DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric drove his No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet to the pole Saturday for the 41st Annual Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. 300.
Hemric sped his Chevrolet around the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway at 182.849 mph. It was his second pole in eight races at Daytona and the sixth pole in 121 Xfinity Series starts.
It’s his first race driving for team owner Matt Kaulig.
LINEUP: Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner 300
“It’s definitely a pleasant surprise,” Hemric said. “I’m not sure why I’m surprised. Everyone at Kaulig Racing have been busting their tails all season.
“Man, it’s so much fun to be back here in Daytona. I’m so thankful they took a chance on me to give me this opportunity.
“I didn’t know we had the speed to sit on the pole in single-car runs yesterday, but after the first round today we had the fastest speed and thought, ‘Man, we may as well go for the pole.’
“It’s special any time you do something like this at Daytona. Look forward to having some fun today.”
Austin Hill was second at 182.423 mph in the No. 21 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. It was his first top 10 start in two races at Daytona.
Hill is from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and won at Daytona in that series. Starting from the front row is a great start to his Xfinity Series season.
“It makes it a lot easier being on the front row,” Hill said. “I thought we had a shot at it, but the Kaulig guys were pretty good there. We are always as fast as Xfinity internet, but not quite.
“We’ll take it. Front row. Daytona. We have a shot at winning. We have a teammate near us so hopefully we can go out there and have a good night.”
Jade Buford was third and posted his second top-10 start at Daytona. Buford’s speed was 182.352 mph in the No. 48 Chevrolet.
Sheldon Creed’s Chevrolet was fourth at 181.998 mph and Brett Moffitt’s Chevrolet rounded out the top five at 181.642 mph.
Positions six through 10 included Landon Cassill, Josh Berry, Ryan Vargas, Brandon Jones and Riley Herbst.
Failing to qualify for Saturday’s race were David Starr, Alex Labbe, Stefan Parsons, Mason Massey, Natalie Decker, Gray Gaulding, Ronnie Bassett Jr., Harrison Rhodes and Tim Viens.
The Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. 300 starts shortly after 5 p.m. Eastern Time.