Daniel Hemric Likely Needs a Chaotic Race to Contend
9 months agoPerhaps surprisingly, Daniel Hemric set the fastest lap in the Daytona 500 last week in his No. 31 Chevrolet even though the Fords were faster in qualifying and the Toyotas were generally faster in the race. There was a short period early in Stage 3 when he pushed his teammate A.J. Allmendinger to the front, but otherwise Hemric only ran in the top 10 when he was off-strategy. Although Kaulig does have speed on drafting tracks, the team and especially crew chief, Trent Owens, seem to thrive on off-the-wall strategies. Adapting such a chaotic strategy to a race at Atlanta is probably less effective because even drafting races at that track are not as chaotic as Daytona races. Hemric also no longer has the drafting support from AJ Allmendinger, as his the vastly less-experienced Josh Williams will br driving the No. 16 Chevrolet this weekend. Hemric is a longshot to contend in the Ambetter Health 400 unless he avoids big wrecks.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference