“What a chaotic day, from start to finish. We got some nose damage early on in that first caution, which really just made us aero-tight for the rest of the race. Trent [Owens] made some great calls, and the No. 31 crew repaired as much as they could. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t quite bounce back.” - Daniel
Daniel Hemric qualified 26th for the Ambetter Health 400.
The first of three stage-one cautions fell early on lap three. Hemric acquired minimal left-side damage, as he was unable to avoid the wreck. He pitted for tires, fuel and damage repairs. The next caution fell on lap 26, and Hemric pitted for more repairs but received a speeding penalty on pit road. He restarted 29th before another caution came out on lap 53 and went on to finish the first stage in 22nd.
During the first stage break, the No. 31 Cirkul team pitted to lower the front end of the car. Hemric received another speeding penalty while exiting pit road and started the second stage in 30th. Hemric made his first green-flag pit stop on lap 133 for fuel only. The only caution of the stage fell on lap 161, ending the stage early. Hemric finished the second stage in 20th.
Hemric pitted for tires and fuel during the second stage break and started the final stage in 13th. The first caution came out just five laps later. The race went back to green on lap 181, and Hemric made his first appearance in the top 10 by lap 182. The next caution came out on lap 200. Hemric pitted for four tires from the 13th position and restarted 19th. The next caution came out on lap 220, as Hemric avoided the wrecking cars in front of him. He stayed out under caution and restarted 13th with 35 to go. With 21 laps to go, Hemric felt like his right-front tire was coming apart. A timely caution came out on lap 241, and Hemric was able to pit for right-side tires. He restarted 17th with 15 to go before another caution came out on lap 250. Hemric stayed out and restarted 14th with five laps to go but fell to 18th, where he finished the race.
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