AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 Morris-Shea Chevrolet Camaro
- AJ Allmendinger qualified fifth for the United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.
- On the opening lap, Allmendinger took over the second position as the leader of the bottom lane. On lap four, the No. 16 took the lead and maintained that position until lap 19 when the top lane had momentum and dropped to the bottom lane. From fifth place, Allmendinger drove up to finish Stage 1 in second place.
- Allmendinger restarted the second stage in fifth place. On the restart, he fell to seventh. He fell as far back as 10th before the top lane gained momentum; he was scored in sixth on lap 40. When the caution came out on lap 42, Allmendinger said the Morris-Shea Chevy fired off well, but he got put in a bad spot. The team stayed out under the caution and restarted in sixth place on lap 46. The field went three wide, and Allmendinger was shuffled back to 15th. In the final lap of the stage, Allmendinger went from 15th to seventh, where he finished Stage 2.
- The No. 16 Chevy restarted in 16th place for the final stage. By lap 59, Allmendinger was up to ninth. When the field shuffled on lap 70, Allmendinger took the top lane and drove up to second place. Allmendinger dropped from the top lane to the bottom lane and took over the lead on lap 73, two laps before a wreck brought out the caution. After the restart, a debris caution came out on lap 84 when Allmendinger was running third. The team stayed out and restarted on lap 87. Allmendinger made a move to take the lead but was left without a drafting partner and fell back to seventh. He continued to move forward and was running fifth before being involved in a wreck that brought out the caution on lap 91. Allmendinger had left-front damage and came to pit road several times during the yellow flag. The team restarted in 23rd for overtime and went on to finish in 11th.
“The Morris-Shea Chevy was really fast. With all the JRM and Gibbs teammates there, you know you’re not going to get a lot of help. I thought we were going to miss that wreck but got clipped there right at the end. The guys did a really good job to get the car back together, it was still fast.” – AJ Allmendinger
JOSH WILLIAMS
No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet Camaro
- Josh Williams qualified 17th for the United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.
- Williams spent the entirety of the first stage staying out of trouble at the tail of the lead group. He finished in 17th.
- Williams brought the No. 11 Camaro down pit road for tires, fuel, and packer and air pressure adjustments. He fired off for Stage 2 in 18th on lap 32. On lap 42, while running in 25th, Williams held the brakes to avoid a wreck in turn three, but he flat-spotted all four tires and took a tiny amount of nose damage. He brought the No. 11 Chevy down pit road twice for fuel and tires under the yellow and restarted 26th with four laps left in the stage. He finished it in 14th.
- Williams pitted for fuel only during the stage break and took the green with 38 laps to go from 11th. With the race intensifying, he hooked up with his Kaulig Racing teammates to move towards the front on lap 60. With 19 laps remaining, Williams was involved in a wreck that ended his race. He finished 35th.
“I saw something happened at the bottom. We were okay, things just didn’t go our way with how everyone was spinning. [The hit] wasn’t as bad as it seemed.” – Josh Williams
SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro
- Shane van Gisbergen qualified eighth for the United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.
- Van Gisbergen reported his race car was “crazy loose” as he battled to stay up front with the pack. The No. 97 team opted to drop to the back of the field to open up its playbook for the remainder of the race. Van Gisbergen finished the caution-free stage in 23rd.
- The No. 97 car came to pit road at the stage break caution for fresh tires, fuel and multiple adjustments. Van Gisbergen started the second stage in 20th and quickly made his way into the top 10 within the first 10 laps. The No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet battled in the draft for multiple laps before a caution came out on lap 43. Van Gisbergen reported the overall balance was still loose, and the team opted to come to pit road for more adjustments and four fresh tires. He restarted the stage in 29th with five laps remaining in it. Van Gisbergen gained momentum and track position, ending the stage in fourth and earning seven stage points.
- At the stage break, the No. 97 team came to pit road for adjustments, fuel and four tires. Van Gisbergen started the final stage in 13th. He entered the top 10 10 laps into the final stage of the event. The No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet found energy in the middle-lane draft and battled in the top five for multiple laps. On lap 75, Van Gisbergen was collected in accident, ending his day early and resulting in a 36th-place finish.
“What a tough day for my No. 97 Kaulig Racing team. We were loose all day, but our car was getting better and better, and the end of Stage 2 was good. My WeatherTech Chevy Camaro was fast all day, and I had fun running up front there for some laps. Just sucks, really would have loved to get more playoff points and a better finish. We will prepare well and be better next weekend for the Roval.” – Shane van Gisbergen
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.
