Cook Out 400
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1
- Derek Kraus practiced and qualified the No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1, while AJ Allmendinger competed in the Road America 180 at Road America. Allmendinger then started the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway 36th due to a driver change.
- In the opening stage, Allmendinger made it up to 26th by lap 22, taking over 25th on lap 67 where he ultimately finished the stage. Allmendinger reported he started off neutral but was building free as the run went on and needed better drive off. The team made an air pressure and wedge adjustment under the stage break to help Allmendinger with the handling of the car.
- The No. 16 Chevy restarted 26th on lap 78 and took over 24th on lap 85. On lap 98, Allmendinger fell back to 25th, telling the team he needed more rear grip. He came down pit road on lap 122 for the first green-flag pit stop of the day. After green-flag stops cycled through, the No. 16 took over 22nd place on lap 131 but reported he was too loose and wasn’t able to make the top line work. The team came back down pit road on lap 173 for a scheduled green-flag pit stop. Allmendinger exited pit road and was scored 23rd on lap 174, where he ran until the last lap of the second stage when he took 22nd place.
- Under the stage break, Allmendinger reported he couldn’t be freed up anymore and asked for more front turn. The team made a slight air pressure adjustment, and Allmendinger restarted 23rd on lap 240, quickly taking over 21st place on the restart. Allmendinger held this position until lap 246 when he dropped back to 22nd, reporting he was now feeling brake shake. Allmendinger took over 21st again on lap 270, telling the team he needed help with rear grip on the next stop. The team came down pit road on lap 284 for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment and Allmendinger made it up to 20th on lap 316. Allmendinger quickly reported the changes made upset the car and came back down pit road on lap 338 to go back on the changes. Allmendinger was running 24th when the caution came out on lap 390. The No. 16 restarted in 24th with three laps to go. Allmendinger was caught up in a wreck at the finish, spinning across the line and ultimately finished 27th.
“I appreciate Derek Kraus doing his part this weekend with helping us get the car ready in practice and qualifying yesterday. Unfortunately, when it came to the race, we struggled making the right adjustments to help the handling of our No. 16 Action Industries Chevy. We’ve still got work to do on this style track.” – AJ Allmendinger
Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1
- Justin Haley qualified 28th for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway.
- Haley made up one spot in the opening 10 laps but fell back to 30th as the No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy began handling free all throughout. By lap 37, Haley radioed that his rear tires were completely gone, and he lacked all rear grip. He went on to finish the stage in 31st.
- During the stage break, Haley pitted for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to help the freeness and lack of turn in the No. 31 Chevy. The second stage went green on lap 78. Haley was called to pit road on lap 124 for a scheduled green-flag pit stop where he received four tires and fuel. He radioed to the team he was experiencing bad brake shaking. Haley made his next scheduled green flag stop on lap 176 for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The stage remained green for its entirety, with Haley finishing 32nd. He radioed to the team he was still experiencing more of the same brake shaking but that the first run of the second stage was better than the second. The team called Haley in for another pit stop for more adjustments for the final stage.
- The final stage went green with 139 laps remaining, and by lap 281, Haley radioed that his No. 31 Chevy was still extremely loose handling. He made a scheduled, green-flag pit stop on lap 288 more tires, fuel and more adjustments to help the freeness of the car. The race continued to stay green, and Haley pitted once again with 62 laps remaining, in need of fresh tires. The first natural caution of the day came out with just 10 laps remaining, allowing Haley to take the “wave around”, gaining one lap back. The field went back to green with three laps remaining. Haley finished 30th.
“Richmond definitely didn’t go the way we had hoped. Our No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy lacked rear grip throughout the whole race. I started to get bad brake shaking at the end of the first stage, and it would just shake the wheel out of my hand in the corners. Unfortunately, lack of cautions prevented us from getting laps back, so it was difficult to gain any spots. We will go back to the drawing board and get ready for Michigan.” – Justin Haley
Road America 180
AJ Allmendinger, No. 10 LeafHome Water Solutions Chevrolet
- AJ Allmendinger qualified on the pole for the Road America 180 at Road America.
- Allmendinger pulled away early, holding a three-second lead over second place by lap two and reported that his No. 10 LeafHome Water Solutions Chevy was too loose. On lap six, Allmendinger fell back to third, telling his team he was having issues stopping when using the brakes. When the competition caution came out on lap 10, Allmendinger sat in third. Under caution, the team made several adjustments to help Allmendinger with the handling of his car. He restarted on the outside of the front row on lap 12 and held second place until lap 16 when he fell to third, reporting the adjustments on the last stop helped but his biggest challenge was still his brakes. Allmendinger went on to finish the opening stage third after the caution came out on lap 20 ending the stage under caution. During the stage break, the team made a big change to the rear brakes in an effort to help Allmendinger for the remainder of the race.
- Allmendinger restarted from third on lap 24 and took over second on the restart. The caution came out on lap 25, and Allmendinger told the team that his No. 10 Chevy was already loose on the start. On lap 28, Allmendinger rolled off second and fell to fifth on the restart, telling the team he lacked grip grip. The next caution came out on lap 31 as the No. 10 was running fifth. He restarted from the same position and took over fourth on the restart, going on to finish the second stage fourth.
- Allmendinger started the final stage in fourth with nine to go and fell to fifth on the restart. The No. 10 was collected in a spin running in the fifth position with four to go, bringing out the caution. The team came down pit road to repair damage before sending Allmendinger back out to restart 29th in the first overtime attempt. With two to go, the caution came out, followed by the red flag for oil that covered several turns. Allmendinger restarted 21st in the second-overtime attempt with three laps to go and went on to finish ninth.
“We never quite had the overall speed today to contend for the win. We definitely learned some things to focus on going to Indy, and I’m proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing for working hard to try to maximize everything that we could to get a decent finish out of it today.” – AJ Allmendinger
Daniel Hemric, No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet
- After electing to not make a qualifying lap in order to make an engine change, Daniel Hemric started 32nd in the Road America 180 at Road America.
- Hemric quickly made up 11 spots after the first lap and was able to move up 15 positions in the first 3.5 laps. Hemric reported that his entry was good but needed more arc going into the corners. As the competition caution came out on lap ten. Hemric came down pit road on lap 12 for a non-competitive pit stop where he took four tires, fuel and made adjustments. Restarting 18th on lap 13, Hemric was up to 16th by lap 15 but reported his car was starting to feel free in the rear. He made his way up to 14th with three laps to go in stage one before the caution flew again one lap later, ending stage one under caution with Hemric finishing 14th.
- During the first stage break, Hemric pitted for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment before starting the second stage in 14th on the inside lane. A multi-car spin on the restart brought the caution back out with Hemric steering clear and moving up to move up to 11th. He restarted 11th on the outside with six laps to go in the second stage and was able to crack the top 10 with five laps to go in the stage. He reported that his balance in the front was getting better but was loose through the carousel. Hemric restarted 10th for a one-lap shootout to the stage end, but unfortunately, Hemric went off track in turn 14 to avoid another car and went on to finish the second stage 21st.
- During the second stage break, the team performed another non-competitive pit stop for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. During the yellow flag laps, Hemric relayed to the team that his front end was getting better but that his brakes were struggling. Restarting 21st with nine laps to go in the race, Hemric was able to work his way back up to 17th before the caution flag flew again with seven laps to go. Hemric restarted 15th with four laps to go when the caution came out again, forcing an overtime restart. Hemric sat 11th as the first overtime attempt brought out a caution that would eventually see the red flag displayed. The race would eventually go back to green for a second overtime attempt, where Hemric went on to finish the race 11th.
“It was a tough day for our No.11 Cirkul Chevrolet team. We had speed but felt like it never showed. I just got caught up in a few bad spots during the race and could never recover. I’m proud of how hard these guys worked to prepare the car. On to Michigan.” – Daniel Hemric
Chandler Smith, No. 16 Quick Tie Chevrolet
- Chandler Smith qualified 16th for the Road America 180 at Road America.
- Smith methodically moved up the leaderboard after the green flag, grabbing two positions in the first two laps of the race. Smith’s third lap was as fast as the rest of the top five, but he began losing time soon after. The No. 18 and No. 25 cars caught and passed Smith on consecutive laps, putting the No. 16 back in 16th by lap eight. Right as Smith reported that his rear tires were chattering, a stopped car on track brought out the previously scheduled competition caution on lap 10. The Quick Tie Products No. 16 crew added fuel, changed tires and made an air pressure adjustment during the non-competitive pit stop. Smith restarted in 14th on lap 13 but fell five positions by the next lap. After settling back in, Smith passed the No. 8 for 18th and ran his fastest time of the day, both on lap 16. Two laps later, Smith passed the No. 25 for 17th. On lap 20, Smith’s brakes failed at full speed down the frontstretch, and instead of hitting the turn one wall head on, Smith veered his car into the outside wall. The crash ended Smith’s race, and he finished 37th.
“Man, I just hate how our day ended after how hard everyone worked to prepare for the race. I didn’t have much indication of brake failure, just that something felt strange going down the front stretch. I truly believe we had a top-10 No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevrolet.” – Chandler Smith
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.
