Daniel Hemric has accomplished just about everything there is to accomplish in the Legends Car world of short track racing, including a Summer Shootout Championship, a maximum-allowed win total so far in 2009, as well as the North Carolina and National Pro Division Championships. 

So when he set a track record in qualifying Saturday night at North Carolina's Concord Speedway and then finished second, it was not much of a surprise.  Yet, when you consider that it was behind the wheel of a full-sized racing vehicle – a NASCAR Pro Late Model – for the first time ever in his career, the feat is even more impressive.

Hemric made his Pro Late Model debut for BDI Racing, a team owned by SPEED broadcaster Bob Dillner.  He set fast time with a new Pro Late Model track record in qualifying in his Racing Electronics #51.  In the 100-lap main event, the 18-year-old moved up from his post-redraw starting position of sixth all the way to second.  He then stalked fellow Racing Electronics-backed racer and now five-time PLM winner at Concord in 2009, Bobby Measmer, Jr. throughout the race.  Eventually Hemric settled for second in his debut with a car that was also backed by Buffalo Wild Wings of Concord, NC.

Hemric and the BDI Racing team's goals for the night were accomplished with the completion of 100-plus laps of experience, but to be in contention for a victory should not have been a shock to the Concord fans who have witnessed Hemric's talents previously in Legends Cars.

“It feels awesome to run this well in our first race in a Late Model,” said the Kannapolis, North Carolina resident Hemric.  “I wish I could've gotten the ‘W' for the whole team, but all in all I guess it was a pretty good showing for my first time (in a LM) as well as my first time working with these guys.  I have to thank everyone at BDI Racing for giving me an opportunity and hopefully we'll do it again.  Bruce Silver (President and CEO of Racing Electronics) helped me get here and I have to thank him as well as Buffalo Wild Wings and everyone else that put the whole deal together for us.”

Concord Speedway's tricky tri-oval layout can challenge even the most veteran short trackers, but nobody that had ever tackled Concord's surface in a Pro Late Model had ever gone as fast as Hemric did in his first-ever time trial effort.  His lap of 15.823 shattered the previous mark of 15.901 and earned him his first-ever NASCAR Pole Award.

“They said don't leave anything out there and we don't qualify much in Legends Cars, so it was kind of a new deal for me.  When I went into (turn) one, I could feel that I hesitated a little.  So on the second lap, everywhere I thought I should I pick the gas up, I picked it up about a car length-and-a-half earlier.  I came around after the checkered flag and saw everybody cheering and I knew we let down a good lap, but I didn't know it was the track record until after I got out of the car.  That's a pretty good deal to pull off.”

The post-qualifying redraw put Hemric sixth on the grid for the 100-lap feature, alongside of Measmer.  The two drove through the field in a hurry at the drop of the green flag and eventually settled into first and second.  Hemric stayed glued to Measmer's bumper before a mid-race caution slowed the field and gave Hemric a shot at the lead. 

Measmer's experience won out on the final restart and down the stretch, but Hemric's second-place finish far exceeded the goals set forth by the driver and team for the young racer's first-ever Late Model start.

“Everybody said save your tires and take it easy in the beginning and that's what the plan was,” added Hemric.  “I think I almost took it too easy in the beginning and I think if I would've gotten around Bobby, I'm not sure if he could've gotten back around us.  For the first race, it was definitely a good showing.”

Hemric's effort not only impressed many in the stands and in the pit area on Saturday, but also the entire BDI Racing team, who had worked in the shop with Hemric for the week leading up to the event and got a sense of the young driver's talents even before he strapped into the Racing Electronics #51.

“As much as it was a surprise how well he did, it was not unexpected,” said Bruce Silver of Racing Electronics.  “Talent is talent and that boy is talented.  Daniel deserves an opportunity to be looked at and I just hope somebody will be smart enough to look at Daniel for the talent that he has.”

“Daniel's talent behind the wheel speaks for itself, but his feedback and hard work in the shop and at the track really impressed us all,” said BDI Racing Director of Racing Operations Matt Kentfield.  “Daniel had never raced anything with a sway-bar before, and that was just one of many essential parts of a Late Model that he's never had on a Legends Car.  He had a lot of learning to do, but he picked up on everything we taught him and he was extremely helpful in getting our car dialed in during our test session and at the track Saturday. 

“The kid has an unbelivable amount of talent and it's only a matter of time before he's continuing that success in big cars on a full-time basis.”

Hemric will now return to his quest of being the 2009 Legends Car Pro Division National Champion in the Legends Car Nationals at Georgia's Lanier National Speedway on Saturday, September 10th.

BDI Racing will continue to develop the skills of more young racers, including 16-year-old Meghan Dillner, who will now take the reins of the Racing Electronics/Buffalo Wild Wings #51 for several test sessions before her Pro Late Model debut later this fall.

Based in Concord, North Carolina, BDI Racing is a full-service short track development team that offers a “total package” approach to building strong racers both on the track and off.  BDI Racing has a full fleet of cars from Quarter Midgets, Bandoleros, Legends Cars, Pro Challenge Series cars and Pro and Super Late Models.  Several house drivers including make up the core of the BDI Racing development program, but opportunities are available in all facets of BDI Racing's organization for the remainder of the 2009 and all of the 2010 seasons.

Marketing opportunities for the BDI Racing team and its driver development program are currently available for remaining events this year, including the team's entry in the 42 nd Annual Snowball Derby and the Allen Turner Hyundai Snowflake 100 weekend at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, December 3 rd through 6 th , as well as the 2010 season.  For more information on how partnering with BDI Racing can provide a multitude of benefits for companies of all sizes, contact the team at (704) 788-2134 ext: 2 and visit the team online at www.bdiracing.net.