Pit Stop Radio News

No. 18 Poppy Bank Toyota Supra News and Notes

• HEMRIC ON ROAD COURSES: Saturday’s race at Circuit of The Americas will be Daniel Hemric’s 12th career NASCAR Xfinity Series start on a road course. Through 11 races on road courses, Hemric has tallied five top-five finishes and six top-10s, including the No. 18 team’s third-place finish at the Daytona Road Course earlier this season. He has led 35 combined laps on road courses.
• VISITING COTA: While Hemric has yet to make a full-speed lap around Circuit of The Americas, he did visit the track on April 19 as part of a media day with fellow Toyota drivers Kyle Busch and John Hunter Nemechek. That day, Hemric made several laps in a Toyota Supra production car and raced go-karts with local media in attendance.
• DOVER RECAP: After starting on the pole last Saturday at Dover International Speedway, Hemric battled the handling of his Poppy Bank Toyota Supra throughout the 200-lap event. The No. 18 team finished 13th and 11th in the opening two stages before making significant chassis adjustments prior to the final stage. Over the final 110 laps, Hemric rallied from 21st to ninth for his eighth top-10 finish in 10 starts so far this season.
• ROGERS’ RESUME: Crew chief Dave Rogers is no stranger to road racing in both the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. In 29 combined starts between the two series, Rogers’ teams have earned three wins, seven top-five finishes, 11 top-10s, three pole awards and 242 laps led on road courses. His Xfinity Series wins came at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City with Denny Hamlin in 2006 and Kyle Busch in 2008. He also led Busch to a Cup Series victory at Watkins Glen International in 2013.
• POPPY BANK: Poppy Bank will be featured as the primary sponsor of the No. 18 Supra in Saturday’s race at Circuit of The Americas. Poppy Bank is a 5-star rated organization and is recognized as one of the strongest financial institutions in the country. Since opening its first branch in 2005, Poppy Bank has grown to over $3 Billion in assets with branches across the San Francisco Bay Area, Roseville, and Southern California.
• JGR ON ROAD COURSES: The Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series team has posted five wins on road courses, including Ty Gibbs’ victory at the Daytona Road Course in February. In 132 combined starts on road courses, the organization has posted 36 top-five finishes, 63 top-10s, four pole awards and 469 laps led. Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin join Gibbs on the list of drivers who have won road course races for the JGR Xfinity Series team.
• TUNE IN: Coverage of this week’s Xfinity Series race at Circuit of The Americas is scheduled for Saturday, May 22, at 4 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Daniel Hemric, Driver of the No. 18 Poppy Bank Toyota Supra

Talk about what you expect this weekend at COTA…

“COTA is unlike anywhere I’ve ever seen or raced on. We’ve all been using the simulator and our tools that Toyota provides us with to prepare, but it’s going to be a huge challenge. There are a lot of hard braking zones and long straights; just stuff we aren’t used to with our cars and how heavy they are. Managing tires and brakes will be critical because the sharp corners lead onto long straights so that will be a huge opportunity to either gain or lose time with how long it takes to get around the track. I’m pumped up for it, I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to the weekend and seeing what we can do with our Poppy Bank Supra.”

Hemric NASCAR Xfinity Stats on Road Courses

Hemric 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Season Stats

Hemric NASCAR Xfinity Series Career Stats

Joe Gibbs Racing PR