AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 Celsius Camaro ZL1
AJ Allmendinger qualified third for the Bank of America ROVAL 400.
On the opening lap, Allmendinger fell to fourth but battled hard with the No. 45 on the next lap for third place. He remained quiet on the radio, and the team came to pit road under green on lap 18 for a scheduled four tires and fuel stop. After pitting, Allmendinger saved his tires and finished the first stage in eighth place.
The No. 16 stayed out during the stage break and restarted in third place for Stage 2. The caution came on lap 36, and Allmendinger reported from third place his Chevy was loose. Allmendinger came to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to help the handling of his car. He restarted in 19th place on lap 38 and drove up to fifth by lap 47. As the leaders came to pit road, Allmendinger took over second place, where he finished the second stage.
After staying out during the stage break, Allmendinger restarted the final stage in first place. He maintained position, reporting he fired off sideways, until the caution came on lap 56. The team stayed out under caution to restart in first on lap 59. On lap 66, Allmendinger took over second place after battling with the No. 5. The team came to pit road for a scheduled green flag pit stop on lap 70. As the field continued to cycle through, Allmendinger was scored in fifth on lap 77. The caution came on lap 81; Allmendinger was scored in third. He came to pit road for tires and fuel to restart in 23rd on lap 83. Within 10 laps, Allmendinger had taken over the seventh position. He went on to finish in sixth place.
“Really, really good day and weekend for out No. 16 team. Andrew [Dickeson] and the 16 crew did a great job preparing the car. We had good speed weekend. Didn’t quite have enough to be the No. 5 or No. 20 so we tried something different with strategy. We knew it would be an up hill battle from there but it was a lot of fun passing all those cars and bringing home a sixth place finish.”
- AJ Allmendinger
SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 13 WeatherTech Camaro ZL1 Shane van Gisbergen qualified on the pole for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 securing Kaulig Racing’s first NASCAR Cup Series pole position.
Van Gisbergen maintained a 1.700-second lead on the field, as he worked on perfecting his entry and exits through the 17 turn course. The No. 13 team opted to pit on lap 22 for fresh tires and fuel, re-entering the field sixth with two laps remaining in the stage. The No. 13 WeatherTech Chevrolet took the green and white checkered flag sixth to end the first stage.
The No. 13 WeatherTech team started the second stage second. From the start of the stage, Van Gisbergen battled to catch the leader. A caution came out on lap 36, and the No. 13 opted to stay out and restarted second with 11 laps remaining in the stage. Van Gisbergen dropped to third on the first lap of the restart as he battled for the remainder of the stage to catch the leaders. Reporting his WeatherTech Chevy Camaro was lacking rear grip, the No. 13 team opted to pit for fresh tires, fuel and adjustments, with three laps remaining the stage. Van Gisbergen re-entered the field 16th and completed the stage 15th.
The No. 13 WeatherTech team opted to stay out to start the final stage. Van Gisbergen took the green flag in 11th. The caution quickly came out on lap 56 of the race, and No. 13 team chose to stay out, restarting the stage 12th with 50 laps remaining in the race. On lap 62, Van Gisbergen was spun by a competitor in turn 7, dropping Van Gisbergen back to 23rd. Van Gisbergen re-entered the top 20 with 39 laps remaining in the race. He climbed into the top 10, reaching seventh with 35 laps remaining. A caution flew with 28 laps remaining in the event, and the No. 13 opted to come to pit road for fresh tires and fuel. Van Gisbergen restarted the final stage in 24th with 26 laps remaining in the race. He quickly worked his way into 17th, just two laps into the restart. The No. 13 WeatherTech Chevrolet worked its way back into the top 10 with 16 laps remaining in the event. Van Gisbergen battled to gain more positions and ultimately took the checkered flag seventh.
“Well that wasn’t the day we were hoping for, but this track was really fun! My WeatherTech Chevrolet was fast, and we started there on the pole, which was really cool and even led most of the laps there in Stage One. Wish we could’ve gotten a better result but proud of my Kaulig Racing team and all the hard work they put in to preparing for this weekend! Get to Cup Race again next weekend in Las Vegas, so looking forward to that.”
- Shane van Gisbergen
DANIEL HEMRIC
No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1 Daniel Hemric qualified 27th for the Bank of America ROVAL 400.
By lap five, Hemric began steadily improving, recording top-15 lap times in the No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet. He short-pitted the stage for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment, before finishing 28th in the first stage.
Hemric started the second stage from 21st place. The first non-stage caution of the day came out on lap 35 for debris on the track. Hemric pitted for four tires, fuel and a left-rear adjustment, before restarting 29th. Avoiding a spin on the restart, Hemric made his way into the top 20 in the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy. Short-pitting from 17th, he went on to finish the second stage in 26th place.
Hemric stayed out during the second stage break to start the final stage from 17th. As green-flag pit stops began, Hemric made it as high as ninth, before pitting on lap 76 for tires and fuel. When a caution came out on lap 81, Hemric stayed out and restarted 18th. On lap 89, the No. 45 dove under the 31, spinning him in the process. The race remained green, as Hemric dropped back to 30th place, hoping for a caution. The caution never fell, but Hemric was able to work his way back up to 25th, where he finished the race.
“Not the finish we wanted today. We had a really good No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet, on top of a solid strategy by [crew chief] Trent Owens. Unfortunately, we got spun and never caught a caution to get new tires.”
Daniel Hemric
Kaulig Racing PR