Coca-Cola 600
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1
- Per the rulebook, AJ Allmendinger started 27th for the Coca-Cola 600 after qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather.
- Allmendinger moved up to 21st before the competition caution came out on lap 35. He was happy with the way his No. 16 Action Industries Camaro fired off, and the team made an air pressure adjustment under caution to help his stability in the corner. This adjustment upset the balance in the rear of the car and freed Allmendinger up too much. The team received a penalty for equipment interference on the pit stop under caution. Allmendinger would restart lap 79 at the tail end of the longest line in 34th place and go on to finish the opening stage in 28th.
- Allmendinger restarted stage two 22nd and worked through the stage to get comfortable with the rear as he continued to free up as the run went on. Near the end of the stage after the red flag, Allmendinger felt more comfortable with the entry and told the team he builds tight in the corners. After multiple cautions at the front of the field, Allmendinger restarted 15th with nine to go. The No. 16 Camaro tightened up in the closing laps and finished stage two 20th.
- The No. 16 Camaro fired off with good balance but quickly lost rear grip and Allmendinger fought to keep his track position. The caution on lap 231 gave the team an opportunity to make adjustments. When the caution came out again on lap 274, Allmendinger said he had the best throttle that run and felt the team was headed in the right direction, but he needed a little more rear security. Allmendinger went on to finish 19th in stage three.
- Allmendinger continued to make gains in stage four despite the No. 16 building tight as the runs went on. Under caution on lap 359, the No. 16 pit crew gained Allmendinger six spots to put him in 12th for the restart. Making his way up to ninth on the first lap back green, Allmendinger continued to hold his own in the top 12 before contact with the No. 47 from 10th place, sending Allmendinger into the wall and spinning. He came down pit road for four tires and minor repairs before restarting 26th with 32 laps remaining. Allmendinger fought back to finish 14th, claiming his third top-15 finish of the season.
“Our No. 16 Action Industries Chevy showed improvements from the last couple weeks, but we still need a little bit more. Our pit crew was on it today and gained us spots on pit road when we needed it. I thought we could make something happen there, but after spinning with 30 or so laps to go, I’m happy we were able to fight back to get a top-15 finish at the end of the day.” – AJ Allmendinger
Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1
- Per the rulebook, Justin Haley started 16th for the Coca-Cola 600 after qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather.
- Although the No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1 fired off slightly tight, Haley felt his No. 31 team had the car close to where it needed to be. At the competition caution on lap 35, Haley felt his car was slightly free but was otherwise extremely happy with the car. He went on to finish the stage in 22nd.
- During the first stage break, the No. 31 team went back on a previous adjustment during the pit stop, as the track did not change as expected. A quarter of the way through the second stage, Haley’s crew chief, Trent Owens, remarked that this was the best the No. 31 car’s setup had been all year. Haley went on to finish the stage in 14th place.
- The first caution of the third stage fell on lap 231. Haley pitted for tires and fuel only, as he was still happy with the handling of the No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1. He went on to finish the third stage two positions better than the previous stage: 12th.
- In a caution-filled final stage, Haley made it as high as eighth place before being shuffled back to 15th, where he would finish the race, earning his fourth top-15 finish of the season.
“We fired off tight today, but the No. 31 team made some great adjustments and had good pit stops. We made it as high as eighth and thought we would get a top 10 there but just got shuffled at the end. A top 15 is not a bad day, but our car was by far the best car we’ve had all year. We made some major gains today as a team.” – Justin Haley
Alsco Uniforms 300
Chandler Smith, No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevrolet
- Chandler Smith qualified 10th for the Alsco Uniforms 300.
- Smith crawled up the leaderboard to seventh before heading down pit road during the competition caution halfway through the 45-lap opening stage. The No. 16 Quick Tie Products machine finished sixth in the stage before a red flag postponed the race.
- Following the resumption of the race, Smith ran a clean second stage, finishing sixth once again.
- After a caution just before the final pit stops would take place, the No. 16 took four tires and fuel but couldn’t make it on fuel for the remainder of the final green flag run. Smith finished 13th after pitting for a splash of fuel to make it to the end.
“I’m frustrated with where we ended up after the day started out positively. We had a good racecar, but unfortunately, the caution fell in a weird spot and we weren’t getting the best fuel mileage. We definitely had a top-10 car, and I felt like a top five was a realistic result. That’s just how it goes sometimes.” – Chandler Smith
Justin Haley, No. 10 LA Golf Chevrolet
- Justin Haley started at the tail of the field to start the Alsco Uniforms 300, as he replaced Kyle Busch in the No. 10 LA Golf Chevrolet.
- As Haley got his bearings, he felt confident he would fire off better following the competition caution on lap 20. He pitted under caution for four tires and fuel, gaining six spots on pit road. With a 14-lap shootout to the stage end, Haley radioed that his No. 10 Chevrolet began feeling tight. He finished the opening stage in 16th place.
- Haley pitted for four tires and fuel before the start of the second stage went green on lap 56. The No. 10 Chevrolet was extremely loose-handling throughout the entirety of the stage. He finished the second stage in 14th place.
- Fighting more handling issues to start the final stage, Haley was able to pit for adjustments on lap 69 after a caution came out. Haley radioed with 42 laps remaining that he was struggling to finish the corner due to being tight-exit. Making it as high as sixth before pitting, Haley pitted for fuel only with eight laps to go. He went on to finish the race 12th.
“I definitely wish I could have been better at the end of the day. It’s a tough transition after 600 miles in the Cup car. I didn’t quite fit in the seat, so I felt like I was sliding around quite a bit. I think that was my biggest issue. Physically, I feel fine – I just wish we had a better outcome.” – Justin Haley
Daniel Hemric, No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet
- Daniel Hemric qualified 11th for the Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
- Hemric was able to quickly move up the field and into the top five, finding more speed in the middle of the track in the later laps of the stage. The red flag was displayed on lap 48 for rain. Once the race resumed, Hemric was able to keep his track position throughout the restarts and finished fourth in the opening stage.
- At the start of stage two, Hemric fell back on the restart but was able to recover quickly. Shortly after, a loose wheel brought Hemric back down to pit road for new left-side tires. Not able to regain track position before the end of the stage, Hemric finished stage two in 32nd place.
- In the final stage, Hemric fought a tight car early on and was never able to regain the same track position that he had earlier in the race . He pitted for fuel only with laps six laps remaining and eventually finished the race in 22nd.
“It was a tough home outing for us. That was one of the better Kaulig Racing Cirkul Chevrolets we have had all year, which is encouraging. We still have a lot of work to do but I’m proud of the effort from this team. We win together and lose together, and that is big time auto racing. I appreciate the effort and look forward to doing some road course racing the next two weeks.” – 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, 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.
