Another piece of the Silly Season puzzle has dropped when Kaulig Racing announced that Xfinity Series driver Daniel Hemric would be moving up to the Cup Series next season to drive the number 31 car.

Justin Haley is vacating the number 31 car to move over to Rick Ware Racing for the 2024 season.

Hemric is the 2019 Cup Series Rookie of the Year and the 2021 Xfinity Series champion.  He is currently among the 12 playoff drivers in the Xfinity Series.

Via a team release Hemric spoke on moving up to the Cup Series saying, “this is a big day, and it means so much to my family and me.  It’s truly special to have an opportunity to do something big with a group of people that want it just as bad as you. It takes heart, and each and every person at Kaulig Racing has it. I’m looking forward to finishing out this season strong and getting right back to work in the offseason with everyone at Kaulig Racing.”

President of Kaulig Racing Chris Rice spoke on Daniel Hemric saying, “they say that tough times don’t last, but tough people do.  That rings true with Daniel Hemric. Throughout all the ups and downs the past couple of years, Daniel continues to believe in the Kaulig Racing culture. Over the last few months, we have been asking ourselves, ‘What can make us a better race team?’ We truly believe Daniel can and will continue to make Kaulig Racing better as an organization.”