Kaulig Racing Post-Race Report | Phoenix Raceway

Kaulig Racing Post-Race Report | Phoenix Raceway
United Rentals Work United 500

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1

AJ Allmendinger qualified 22nd for the United Rentals Work United 500.
Allmendinger battled handling in the No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1 throughout the entire race.
During stage one, Allmendinger made his way up to 18th before the rear faded, ultimately finished the stage 22nd. Under caution at the stage break, Crew Chief, Matt Swiderski, called for an air pressure adjustment to help with the handling of the car. Allmendinger restarted for the second stage at the tail end of the longest line after speeding on pit road.
Allmendinger lacked front turn and speed to move through traffic in the second stage. After green-flag pit stops, the No. 16 fell a lap down and would later take the wave around under caution. Allmendinger finished 20th for the day.

“I felt like we had a good plan going into the race after practice. We fought tight the whole race. My guys worked hard to try to make it a little better, but we definitely had it too tight which is what we thought would be the right thing from practice. We maximized everything we could, and we are learning what we need to do from practice to the race. We’ll work to be better next time.” – AJ Allmendinger

Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1

Justin Haley qualified 26th for the United Rentals Work United 500.
After firing off tight, Haley’s No. 31 Leaffilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1 began running free in the opening stage. He finished the stage in 29th place and pit for multiple adjustments to tighten up the car.
Haley made his first, green-flag stop of the day on lap 120 for tires and fuel, and went on to finish 29th and one lap down in the second stage. The team made adjustments to the car to get it handling the way it did during Haley’s second run of the day.
The team continued to work on the No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1 throughout the final stage, but ultimately could not get back on the lead lap and finished 27th.

“It was a rough day for our No. 31 team. We definitely have a lot to work on with our short track program. Hopefully we can figure out where we fell short and learn from it for next time.” – Justin Haley

United Rentals 200

Chandler Smith, No. 16 Quick Tie Chevrolet

Chandler Smith qualified sixth for the United Rentals 200.
Smith fought through a loose-handling car over the first two stages. He brought home one point in stage one after a tenth-place finish and finished outside the top-ten in stage two.
He began climbing up the leaderboard in the second half after the No. 16 Quick Tie Products crew made adjustments to add more lateral grip during pit stops.
Smith took advantage of multiple late-race restarts to gain ground on the leaders, even battling with eventual winner Sammy Smith for the lead with under 20 laps to go.
During the closing laps, Smith combatted with teammate Kyle Busch and passed him for third on the penultimate lap. Smith hung on to finish fifth – his third-straight NASCAR Xfinity Series top-five – after contact with Busch on the last lap.

“A good result for the Quick Tie Chevy Camaro at the end there. We got a little better, a little better and a little better over the course of the race. The car wasn’t too bad at the end there. We’ve got something to work with when we come back here for the Championship in November. I can’t thank Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice enough for the opportunities and our great partners in Quick Tie and Celsius. I’m having a blast right now.” – Chandler Smith

Kyle Busch, No. 10 LA Golf Chevrolet

In an effort to fix the fuel pump of the No. 10 LA Golf Chevrolet, Kaulig Racing forfeited its chance at qualifying and made an unapproved adjustment, relegating Kyle Busch to a 37th-place starting position for the United Rentals 200.
Busch ran top-three lap times throughout the first stage and made his way to 14th before the first caution came out on lap 29. He went on to finish the first stage in seventh place, 30 spots from his starting position.
After making air pressure and track bar adjustments, Busch continued to improve throughout the second stage and went on to finish fifth.
Busch led the opening laps of the final stage before settling in second. Although Busch lacked longevity in drive, he managed to stay in the top three before tangling with teammate, Chandler Smith, on the final lap. He crossed the line in ninth place.

“I appreciate all the hard work by everyone at Kaulig Racing. We had an issue in practice this morning and the ECR guys did a good job solving that issue. We started in the back but we were able to work our way into contention for the win with our LA Golf Chevrolet. Unfortunately it didn’t work out for us.” – Kyle Busch

Daniel Hemric, No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet

Daniel Hemric qualified third for the United Rentals 200.
Hemric started off strong in the first stage while learning the groove of the car. With consistent lap times and a good restart, Hemric finished the first stage in fifth place.
After making air pressure adjustments, Hemric improved on short runs, and charged up the field to finish third in the second stage.
Hemric went on to finish 10th, his second-straight top-10 finish after earning points in both stages.

“This was definitely a step in the right direction with our Phoenix package. We worked on our Cirkul Chevrolet all day. At the start of the final stage, we helped the short runs tremendously. We lost a little bit of front turn, which cost us a couple spots. We had one hiccup on pit road with an untimely air hose getting hung up on the splitter, which put us back 18th or so for the next restart. I’m proud of the effort and communication.” – Daniel Hemric

About Kaulig Racing™

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started and has won back-to-back regular-season championships. Before becoming a full-time NCS team, Kaulig Racing made multiple starts in the 2021 NCS season and won in its seventh-ever start with AJ Allmendinger’s victory at “The Brickyard” for the Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The team expanded to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 with Justin Haley piloting the No. 31 Camaro ZL1, and an all-star lineup featured in the No. 16 Camaro ZL1. Haley will continue to drive the No. 31 full-time in 2023, alongside AJ Allmendinger, who will drive the No. 16 Camaro ZL1. The team will continue to field three, full-time NXS entries; the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by an all-star lineup that will be announced at a later date, the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by Daniel Hemric, and the No. 16 Chevrolet driven by Chandler Smith. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.