Kaulig Racing Post-Race Report | Texas Motor Speedway

AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400

Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1

Justin Haley qualified 28th for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400.
In the opening three laps, Haley made up five spots, sitting in 23rd. By lap 30, Haley radioed that the balance of his No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1 felt really good but felt like the right-front tire was starting to wear. He made his first green-flag pit stop of the day on lap 40, just before the first caution came out on lap 41. Haley was the first car a lap down, and was the lucky dog. He pitted for four tires and fuel and came down pit road a second time to top off with fuel. Haley restarted 27th on lap 49 before a caution came out on the next two restarts before finally going green again on lap 59. The fourth caution of the day came on lap 75, and Haley pitted for right-side tires. He restarted 15th on the final lap of stage one before finishing the opening stage in 17th.
Haley stayed out during the stage break and started the second stage from 14th. the next caution came out on lap 112, and Haley pitted for four tires and fuel before going back to green on lap 119. Haley radioed on lap 145 that the No. 31 Chevy felt too tight this run. Haley made his way up to 22nd where he finished the second stage.
During the second stage break, Haley pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to help keep from burning the right-rear tire off the next run. The team received a pit-road penalty, forcing Haley to start at the rear for the final stage. Haley worked his way from the rear, radioing that his No. 31 Chevy was extremely fast on lap 204 from 22nd place. He made his way into the top 20 before the next caution came out on lap 209, radioing that the long runs were best for the No. 31 car, as he ran similar times to the leader. Haley pitted for four tires during the caution, before restarting as the 10th car on the top with 53 laps remaining. The next caution came out with 25 to go, and Haley pitted for two right-side tires. Two more cautions came out after the sequential restarts, and Haley sat 15th for the final green-flag wave with six laps to go. He crossed the line 13th.

“We brought a fast No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1 to Texas. I was super happy with the handling from the start; we just started getting a little tight on the shorter runs. Once we overcame a pit-road penalty and had a longer run, we were so fast running similar times to the leader. It’s not quite the finish we had here last year, but it was still a really good day.” – Justin Haley

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1

AJ Allmendinger qualified sixth for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automative 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Allmendinger maintained position, reporting he didn’t have grip to run the higher lane. On lap 31, Allmendinger fell to seventh telling the team he needed more grip on the first pit stop. Just before the team’s first green-flag stop of the day, Allmendinger reported he was starting to build free. The No. 16 Chevy came down pit road on lap 39 for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The team had a slow stop on pit road, and Allmendinger sat in 26th when the caution came out on lap 41. Allmendinger restarted 19th on lap 48. The caution came out on the restart and Allmendinger gained two positions. The No. 16 maintained 17th place for the next two restarts until the caution came out on lap 74 when Allmendinger told the team the balance of the car wasn’t bad. The team came down pit road under caution for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, in anticipation of the car freeing up during a long run. Allmendinger restarted 18th on lap 79 and went on to finish the opening stage in 19th.
Allmendinger stayed out during the stage break and restarted 16th on lap 86. The No. 16 Chevy continued to move forward taking over 13th on lap 103, reporting he was happy with the balance of the car. The caution came out on lap 110 and Allmendinger came down pit road for four tires, fuel and an adjustment to tighten up the car. Restarting from 18th on lap 118, Allmendinger was able to drive up to 11th by lap 152 before the right rear of the car faded. Allmendinger went on to finish stage two in 16th place.
The No. 16 Chevy came down pit road under the stage break for four tires, fuel, air pressure and a wedge adjustment. The team restarted from 15th place when the field took the green on lap 171. Allmendinger held 15th position until lap 196 when he fell to 17th as his car began to free up. Allmendinger was running 16th when the caution came out on lap 208. The team came down pit road for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to tighten up the car. After a slow stop on pit road, Allmendinger restarted 19th on lap 214 and quickly fell back to 23rd by lap 219. When the caution came out on lap 243, Allmendinger was running 22nd. The team came down pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments and restarted 24th on lap 247. When the caution came back out on lap 249, Allmendinger was running 22nd. On lap 257, the No. 16 was caught up in an incident, ending his day early. He was scored 29th.

“Tough ending to our weekend today. On the restart, I saw someone get in the wall and get turned in front of me. It all happens so fast, and there was no where to go. Wish we could have finished better, but at the end of the day we had good speed all weekend. These last few weeks have just been tough.” – AJ Allmendinger

Andy’s Frozen Custard 300

Chandler Smith, No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevrolet Camaro

Chandler Smith qualified ninth for the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway but would drop to the rear for unapproved adjustments in pre-race.
The race began with Smith having to avoid two separate incidents that caused the yellow flag to wave on the second lap. Smith restarted on lap eight in 26th place and gained seven spots to move into 19th by the second caution on lap 17. Restarting on lap 17, Smith drove the No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevrolet Camaro to 10th by the end of the first stage on lap 45, earning one point.
Smith came down pit road for tires, fuel and a right-front air pressure adjustment during the stage caution, gaining three spots after a fast stop by the No. 16 pit crew. He started stage two fourth on the inside row on lap 53 and moved into ninth by the following lap. A multi-car wreck brought out the fourth caution, and Smith once again chose the inside line to restart from, this time from the fifth row on lap 64. Before completing the restart lap at speed, the No. 45 wrecked, triggering another yellow flag. The race restarted on lap 70 and ran green through the rest of the second stage. Smith gained two spots and finished stage two in seventh on lap 90.
The No. 16 got tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment under yellow and restarted on lap 98 in fifth. Upon the green, Smith avoided getting tagged in the right-rear by inches, but the seventh caution came out due to another wreck. Smith chose to restart on lap 104 on the outside of the second row. At the restart, he fought on the outside before finding a hole behind the third-place runner to solidify himself in fourth, but only until the pace car came out again on lap 109, this time for a debris caution. Similarly to the previous restart, Smith chose the outside line in row two and found a gap at the bottom to run in fourth. He made a pass for third on lap 119 just before the ninth yellow flag flew. Restarting again in row two in the outside row on lap 125, Smith finally found the speed to break into third and run the bottom. He chased the No. 00 for second over the next 30 laps and came down for a green flag stop one lap after the No. 00, slotting in back behind it. An ill-timed caution on lap 160 trapped the No. 16 a lap down, forcing the team to take the wave around and refire in 10th from the middle of the pack on lap 166. After a chaotic restart, Smith got shuffled out of order up turn four and back to 17th. He raced up to 14th before the 11th caution displayed with 22 laps to go. Smith pitted for the final time for tires, fuel and another track bar adjustment, restarting in 11th with 17 laps remaining. The field barely got up to speed before another multi-car wreck brought out the final yellow on lap 184. Smith lined up in the sixth row in the inside line for the 10-lap sprint to the checkered. He entered the top five on lap 196 and went on to finish the race in fourth.

“We had everything going against us today, with pit strategy trapping us a lap down at one point and starting at the back, but we came out of here with a fourth-place finish. I couldn’t be happier with everyone at Kaulig Racing and our Quick Tie Products crew. Being up 32 points heading into Charlotte is really nice.” – Chandler Smith

Daniel Hemric, No. 10 Poppy Bank Chevrolet Camaro

Daniel Hemric qualified 13th for the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Shortly after the green flag waved, the caution came out on lap three. After the restart on lap eight, Hemric was up to tenth by lap nine before the caution flag came out again on lap 12. After the restart on lap 17, Hemric was running 11th when he clipped the edge of the infield grass before turn one. Although he received significant damage to the left-front corner of the splitter, the team elected to stay out until the stage break. Hemric finished the opening stage 33rd.
At the stage break, Hemric came down pit road to have the team assess the damage. They made significant damage repairs before going back out on track. Still under caution, Hemric brought the No.10 Poppy Bank Chevrolet back down pit road to make additional repairs to the left-front fender. On the restart on lap 53, Hemric restarted 33rd. The caution came out again on lap 57, and the team told Hemric come down pit road again for a splash of fuel and to apply more tape to the damage. Shortly after the restart on lap 64, the caution came out again. Hemric came down pit road once again to make additional repairs. Shortly after the restart, Hemric was running 28th with 15 laps to go in the stage. Salvaging what he could for the remainder of stage two, Hemric went on to finish 27th.
At the stage break before the final stage, Hemric took the wave around to get back on the lead lap. He pitted under caution on lap 99 for four tires, fuel and to continue to work on the damage. On the restart on lap 109, Hemric restarted 19th. He reported that his car was handling tight and had possible front chatter when the caution came out on lap 109. Under the caution from 12th position, Hemric came down pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The cation came out again on lap 120, and Hemric pitted for fuel only. On the restart with 76 to go, He restarted 17th and worked his way up to 14th with 69 laps to go. He remained 14th with 50 laps to go in the stage, when the caution came out on lap 161. Hemric came down pit road on lap 162 with the other lead lap cars for four tires and fuel. Hemric restarted as the second car on the inside on lap 166 but fell back to sixth with 24 to go. The next caution came out on lap 180, and he came down pit road for four tires and fuel. Hemric came back down pit road on lap 181 after reporting an issue with the left front. The team jacked the car up to assess the issue before putting a fresh left-front tire on and sending him back out. After the restart on lap 184, the caution came out again on lap 188. Hemric came down pit road again under the caution to make additional repairs to the left front. On the final restart with 10 to go, Hemric restarted 17th. With three laps to go, Hemric made contact with the wall and received heavy right front damage. The team took the No.10 back to the garage, and Hemric was scored 24th.

“It was a rough day in Texas for our No.10 Poppy Bank Chevrolet team. A driver error set us behind, but this Kaulig Racing team never gives up. We’ll take the off-week to reset and we’re on to the Roval.” – Daniel Hemric

Layne Riggs, No. 11 Infinity Communications Chevrolet Camaro

Due to receiving damage in practice, Layne Riggs elected not to qualify and started 38th for the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Upon the caution coming out on lap three, Riggs brought the Infinity Communications Chevrolet to pit road for pit-road experience and to top off on fuel. Shortly after the field restarted, the caution flag waved again, this time for an incident involving Riggs. Three trips to pit road ensued to replace the knocked-off bumper, secure the bumper, as well as tire and fuel service. Restarting 34th, four laps down when the field took the green on lap 17, Riggs had to come to pit road shortly after to continue to affix the rear bumper with bare bond. With the damage sustained to the No. 11 Chevrolet, Riggs struggled with a very loose-handling car, especially in traffic. As stage one ended, Riggs took the green and white checkered flag finishing 34th.
He stayed out during the break to take the wave around and gain back one of the laps he was down. Not long after the field took the green to start stage two, a caution came out. During this, Riggs brought his car to pit road for tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to try and help the loose-handling car. Additionally, the team added braces to the rear bumper for more security. As he exited pit road, Riggs sustained a penalty for exiting pit road too fast and had to restart at the tail end of the longest line. Stage two was plagued with an ill-handling car that ranged from too tight to too loose, but Riggs was able to hang on and finish 33rd and three laps down.
During the stage break, Riggs took another wave around to gain back a lap. Continuing with the trend of the event, a caution came out shortly after the field went green. The No. 11 team took that opportunity to service its Chevrolet for tires and fuel. Now two laps down, Riggs restarted 28th when the field went green on lap 104. A debris caution fell not long after, and the No. 11 was brought to pit road again for fuel only and to add more bare bond to the rear bumper. Continuing the final stage, another caution fell on lap 159 while Riggs was running 24th and three laps down. He stayed out to regain a lap and restarted 24th, now two laps down, on lap 165. Another debris caution fell on lap 178, the No. 11 team took advantage of this break for tires, fuel and more bare bond. On the restart, Riggs was marked 24th and two laps down. Completing one lap under green, the caution flag waved again, which allowed the Infinity Communications team to take another wave around and get back on the lead lap. Riggs restarted 24th on lap 189 and finished out the final sprint of the 300-mile event in 19th place.

“Considering the crash in practice, early damage in the race, along with a ride through the grass, I think we had a solid finish. All the boys at Kaulig Racing worked their tails off to get the car repaired before the race. The track was treacherous all day with no room for error, so I am glad that I got to finish all 200 laps and see the checkered flag. I am going to take all that I learned and apply it to Las Vegas in three weeks. ” – Layne Riggs

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 Daniel Hemric, the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by an all-star lineup, and the No. 16 Chevrolet driven by Chandler Smith. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.