LONG POND, PA.: The strategy seemed right to put Daniel Hemric in contention for his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory during Saturday’s Pocono Green 225 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, but a late race speeding penalty thwarted the goal and continued Hemric’s winless streak to 103.
Hemric started sixth in fourth Pocono start and it didn’t take long to hunt down Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Harrison Burton to claim second at the end of Stage 1.
Restarting eighth for Stage 2, Hemric somehow avoided an out of control Justin Haley to put himself inside the top-five for the ensuing restart.
When racing resumed, Hemric was able to propel himself into the race lead with a frontstretch move around Justin Allgaier on Lap 32. Four laps later the caution waved again for teammate Burton which sent Hemric to pit road for routine service for the end of the stage.
Unfortunately, Hemric sped which sent him to the rear for a two-lap shootout to close out Stage 2.
Hemric started Stage 3 mid-pack but negotiated a plan with crew chief Dave Rogers to put themselves in a position to win the race with an aggressive pit stop.
The plan, however, was foiled with less than 20 laps to go when Hemric was penalized for a second time for speeding on pit road which eliminated Hemric and his No. 18 team from their chances of winning.
Still, Hemric had a nice recovery by finishing sixth and recording his 10th top-10 of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.
After the race, Hemric was upbeat about the speed in his race car – but disappointed with the mistakes he made from the cockpit.
“Not only speed but speeding on pit road,” said Hemric. “Unbelievable Poppy Bank Toyota Supra. So proud of Dave Rogers (crew chief). Not only this week, but every week to bring the best racecars that we can. That was for sure the best JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) Toyota that I’ve had.”
Hemric wasn’t sure what caused the self-inflicted penalty wounds but felt it may have been a mis-execution of his dash warning lights that left his finish tough to swallow.
“It’s tough to swallow when you give them away like that,” added Hemric. “I don’t know if I just mis-executed on my lights or what. I thought I gave enough back, especially after the first time, but I just sped again under green and that was it for us.”
While Hemric, 30, remains frustration that he hasn’t landed in Victory Lane, he refuses to throw in the towel and will continue to fight for his team and partners as the Xfinity Series enters the second half of the season on Jul. 3, 2021, at Road America (Wisc.).
Hemric maintains third in the championship standings, 11 points behind AJ Allmendinger but a distant 112 markers behind championship leader Austin Cindric.
“I’m proud of these guys,” he said. “I don’t know what else you can do. You just have to keep showing up and hope it will turn around.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
