BRISTOL, Tenn. — Two races into the Truck Series playoffs, Daniel Hemric continues to do what he needs to advance. He just has to count his blessings after some near-misses at a track known for chaos.
Videos by FanBuzz
The McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver came oh so close to calamity during Thursday night's playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway, but he kept his truck mostly clean and moved to 51 points above the Round of 8 cutline after finishing fifth.
MORE: Bristol Truck Series results
"I made it way too nerve-wracking there at one point," Hemric said on pit road after the race. "About 15 or 20 to go, I was trying to run the extreme top, and I overstepped the cushion on entry and got into the fence.
"And literally, one of the first times I've remembered praying inside the race car. I was just praying I don't have a tire rub and so on and so forth. And yeah, counting my blessings tonight. I was sloppy, made some mistakes, and still salvaged an okay day out of it."
Top-fived it. Final results from race ✌️ of the #NASCARPlayoffs.#ItsBristolBaby pic.twitter.com/4Wk5AFmrcW
— Bill McAnally Racing (@BMR_NASCAR) September 12, 2025
The Truck Series night race featured multiple playoff drivers experiencing issues. Chandler Smith had to make unscheduled pit stops in stage 1 due to an electrical gremlin. He finished 30th and 14 laps down.
Jake Garcia, who won the pole and the opening stage, had to make a trip to the garage. The pulley on the engine fell off the damper, which caused the power steering pump to stop spinning. He finished 33rd and 31 laps down.
The issues continued with Tyler Ankrum being spun after contact from Kaden Honeycutt. He finished 20th. Layne Riggs, who actually won the playoff race, spun in the opening stage after an aggressive move to the inside. He just had enough time to recover.
Hemric, while he fell short of a clean race, avoided big issues. He struggled in the opening stage but worked his way to eighth by the end of stage 2. He then worked his way up to fifth by the end of the Truck Series race, which put him in a strong position to advance to the Round of 10.
The only hurdle in the way is the Sept. 20 elimination race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. So while Hemric may be counting his blessings on Thursday night, he will be all business moving forward.
"You go and do the best you can," Hemric said. "We maximized our day to our potential today, didn't compound any mistakes, and took care of ourselves.
"I said it at Darlington, I said as soon as the checkered flag flew this week, the next one starts right now. Ready to go do it."
