No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet
Start: 27th
Stage 1 Finish: 27th
Stage 2 Finish: 7th
Finish: 11th
Josh Williams started in 27th but moved up to 22nd by the lap-five caution. Upon restarting on lap nine, he continued his upwards trek, giving crew chief Eddie Pardue the option to flip the stage. Pardue took the option, bringing Williams down pit road with three laps to go in the stage for four tires and fuel. One lap later, the caution came out, putting the No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevy in a good position strategically for the remainder of the race. Williams finished Stage 1 in 27th, but he restarted for the next stint in fifth. After passing teammate Christian Eckes on lap 20, Williams rolled into fourth place midway through Stage 2. With seven laps remaining in the stage, Williams was passed by the Nos. 00 and 21, shuffling him back to sixth. Debris brought the caution out with six laps to go, and Williams immediately resumed fuel saving. After firing off in the third row, Williams crossed the line to take the second green-white-checkered flag in seventh. Restarting with 16 laps remaining in the race, Williams was cued into the No. 70 in turn three, leading to a caution; the No. 11 suffered no damage and was positioned in eighth place. With 13 to go, the green came back out, and Williams settled into 11th after the field went single file. He leaped into the top 10 with six laps to go after the No. 7 developed an issue on track. A wreck that brought out the yellow flag happened with six laps to go, setting up a dramatic end to The Loop 110; Williams restarted in 10th with two to go and took the checkered in 11th.
“Our No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet is in one piece. That’s a good day. You don’t get to do that all that often here. Our tires were worn there at the end, so that’s a shame, but I would’ve loved to battle more there. Pretty happy with how today went and I’m looking forward to Sonoma.” – Josh Williams
No. 16 Benesch Chevrolet
Start: 38th
Stage 1 Finish: 22nd
Stage 2 Finish: 27th
Finish: 15th
After acquiring major damage in practice and switching to a backup car, Christian Eckes started at the rear of the field in the No. 16 Benesch Chevrolet. An early caution allowed him to pit for adjustments, and while some short-pitted the stage, Eckes stayed out, finishing it in 22nd. He radioed that the car felt fine, but he struggled with gaining the confidence to pass. Luckily, the majority of cars ahead of him pitted during the stage break, putting him third to start the second stage with much-needed track position. Fighting a loose-handling Chevy, Eckes fell to 12th when the next caution came out with six to go in the stage. He pitted for a major adjustment before a two-lap dash to the stage end. Eckes was scored 27th in Stage 2. Staying out during the second stage break, Eckes was told by spotter Coleman Pressley to work on his exits in the right-hand turns to hopefully gain time and chip away at the field. He started the final stage from 24th place. Avoiding a wreck on the restart, Eckes sat 21st coming back to the green with 13 laps remaining. He had made his way to 17th when a late-race caution came out with six laps to go. After a two-lap dash to the checkered, Eckes went on to finish 15th in the No. 16 Benesch Chevrolet.
“I’m disappointed in myself for making a mistake during practice and having to go to a back-up car for the race, but I’m thankful to have this team of men and women at Kaulig Racing behind me and their hard work to get our Benesch Chevy race ready. We were focused on keeping the car clean the whole race, and that’s what we did. We’ll take a top 15 and get back to work for Sonoma.” – Christian Eckes
No. 10 BettenhausenAuto.com Chevrolet
Start: 21st
Stage 1 Finish: 29th
Stage 2 Finish: 24th
Finish: 19th
Throughout the first stage, Daniel Dye reported he was free overall and wasn’t able to get onto the throttle as quickly as his competitors. The No. 10 BettenhausenAuto.com Chevy came to pit road for an air pressure adjustment with three laps remaining, before a caution ended the stage under yellow. Dye was scored in 29th. In Stage 2, Dye worked to find confidence in order to give the team feedback to continue making positive changes. Crew chief Kevin Walter called him to pit road for a track bar adjustment to tighten the car for the final stage. During Stage 3, Dye told the team he was working to settle in and felt the adjustments helped his handling and overall confidence. Dye went on to finish in 19th place.
“Rough day in our No. 10 BettenhausenAuto.com Chevy. We were on track to end up around 16th until I was sent nearly down Michigan Avenue in turn 11 on the final lap. Back to the drawing board to find some more speed in our No. 10 car and behind the wheel as well. I’m looking forward to hopefully finding some of that next weekend in Sonoma and continue getting more confident on these road courses.” – Daniel Dye
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.
