Daniel Hemric concluded his rookie season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with a 12th-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which was enough to secure the 2019 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award.
“Yeah, it’s pretty special to say the least,” said Hemric. “I wish we were able to win Rookie of the Year and have a couple more solid finishes throughout the year than what we had, but about five or six races ago, myself and Preece somehow ended up tied with four or five races to go, so we knew we had to buckle down. And really proud of this group for doing that.”
Hemric came into the race with a 10-point advantage over Ryan Preece in the standings.
Preece was never able to mount much of a challenge in the event, and struggled to a 25th-place finish.
The 28-year old Hemric had a top-five finish and two top-10 finishes over 36 starts this season, and when the rookie of the year title was on the line over the last couple of races, he was able to minimize mistakes.
“We are proud of Daniel Hemric for winning the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year title,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet’s U.S. Vice President of Performance and Motorsports. “Daniel is a talented driver, teammate, and class act. We are excited that he won this award and we look forward to more great things from him in the future.”?
Hemric, who will run a part-time schedule in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports next year, will not return to a full-time Cup Series ride. Tyler Reddick, who has won the last two NASCAR Xfinity Series championships will take over the Richard Childress Racing No. 8 car next season.
