Hemric in Search of Breakthrough Win to Advance in Chase

Photo - Getty Images

Photo – Getty Images

Daniel Hemric picked the worst possible time to have car trouble.

In last weekend’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Hemric cut his left tire and brake line which caused him to place a season-worst 28th. Heading into the event, the No. 19 Brad Keselowski driver was riding a streak of four consecutive top-three finishes, including a runner-up at Chicagoland Speedway. As a result of his poor showing, Hemric sits last in the Chase standings, 21 points behind the cutoff line with two races left before the Round of 6.

To advance to the Round of 6, Hemric either needs to get a win – a feat he has never achieved in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – or perform well while other Chase drivers get into similar trouble as he did at New Hampshire. He can put himself back into championship contention beginning with Saturday’s DC Solar 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at 8:30 pm ET on FOX Sports 1.

“We’ll go into the race with the mindset of knowing what we need to do to move forward in this Chase,” said Hemric, who leads the series with 13 top-ten finishes. “Starting the race a little earlier in the day changes how we approach practice, how tight or loose we need our Ford F-150 to be. We just need to unload a fast truck and go in the right direction all day to make sure we give ourselves a shot that night.”

Hemric finished sixth in his only career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Las Vegas last season. He comes back in a Brad Keselowski Racing machine; last year he drove for NTS Motorsports.

“The Chase format awards winning and being aggressive, so in our situation, we have to weigh risk verses reward and see what pays off more,” Hemric said. “We have to be aggressive, put ourselves in position to have a shot at the win, and if the opportunity is there, I’ll do everything I possibly can inside the truck to get it done.”