It’s a story of second chances for both Daniel Hemric and John-Hunter Nemechek in 2024.
Hemric had the opportunity to compete full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2019, driving the No. 8 for Richard Childress Racing.
He ended the year 25th in the championship standings, scoring 530 points while teammate Austin Dillon scored 700.
He earned just one top-five and two top-tens. Since then, both Tyler Reddick and Kyle Busch have won multiple Cup races in that car.
Hemric stepped back down to the Xfinity Series and in 2021, he won the title with Joe Gibbs Racing in a dramatic photo finish.
He spent the following two years with Kaulig Racing, who have now promoted him to Cup in 2024, taking over the No. 31 Chevrolet vacated by Justin Haley. Haley will now drive for Rick Ware Racing in 2024.
Nemechek ran full-time as a Cup Series driver in 2020.
He scored zero top-fives and three-tops, ending the year 27th in the championship standings, and also lagged behind his teammate.
After that, he essentially repeated the NASCAR ladder. He competed full-time in the Truck Series over the course of 2021 and 2022, also running a partial Xfinity schedule.
He won seven Truck races with Kyle Busch Motorsports and was top-five in points both seasons.
In 2023, he won a series-leading seven Xfinity races with Joe Gibbs Racing and ended the year fourth in the final standings.
In 2024, he will also make his Cup return, driving for Legacy Motor Club as a teammate to Erik Jones.
The team, co-owned by Jimmie Johnson, is making the switch from Chevrolet to Toyota for the upcoming season.
Nemechek will be driving the No. 42 car, which was Gragson’s until his midseason suspension. Afterwards, LMC used a variety of drivers to finish out the year.