Kaulig Racing took to social media to reveal its driver-crew chief pairing for the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series season that is nine days away from commencing. For this season, all three Xfinity crew chiefs that feature Bruce Schlicker, Jason Trinchere and Alex Yontz will remain with their respective Chevrolet Camaro entries.
Yontz, a five-time race-winning crew chief who swapped from Kaulig’s No. 11 to 10 entry late during the previous season, will remain atop the No. 10 pit box that will serve as the team’s “all-star” entry and be piloted by multiple competitors. Justin Haley will be driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for the Xfinity season opener at Daytona International Speedway while former Xfinity champion Austin Dillon will make his first start of the season with Kaulig at Auto Club Speedway in late February. In addition, veteran AJ Allmendinger will be making select Xfinity starts alongside his full-time Cup Series duties with Kaulig, beginning at Circuit of the Americas in March.
Meanwhile, Trinchere, who commenced the previous season as the crew chief of the No. 10 entry before transitioning to Kaulig’s No. 11 entry, will be remaining with the No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro team to crew chief Daniel Hemric, who returns for a second full-time stint at Kaulig. Trinchere has five Xfinity career victories to his resume, all of which occurred in 2021 with Allmendinger as the duo made the Playoffs before finishing in fourth place in the final standings. Hemric, the 2021 Xfinity Series champion, is coming off his first season at Kaulig, where he achieved a pole, three top-five results, 14 top-10 results, an average-finishing result of 15.6 and an Xfinity Playoff berth before being eliminated from title contention during the Round of 12 and finishing in ninth place in the final driver’s standings.
Lastly, Schlicker will return as the crew chief of the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro entry that is set to be piloted by Chandler Smith, who will embark in his first full-time campaign in the Xfinity circuit and compete for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Schlicker has six Xfinity victories to his resume, with his first occurring at Talladega Superspeedway in 2021 with Jeb Burton before notching five with Allmendinger during the previous season. Smith, the 2021 Craftsman Truck Series Rookie-of-the-Year recipient, graduates to the Xfinity Series following two full-time seasons in the Truck circuit with Kyle Busch Motorsports, where he notched a total of five victories and is coming off a third-place result in last year’s championship standings. He also made his first three Xfinity starts in 2022 with Sam Hunt Racing, where he notched a career-best seventh-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway in October.
The trio of Xfinity Series crew chiefs finalize Kaulig Racing’s full crew chief lineup that will also see Matt Swinderski and Trent Owens remaining as Cup Series crew chiefs for the team’s Nos. 16 and 31 entries, respectively. Justin Haley will be returning for a second full-time Cup stint at Kaulig in the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while Allmendinger returns to full-time Cup competition for the first time since 2018 in the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
The 2023 season is set to mark Kaulig Racing’s eighth season in the Xfinity Series and third fielding three full-time entries. Through a combined 425 career starts, the organization has notched 19 victories, nine poles, 100 top-five results, 223 top-10 results and 2,145 laps led. Having placed at least one entry in the Xfinity Series Playoffs since its inception, the organization continues to pursue its first NASCAR championship.
Kaulig Racing’s 2023 Xfinity Series season is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway next Saturday, February 18, at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.
