Kaulig Racing Post-Race Report | Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course

Verizon 200 at the Brickyard

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Dyna-Gro Seed Camaro ZL1

• AJ Allmendinger qualified 26th for the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard.
• Allmendinger drove up to 25th before the caution came out on lap two. Staying out under caution, Allmendinger restarted from 23rd on lap five and was able to drive up to 19th on the restart when the No. 22 spun. The No. 16 Chevy continued to move up through the field, reporting on lap 11 that he needed more turn in both directions while running 17th. Allmendinger made it as high as 12th place during green-flag pit stops, where he went on to finish the opening stage.
• On lap 15, Allmendinger came down pit road for a scheduled green-flag pit stop. As the field continued to cycle through, Allmendinger ran 17th on lap 27. On lap 30, the No. 16 spun as a result of contact with the No. 12. Allmendinger came down pit road for four fresh tires under green and finished the stage in 38th place, one lap down.
• Allmendinger slowly worked his was through the field, making it up to 23rd before pitting under green on lap 63. Allmendinger came off pit road in 33rd and made it up to 26th where he finished in the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard.

“I’m proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing for the improvement we made after qualifying yesterday. Our Dyno-Gro Seed Chevy had speed, but we got caught up in an unfortunate incident and never had the chance to get back into it with the race running green. We’re disappointed in our finish, it’s not a representation of the car we had today.”

– AJ Allmendinger

Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1

• Justin Haley qualified 15^th for the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard.
• On lap two of the race, the No. 22 jumped the curb of turn six, sliding into Haley and sending the No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1 into the tire barrier. Haley was forced to pit twice and make repairs under the damaged vehicle policy (DVP) clock. The field went back to green on lap six, and Haley sat 39^th one lap down, where he finished the stage.
• Haley made his next pit stop under green on lap 34 for four tires and fuel, still sitting 39^th where he would finish the second stage, as the race remained green.
• On lap 42, Haley radioed that he was just not fast enough due to the amount of damaged he sustained. Haley pitted again on lap 60 after telling his team the rear end of the No. 31 Chevy was moving around quite a bit. The race stayed caution free until the end, and Haley was scored 38^th.

“It was a disappointing start to the day that continued to be an uphill battle. I thought I had position on the No. 22, but he jumped the curb and sent me into the tire barrier. Unfortunately, our No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy just lacked speed from the heavy damage, and we never could get back on the lead lap. Hopefully we can turn our luck around next week at Watkins Glen, another road course I really enjoy.“

– Justin Haley

Pennzoil 150 presented by Advance Auto Parts

AJ Allmendinger, No. 10 Leaf Home Water Solutions Chevrolet Camaro

• AJ Allmendinger qualified on the pole for the Penzoil 150 presented by Advance Auto Parts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
• Allmendinger led the first lap of the race but fell to second on lap two, reporting the front end of his No. 10 Leaf Home Water Solutions Chevy was tight, lacked grip, and was loose off the corner. Allmendinger sat in second place when the caution came out, followed by the red flag, on lap eight for lightening. Before the field restarted, teams put wet-weather tires on. Before the drop of the green on lap 11, Allmendinger came down pit road to under caution to put slick tires on. He restarted 29^th, falling back on the restart to 33^rd before charging up to 11^th by lap 15. As more leaders came down pit road, Allmendinger cycled through to regain the lead on lap 19 where he went on to finish the opening stage.
• On lap 20, Allmendinger had a six-second lead over the car in second place, but he quickly reported on lap 22 that he still needed a little more turn. Under caution on lap 26, Allmendinger told the team his racecar was still tight. The No. 10 Chevy came down pit road under caution on lap 28 for four tires, fuel and an adjustment to free up the car. Allmendinger restarted lap 60 in seventh place and quickly took over fifth on the restart, making his way up to second before lap 31. From second place, Allmendinger reported his Chevy was still tight and one lap later, Allmendinger regained the lead, going on to win the second stage.
• Allmendinger came down pit road under green on lap 43 for four tires, fuel and an adjustment and exited pit road in eighth place. The caution came out on lap 43, and Allmendinger stayed out under caution to restart from sixth on lap 46. By lap 47, Allmendinger had taken over second reporting on lap 52 that he had no grip. Continuing to battle the handling of his race car for the remainder of the race, Allmendinger went on to finish third.

“Congrats to Ty [Gibbs] and the 19 group. He did a great job; he earned it. I thought I was fighting a losing battle. We fought lack of grip all day and our Leaf Home Water Solutions Chevy just wasn’t quite quick enough this weekend. I’m proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing, and we’re going to keep working to get better.”

– AJ Allmendinger

Daniel Hemric, No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro

• Daniel Hemric qualified fifth for the Pennzoil 150 presented by Advance Auto Parts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
• By lap six of the opening stage, Hemric dropped back to seventh, losing the most time in turn seven. The red flag was displayed on lap eight due to lightning. Once the red flag was lifted, all teams were required to put on rain tires before the restart. The restart on lap 12 was single file, and Hemric restarted sixth. While many other teams made green-flag pit stops around lap 15, Hemric stayed out, taking the lead with four laps to go in the stage. With the cars behind him having put on slick tires, he was passed with two laps to go in the stage. Hemric was still able to finish third in stage one, earning eight stage points.
• Hemric pitted on lap 22 for slick tires and fuel. After he pitted, he was 18th and attempted to regain his track position before the caution flag came out on lap 27. Reporting that his left rear was starting to give up, Hemric came down pit road under the caution for four tires, fuel and adjustments to help the balance. The field returned to a double-file restart, where Hemric restarted as the ninth car on the inside lane with 10 laps to go in the stage. Hemric made it up to eighth with three laps to go in stage two before spinning on track. He quickly recovered to finish the stage in ninth.
• In the final stage, Hemric came down pit road for a green-flag pit stop on lap 42 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment before the next caution came out on lap 44. He restarted as the fourth car on the inside lane with 16 laps to go in the race. After being hit by the No. 24 in turn seven, along with teammate, Chandler Smith, Hemric was forced to come down pit road on lap 47 to assess the damage. Once back on track, he was unable to get back on the lead lap and went on to finish 27th.

“I’ve had a hard time just getting a finish at Indy, and today was another tough result. I’m proud of the speed that we showed at times though, and I feel like it gave us more of a direction of what I need in the car when we go to road courses. There are a couple more opportunities to go to road courses throughout the rest of the year and an opportunity to keep fighting and clawing next week at Watkins Glen.”

– Daniel Hemric

Chandler Smith, No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevrolet Camaro

• Chandler Smith qualified 18th for the Pennzoil 150 presented by Advance Auto Parts at the Indianapolis Road Course.
• During the opening lap, Smith fell to 22nd, but regained two spots by lap five. That same lap, raindrops started falling, and the red flag came out for lightning on lap eight. Once the red flag was lifted, the field made a mandatory pit stop for wet-weather tires under yellow. Crew chief, Bruce Schlicker, gambled and told Smith to come down pit road the moment it opened during the caution to change back to slick tires, and after doing so, the No. 16 relaunched from 34th on the single-file restart on lap 12. Smith ran faster lap times on slick tires than most of the field on wet tires for the remainder of stage one, and because almost everyone pitted under green due to the rapidly drying track, Smith finished eighth at the conclusion of stage one on lap 20.
• Smith moved up to sixth before a stopped car brought out the yellow again on lap 27. He pitted under yellow for tires and fuel and restarted fifth in line on the right side on lap 31. He battled hard with multiple cars on the cusp of the top 10 for the next few laps and made contact with the No. 26 on lap 34 while in 13th, causing a minor tire rub on the right front. It subsided, and over the next five laps, Smith took advantage of mistakes from cars in front to move up to seventh, which is where he’d finish stage two on lap 40.
• The No. 16 came down pit road at the end of lap 41. The pit crew changed tires and added fuel, while ensuring the tire rub would not return. Three laps later, the caution came out again for another stopped car. Smith stayed out and restarted third on the left side with 16 laps to go. On the restart lap, down the straightaway and into the turn seven left-hander, Smith went inside on teammate Daniel Hemric, but both cars were hit by the No. 24 from five rows back. Smith, like Hemric, sustained heavy damage and pitted for repairs. He came back out 30th at the tail-end of the lead lap, but quickly went a lap down and reported that his right-front tire was going down. He pitted again with 11 to go for right-side tires and more damage repair, falling two laps down to 33rd. With four laps remaining for the leader and Smith still two laps down, he suffered a suspension issue, and was forced to bring the car back to the garage, relegating him to a 34th-place finish.

“That was not the finish we wanted, but I’m proud of the fight in our No. 16 Quick Tie Products team. We went off-strategy once the rain delay came and went and gave ourselves a real shot at a good result. Unfortunately it just did not pan out for us.”

– Chandler Smith