NASCAR: Kaulig Racing brings back Daniel Hemric for 2023 Xfinity series

Kaulig Racing announced Sunday that Daniel Hemric will return to its No. 11 Chevrolet in the 2023 Xfinity Series.

The agreement was revealed Sunday morning at Charlotte Motor Speedway, ahead of the Bank of America Roval 400.

Hemric, 31, was last year’s champion in the Xfinity Series. He transitioned away from Joe Gibbs Racing after his title-clinching win to his first year with Kaulig Racing this season.

News of the extension came as part of the Kaulig Giving philanthropic group’s announcement that it would provide additional support to Hemric’s Be The Change Scholarship endowment. The annual scholarship program began in 2019, and will now assist two students on a path through the Rowan-Cabarrus Community College’s motorsports, welding or mechanical engineering fields of study.

“I was going to come here today and talk about the scholarship program with the Be The Change Scholarship and all that Kaulig Giving has done for myself, my family and our community,” Hemric said. “When they told me they wanted to bring me back on top of that, well that was … let’s tie it all together, right? So knowing this was happening today made it a little easier to sleep last night, given what had happened, but I also don’t rest easy on that, either. I know that there’s a lot for this race team, a lot for Kaulig Racing to do still left in this year.”

The announcement shores up the Kaulig Racing lineup for 2023. AJ Allmendinger was introduced Wednesday as a full-time Cup Series teammate to Justin Haley next year. Chandler Smith will debut next season as a full-time replacement for Allmendinger on the Xfinity side, joining Hemric and the returning Landon Cassill in its three-car lineup.

“We thought it was no better time to announce that with what he does, and all of the givings that they do,” said Kaulig Racing president Chris Rice. “We think Daniel has had a year that’s probably been trying. That’s no means … it’s not where everybody wants to be, but we don’t take that lightly. We know as a race team, we’ve got to be better and we feel like with AJ Allmendinger going to Cup, Daniel Hemric can continuously help us with Chandler Smith, with those guys in the Xfinity Series just to continue the wins and continue to compete for championships.

“So really excited for Kaulig Racing. Super cool what Matt does for the racing program each and every week, but also all the givings he does. So just really excited to have Daniel back next year.”