At first Carswell hesitated, preferring a more experienced racer take the seat. Still, since the car had been torn up at Ace, Carswell invited Hemric and Demis to his shop in Georgia where he offered Hemric a ride on a trial basis if he helped fix the car.
“Everybody that knows Daniel knows he’s just got an energetic personality, people just love him and he’s just super friendly, a super easy guy to get to know,” Carswell said. “It was just very comfortable. He came down for that one race kind of on a trial basis and, obviously, we immediately hit it off.
“I think that’s what’s really helped him all throughout his career, is people just really like him because he’s a very genuine, likable guy. And he’s somebody you want to help too because you see he’s got the talent and he hadn’t really had the resources as a kid coming up through the ranks.”
The pairing found immediate success, as had often been the case throughout Hemric’s still burgeoning career. However, Hemric also soon had an opportunity to race modifieds with Hillbilly Racing and earned the 2012 JEGS/CRA Series championship in pro late models on the strength of eight wins driving for Rich Clark, another friend of Demis’.
It wasn’t until 2013 that Hemric and Carswell reconnected to compete full time in the newly formed Southern Super Series and other major super late model races. Hemric won the championship along with the Blizzard Series title at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., and the Gulf Coast Series Championship.
They finished runner-up in the Southern Super Series the following year and were known as one of the most dominant teams in super late model racing throughout the country, piling up the victories.
Carswell cites Hemric’s work ethic and mechanical knowledge as reasons for his success, while also noting he is the best he’s ever seen at adjusting a car, managing tires and putting himself in position at the end of the race.
“He’s kind of the total package,” Carswell said.
By the 2013 season, it had become obvious to many that Hemric had the talent to make it to the upper ranks of NASCAR and compete against many of the same drivers he had beaten in Legend Cars. But funding remained an issue.
Through various sponsorships and investors, Demis helped secure Hemric a ride for the 2013 fall NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway with Sharp Gallaher Racing, run by racer Eddie Sharp and California businessman Bill Gallaher.
Hemric was strong in practice, but the transmission broke during the race.
Feeling bad about the unfortunate turn of events, the team allowed Hemric to also drive for them at Phoenix Raceway later that year. During that fateful weekend, Demis spoke to Gallaher at length about Hemric’s story. Gallaher, a successful homebuilder, principal in Gallaher Companies and chairman of the board at Poppy Bank, made a significant investment in Hemric’s career.
“If that transmission hadn’t broke, we might’ve been one and done,” Demis said. “It was almost like it was divine intervention.”
In 2015, Hemric competed in his first full season in NASCAR, driving for NTS Motorsports in the Truck Series. The next year he moved to Brad Keselowski Racing, and in 2017 and ’18 moved to the Xfinity Series with Richard Childress Racing where he was reunited with friend and Legend Car owner Tim Ladyga.
In 2019, Hemric advanced to the Cup Series with Childress and claimed rookie-of-the-year honors, before running a part-time schedule in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports in 2020.
Throughout each of those stops he came agonizingly close to victory, racking up a seemingly unbelievable string of runner-up finishes and near-misses. The trend continued last year with Joe Gibbs Racing until he finally broke through at Phoenix.
Now, his life is forever changed with the title of NASCAR champion, but there is much more to do. This year, Hemric is set to drive the No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series, while also sharing a Cup Series car with A.J. Allmendinger and Noah Gragson.
In another life-changing moment, Hemric and wife Kenzie welcomed their first child, daughter Rhen, in May 2020. Hemric choked up as he addressed his wife during his acceptance speech in Nashville. He remembered he often had to park his Honda Civic on a hill so Kenzie could help him jump-start it.
“You’ve sacrificed so much so that you, Rhen and I can live this dream,” he said. “Doing it together means the world to me. I look forward to whatever is next for us.”
The line elicited an ovation, and further proved why to many, those who have been involved in Hemric’s career consider him a son.
“The journey’s been worth it, I have three children plus him,” Demis said. “I’ve probably had 2,000 teenagers in my life that came through my Sunday school classes and it’s just really rare to find a person with that kind of character.”
Together, Hemric and his racing family have truly gone far.