Daniel Hemric will drive the No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing full time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2021, JGR announced Nov. 12
Hemric replaces Riley Herbst, who has not yet announced his plans for the season.
In 2020, Hemric competed part time for JR Motorsports in the series in its No. 8. In 21 starts, he scored seven top fives and 12 top 10s.
The No. 8 will instead be helmed by a variety of drivers including Sam Mayer, Josh Berry and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2021.
Hemric joins Brandon Jones, who will return to JGR’s No. 19 in 2021. An announcement about the No. 20, driven in 2020 by Harrison Burton, has not yet been made.
“I’m looking forward to what the future has in store,” Herbst wrote in a statement about his move from JGR and the No. 18.
— Riley Herbst (@rileyherbst) November 12, 2020
Hemric’s sponsors, as well as his crew chief, will be announced at a later date.
Kevin Rutherford is the executive editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2025 after being the managing editor since 2015, and serving on the editing staff since 2013.
At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.
I remain mystified at the reasoning behind TRD’s development program. They have given opportunities to many young drivers, including William Byron, Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell. But with only 5 Cup cars, they lose most of those drivers before they can mature into stars. With Kyle, Denny and Martin seeming to have no interest in retiring, it seems the pattern will continue that KBM/JGR will simply be grooming drivers for Chevy and Ford teams. Now it’s even reached into the crew chief ranks with their loss of Rudy Fugle. I’m especially interested in seeing how they deal with Chandler Smith, who may be the best of what’s left.