Kaulig Racing Post-Race Report | Daytona International Speedway

Coke Zero Sugar 400

Chandler Smith, No. 13 Quick Tie Products Camaro ZL1

• Chandler Smith qualified 36th for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
• During the caution-free opening stage, Smith lost the draft and finished stage one in 39th, one lap down.
• Smith received the free pass and came down pit road under the stage caution for fuel and four tires. He restarted at the tail-end on lap 41 and moved up to 35th one lap later. With the field running three-wide, Smith fought his way to 16th before green flag pit stops began. Smith, along with teammates, Justin Haley and AJ Allmendinger, pitted for fuel only on lap 82. On lap 92, Smith bailed out of the pack to avoid getting caught up in a wreck while the leaders were racing for stage points. A multi-car incident coming out of turn four on the final lap of the stage brought out the red flag. The second stage ended under caution and Smith finished 21st.
• Smith pitted for tires and fuel under caution and restarted 15th. He steadily climbed up the leaderboard throughout the green flag run, moving up to seventh by lap 116 while running on the inside. Moving to the top lane, Smith broke into the top five just two laps later but got shuffled back on lap 120. With 17 laps to go, Smith made a pit stop for fuel only under green and blended back out in 22nd running on the inside line before the No. 41 flipped, bringing out the race’s final caution with five laps to go. The No. 13 car restarted in 14th for overtime but lost spots due to the inside line firing off quicker. Coming to the checkered flag, Smith hugged the wall, going three-wide out of turn four. Smith finished in 15th place in his Cup superspeedway debut.

“I think we had a good solid weekend. We were up front in both races, maybe didn’t get the result we probably deserved based on our speed in the Xfinity race. But we moved on to the Cup race, ran up front, showed decent speed and hopefully got a lot of TV time for Quick Tie Products. I’d call that a success.” – Chandler Smith

Justin Haley, No. 31 Celsius Camaro ZL1

• Justin Haley qualified 28th for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
• Haley made his way to 25th in the outside line by lap five, however the outside line was having trouble going. He made it as high as 15th where he finished the caution-free opening stage.
• Haley pitted for four tires and fuel during the stage break, but received a pit road penalty that would force him to start at the rear for the second stage. Restarting on the outside line, Haley was able to make his way back to 22nd by lap 45. By lap 50, Haley had reached the top five, running as high as fourth, behind No. 8 and teammate, AJ Allmendinger. Alongside teammates Allmendinger and Chandler Smith, the Kaulig Racing Chevrolets pitted for fuel only on lap 82. Haley was back inside the top 15 with five laps remaining in stage two, before a wreck in front of him ended stage two under caution. Haley finished 15th, before the field was red flagged.
• Once the red flag was lifted, Haley pitted for four tires and fuel. The green flag came back out on lap 105. Haley pitted under green for fuel only on lap 145 and sat 19th after the green-flag stops cycled through. When the caution came back out on lap 156 for the No. 41 flipping, the field was once again red flagged. Once the red flag was lifted, Haley stayed out and restarted 19th with two laps remaining for an overtime finish. He went on to finish 21st.

“We had a super fast No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet. We stayed clean and raced in the top five for a while there. Unfortunately, nothing transpired for us at the end.” – Justin Haley

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1

• AJ Allmendinger qualified 17th for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
• By lap eight, Allmendinger made it as high as sixth place, and fell to eighth place on lap 12 as the top lane started to form. Reporting the cars in front of him were moving around a bit, Allmendinger told the team his car was tight off turn four, and he needed to stay in the bottom lane. By lap 27, the top lane prevailed, and Allmendinger fell to 16th. As the last car in line on the bottom lane, Allmendinger finished stage on in 30th. Under the stage caution, the team made an air pressure adjustment to help with the car’s handling of turn four.
• Allmendinger restarted lap 40 in 22nd. Running the third lane, Allmendinger was able to move up to 10th by lap 45. Working with the No. 8 in the third lane, Allmendinger took the lead on lap 47. From lap 47 to lap 60, Allmendinger lead a total of 8 laps before the third lane lost momentum on lap 61, eventually shuffling the No. 16 back to 26th before coming down pit road for a scheduled, green-flag stop on lap 82 for fuel only. Coming off pit road in 28th, Allmendinger made quick moves around cars on the bottom lane to take over sixth on lap 93. On the last lap of the stage, the No. 16 was caught up in a multi-car wreck at the front of the field. Bringing out the red flag on lap 96, Allmendinger was stuck with flat tires waiting for a tow to pit road. The team was able to repair damage to the right-front fender, and Allmendinger returned to the track, three laps down.
• The field restarted on lap 105 and the No. 16 cleared the damage vehicle policy. Allmendinger was able to hang at the tail of the of the draft and finished 29th.

“I can’t thank my guys enough for the No. 16 Action Industries Chevy we had today. This was the best speedway car we have had, it handled well and had a lot of speed. We got caught up in a wreck running near the front of the field and that ultimately ended our day, but I’m proud of all the effort, we’ll keep making gains and hopefully get some finishes to show it.” – AJ Allmendinger  

Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola

Daniel Hemric, No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro

• Daniel Hemric qualified sixth for the Wawa 250 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway.
• Early on, Hemric reported that the No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet was free handling. He fell back to seventh on lap 10 but worked his way back up to fourth by lap 18. Hemric went on to finish the first stage in sixth place.
• At the stage break, Hemric pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to help tighten the car. On the restart, Hemric restarted seventh and stayed inside the top-10 until the caution came out on lap 42. Hemric reported under the caution laps that the adjustments made in the previous pit stop helped the balance. Restarting as the fifth car on the inside, Hemric worked his way up to third but eventually finished the second stage in fifth place.
• Hemric came down pit road at the stage break for four tires, fuel and another air pressure adjustment. On the restart with 34 to go, Hemric restarted 12th in the outside lane, until the next caution came out on lap 92. Hemric stayed out and restarted as the fourth car on the outside with two laps remaining. As the leaders wrecked, Hemric sustained some right-front damage. The team elected to stay out to keep track position. In the first NASCAR overtime attempt, Hemric restarted as the second car on the outside. The caution flag flew again, sending the field into the second-overtime attempt. Hemric restarted as the second car on the inside and went on to finish third.

“Tough to lose one, but any time you come out of a superspeedway with a top-five finish is a good day. I’m proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing for bringing a fast No.11 Cirkul Chevrolet. I’m ready to head to Darlington.” – Daniel Hemric

Justin Haley, No. 10 Campers Inn RV Chevrolet Camaro

• Justin Haley qualified ninth for the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway.
• Haley radioed early that the cars around him were extremely loose handling and moving around energetically. The spotter of the No. 10 Camper Inn RV Chevy told Haley on lap 12 to bail out of the lead pack, as he was not comfortable with the way the cars around him were handling. Haley finished the first stage in 19th, radioing to his team that his No. 10 Chevy was handling freely.
• During the first stage break, Haley pitted for four tires, fuel, an air pressure and track bar adjustment to help the handling of the No. 10 Chevy. Haley started the second stage as the 16th car on the outside before the first non-stage caution came out on lap 42. He avoided the wreck but was spun by another car also avoiding the wreck. Haley radioed that the No. 10 Chevy felt fine, and his spotter saw minimal right-side damage. Haley pitted twice under caution for tires, fuel and damage repair. The green flag came back out on lap 51 and Haley finished stage two 30th.
• Haley elected to pit again during the stage break to fix a damaged crush panel on the No. 10 Chevy. After restarting 28th, Haley made his way up to seventh by lap 74. He dropped back while battling an extremely loose-handling car. The next caution came out on lap 92, as Haley avoided the wreckage once again, but was hit in the rear by another car. He pitted for tires, fuel, and to fix more damage on the No. 10 Chevy. Haley restarted 26th with two laps remaining, before a wreck on the restart put the field back under caution. Haley stayed out and restarted 18th for the first overtime attempt. Another wreck on the restart would put the field into its second-overtime attempt with Haley on the inside of row nine. Haley went on to finish 10th.

“I feel like we had a lot more than 10th place, but after all the wrecks and sustaining damage from other people, a top 10 isn’t a bad night. Our No. 10 Campers Inn RV Chevy was so free, and I could see how free everyone else was around me, so I’m glad we bailed from the pack the times that we did. I knew we had a fast car, but unfortunately getting hit from other people not looking out their windshields cost us a spot up front at the very end. I’m thankful for Kaulig Racing letting me hop back into the Xfinity car one last time. We’ve made a ton of great memories in the series together.” – Justin Haley

Chandler Smith, No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevrolet Camaro

• Chandler Smith qualified fourth for the Wawa 250 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway.
• Smith settled in the top line for the majority of the opening stage, running second in line for the opening nine laps before falling back to third in line. On the final lap of stage one, Smith made an aggressive move to the inside heading in turn three to try to win the stage, but came to the line third, reporting his No. 16 Quick Tie Chevy was free.
• During the stage break, the team came down pit road for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment to tighten up the car. Smith restarted as the third car on the inside line on lap 37 and quickly moved to the outside to reconnect with teammate, Daniel Hemric. The caution came out on lap 42, and Smith radioed to the team he was happy with the last adjustment. The field restarted on lap 51, and Smith made a move to take the lead but his run was blocked by the leader. From second place on lap 58, Smith got shuffled to the middle running three-wide and finished the second stage in second.
• Smith came down pit road during the stage break for tires, fuel and an additional wedge adjustment. Smith restarted sixth in the outside line on lap 67 and was forced three-wide, stuck on the outside line for 10 laps before making a move with 23 laps to go. Smith and Hemric split the middle of two competitors moving Smith up to fifth place running on the outside line. With nine laps to go, the caution came out, and Smith was directed to save fuel in case of overtime. Restarting as the third car on the outside with two lap to go, Smith got caught up in a multi-car wreck on the restart. Smith came down pit road multiple times over the next few caution laps for extensive repairs. After receiving a penalty for pitting too early, Smith restarted at the tail end of the longest line for the first overtime restart but was caught up in another wreck on the restart. Smith avoided trouble on the second-overtime attempt and went on to finish 22nd.

“I’m obviously disappointed with where we finished, but I felt like we worked really well with Daniel [Hemric] a lot today, as well as with the RCR guys. It gave me a lot of confidence throughout to push when I needed to and stay calm when things were getting crazy.” – Chandler Smith
 
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.