Van Gisbergen wins third race of the season
SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro
- Shane van Gisbergen qualified on the pole for The Loop 110.
- Van Gisbergen battled hard to maintain the lead, searching for grip in his WeatherTech Chevrolet. The first caution of the race came out on lap nine, and the No. 97 team opted to remain on track during the yellow. This strategy positioned Van Gisbergen to secure the stage one win.
- The No. 97 WeatherTech team chose not to pit during the stage break and began stage two in the lead. Van Gisbergen made his first pit stop of stage two on lap 25, rejoining the field in the middle of the pack. Van Gisbergen crossed the line in 10th place, finishing stage two.
- Van Gisbergen started the final stage in eighth. Shortly after, the caution came out, and the No. 97 team opted to stay out. Van Gisbergen restarted the stage in sixth with 11 laps remaining in the race. After another quick caution, the race restarted with eight laps remaining. Van Gisbergen took the green in fifth and quickly moved his way into third. After a final wreck, the green came back out with three laps to go with Van Gisbergen restarting in third. He battled and took the lead with two laps remaining. Van Gisbergen secured his third win of the 2024 season.
“That was a fun race! It’s great to get another win in my WeatherTech Chevy in its [WeatherTech] home city. Chicago is a special place to me! It’s a really good place for street racing. Proud of my No. 97 Kaulig Racing team and thankful for Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet, Kaulig Racing and WeatherTech for making this all possible. It’s been really cool learning, getting good results and adding [checkered flag] stickers to the side of my car. Excited to get another shot at it tomorrow!” – Shane van Gisbergen
AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro
- AJ Allmendinger qualified 11th for The Loop 110.
- Allmendinger remained quiet on the radio for the duration of the opening stage. The team stayed out under the first caution, and Allmendinger continued to make passes after the green flag waved again. The No. 16 went on to finish the stage in sixth place.
- Allmendinger stayed out during the stage break to restart in fourth place on lap 19. On the first lap green, Allmendinger took over third place. Allmendinger maintained that position until lap 23, when the No. 16 wheel hopped into the corner and hit the tire barrier, bringing out the caution. The team made repairs, and Allmendinger finished the second stage in 33rd place.
- The team stayed out during the stage break and restarted for the third stage in 23rd place. Allmendinger gained three positions on the restart and sat in 20th when the caution came out on lap 27. The No. 16 stayed out and continued to gain positions. On the final restart, Allmendinger restarted in 11th and was able to avoid the spinning No. 1. Allmendinger went on to finish 11th.
“It was close to being a good day until it wasn’t. Our team deserved a better finish today, but proud of the repairs my guys made to bring home a decent finish.” – AJ Allmendinger
JOSH WILLIAMS
No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet Camaro
- Josh Williams qualified 30th for The Loop 110.
- Williams took the green flag and immediately improved his position, taking 23rd by lap five. The caution came out for debris on lap nine, and he pitted for tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Restarting 29th on lap 11, Williams moved into 22nd on lap 14 and finished stage one there.
- Staying out during the stage break, he restarted seventh on lap 19, and after losing one spot on the restart, he regained it by the race’s second natural caution on lap 24. Pitting under yellow for tires and fuel, Williams restarted on lap 25 from 28th place, gained four spots, and finished stage two in 24th.
- After flipping pit strategy, Williams and the Alloy Employer Services team fired off for the final stage from 19th with 16 laps to go. After one green flag lap, a wreck brought out the caution once again, and Williams restarted 19th before another crash brought out the yellow with 10 to go. He restarted in 17th place on lap 43, lost one spot, and then the yellow flag was waved on lap 45. After restarting with three laps to go, Williams rallied to finish in 12th place.
“I’m pretty happy with how the day went. We flipped the stages on pit strategy and think we could’ve gotten a top 10 if a few things went out well. This is a pretty cool track. Hell yeah, Chicago.” – Josh Williams
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 23 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, with a part-time fourth entry at select events. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
