After one season, Daniel Hemric‘s time with Richard Childress Racing will come to an end. On Tuesday, the team announced they will release Hemric following the 2019 Monster Energy Cup Series season.
“Richard Childress Racing (RCR) has exercised its option and will release Daniel Hemric as driver of the No. 8 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Camaro ZL1 effective at the conclusion of the 2019 NASCAR race season,” a team statement read. “Daniel is a very talented driver and an outstanding person. We’d like to thank him for his commitment and dedication to RCR the past three years and wish him continued success in his future endeavors. Additional information on RCR’s Cup program will be announced at a later date.”
Prior to the announcement, Hemric had stated he was “iffy” about his 2020 plans despite having a contract with RCR through that season. After spending the previous two years with RCR’s Xfinity Series team and finished in the top five in points in both, he moved up to the team’s Cup stable for 2019 to replace the departing Ryan Newman. Driving the #8 in his maiden full-time season, Hemric sits twenty-fifth in the standings with two top-ten finishes and a best run of fifth at Talladega Superspeedway in the spring. He made his Cup début in 2018 at Richmond Raceway, where he finished thirty-second.
His replacement in the #8 has not been revealed, but speculation has pointed toward reigning Xfinity champion Tyler Reddick, who ran his first Cup race earlier in 2019 in a third RCR car and scored a top ten in just his second Cup race at Kansas Speedway. Reddick won the 2019 Xfinity regular season championship.
“Forever grateful to Richard & everyone at @RCRracing for the opportunity,” Hemric tweeted. “I’m disappointed it ended like this, but we’ve got nine more races together & some team goals that are still within reach. I’m going to do all I can to make sure we get those & finish the season strong.”
