Daniel Hemric Now Officially a “Hillbilly” On NASCAR Whelen Mod Tour
20-Year-Old to Compete in Northern Tour & Select Whelen Southern Mod Tour Events in 2012
CONCORD, NC — The Hillbilly Racing team has made many treks Northward from their Westfield, North Carolina race shop to NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events over the years. From team owners Roger and Sandra Hill, their crew chief and son David and the majority of the crew members, every person on the number-79 team knows the route from Northern North Carolina to the racetracks throughout New England and New York that fill up the Tour schedule.
In 2012, they will be bringing another person up with them for each event from North Carolina – their new driver.
Twenty-year-old Daniel Hemric will pilot the Hillbilly Racing 79 on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2012. In addition to the Northern Tour schedule, Hemric will start the season at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing with the team in February, and also compete in NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour events and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Modified events at Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina on off-weekends from the Northern Tour.
“We are all committed to each other to run the full Northern Tour for a championship,” said Hemric. “It’s a huge honor for me to represent Hillbilly Racing up there. A lot of people actually think they’re a Northern team because of how much they run up there, so it’s going to be pretty cool being a Southern driver and a Southern team driving North every week to race with those guys. Then, to do all the racing on the off-weekends, will be a huge bonus and a great experience for me.
“It’s great to have people like the Hill family take me under their wing the way they have, especially a team as successful as they have been in the past. I’m really excited to be a part of it.”
The Hillbilly Racing team has a rich history in both the Northern and Southern Whelen Modified Tours. Hemric has seven career NASCAR Tour starts for the Hills’ organization, six from 2010 to 2011 on the Southern Modified Tour and one on the Northern Tour in 2011. In 2012, those statistics will grow exponentially as the young driver gains experience.
“We’re going to try to run him as much as we can to get him as much seat time as we can to get him to progress,” said David Hill. “He’s so young, but he has no bad habits. He has tons of talent and has a great attitude – a winning attitude. He’s not satisfied with third. He wants first every time.”
Hemric’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour debut came in October when he piloted the Coors Light “21 Means 21” number-79 Modified in the season-ending World Series event at Thompson International Speedway in Connecticut. After qualifying 28th, the Kannapolis, North Carolina, native drove his way into the top-five late in the race and was in position to perhaps score an upset victory. While the race ended prematurely for Hemric while battling for the win, the experience of mixing it up with the best of the Northern Tour was invaluable.
“That race definitely benefitted me in more ways than I could ever explain,” said Hemric. “The intensity level up there is so much higher than it is in the South. The way you’ve got to run from lap one until the end is just way more intense anything I had ever done before. It really put in perspective to me how much effort it’s going to take to run the full Tour next year.”
Hemric will have a full slate of Modified races on his schedule in 2012, but that will not be all for the young racer. He will also compete in a Super Late Model for the Georgia-based Carswell Motorsports team in 2012. Hemric took over the Carswell ride late in 2011 and will continue to be the pilot of the Jake and Deanna Carswell-owned number-98 machines this season.
The 2012 Modified season will kick off for Hemric with the 46th Annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway, February 17th through 25th.
Coors Light and their “21 Means 21” program, Le Bleu Water, Hill Enterprises, Pro-System and Demis Paint will provide support for the Hillbilly Racing team in 2012.
For more information on Daniel Hemric, contact Matt Kentfield at matt@51sports.net and be sure to visit the all-new DanielHemric.com. Follow Hemric on Twitter at @danielhemric or on Facebook via facebook.com/danielhemric.
Sources: Matt Kentfield/51 Sports