Kaulig Racing Post-Race Report | Kansas Speedway

Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1

• Justin Haley qualified 30th for the Hollywood Casino 400.
• Although Haley’s No. 31 Celsius Camaro ZL1 fired off on the edgy side, he was able to quickly gain 10 spots from his starting position and into the top 20. Haley made it as high as 19th before making his first, scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 39 for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. As the green-flag stops cycled through, Haley made it back to 21st before the caution came out on lap 63. As he pitted to put qualifying tires on the No. 31 car to finish the stage, Haley acquired a speeding penalty on pit road, forcing him to start at the rear for the final 11 laps of the opening stage. He gained 10 spots in those 11 laps, finishing the first stage in 22nd.
• Haley radioed that the No. 31 Chevy was still slightly edgy, but that he felt he was beating everyone on front turn and did not want to risk freeing the car up too much. He pitted for sticker tires and fuel during the stage break, before starting the second stage from 24th. The next caution came out on lap 108 as Haley sat 22nd. He radioed he was happy with the No. 31 Celsius Chevy before pitting for four tires and fuel. Restarting 23rd, another caution came out just after the restart. After restarting 21st on lap 120, the field went green for just seven more laps before the next caution came out. Haley pitted for four tires and fuel and restarted 21st on lap 133. The remainder of stage two stayed green, as Haley worked his way up to finish 16^th.
• Haley pitted once again during the stage break for tires and fuel, before starting the final stage in 18^th. The caution came back out quickly on lap 173 for debris. Haley stayed out and restarted 17^th with 88 laps remaining. With 70 to go, Haley sat 20^th as he radioed the No. 31 Celsius was still trending tight but made it as high as seventh, as the green-flag pit stops began to cycle. Haley made his final green-flag stop on lap 216 for tires and fuel, falling down a lap to the leaders. The final caution came out with seven laps to go, and Haley took the wave around to put himself back on the lead lap. The race went on to finish in an overtime, two-lap shootout, and Haley finished 21^st.

“We fired off so strong and gained 10 spots within the first 15 laps. Our No. 31 Celsius Camaro ZL1 was a little edgy, but I just felt like I could beat everyone on front turn, so I knew I would have to deal with it being a little tight, rather than being too loose and losing that momentum. The biggest difference was the draft, and I think that helped us on speed compared to yesterday during practice and qualifying. Overall, it was a solid day for our No. 31 team.“

– Justin Haley

Chandler Smith, No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevrolet Camaro

• Chandler Smith qualified 12th for the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway.
• Moments after the initial start of the race, the yellow flag waved, and Smith restarted 11th on lap six. On lap 12, Smith reported that the No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevrolet was low on power, and he started losing positions quickly. Once the race’s second caution came one lap later, the team told Smith to bring the car into the garage to work on the engine. The crew replaced the spark plugs, and Smith rejoined the race 13 laps down in 37th. He made up one spot by the time the first stage ended, finishing 36th.
• The No. 16 team began making adjustments on the car during routine visits down pit road as stage two began. The crew utilized the early engine issues to learn as much as it could for future races. During the short, second stage, Smith continued making up ground, finishing stage two in 34th, 13 laps down.
• Smith passed two more cars to move into 32nd by lap 156. He stayed there for the remainder of the race, finishing 14 laps down.

“That was a rough one. We were fast once we got back out on the track, but we obviously couldn’t do much because of the time spent fixing our engine issues. We could only pick up spots if others had problems, but points are points, so we used the rest of the 170 or so laps to try out some things and experiment before the playoffs start at Bristol next week.”

– Chandler Smith

Daniel Hemric, No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro

• Daniel Hemric qualified fifth for the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway.
• By starting the race, Hemric clinched his spot in the NXS Playoffs. After the caution came out on lap one, Hemric restarted fifth on lap six. After a few laps, he reported that the No. 10 Cirkul was loose-handling in turns three and four just after firing back off. On lap 10, Hemric dropped back two spots, sitting in seventh as the next caution came out on lap 14. Restarting seventh on lap 18 and maintaining position before the caution came out again on lap 20, Hemric made his way back up to fifth by lap 29. On lap 32, Hemric fell off the pace, reporting a possible voltage issue before pitting under green to diagnose the issue. The team discovered the power issue and pushed Hemric back to the garage to change the battery in the No. 10 Cirkul Chevy. The team spent the remainder of stage one and the entirety of stage two changing the battery and addressing the issue. 
• The No. 10 team sent Hemric back on track under green with 88 laps remaining in the race. Hemric returned to the garage once again on lap 139, as the team addressed another minor issue, before sending Hemric back on track 75 laps down, with 57 laps remaining. Caution came out with 52 laps to go, and Hemric pitted for a splash of fuel before the restart on lap 150 where he restarted 35th. Hemric reported that his car was getting progressively looser as the run went on, and pitted under green with 23 laps remaining for tires and fuel. Hemric went on to finish the race 34th.

“We beat ourselves today. It’s unfortunate, because I feel like we had a lot of speed in our Cirkul Chevrolet. We did what we had to do for the regular season, but there is still work to be done. As a group, we have shown we can build great race cars at Kaulig Racing; we just have to clean up all the little stuff.”

– Daniel Hemric