfinity top-10 finish. At Bristol, Hemric won the Dash 4 Cash. At Richmond, he won his first career pole and then scored a then career-best 3rd-place finish. At Mid-Ohio, Hemric would run in the top 5 for most of the day, bringing home an impressive and career-best 2nd-place finish. In the playoffs, Hemric advanced to the Championship Round at Homestead as the lone non-JR Motorsports driver.^[18] Despite starting the race strong, he was eventually plagued by battery issues that dropped him 12 laps behind the leader.^[19] He finished 34th and 13 laps down, fourth in the points.^[20]

Hemric returned to the Xfinity Series in 2020, joining JR Motorsports' No. 8 car for a 21-race schedule and sharing the car with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeb Burton.^[21] He recorded 12 top tens during the year.^[22]

Hemric moved to Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 18 Xfinity car for the 2021 season, marking a return to full-time competition.^[22] At the end of the Atlanta race, he was involved in a fight with Noah Gragson after a pit road mishap during the race. Neither driver was reprimanded by NASCAR.^[23] Despite scoring no wins during the 2021 regular season, Hemric made the Playoffs through his consistency. On September 25, Kaulig Racing announced that Hemric would pilot the No. 11 in 2022, replacing Justin Haley as he moved to Kaulig's No. 31 in the Cup Series full-time.

Thanks to his consistency, Hemric would lock himself into the Championship 4, alongside Austin Cindric, A. J. Allmendinger and Noah Gragson. On November 6, Hemric used a last lap, overtime pass of Cindric at the season finale at Phoenix Raceway to not only win the first race of his NASCAR career, but also the 2021 Xfinity Series title. Hemric's ten runner-up finishes prior to earning his first win tie him with Dale Jarrett for the most in Xfinity Series history.^[1]

On April 22, 2023, Hemric was leading at a race at Talladega Superspeedway when he got airborne into turn 3, got ramped up by Riley Herbst, and crashed on top of the wall even taking out the turn four camera in the process. His car flipped onto its roof and finally got off of the wall heading into the frontstretch off of turn 4. Hemric was uninjured. His flip occurred in the same race as Blaine Perkins. In early September, Hemric would pilot the No. 10 for the rest of the season starting at Kansas as the car was in the Owner's Playoffs. Hemric was eliminated at the conclusion of the Charlotte Roval race.^[24]

In November 2017, Hemric practiced and qualified the No. 27 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car of RCR driver Paul Menard at the AAA Texas 500 weekend, qualifying 21st; Menard was on paternity leave but returned for the race.^[25]

Hemric returned to RCR's No. 21 for the 2018 season in addition to a part-time schedule in the Truck Series, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet Silverado for Young's Motorsports.^[26] On March 20, 2018, it was announced that Hemric would attempt two races in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the spring Richmond race and the Charlotte Roval race driving the No. 8 RCR Chevrolet.^[27] In his Cup debut at the 2018 Toyota Owners 400, he qualified 22nd and finished 32nd, three laps down.^[28]

On September 28, 2018, RCR announced that beginning in 2019, Hemric would be the full-time driver of the No. 31 Chevrolet in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, competing for 2019 Rookie of the Year honors.^[29] The agreement came after a deal to drive Leavine Family Racing's No. 95 car in 2019 fell through.^[30] Two days later, he drove another Cup race at the new Charlotte Roval, finishing 10th in Stage 2 and running as high as 2nd, but was caught up in a late-race wreck and finished 23rd.

On December 14, 2018, RCR announced that Hemric would be driving the No. 8 car instead of the No. 31 car for the 2019 season.^[31] In his first race in the No. 8 at the 2019 Daytona 500, he drove a gold paint scheme to celebrate RCR's 50th Anniversary.^[32]

On August 17, 2019, Hemric said he was "iffy" about his status for 2020, despite having signed a two-year contract with RCR.^[33] A month later on September 17, the team announced Hemric would be released after the 2019 season.^[34][35][36] At the October Kansas race, Hemric scored his first career Busch Pole Award.^[37] He finished the season 25th in the points standings. Despite a disappointing debut season, Hemric won the 2019 NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors.^[38]

In 2022, Hemric drove the Kaulig Racing No. 16 part-time in the Cup Series, finishing 12th at the 2022 Daytona 500 and peaking at ninth place at Fontana. On November 6, Hemric filled in for Ty Gibbs in the No. 23 car for 23XI Racing in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. Gibbs had to miss the race due to the death of his father Coy Gibbs. Hemric was still at the track after the previous day's Xfinity Series race and was able to be fitted into Gibbs' car seat. This marked Hemric's first race with Toyota in over a year.^[39][40][41]

On September 15, 2023, Kaulig Racing announced that Hemric would drive the No. 31 in 2024. This would mark Hemric's return to full-time Cup Series competition since 2019.^[42]

On July 28, 2015, Hemric announced his engagement to K&N Pro Series East driver Kenzie Ruston.^[43] They married on January 7, 2017.^[44] He announced in November 2019 that Ruston was expecting their first child.^[45] Their daughter was born on May 9, 2020.^[46] He announced in August 2022 that Ruston was expecting their second child.^[47] Their son was born on December 23, 2022.

On September 4, 2019, Hemric established the Daniel Hemric Be the Change Scholarship with Rowan–Cabarrus Community College. The annual scholarship will grant financial aid to one qualifying student in the field of motorsports, welding, or mechanical engineering.^[48]

(key) (Bold − Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics − Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

NASCAR Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	NCSC	Pts	Ref
2017	Richard Childress Racing	27	Chevy	DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	MAR	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	KAN	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	CLT	TAL	KAN	MAR	TEX QL†	PHO	HOM	N/A	–	[49]
2018		8		DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	MAR	TEX	BRI	RCH 32	TAL	DOV	KAN	CLT	POC	MCH	SON	CHI	DAY	KEN	NHA	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	IND	LVS	RCH	ROV 23	DOV	TAL	KAN	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	61st	01	[50]
2019				DAY 34	ATL 20	LVS 23	PHO 18	CAL 33	MAR 27	TEX 33	BRI 30	RCH 19	TAL 5	DOV 25	KAN 18	CLT 21	POC 13	MCH 12	SON 15	CHI 19	DAY 18	KEN 24	NHA 37	POC 7	GLN 35	MCH 26	BRI 12	DAR 37	IND 34	LVS 17	RCH 25	ROV 33	DOV 21	TAL 21	KAN 31	MAR 17	TEX 16	PHO 21	HOM 12	25th	505	[51]
2022	Kaulig Racing	16	Chevy	DAY 12	CAL 9	LVS 22	PHO	ATL	COA	RCH	MAR	BRD	TAL 36	DOV	DAR 31	KAN	CLT	GTW	SON	NSH	ROA	ATL	NHA	POC	IRC	MCH	RCH	GLN	DAY 26	DAR 23	KAN	BRI	TEX	TAL 34	ROV	LVS	HOM	MAR		46th	01	[52]
	23XI Racing	23	Toyota																																				PHO 17
2024	Kaulig Racing	31	Chevy	DAY 16	ATL 18	LVS 19	PHO 28	BRI 28	COA 37	RCH 30	MAR 28	TEX 20	TAL 9	DOV 9	KAN 30	DAR 33	CLT 18	GTW 18	SON 28	IOW 29	NHA 31	NSH 9	CSC 12	POC 25	IND 30	RCH 30	MCH 23	DAY 9	DAR 29	ATL 11	GLN 31	BRI 19	KAN 20	TAL 38	ROV 24	LVS 19	HOM 29	MAR 17	PHO	-*	-*	[53]
† – Qualified for Paul Menard

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
2019	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	29	34
2022	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	33	12
2024	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	37	16

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	NXSC	Pts	Ref
2017	Richard Childress Racing	21	Chevy	DAY 31	ATL 9	LVS 13	PHO 7	CAL 11	TEX 32	BRI 5	RCH 3	TAL 38	CLT 13	DOV 13	POC 9	MCH 12	IOW 21	DAY 32	KEN 9	NHA 12	IND 8	IOW 7	GLN 11	MOH 2	BRI 7	ROA 15	DAR 18	RCH 4	CHI 4	KEN 7	DOV 4	CLT 7	KAN 18	TEX 14	PHO 5	HOM 34	4th	4003	[54]
2018				DAY 26	ATL 11	LVS 6	PHO 6	CAL 5	TEX 3	BRI 3	RCH 29	TAL 23*	DOV 3	CLT 7	POC 3	MCH 2	IOW 3	CHI 5	DAY 8	KEN 2	NHA 11	IOW 11	GLN 16	MOH 3	BRI 24	ROA 3	DAR 11	IND 5	LVS 29	RCH 3	ROV 10	DOV 7	KAN 2*	TEX 10	PHO 2	HOM 5	3rd	4033	[55]
2019	Kaulig Racing	10	Chevy	DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	DOV	CLT RL†	POC	MCH	IOW	CHI	DAY	KEN	NHA	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ROA	DAR	IND	LVS	RCH	ROV	DOV	KAN	TEX	PHO	HOM	N/A	–	[56]
2020	JR Motorsports	8	Chevy	DAY	LVS 35	CAL 7	PHO 30	DAR 6	CLT 2	BRI 6	ATL 4	HOM	HOM 31	TAL	POC 28	IRC	KEN	KEN 9	TEX	KAN 7	ROA 35	DRC 37	DOV	DOV 5	DAY 24	DAR 37	RCH	RCH	BRI	LVS 3	TAL 5	ROV 3	KAN 2	TEX	MAR	PHO 25	17th	555	[57]
2021	Joe Gibbs Racing	18	Toyota	DAY 9	DRC 3	HOM 3	LVS 2*	PHO 23	ATL 9	MAR 3	TAL 12	DAR 5	DOV 9	COA 29	CLT 28*	MOH 12	TEX 4	NSH 13	POC 6	ROA 2	ATL 30	NHA 3	GLN 22	IRC 12	MCH 39	DAY 5	DAR 24	RCH 6	BRI 10	LVS 5	TAL 4	ROV 3	TEX 2	KAN 15	MAR 3	PHO 1	1st	4040	[58]
2022	Kaulig Racing	11	Chevy	DAY 28*	CAL 12	LVS 3	PHO 8	ATL 35	COA 25	RCH 6	MAR 13	TAL 34	DOV 11	DAR 10	TEX 11	CLT 6	PIR 6	NSH 17	ROA 29	ATL 5	NHA 35	POC 9	IRC 22	MCH 8	GLN 31	DAY 19	DAR 13	KAN 15	BRI 20	TEX 30	TAL 8	ROV 17	LVS 8	HOM 4	MAR 8	PHO 8	9th	2220	[59]
2023				DAY 36	CAL 12	LVS 10	PHO 10	ATL 2	COA 6	RCH 24	MAR 7	TAL 21	DOV 10	DAR 16	CLT 22	PIR 33	SON 13	NSH 8	CSC 7	ATL 2	NHA 4	POC 5	ROA 11	MCH 15	IRC 27	GLN 23	DAY 3	DAR 10									8th	2224	[60]
		10																											KAN 34	BRI 2	TEX 24	ROV 7	LVS 9	HOM 6	MAR 6	PHO 21
2024		11		DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	COA QL‡	RCH	MAR	TEX	TAL	DOV	DAR	CLT	PIR	SON	IOW	NHA	NSH	CSC	POC	IND	MCH	DAY	DAR	ATL	GLN	BRI	KAN	TAL	ROV	LVS	HOM	MAR	PHO	N/A	01	[61]
† – Relieved Austin Dillon ‡ – Qualified for Josh Williams

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	NCWTC	Pts	Ref
2013	Sharp Gallaher Racing	6	Chevy	DAY	MAR	CAR	KAN	CLT	DOV	TEX	KEN	IOW	ELD	POC	MCH	BRI	MSP	IOW	CHI	LVS	TAL	MAR 32	TEX	PHO 13	HOM		47th	43	[62]
2014	NTS Motorsports	20	Chevy	DAY	MAR	KAN	CLT	DOV	TEX	GTW	KEN	IOW	ELD	POC	MCH	BRI	MSP	CHI	NHA	LVS	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM 12		64th	32	[63]
2015		14		DAY 26	ATL 19	MAR 12	KAN 10	CLT 17	DOV 4	TEX 9	GTW 9	IOW 8	KEN 18	ELD 5	POC 9	MCH 7	BRI 4	MSP 4	CHI 25	NHA 6	LVS 6	TAL 28	MAR 12	TEX 14	PHO 21	HOM 8	7th	733	[64]
2016	Brad Keselowski Racing	19	Ford	DAY 8	ATL 4	MAR 22	KAN 3	DOV 9	CLT 9	TEX 10	IOW 15	GTW 3	KEN 3	ELD 8	POC 22	BRI 3	MCH 3	MSP 3	CHI 2	NHA 28	LVS 2	TAL 11	MAR 9	TEX 3	PHO 13	HOM 5	6th	2163	[65]
2018	Young's Motorsports	20	Chevy	DAY	ATL	LVS	MAR	DOV	KAN	CLT 21	TEX	IOW	GTW	CHI	KEN	ELD	POC	MCH	BRI	MSP	LVS	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	103rd	01	[66]

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	NKNPSEC	Pts	Ref
2015	NTS Motorsports	20	Chevy	NSM	GRE 5	BRI 8	IOW	BGS	LGY	COL	NHA	IOW	GLN 10	MOT	VIR	RCH	DOV	27th	109	[67]

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	NKNPSWC	Pts	Ref
2019	Bill McAnally Racing	50	Chevy	LVS	IRW	TUS	TUS	CNS	SON 2	DCS	IOW	EVG	GTW	MER	AAS	KCR	PHO	36th	42	[68]

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour results
Year	Car owner	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	NWMTC	Pts	Ref
2011	Roger Hill	79	Pontiac	THO	STA	STA	MON	THO	NHA	RIV	STA	NHA	BRI	DEL	THO	LIM	NHA	STA	THO 18	48th	109	[69]
2012				THO 20	STA 11	MON	STA	WAT	NHA	STA	THO	BRI	THO	RIV	NHA	STA	THO			35th	57	[70]

NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour results
Year	Car owner	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	NSWMTC	Pts	Ref
2010	Roger Hill	19	Pontiac	ATL	CRW	SBO	CRW	BGS	BRI	CRW 15	LGY	TRI	CLT 5					26th	273	[71]
2011				CRW	HCY	SBO	CRW	CRW	BGS	BRI 11								19th	571	[72]
		79									CRW 7	LGY	THO	TRI	CRW	CLT 11	CRW 3
2012				CRW 6	CRW 3	SBO	CRW 6	CRW	BGS	BRI	LGY	THO	CRW	CLT				23rd	117	[73]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Racing Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	ARSC	Pts	Ref
2015	NTS Motorsports	92	Chevy	DAY 12	MOB	NSH	SLM	TAL	TOL	NJE	POC	MCH	CHI	WIN	IOW	IRP	POC	BLN	ISF	DSF	SLM	KEN	KAN	103rd	170	[74]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

CARS Super Late Model Tour results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	CSLMTC	Pts	Ref
2015	Carswell Motorsports	98	Chevy	SNM	OCS	HCY 6	SNM	TCM	MMS	OCS	CNS	MYB	HCY	44th	27	[75]

• Official website
• Official profile at Kaulig Racing
• Daniel Hemric driver statistics at Racing-Reference

Achievements
Preceded by Inaugural	Southern Super Series Champion 2013	Succeeded by Bubba Pollard
Preceded by William Byron	NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year 2019	Succeeded by Cole Custer
Preceded by Austin Cindric	NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion 2021	Succeeded by Ty Gibbs