Kaulig Racing truly feels like a huge family. When one of their drivers wins a race, you see the entire roster celebrate as if they themselves won the race. While most Motorsports organizations are called a “team”, Kaulig Racing is one of the rare instances where the team is more than just a label.
And the organization showcased again that “everyone is family” feel on Sunday as they will be helping their NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Daniel Hemric with a cause near and dear to his heart.
Obviously, Hemric is a NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and his 2023 plans are now set in stone as he announced a return to Kaulig Racing Sunday morning at Charlotte Motor Speedway before the NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America Roval 400. But there was a time when Hemric’s future footing in the sport wasn’t quite as solid.
As a result, Hemric started to plan for his life after racing and those plans included chasing a certification at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College in Salisbury, North Carolina.
When the racing thing finally started to look like it would indeed work out, Hemric decided to help others that were needing a little help to make their dream of further education a reality.
In 2019, Hemric and his wife Kenzie established the “Be the Change” Scholarship endowment, and each and every year, Hemric’s program awards a scholarship through the Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Foundation, to a student from Cabarrus or Rowan County that qualifies for financial aid and is pursuing motorsports, welding or mechanical engineering as their field of study.
“Kenzie and I started this scholarship to help folks like us, because if not for racing, pursuing a certification at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College would’ve been a great career path for me,” Hemric explained.
During their announcement of Hemric’s return to Kaulig Racing for the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series, team owner Matt Kaulig added another heart-touching gesture. Kaulig Giving, the charitable wing of the Kaulig Companies, will contribute to Hemric’s “Be The Change” and as a result, the program will award two scholarships to students in 2022.
“We started Kaulig Giving in 2018 to support many different causes just like Daniel’s Be the Change scholarship,” said Kaulig. “Helping students to further their education and pursue their passion is something many of the organizations we are involved in advocate for. Daniel being a part of the Kaulig Racing family made this an easy decision for us to get involved in ‘Be The Change’ and support the community he grew up in.”
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is blown away by Hemric and now Kaulig Giving stepping up to help further the education of students at their school.
“We are grateful for the incredible generosity of Kaulig Giving and Daniel and Kenzie Hemric,” said Sarah Devlin, Chief Officer of Governance, Advancement and Community Relations of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. “Their investment in our student makes it possible for them to achieve their dreams and provide a better life for themselves and their families.”