Race Preview | Daytona International Speedway
Race Details
Daytona 500
Daytona Beach, Fla.
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Sunday, Feb. 18 at 2:30PM EST
FOX | MRN | SiriusXM
Team Notes
- Kaulig Racing has made 12 NCS starts at Daytona International Speedway.
- The team has earned four top-15 finishes, with its best finish of sixth place in last year’s Daytona 500 with AJ Allmendinger.
AJ ALLMENDINGER
“The Daytona 500 is obviously the biggest race we have in our sport. The emotions, the nerves and everything that comes with that as you do all the prerace events and everything the week leading up to it. Last year, we had a great chance to win. It would be a dream come true to win that race and stand in victory lane. We aren’t racing for driver points, so I can be aggressive and hopefully put ourselves in position to win.” – AJ Allmendinger on Daytona International Speedway
No. 16 Celsius Camaro ZL1
- AJ Allmendinger will make his 11th Daytona 500 start in the 66th Annual Daytona 500.
- Allmendinger has made 21 NCS starts at Daytona International Speedway, earning three top five, seven top-10 finishes and leading 30 laps.
- Allmendinger earned Kaulig Racing’s best finish of sixth in the 2023 Daytona 500.
DANIEL HEMRIC
“Anytime you get a chance to go down and be a part of the Daytona 500 weekend, it’s a dream come true, no matter how many times you do it. I’m excited to have an opportunity to do something special with this No. 31 group to kick the season off, and I’m honored to welcome Cirkul to the sport as a majority Cup primary sponsor with our race team. We’re looking forward to what this season will bring.” – Daniel Hemric on Daytona International Speedway
No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1
- Daniel Hemric has made four starts at Daytona International Speedway in the NCS.
- Hemric has a best finish of 12th at Daytona and has led one lap.
- 2019 NCS Rookie of the Year, Hemric returns to the NCS full-time with Kaulig Racing for the 2024 season.
- During his only other full season in the NCS, Hemric accumulated one pole award, one top five, two top-10 finishes and 22 laps led. Hemric also made eight NCS starts for Kaulig Racing during the 2022 season, earning one top-10 finish.
Race Details
United Rentals 300
Daytona Beach, Fla.
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Saturday, Feb. 17 at 5:00PM EST
FS1 | MRN | SiriusXM
Team Notes
Kaulig Racing has made 34 NXS starts at Daytona International Speedway.
The team has earned three wins, three runner-up finishes, three pole awards, 11 top five, and 17 top-10 finishes. Kaulig Racing has led a total of 323 laps.
DANIEL DYE
“Really excited to get my first start with Kaulig Racing this weekend at Daytona. Obviously with the equipment that Kaulig brings to the track, our Champion Container Camaro should be fast. It’s always great racing in front of family and friends in my hometown, and to finally get 2024 started.” – Daniel Dye on Daytona International Speedway
No. 10 Champion Containers Chevrolet Camaro
- Daniel Dye will make his NXS debut at Daytona International Speedway in the No. 10 Champion Container Chevrolet.
- Prior to the NXS race on Saturday, Dye will compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) opener at Daytona for McAnally Hilgemann Racing.
- Dye has made two previous starts at Daytona, one in the NCTS in 2023, and ARCA in 2022.
JOSH WILLIAMS
“I’m excited to get 2024 kicked off the right way at Daytona with Kaulig Racing. It’ll be fun working with multiple teammates for the first time in my Xfinity career, and I’m looking forward to learning a lot in my first full race weekend with the team. Hopefully, we can put our Alloy Employer Services No. 11 up front.” – Josh Williams on Daytona International Speedway
No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet Camaro
Josh Williams will make his first start for Kaulig Racing in the NXS in the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway.
Williams has made 13 NXS starts at Daytona with his best result being a ninth-place finish in 2020.
Williams has made 186 NXS starts and has earned 11 top-10 finishes.
AJ ALLMENDINGER
“I’m looking forward to getting back to the Xfinity series full-time. Daytona is a racetrack that we’ve had a lot of success at as a team. I’ve been super close to winning there several times. I know we’ll have a really fast Celsius Chevy and I’m excited to work with my new teammates. Hopefully we’ll give ourselves a chance to run up front all day and be there at the end.” – AJ Allmendinger on Daytona International Speedway
No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro
- AJ Allmendinger has made six NXS starts at Daytona International Speedway, finishing in the top five in his last four starts.
- Allmendinger has earned two NXS pole awards and led 142 laps at Daytona International Speedway.
SHANE van GISBERGEN
“I’m excited to head to Daytona and get the season started with my Kaulig Racing teammates this weekend. This style of racing is completely different than anything I’ve done before, so it will be a learning curve, but I’m looking forward to getting on the track and seeing what we can do. WeatherTech is no stranger to Daytona, but I’m thankful for their partnership this season here in the Xfinity Series and for being there with us as we start this journey.” – Shane van Gisbergen on Daytona International Speedway
No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro
- Shane van Gisbergen will make his NXS debut at Daytona International Speedway this weekend in the No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet.
- Van Gisbergen, the three-time Supercars champion, won in his NCS debut with Trackhouse Racing at the Chicago Street Race in July. The New Zealand native moved to the United States in December to run a full season for Kaulig Racing in preparation for the 2024 Xfinity Series schedule.
- Van Gisbergen brings an impressive resume to the NXS this season including three Supercars titles, 80 wins and 48 pole positions, making him the fourth most successful driver in Supercars series history. He also won the Bathurst 1000, the premier race in Australia, in 2020, 2022 and 2023.
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 and added a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. In 2024, the team will once again field two, full-time entries in the NCS and continue to field three, full-time NXS entries. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
