NASCAR
A Recent NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Says His Wife Drives Faster Than He Does
John Moriello started covering sports in 1982, began digital publishing in 1995, and joined Sports7 in 2020. A graduate of St. John Fisher University, he finds inspiration in the underdogs and the fascinating stories sports can tell (both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat). John expertly covers all aspects of NASCAR. Beginning with his 2014 coverage at Fox Sports of the aftermath of the dirt-race tragedy in which Kevin Ward Jr. died after being struck by a car driven by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, John has excelled as a journalist who specializes in the motorsports world. He previously spent more than three decades covering high school sports and worked as a beat writer covering Big East football and basketball, but NASCAR is now where the true expertise falls. John is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame (2013), the President of the New York State Sportswriters Association, and a two-time Best of Gannett winner for print and online collaborations whose work has appeared on FoxSports.com and MaxPreps.com.
Get to know John Moriello betterUpdated03 Nov 2022
The story Dale Earnhardt Jr. told about himself wouldn’t have raised eyebrows had the same words come from 2021 Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric. While Earnhardt leads him in Xfinity titles, 2-1, Hemric doesn’t have to be sheepish about a wife who’s not even in the business being the faster driver in the family.
Kenzie Hemric once beat 2020 Cup Series champ Chase Elliott
Kenzie Hemric played volleyball and was a cheerleader while growing up in Oklahoma, according to NASCAR.com. She took an interest in racing as a young teen and scored a couple of top-10 finishes at age 20 in the 2011 ARCA Menards Series. Two years later, she began a run in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, logging 17 top-10 finishes in 44 starts.
Racing Late Models in the 2011 Fall Brawl 100 at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Raceway, Hemric moved to the lead with just under four laps to go and took the checkered flag in a 37-car race. Among those in the field were future husband Daniel Hemric, who finished third, 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott (fifth), and seven-time Cup Series race winner Ryan Blaney (eighth).
“That’s my claim to fame,” she told the NASCAR website. “I beat all their butts.”
Thus, she’s every bit as likely as her husband to be able to run errands in record time.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. says his wife drivers faster than he does
Dale Earnhardt Jr. holds many honors and recognitions, including his pair of Xfinity Series championships, induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame earlier this year, and multiple fan selections as the sport’s most popular driver.
When it comes to the title of fastest driver in his household, Earnhardt concedes he has to take the proverbial backseat these days to his wife. Appearing on the Rachel Ray Show, Earnhardt said Amy makes better time on the highway than he does.
It makes sense to a certain degree. After all those years of intense focus required while driving at 180 mph or more in crazy traffic you and I will never experience, Earnhardt finds himself soaking in the sights and running through to-do lists in his mind.
“When I'm in the car, I start thinking and thinking about what things I'm doing and things I need to do,” he told Ray. “And I sort of go through this checklist. And before you know it, my wife's tapping me on the shoulder going, ‘Everybody's passing us ...’”
It's not like he’s doing 40 mph on the interstate, either.
“I'm like, you know, right around the speed limit, maybe under it. She's like, ‘Hey, can we pick it up a little bit?’”
Yeah, but can she host the most influential podcast in NASCAR in her spare time?
Got a question or observation about racing? Sports7’s John Moriello does a mailbag column each Friday. Write to him at [email protected].
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