MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Throughout the week earlier than Friday night time’s Boys and Ladies Membership of the Blue Ridge 200 at Martinsville Speedway, Daniel Hemric practiced his again flip.
It was the signature transfer he had been ready to make use of simply as soon as in NASCAR nationwide sequence competitors—when he received the 2021 season finale at Phoenix Raceway to clinch the NASCAR Xfinity Sequence championship.
However on Friday, the 34-year-old from Kannapolis, N.C., had an opportunity to carry out the celebratory transfer as soon as once more, after capitalizing on the misfortunes of others—notably sequence chief Corey Heim — to win the primary NASCAR Craftsman Truck Sequence race of his profession.
Hemric even caught the touchdown, reveling within the race win that earned him a coveted grandfather clock trophy and a $50,000 Triple Truck Problem bonus as the best ending sequence common.
“It’s a humorous factor, as a result of my spouse requested me a pair weeks in the past if I used to be not too outdated to do it,” Hemric mentioned of the again flip. “I practiced as soon as final week within the again yard and did a again flip on stable floor.
“I assumed, ‘The outdated man’s nonetheless acquired it,’ and I proved that tonight.”
Hemric wanted assist to win the second nationwide sequence race of his profession. Heim received the primary two phases and led a race-high 149 of 200 laps, however side-to-side contact with Kaden Honeycutt’s Chevrolet after a Lap 166 restart minimize Heim’s left-rear tire and despatched his No. 11 Toyota to pit highway for recent rubber.
Honeycutt inherited the lead, however on Lap 187, the Ford of Ty Majeski broke free beneath Honeycutt’s Silverado as the 2 drivers had been battling for the lead, and each vehicles spun into the skin wall.
That put Tyler Ankrum, Hemric’s McAnally-Hilgemann Racing teammate, on the entrance of the sector, however with 4 laps left, Hemric used his bumper to dive beneath Ankrum’s truck, made the go for the lead and pulled away to win by 0.544 seconds.
“Congratulations to Daniel—I can’t consider a nicer man to win,” Ankrum mentioned. “Yeah, he gave me the bumper, however you’re going to do this at Martinsville. I actually would a lot moderately have a teammate give me the bumper for the win, so we are able to simply get a win for MHR.”
Jake Garcia completed third, adopted by Chandler Smith and Ben Rhodes. Heim rallied to complete sixth after the tire change however fell brief in his try to win in Toyota’s five hundredth race within the sequence.
“I really feel like we acquired used up somewhat bit there,” Heim mentioned of the contact with Honeycutt. “I don’t assume he supposed to chop my left rear down. I believe if he had needed to do this, he would have simply wrecked me as it’s…
“I simply wanted a greater restart, I assume.”
It was the second straight week of frustration for Heim, who received the primary two phases at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Mar. 21 earlier than dropping energy within the late going and ending third.
Heim nonetheless retains the sequence lead by 20 factors over Majeski.
