MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – With a bold performance last weekend at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway that threw his Richard Childress Racing team into the Championship 4, Daniel Hemric understands that he is an underdog heading into Saturday afternoon’s Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway, but the title doesn’t phase him one bit.
In fact, you could say he embraces it.
“We’re squared away even going into a one-race match,” Hemric said Thursday during Championship 4 media day at the Loew’s Hotel in Miami Beach. “It’s pretty exciting to be a part of. We have as good of a shot as anybody. We’re going into a situation with everybody focused on one thing.”
Hemric arrives at Homestead this weekend with a brand-new No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. The Welcome, N.C.-based team spent nearly a month building the piece under the watchful eye of crew chief Danny Stockman who has been serving a four-week suspension for a piece of tungsten ballast coming loose at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in September.
With Stockman on the sidelines, Hemric’s championship run was steered by Randall Burnett, former Cup crew chief for A.J. Allmendinger at JTG-Daugherty Racing.
Burnett will continue to call the shots on race day.
With assistance during the week from Stockman and the guidance of Burnett, Hemric said his No. 21 team has become a “super team” and hopes that work ethic is enough to overpower the three-car brigade of JR Motorsports.
Part of the “super team” resilience spiked last weekend at Phoenix when Hemric overcame an 18-point deficit to move into the Championship round.
After “fluffing and buffing” on his new piece, Hemric is ready to get down to business.
“This is the best racecar we’ve brought to the track all year,” Hemric said. “As the race winds down, you have to look at the guys who you need to beat. You have to be aware and do your job. That’s what we did last week and that’s what we did all year.”
With the consensus of all the Championship 4 contenders, a win is likely needed to claim the championship, Hemric may have saved the best for last.
After all, the late model ace joins Elliott Sadler as the two winless drivers entering the race this weekend.
However, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. In 2013, Austin Dillon won the title without winning a race – but not under the current championship format.
The No. 21 team enters the title fight with just seven top-five and 16 top-10s, both the lowest among the championship four contenders. To date, he’s led just 70 laps, far less than his championship peers.
Nonetheless, the confidence is there for the 26-year-old.
“We’ve been up and down as far as the performance side, whether it’s been qualifying or the races,” added Hemric. “We’ve shown we can outperform those guys. It’s all about who is going to be the best this weekend.”
Hemric is the lone seed in the Championship 4 who doesn’t have a JR Motorsports sticker on his race car. He enters Homestead with all of RCR’s focus on his effort, compared to JRM who has to split the focus between Elliott Sadler, William Byron and Justin Allgaier.
In the end, will that be enough?
No one really knows, but as Hemric sounded, “We’ve used the last 32 races to prepare for this moment, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
