- Daniel Hemric qualified 21st for the Shriners Children’s 500.
- The first caution of the day fell on lap six, as Hemric followed suit with the majority of the field in pitting for four tires. After restarting on lap 12, stage one finished under green, and Hemric finished 28th.
- Hemric radioed that he was struggling with a tight-handling No. 31 Poppy bank Camaro ZL1 in the corners. Crew chief Trent Owens made the call to pit for tires, fuel, an air pressure and rear-spring adjustment during the stage break. He started the second stage from 23rd place. Hemric made his first green-flag pit stop of the day on lap 115 for tires and fuel. On lap 136, Hemric came to pit road for four tires, radioing he may have a loose wheel. He went on to finish stage two in 34th place, two laps down from the leaders.
- During the second stage break, Owens made the call to take a gamble and wave around to put Hemric just one lap down to start the final stage. The gamble paid off, as an early caution allowed Hemric to pit for tires, fuel, a wedge adjustment and air pressure adjustment. He restarted 33rd and one lap down with 110 laps remaining before two more quick cautions came out. On the final restart, Hemric restarted 25th and one lap down, before falling a second lap down and going on to finish 28th.
“Not the best day for us in Phoenix. We couldn’t quite get the balance right on our No. 31 Poppy Bank Chevy, and then we put ourselves into a little bit of a hole with a loose wheel that we couldn’t bounce back from. We will learn from today and hopefully come back stronger in the fall.”
– Daniel Hemric
