No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet
Start: 12th
Stage 1 Finish: 15th
Stage 2 Finish: 11th
Finish: 8th
Christian Eckes raced in the top 10 for much of the opening stage but got free on a late-stage restart and finished Stage 1 in 15th. Happy with the car overall, he went on to finish Stage 2 in 11th place and radioed that he needed track position more than anything else. During the second stage break, the team opted to make only minor adjustments in order to have a faster pit stop to give Eckes the track position he needed to start the final stage from 9th place. Following a late-race caution with 38 laps remaining, the field pitted under caution, and Eckes followed suit, receiving fresh tires. He restarted 13th and went on to finish eighth, his fifth top-10 result in the last six races.
“I was pretty happy with our No. 16. Celsius Chevy. We just needed track position the most, so when we got caught up in some of the mess towards the end, we had to try and make up some spots. We definitely made improvements from the spring race, and I’m proud of this No. 16 group for the hard work.” – Christian Eckes
No. 11 Action Industries Chevrolet
Start: 28th
Stage 1 Finish: 23rd
Stage 2 Finish: 20th
Finish: 20th
Brenden Queen improved five spots from his starting position to finish the opening stage of the Food City 300 in 23rd. After pitting during the first stage break, Queen started Stage 2 in 24th place, working his way into the top 20 throughout the incident-free second segment. Queen started the final stage from 18th place and went on to earn a top-20 finish in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut.
“I put us in a little bit of a hole during qualifying, but I think with some track position, a top 15 was realistic. I can’t complain about a top-20 finish, running all of the laps, and ending on the lead lap. This is something we can build off of, and I’m thankful to Matt Kaulig, Chris Rice, and everyone at Kaulig Racing for the opportunity.” – Brenden Queen
No. 10 Champion Container Chevrolet
Start: 31st
Stage 1 Finish: 21st
Stage 2 Finish: 18th
Finish: 26th
Daniel Dye gained 10 spots during the opening stage of the Food City 300, after the team made considerable improvements on the No. 10 Champion Container Chevy from practice earlier in the day. As the car built tighter throughout Stage 2, Dye finished the second segment in 18th place, happy with the car’s overall handling. On lap 210, Dye spun on track, bringing out the caution. He avoided contact with the wall but fell one lap to the leaders. Dye was unable to get the lap back and finished the race in 26th place.
“We struggled in practice and qualifying, but I’m glad we found a little potential in the car to move inside the top 15. Unfortunately, we got some damage and ultimately spun. After that we lost a lap, and we just weren’t able to get it back.” – 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.
