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At the end of the 'Boys & Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 250' Truck Series event, race winner Daniel Hemric got up on the roof of his #19 truck and performed a backflip to celebrate his achievement. In the press conference after the race, the driver discussed how the move may not have been the best idea, despite having practiced it a few weeks earlier in his backyard, because of the medical intervention he's already received for his knees in the past.
The McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver immediately called himself out in the media event after the race on Friday, before a reporter could even complete their question about his backflip, saying:
"That was reckless"
When asked about how confident he was feeling about his ability to perform the move after the race, Daniel Hemric revealed that the vibes of the audience were enough for him to pull off the move, despite his many knee operations:
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"I felt a lot of energy from the crowd, and I'm as guilty as anybody about feeding off that stuff, so I thought 'Why not? I'll blow a knee out here landing'. It'll be okay, I've raced with it before that way. A lot of people don't know but I've had multiple knee surgeries, so there is some risk in me doing it."
The last time Hemric was seen performing the backflip was when he scored a win at the Phoenix Raceway in 2021, which marked his first NASCAR National Series victory. His win at the Martinsville Speedway this weekend was also a career-first as it was the 2021 Xfinity Series Champion's first-ever Truck Series race win.
Daniel Hemric returned to the Truck Series this year after spending his 2024 driving for Kaulig Racing in his second full-time Cup Series season. The last time Hemric raced in the Truck Series was in 2016 for Brad Keselowski Racing, also driving the #19 truck for them.
"I can’t think of a nicer guy to win": Daniel Hemric's teammate glad to get the win for MHR
Tyler Ankrum, another member of the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing team, was leading the race at Martinsville after Lap 187. In the final four laps, Daniel Hemric used his bumper, dove underneath his teammate, and made a pass that locked in the lead position and he crossed the line to take his first Truck Series win with a 0.544s gap.
Speaking after the race, Ankrum was fine with taking second place to his teammate, who he had nice things to say about.
“Congratulations to Daniel. I can’t think of a nicer guy to win. Yeah, he gave me the bumper, but you’re going to do that at Martinsville. I honestly would much rather have a teammate give me the bumper for the win, so we can just get a win for MHR,” he said [via NASCAR].
Apart from his first place finish at the 'Boys & Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 250', Daniel Hemric has also scored a seventh place finish at the Daytona International Speedway event at the start of the season, and a fifth place finish at last week's Homestead-Miami Speedway race.
