Daniel Hemric and his NTS Motorsports team had an impressive showing in the milestone 500th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, recovering from early handling struggles to lead laps and finish in the top 10. After dropping to 17th early in the event, the team used pit strategy to work the California Clean Power Chevrolet to the front of the field, leading 14 laps before Hemric crossed the finish line in the sixth position.
Making it to the final round of knockout qualifying, Hemric took the green flag from the 11th position in his Rick Carelli throwback sponsored by California Clean Power, which replicated the High Plains Drifter’s scheme from the inaugural NCWTS race in 1995. Reporting that his Silverado was free on entry and tight off, Hemric dropped to the 17th position before the caution flag waved on lap 37. Crew chief Ryan McKinney used his driver’s feedback to adjust on the California Clean Power Chevy, calling for four tires, fuel and both air-pressure and wedge adjustments. Restarting in the 15th position on lap 45, Hemric found that his truck was a lot better on entry, gaining two spots before the yellow flag was displayed once again on lap 68. McKinney called his driver back down on pit road to continue to work on the handling, a pit stop that many teams at the front of the pack opted not to take. The four-tire stop for both wedge and track-bar adjustments was exactly what Hemric needed, both for his truck’s handling and track position. When the leaders began to visit pit road under green on lap 111, Hemric had significantly more fuel because of the later stop, allowing him to inherit the lead on lap 115. Spotter Carelli encouraged Hemric to manage his truck in the hopes of a well-timed caution, and the 24-year-old held onto the point position for 14 laps. A yellow flag on lap 137 was exactly what Hemric needed, allowing him to pit under yellow for four tires, fuel and one final wedge adjustment. Entering the pits in second place, Hemric emerged in the fifth spot as a result of many trucks opting not to pit. With fresher tires than many of the leaders, Hemric advanced as high as the third spot in the closing laps. Looking poised to finish in the top five, a wild final restart on lap 167 resulted in Hemric ultimately crossing the finish line in the sixth position.
Daniel Hemric on New Hampshire Motor Speedway
“After today’s race, I’m extremely proud for so many reasons. I’m proud of my guys for rebounding the way we did during this race; we weren’t quite where we needed to be handling-wise at the beginning, but we figured out what we needed and my crew chief Ryan McKinney made a great call to get us track position and see what we could do out front. I’m proud to have participated in this 500th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event; it means a lot to be able to say I led laps in the 500th race. And more than anything, I’m proud that we got to do it in Rick Carelli’s colors; he is such an asset to me and our NTS Motorsports team, and I’m grateful that California Clean Power let us honor him the way we did. I wish we could have gotten him a win today, but we showed that this team has what it takes to win and we had a lot of fun doing it.”
Hemric remains fifth in the NCWTS Driver Point Standings with six races remaining in 2015. The Truck Series returns to action next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Rhino Linings 350 will air live on FOX Sports 1 on Saturday, October 3 at 10:00 p.m. EDT.
NTS Motorsports PR
