DANIEL HEMRIC
No. 31 Poppy Bank Camaro ZL1
- Daniel Hemric qualified 21st for the Shriners Children’s 500.
- The first caution of the day fell on lap six, as Hemric followed suit with the majority of the field in pitting for four tires. After restarting on lap 12, stage one finished under green, and Hemric finished 28th.
- Hemric radioed that he was struggling with a tight-handling No. 31 Poppy bank Camaro ZL1 in the corners. Crew chief Trent Owens made the call to pit for tires, fuel, an air pressure and rear-spring adjustment during the stage break. He started the second stage from 23rd place. Hemric made his first green-flag pit stop of the day on lap 115 for tires and fuel. On lap 136, Hemric came to pit road for four tires, radioing he may have a loose wheel. He went on to finish stage two in 34th place, two laps down from the leaders.
- During the second stage break, Owens made the call to take a gamble and wave around to put Hemric just one lap down to start the final stage. The gamble paid off, as an early caution allowed Hemric to pit for tires, fuel, a wedge adjustment and air pressure adjustment. He restarted 33rd and one lap down with 110 laps remaining before two more quick cautions came out. On the final restart, Hemric restarted 25th and one lap down, before falling a second lap down and going on to finish 28th.
“Not the best day for us in Phoenix. We couldn’t quite get the balance right on our No. 31 Poppy Bank Chevy, and then we put ourselves into a little bit of a hole with a loose wheel that we couldn’t bounce back from. We will learn from today and hopefully come back stronger in the fall.” – Daniel Hemric
DEREK KRAUS
No. 16 Western States Flooring Camaro ZL1
- Derek Kraus qualified 26th for the Shriners Children’s 500.
- The No 16 Western States Flooring Chevrolet brought out the first caution of the day on lap seven, as Kraus could not avoid a spinning car in turn two. The team was able to repair minimal left-front-fender damage and restarted 33rd. Kraus went on to finish 32nd in the first stage.
- During the first stage break, Kraus pitted for four tires, fuel, and a wedge adjustment. He restarted from the 28th position, before ultimately finishing 30th in the second stage.
- Kraus started the third and final Stage from the 31st position, before being involved in a multi-car wreck shortly after on lap 206 that ended his day. He was scored 35th.
“It was an unfortunate end to our day in our No. 16 Western States Flooring Camaro ZL1. I had nowhere to go and got hit from behind, which pushed me into the car in front of me. I felt like we were ok; we were pretty tight from the damage we got early on in the race. These cars are very rigid, and it was extremely hard to pass in traffic, but overall I felt like a learned a lot. I’m looking forward to continue growing with this team.” – Derek Kraus
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 and added a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. In 2024, the team will once again field two, full-time entries in the NCS and continue to field three, full-time NXS entries. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
