DARLINGTON, S.C.: With NASCAR’s silly season in motion, rumors are aplenty.
And with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Daniel Hemric not having the rookie season he had been hoping for aboard the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, his name has popped up in the mix about whether he’ll return for a sophomore season next year.
On Friday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, the promising driver reiterated that he is working hard to get his deal done to remain one of Richard Childress Racing’s Cup Series drivers in 2020.
“I feel like we are all working towards the same thing of getting our deal done,” Hemric said. “It’s an expensive sport we live in and it’s a lot on everybody. You just try to make sure that when you put the deal in place, you have the I’s dotted and T’s crossed. That’s what it’s about right now; trying to make everything align how you want to, be the best we can for our partners and for the people that support us.
“We don’t want to put a deal together rushed and have one of us on either side feel like we aren’t happy with it down the road. So, we are just trying to be methodical in how we are going through the process and be confident whenever it is done.”
Entering Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Hemric has delivered just one top-five and two top-10s including a career-best fifth at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April. He sits a distant 25th in the championship standings.
While Hemric’s struggles in his freshman season have definitely tried his patience, the Kannapolis, North Carolina-native and his crew chief Luke Lambert have diligently been working to emerge from their inconsistency and have even shown flashes of brilliance throughout the second half of the season, including a seventh-place showing at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway last month.
“You never want to go into a season and think we are going to only have two or three top-10’s this year; that’s not a way you approach any season,” added Hemric. “We’ve definitely had some moments that have kept our spirits down, but I feel like, over the last month, it has been what we expect it to be. We’ve been at the race track, we’ve been competing in the top-10 or top-12 on a weekly basis for the last couple of months.
“The results don’t necessarily show that because little things that have happened, but we have legitimately been, at worse, at 12th or 13th place car over the last month. But we don’t have a lot to show for it. It has just been about a lot of us leaning on each other through the toughest times.
“Having a leadership group has helped the tough year that it has been. I look forward to waking up every day knowing that I have another shot at it and that’s what I have this weekend.”
Earlier this month, Hemric said his plans to return to RCR in 2020 were “iffy” – but since making the comments at Bristol, Hemric had the opportunity to clarify his position during an interview on SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel 90’s “Late Shift” program.
“Every year, every week, every day in this sport is all passion. We are all passionate and I was very passionate when I had the opportunity to clear the air on the Sirius XM interview I did,” explained Hemric. “I think deep down in my heart, I know that Richard Childress, all of the folks at RCR, all of our partners and myself included are doing all that we can to collectively honor agreements that we have with each other to compete at a high level in 2020.
“There are a lot of variables involved, but I know this logo I’m wearing of RCR has my back and I have their back.”
Having the support of RCR or not, the pressure seems to be mounting for the 28-year-old driver.
Although Hemric has been consistent driver since he entered NASCAR in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series in 2015, he has yet to visit Victory Lane in any series. Finishing seventh and sixth in his full-season Truck Series efforts, he made it to the Championship 4 in the Xfinity Series for RCR in 2017 and 2018.
Last November, he finished third in the championship with an impressive 23 top-10 finishes in 33 races overall.
With the departure of Ryan Newman, Hemric was announced last fall as the veteran’s replacement and competed in two Cup Series races at Richmond and the Charlotte ROVAL. Hemric’s demeanor and confidence were an instant hit leaving more to be desired in 2019, but Hemric’s inability to find mere instant success at the sport’s pinnacle level has left the speculation door wide open.
So, what’s stopping Hemric’s deal from getting done?
Simply put, Tyler Reddick.
After winning the Xfinity Series championship in 2018 with JR Motorsports, Reddick joined RCR at the beginning of the 2019 and found immediate success. In addition to his four wins this season, Reddick has been leading the standings since Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway, the fourth race of the year held in March.
Although Reddick has also been hammered about his future and unquestionably has heard the rumors he’ll be in the Cup Series next season, Reddick also said Friday his future is uncertain but was quick to declare he’s not interested in talking about what’s next.
“All the guys at RCR have been great,” said Reddick. “Everyone’s working hard to try and figure something out, but it’s at the point where I’m honestly not going to talk about it. That’s just where I’m at. I don’t want to say something that could take away from somebody else or get something pointed in the wrong direction, so I’m just not going to talk about it.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
