AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro
- AJ Allmendinger qualified fourth for the Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway.
- Allmendinger took over third place on the opening lap. Allmendinger remained quiet on the radio as he took over second place on lap 31. The No. 16 went on to finish the opening stage in second place. After the yellow flag waved at the end of the stage, Allmendinger reported his Chevy was better than it was in practice. Allmendinger told crew chief, Alex Yontz, his No. 16 started off free on entry but was building too tight by the end of the run. The team pit for four tires and fuel and exited pit road in sixth place.
- Allmendinger restarted in sixth place for the second stage. He continued to regain position and took over second place on lap 84. Allmendinger finished the second stage in second place and reported his No. 16 Celsius Chevy was the same balance wise as the end of the first stage. Under the stage break, Yontz called Allmendinger to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment.
- Allmendinger restarted the final stage in third place on lap 97 and has taken over second by lap 113. When the caution came out on lap 136, Allmendinger was scored in forth place. The No. 16 came to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The team had an issue on the right rear during the stop and lost several spots on pit road. Allmendinger restarted in ninth place and went on to finish in seventh place.
“I don’t think we were fast enough that last run to win the race. The lost track position for sure didn’t help but we just got too tight there. The most important thing is our Celsius Chevy was pretty quick today. All we are searching for it speed. Of course we want to win the race, but at the end of the day, we need to keep finding speed. If we run like we did today at other tracks, the wins will come.” – AJ Allmendinger
SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro
- Shane van Gisbergen qualified 28th for the Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway.
- Shane van Gisbergen and his WeatherTech team started 28th for the 188-lap event on Saturday afternoon. During stage one, which ran its duration without cautions, Van Gisbergen maintained his position, taking the green and checkered flags in 27th place. He battled a tight-handling car throughout stage one and pitted during the stage break caution for four new tires, Sunoco fuel, and adjustments.
- The WeatherTech team started stage two in 23rd place after gaining four positions on pit road and quickly moved into the top 20. Van Gisbergen continued to contend with a tight race car throughout the stage but finished 18th at the green and white checkered flag.
- Van Gisbergen made a pit stop under the stage break caution for new tires, fuel, and adjustments. He started stage three in 21st position. The No. 97 battled in the top 20 through the first 40 laps of the stage, reaching 17th place before the first caution of the race occurred with 51 laps remaining. The WeatherTech team restarted stage three in 15th place with 47 laps left in the event. Van Gisbergen maintained his position and finished 15th at the checkered flag.
“The heat was crazy, but a good day for our WeatherTech Chevy. Struggled a bit with tightness but my team worked hard to adjust it and the car drove better near the end (of the race). Getting better on these ovals, learning and having fun. Looking forward to next weekend.” – Shane van Gisbergen
JOSH WILLIAMS
No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet Camaro
- Josh Williams qualified 26th for the Tennessee Lottery 250.
- Williams picked up four spots in the opening five laps before his forward momentum halted for the rest of the stint. He said the No. 11 Chevy Camaro had no grip, and he subsequently fell back to 25th, where he’d finish the opening stage in.
- He came down pit road during the stage break for tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment and restarted 24th on lap 51. He immediately began battling to move into 20th, taking it from teammate Shane van Gisbergen on lap 66. He eventually moved into 19th, finishing stage two there.
- Williams pitted for tires, fuel and another track bar adjustment during the stage caution and gained seven spots to restart from 12th on lap 98. During the long green flag run, the No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevy began slipping backwards. Williams fell to 24th by lap 136, when the race’s first natural caution came out. He pitted for tires, fuel, and a track bar and air pressure adjustment. Restarting on lap 143 from 30th after a speeding penalty, Williams could only muster a six-spot gain and finished the 188-lap race in 24th.
“That was a pretty frustrating day. I felt like we had some more to give, but unfortunately the adjustments we made went the wrong way and we couldn’t recover.” – Josh Williams
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 earned 23 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries, with a part-time fourth entry at select events. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
