Top Dog: Daniel Hemric
Miles the Monster went on a rampage again.
Right off the hauler for NASCAR Cup Series teams, the tenacious, concrete oval of Dover Motor Speedway went to work in testing the drivers, claiming three victims during practice.
And while the calamity wasn’t quite as prevalent during the Wurth 400 on Sunday (April 28), Miles was still hungry for more throughout the race.
Fortunately for some drivers, there is an art to taming the beast and earning his favor occasionally, and that light shined on Daniel Hemric this time.
Fresh off his first top 10 of the season at Talladega Superspeedway, Hemric carried the confidence into Dover, matching his result from last week in ninth.
Hemric impressed immediately in Saturday’s qualifying session, earning his best start of the season in 14th.
The Kannapolis, N.C., native fired off noticeably loose, slipping to 23rd in the first 20 laps. By the first caution on lap 42, he slid back to 26th. Adjustments during the first pit stop helped tighten up the No. 31, propelling Hemric to 21st by the end of stage one.
During stage two, Hemric still sought to find the rhythm of his car, holding steady just inside the top 25. He got his first break at the end of stage one after a battle with Corey Heim for the free pass. On the final lap of the stage, Hemric hooked the bottom and slid up in front of Heim, who was making his debut, to claim the lucky dog.
After running just outside the top 20 in the final stage, Hemric caught a rare gift from Miles during a green flag pit stop cycle. With the majority of the field having already pitted, Hemric stayed out longer to try and catch a caution. He got his wish while running in the lead, as a spin from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with 80 laps to go spurred a yellow and trapped all but seven cars at least one lap down.
Merry Christmas, indeed!
Restarting in the sixth position twice after another accident struck, Hemric only lost two spots to hold strong in eighth for nearly the remaining 60 laps. He was passed by Alex Bowman for the spot late in the event, but he held on to capture his second consecutive top 10.
Hemric is beginning to ride some momentum now, earning his third straight top 20 and back-to-back top 10s for the first time in his career. During that stretch, he has climbed from 31st to 25th in points, and he is besting his season average starting position by six spots. Those are the little things he will…
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