Enjoy Illinois 300 Presented by TicketSmarter
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions FARMSMART Camaro ZL1
- AJ Allmendinger qualified 11th for the Enjoy Illinois 300 Presented by TicketSmarter.
- On lap two, a caution came out for the No. 45 spinning in front of the No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions FARMSMART Chevy. The restart was called off and the red flag was displayed on lap five due to lightening in the area. When the race restarted on lap nine, Allmendinger consistently ran in 11th place until his car continued to tighten up in the middle of the corner and the rear began to fade. With four laps remaining in stage one, Allmendinger was passed resulting in a 12th-place finish in stage one.
- The No. 16 team made air pressure adjustments to help the handling of the car during the stage break, and Allmendinger started the second stage in 11th place. Allmendinger battled with the No. 47 for the 10th spot, with Allmendinger holding onto it for several laps before falling to 12th. Allmendinger’s No. 16 Chevy continued to tighten up, and he struggled to carry speed through corner. Under caution on lap 99, the team gambled and pit for right side tires. Allmendinger restarted third, but quickly fell back, telling the team on lap 125 he had no grip, and his car was loose as he fought to stay in the top 15. Allmendinger continued to fade and finished stage two in 22nd.
- The No. 16 team had a slow stop under caution at the stage break, and Allmendinger restarted 30th for stage three. He continued to battle a loose race car as he tried to climb back through the field, making his way up to 25th by lap 154. Under caution on lap 200, Allmendinger reported his car was now too tight, and the team pit for an adjustment and four tires. From the restart on lap 203, Allmendinger moved through the field as the cautions continued to come out, making his way up to 15th before NASCAR overtime, ultimately finishing 14th for the second-consecutive week.
“We had an up-and-down day today fighting the balance in our No. 16 Chevy. I felt like we had a top-15 car most of the day, but we had to play defense to stay there. I wasn’t able to roll speed through the corner like I needed to be more aggressive and keep moving forward. We made a strategy call to take two tires, which didn’t work in our favor. Then we got caught up on pit road and restarted pretty far back at the beginning of the third stage. We’ll take a 14th- place finish after everything we battled with our car today and move forward to Sonoma.” – AJ Allmendinger
Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1
- Justin Haley qualified 23rd for the Enjoy Illinois 300 Presented by TicketSmarter.
- In the opening stage, Haley’s No. 31 was tight-handling in traffic, making it difficult for him to pass. Finishing 27th in the stage, crew chief, Trent Owens, came up with a plan to free up the No. 31 Chevy. The team made a long pit stop, making adjustments to both the left and right front of the car.
- With the adjustments seemingly helping, Haley climbed his way back up to 21st and thanked his team for the positive adjustments before a caution came out on lap 91. The team decided to make a minor adjustment and put four fresh tires on the No. 31 Chevrolet. Haley restarted inside the top 20 with 38 laps remaining in the stage. In the final 20 laps of stage two, Haley reported his No. 31 car began handling tight in traffic. He went on to finish the second stage in 18th place.
- During the second stage break, the team decided to go back on previous air pressure change when Haley pitted for four tires and fuel, as the balance of No. 31 regressed during the last run. A pit stop mishap lost him a few positions. The race went green until a caution with 66 to go. Haley reported the No. 31 became very aero tight. He pitted for four tires and a right rear adjustment. With 11-total cautions, the final stage ended in overtime with Haley finishing 16th.
“It was an up-and-down day for this No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection team. We fired off tight in traffic, and it was just hard to pass. My crew chief, Trent Owens, made some really good strategy calls and we had positive adjustments all day, despite a couple pit-road mishaps. We had another good Chevrolet hot rod, and we will take a 16th-place finish after a hard fought day.” – Justin Haley
Pacific Office Automation 147
Chandler Smith, No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevrolet
- Chandler Smith qualified seventh for the Pacific Office Automation 147 after advancing to the final round of the qualifying session by topping Group A.
- In the first corner of the opening lap, Smith was hit from behind by the No. 24, resulting in severe damage to the right-rear of the No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevrolet. Smith spun as a result, sending him to the back of the field.
- After serving a drive-through penalty for not re-entering the track through the chicane run-off area pathway, Smith went on to finish 22nd in the first stage.
- Smith started crawling his way through the field, reaching 13th-place in the second stage before a spin sent him back to 20th, where he’d finish the stage in the waning laps of the second 25-lap stint.
- In the final stage, Smith fought his way up to ninth place after multiple late-race cautions to solidify a top 10 from a hard day’s work.
“I’m proud of the Quick Tie team for fixing some of the damage we sustained in the first stage and keeping a fast hot rod fast throughout the day. Things didn’t go the way we wanted them to with not getting any stage points, but after a day like today, I’ll happily take ninth place.” – Chandler Smith
Jordan Taylor, No. 10 Leaf Home Water Solutions Chevrolet Camaro
- With minimum time behind the wheel of his first NXS start, Jordan Taylor qualified sixth for the Pacific Office Automation 147.
- Quickly advancing to the top three at the start of the race, Taylor flexed his road racing muscles and settled into the field.
- While running in the top five, Taylor tried different lines throughout the course to see what suited the No. 10 Leaf Home Water Solutions Camaro, but was unable to make significant gains.
- Taylor finished the first stage where he started, sixth and the second stage one position better in fifth.
- After sustaining right-front fender damage and losing second/third gear in the final stage, Taylor pitted on lap 69 from the 11th position for tires and repairs to the fender. Taylor limped the No.10 to a 27th-place finish.
“It was a fun day overall. Stage one was a lot of learning, and in stage two we made some adjustments that I felt like gave us a top-three car. Unfortunately, we got some damage in the last stage on that restart and lost second and third gear. Not the day we wanted, but the Kaulig guys brought a great car. I had a great first experience in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and it was fun racing with everybody. Hopefully we get another shot at it one day.” – Jordan Taylor
Daniel Hemric, No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet
- Daniel Hemric topped the chart in group A qualifying, transferring the No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet to the second round where he went on to qualify 10th for the Pacific Office Automation 147.
- Hemric was able to quickly gain spots and settle in the top 10 for a majority of the first stage until he suffered a mechanical issue on lap 21 while running ninth under caution.
- The No.11 headed to the garage for repairs. Hemric ended stage one behind the wall in 36th place.
- Hemric spent stage two behind the wall while the team made repairs. Hemric was able to get back on track in time for the final stage.
- Hemric continued to log laps in his No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet and finished the race in 33rd place.
“I had high expectations going into the race. I felt like our Cirkul Chevrolet was going to have a lot of potential and had a lot of speed. I felt good inside the race car. We missed a bit of balance there in stage one, but we were still going to salvage a decent first stage. Coming to the restart zone, I had a couple interesting things happen with the throttle pedal and fuel. Then, the next thing you know, something with the fuel system caught on fire. Incredible work by the 11 team to get everything changed out and the car back on track to log some more laps. It wasn’t an ideal day, but we will regroup and get ready for Sonoma.” – Daniel Hemric
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 made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started and has won back-to-back regular-season championships. Before becoming a full-time NCS team, Kaulig Racing made multiple starts in the 2021 NCS season and won in its seventh-ever start with AJ Allmendinger’s victory at “The Brickyard” for the Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The team expanded to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 with Justin Haley piloting the No. 31 Camaro ZL1, and an all-star lineup featured in the No. 16 Camaro ZL1. Haley will continue to drive the No. 31 full-time in 2023, alongside AJ Allmendinger, who will drive the No. 16 Camaro ZL1. The team will continue to field three, full-time NXS entries; the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by an all-star lineup, the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by Daniel Hemric, and the No. 16 Chevrolet driven by Chandler Smith. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
