Daniel Hemric started a brand new chapter in his NASCAR profession in the beginning of the 2025 season, experiencing a sequence of firsts. Getting into his first full-time marketing campaign within the Craftsman Truck Sequence since 2016, Hemric is now driving the No. 19 Chevrolet for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.
With any change to a brand new workforce comes the preseason pleasantries of studying a brand new store, personnel and crew chief who will probably be atop the pit field calling the photographs.
Beforehand, the No. 19 Chevrolet was piloted by Christian Eckes with crew chief Charles Denike. However with one of many extra intensive Foolish Seasons within the NASCAR storage in latest reminiscence, Eckes left for the Xfinity Sequence and Kaulig Racing, and Denike was known as as much as the Cup Sequence, at 23XI Racing.
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With these new adjustments within the race store, Hemric had the chance to mildew and form the brand new guard in a means that made the workforce really feel like his personal — a activity that the 34-year-old approached head-on.
“Via all of our hiring course of, we tried to push it like, ‘Hey, like, this isn’t the 19 group of previous,’ proper?” Hemric instructed NASCAR.com. “With the chance of hiring individuals comes a possibility to create our personal tradition and our personal identification throughout our time collectively right here as a 19 group and with that, you recognize, comes plenty of freedom and stuff that you just wish to discover and do new issues collectively and expertise new issues collectively.”
As Hemric navigates his personal changes to a brand new workforce and schedule, the 2021 Xfinity Sequence champion finds himself accompanied by three younger, formidable drivers keen to realize perception and data that comes from a profession at NASCAR’s highest ranges.
Tyler Ankrum, who drives the No. 18 Chevrolet, is getting into his sixth full-time season within the Truck Sequence and his second season with MHR. Jack Wooden will proceed his part-time position within the No. 91 truck from final yr. Becoming a member of the MHR lineup in 2025 was Connor Mosack, who drives the No. 81 Chevrolet. Mosack shares part-time expertise in each the Truck and the Xfinity Sequence.
“Connor and I’ve skilled collectively by means of the Chevrolet coaching program with Josh Smart and Scott Pace,” Hemric stated. “We’ve been collectively in it for a few years now. So there’s already a relationship constructed there. But it surely’s been enjoyable to get to know Jack. I’ve been actually impressed with Jack Wooden on the take a look at at Rockingham, and form of the way in which he’s utilized himself has been enjoyable to observe, and identical with Tyler. Tyler is now form of the veteran of the Tuck Sequence now, as a few years as he’s ran in it, however he requested, he requested plenty of actually detailed questions.”
Hemric shortly acknowledged that, though he’s joyful to share the data he gained from racing within the Cup Sequence and his six years within the Xfinity Sequence, the Truck Sequence atmosphere has modified considerably since he final competed full-time practically a decade in the past.
“I’ve had a few of them, like, you recognize, speak about my prior experiences at completely different ranges and form of what that appears like,” Hemric stated. “And, you recognize, issues to pay attention to, and issues that you just suppose are a giant deal that form of discover out down the highway weren’t such a giant deal. So been enjoyable having this dialog with these guys. And I’m certain now we have loads extra of them right here within the weeks forward. However undoubtedly, yeah, for me, simply coming right into a race workforce again form of reacclimating to the Truck Sequence, I’ve requested virtually as many questions as they’ve, proper? I imply, they’ve been doing this for no less than, you recognize, particularly, Tyler and Jack, they ran plenty of Truck races over the past couple of years. And Connor, not fairly as a lot, however he has made some begins final yr and the yr earlier than. So, yeah, it’s been enjoyable to all of us, form of develop and study.”
Because the Truck Sequence strikes previous the 2 drafting-style race tracks and into the meat of the 2025 Craftsman Truck Sequence schedule, the Kannapolis, North Carolina native is generally excited to method maybe probably the most various occasion schedule for the reason that sequence’ inception some 30 years in the past in 1995, with a “wholesome” mixture of racing in all disciplines.
Such a healthy dose of that blend will start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday within the Ecosave 200 (9 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Community Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
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“I believe the variety inside the Truck Sequence now could be getting nearer to what we see within the different two types of NASCAR, which I believe is wholesome,” Hemric stated. “In addition to doing it with some standalone occasions like your Lime Rock, I imagine, actually, that that’s a that’s a very good factor, not solely being that a part of the nation, however only for our sport and our sequence to go and have its personal weekend, its personal identification up there. And that’s a very, actually cool.
“I’ve been clearly part of that with the standalone stuff on the Xfinity Sequence aspect. Years previous, and I don’t know, if you had these, these couple occasions a yr like that, it form of makes you are feeling, no less than from experiencing all three ranges, proper? It makes you are feeling such as you’re within the Cup Sequence within the sense of the large present there that weekend. And anytime that’s the case, there’s extra eyes and and extra individuals tuned in, and it’s just a bit completely different vibe, which is nice.”
