Kaulig Racing Post-Race Report | Bristol Motor Speedway

Bass Pro Shops Night Race

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Barger Precast Camaro ZL1

• AJ Allmendinger qualified 22nd for the Bristol Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• In the early laps, Allmendinger fell back to 31st reporting he was plowing tight and lacking front turn. The No. 16 brought out the first caution on lap 70 after hitting the wall in the exit of turn three and making contact with the No. 2. The No. 16 team brought the car down pit road to assess and repair the damage before Allmendinger restarted in 36th on lap 75. On lap 107, the caution came out for rain, and the team came down pit road for air pressure and wedge adjustments to help with the handling of the car. Allmendinger restarted 35th on lap 113 and was racing the No. 78 for the lucky dog. The No. 16 went on to finish the opening stage in 34th and was awarded the lucky dog, putting Allmendinger back on the lead lap. The team came down pit road under the stage break for additional wedge adjustments before the red flag was displayed for weather.
• The red flag was lifted, and the field restarted on lap 141. Early in this run, Allmendinger was tighter than he had been all night, but by lap 205, the No. 16 Barger Chevy had built free. Allmendinger held on to his loose race car and went on to finish the second stage in 34th.
• The team came down pit road under the stage caution for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Allmendinger restarted 30th where we ran for the remainder of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race and finished 30th at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“It was a long night for our No. 16 team. We struggled early with handling and definitely hurt the speed of the car after we hit the wall. I’m proud of my guys for their effort all night but we’re disappointed with the result.”

– AJ Allmendinger

Justin Haley, No. 31 Mountain Dew Camaro ZL1

• Justin Haley qualified 19th for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Haley fired off slightly free in the No. 31 Mountain Dew Chevy but gained three spots before the first caution came out on lap 70. Haley pitted for four tires and fuel and restarted 22nd on lap 77. The next caution came out on lap 107 for rain, as Haley gained four spots. He radioed that he was happy overall with his No. 31 Chevy but was slightly free on entry and exit. Haley restarted as the sixth car on the outside with 12 laps to go in stage one. He made it up to 11th before getting caught in multiple three-wide battles, ultimately falling to 20th where he finished the opening stage.
• Haley pitted under caution for four tires and fuel and restarted 33rd on lap 141 after rain prolonged the first stage caution. By lap 214, Haley was caught by the leader and radioed that the No. 31 Chevy was plowing tight as he went down one lap. He went on to finish the second stage in 27th. 
• Haley pitted for tires, fuel and a right-rear air pressure adjustment to help free up the No. 31 Chevy. He started the final stage in 32^nd before a wreck in front of Haley collected him on lap 263, ending his night early. He was scored 35^th.

“I was really happy with the No. 31 Mountain Dew Camaro ZL1 firing off tonight. We were just a touch free until our right front went away in the second stage. After that the car was plowing tight. Unfortunately, we got collected in someone else’s mess at the beginning of the final stage and broke something in the left front. Hopefully we can rebound in Texas, where we had one of our best finishes as a team last year.“

– Justin Haley

Food City 300

Daniel Hemric, No. 10 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro

• Daniel Hemric qualified fifth for the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Hemric’s No.10 Cirkul Chevrolet fired off extremely loose as soon as the race started. Similarly to practice and qualifying, he reported he was loose all around. Hemric was running 12th with 30 to go, where he went on to finish the opening stage. 
• Under the stage break, Hemric came down pit road for four tires, fuel and a major air pressure and track bar adjustment to help tighten the car up. He restarted 12th on lap 96 and would maintain his position inside the top-15 before the caution came out on lap 149. Hemric radioed that the previous adjustments had helped the handling of the car but he was still on the freer side. Still under caution, he came down pit road on lap 151 for four tires, fuel and another air pressure adjustment. After restarting 11th on lap 154 with fresh tires, Hemric was back up to seventh with 12 to go. He went on to finish seventh, following a stage-ending caution.
• Hemric pitted again during the stage break for four tires and fuel, before starting the final stage in 10th. The caution came out on lap 221, and Hemric stayed out, while a majority of the field came down pit road. On the restart with 76 laps to go, Hemric restarted as the first car on the inside lane. Battling with the No. 7, Hemric held on to second as 69 laps remained. The caution came out again on lap 248, and the leader pitted, while Hemric stayed out. Hemric led the field to green from the outside on the restart with 44 to go. After leading a total of 33 laps, Hemric got caught up in lapped traffic and slid back to second with 12 to go. The race stayed green until the end and Hemric finished second, his third runner-up finish with Kaulig Racing this season. 

“There is always something you could have done better, or different. I really just wanted to keep him [No.7] on us to get that last little group of lapped traffic we were closed in on. When you catch those guys side by side, you have a slight chance, but I just could not stay far enough forward and keep the momentum from center exit enough to give me some leverage to get into lapped traffic. Ultimately, that prevailed for him [No.7] on the bottom to clear me. You hate to lose them that close to the end, but as a group, we know what we did today was special from how far we brought this race car throughout the race. I am proud of that.”

– Daniel Hemric