No. 16 Black’s Tire Service Chevrolet
Start: 9th
Stage 1 Finish: 7th
Stage 2 Finish: 2nd
Finish: 7th
Eckes gained multiple positions at the start of the race, never falling further than seventh place. When the first caution came out, Eckes stayed out, restarted fifth, and ultimately finished the stage in seventh, out-driving numerous cars on fresher tires. He pitted during the stage break for tires, fuel, and a minor air pressure adjustment for security in the No. 16 Black’s Tire Service Chevy. The team gained one spot on pit road to start the second stage in sixth place. Immediately gaining four spots on the restart, Eckes’ second stage was even stronger than his first. The stage ran incident free, and Eckes finished second. Happy with the handling of the No. 16 Chevy, crew chief Alex Yontz made the call for a small air pressure adjustment to help make the tires last a little longer. After another fast pit stop, Eckes started the final stage in second place. Firing off tight, Eckes slid back to sixth, before a caution on lap 112 allowed him to go back on the previous air pressure change and get fresh tires. He restarted sixth and drove up to fourth. Late in the race, a yellow flag came out, and Eckes pitted for his final set of sticker tires. While exiting his pit stall, Eckes got trapped in the middle of three wide and received contact on both sides of the No. 16 Chevy. Despite feeling like something was broken on the car, Eckes restarted ninth and drove up to seventh, where he finished the race.
“Our No. 16 Black’s Tire Service Chevrolet was really strong all day. I wish we didn’t have that pit road contact; I think we could have been in the fight with them at the end. Unfortunately, I just felt like something broke after that. The balance was unrecoverable. Overall, I’m really proud of our 16 group. It’s been a rough couple of weeks, so to have a decent result and solid points day feels good.” – Christian Eckes
No. 10 Helm Chevrolet
Start: 7th
Stage 1 Finish: 20th
Stage 2 Finish: 19th
Finish: 18th
Dye started from the rear due to unapproved adjustments after tagging the wall during qualifying. He grabbed nine spots in the opening 22 laps before the first caution of the day displayed. Dye stayed out under caution and restarted 23rd before picking up three more spots to finish the opening stage in 20th place. He pitted for tires and fuel, radioing that the No. 10 Helm Chevy felt fairly neutral, aside from minor rear-security issues. He started the second stage from 21st place and gained two spots throughout the caution-free segment, crossing the line in 19th place. Still needing more rear security in the No. 10 Chevy, Dye pitted during the stage break for tires, fuel, air pressure and wedge adjustments, before starting the final stage in 16th. A caution on lap 112 allowed Dye to pit again for adjustments, as the No. 10 Chevy was tight handling. He restarted 16th and gained one spot when the next caution came out on lap 129. Dye pitted for his final set of tires and an adjustment, before restarting 18th, as some cars stayed out. Dye continued fighting handling issues and went on to finish 18th.
“Not the day we hoped for with our Helm Chevy. We had to start at the tail and just battled dirty air and a tight condition all race. Our team never quit and we’ll look forward to going to Bristol.” – Daniel Dye
No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet
Start: 29th
Stage 1 Finish: 33rd
Stage 2 Finish: 31st
Finish: 36th
Williams worked his way to 25th by lap 13. On lap 21, the No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet was clipped by the No. 5 car, tearing off its bumper from the right side. Williams pitted twice under caution so the Kaulig Racing pit crew could tape Williams’ rear-end panel back to the car, and he restarted on lap 29 from the rear on the lead lap. He took the Stage 1 green-white-checkered in 33rd on lap 45. Under caution, after pitting for tires, fuel, and a packer adjustment, Williams had to pit again so the Chevy’s bear bond tape could be reapplied. He restarted at the rear on lap 54, and after spending most of the second stage in 30th, he fell to 31st — where he’d finish the stage — on the middle stint’s penultimate lap. Williams pitted for tires, fuel, and right-rear adjustments during the final stage break and took the green with 49 laps to go from 28th place. With 36 laps to go, a spin brought out the yellow flag, and Williams once again pitted for tires, fuel, and more tape on the rear of the No. 11. After Williams restarted in 30th with 30 laps to go, the caution came out almost immediately for another spin; Williams gained two spots for the lap-124 restart attempt. Five laps later, Williams suffered front-end damage after being collected in a multi-car wreck. After assessing the damage and taking the subsequent green flag, the No. 11’s problem was terminal, and Williams retired in 36th.
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 27 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. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
