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Daniel Hemric and John Hunter Nemechek have plenty of work to do to advance in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase.
The two drivers are each 15 points below the cutoff line heading into the final race of the Chase’s Round of 8 – Saturday’s Fred’s 250 at Talladega Superspeedway at 1 pm ET on FOX. If they cannot make up the ground at Talladega, they will be dropped from the championship hunt.
Hemric boasts five top-three finishes in his last six starts, including two runner-up showings, but lost ground in the Chase with his 28th-place performance at New Hampshire in that stretch. In his lone start at Talladega last season, he placed 28th.
“I’m looking forward to going to Talladega Superspeedway, and I know there’s a lot on the line for this No. 19 team,” Hemric said. “I think we learned a lot for our superspeedway package from the third truck we ran in Daytona with Austin Theriault, and hopefully that transfers over to myself, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric. Having an extra teammate to work with, especially given our current Chase points situation, definitely won’t hurt. We’ve got to utilize each other to maximize our day and show what we can do together.”
Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Nemechek races for his family owned single-car team NEMCO Motorsports and does not have the same data advantage as Hemric. He has earned two wins this season, but has dug his deficit with Chase finishes of ninth at New Hampshire and 16th at Las Vegas. A post-race penalty at New Hampshire for failing to meet the minimum ride height docked him ten points in the standings. Nemechek placed 11th at Talladega last year in his only start at the 2.66-mile track.
“I’m looking forward to going to Talladega, my third superspeedway race,” Nemechek said. “And in the current position we’re in for points, I’m actually glad we’re going to a superspeedway. Anything can happen. So we just have to go out, execute, not make mistakes, do the best that we can do, run up front and try to win the race. Just try not to get caught up in any of the wrecks and be able to be there at the end when it counts and have a shot at the win.”