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

Bank of America ROVAL 400

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Celsius Camaro ZL1

• AJ Allmendinger qualified sixth for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
• Allmendinger took over fifth place in turn one on the first lap of the race. The No. 16 Celsius Chevy maintained position, reporting the handling of the car was loose, until coming down pit road for a green flag pit stop on lap 21. Allmendinger finished the opening stage in 10th place.
• Allmendinger restarted from seventh place on lap 29 and was able make it back to fifth place in one lap. Continuing to move forward, Allmendinger took over second place on lap 42. He reported the handling of the car was better and asked for more of the same air pressure adjustment on the next stop. After reporting his car was getting looser, Allmendinger came down pit road from second place on lap 44 for the second green-flag stop of the day. The caution came on lap 49 and Allmendinger was running 12th, where he went on to finish the second stage.
• On lap 53, Allmendinger restarted third and took over second in the second corner. Allmendinger took the lead on lap 58 and reported 10 laps later he needed a little more rear grip, but the handling of the car was better in clean air. The team came down pit road for their final green flag stop on lap 71. Allmendinger was running second when the caution came out on lap 75. He stayed out under the caution and restarted first with 31 laps remaining. Allmendinger faded from the lead on the initial restart but took the lead back from the No. 54 before the completion of the lap. The caution came back out with 30 laps to go and Allmendinger restarted from first with 27 laps remaining. Allmendinger maintained the lead until lap 86 when the caution came out. The team stayed out under caution and restarted from first on lap 87. Again, Allmendinger maintained the lead on the restart. The caution came out on lap 95 and the team stayed out to restart from first with 13 laps remaining. After another caution, Allmendinger restarted first and went on to win the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.

“This is why you do it. This is the only reason you do it. You fight. All the blood, sweat, tears, everybody at Kaulig Racing has just been such – I wouldn’t say a down year, but an up-and-down year. It’s our second year in the Cup Series. I can’t thank Celsius enough for coming on board. All of our partners – Nutrien Ag Solutions, Action Industries, LeafFilter, Chevy, and ECR for everything that they do for us. Matt Kaulig, Chris Rice, Sparco and Arai Helmets, and Corby Concepts – everybody that allows me to do this. Especially Matt and Chris, I freaking love you guys so much.”

– AJ Allmendinger

Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1

• Justin Haley qualified 25th for the Bank of America ROVAL 400.
• Haley made one pass for position in the first six laps, radioing that he lacked forward drive in his No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy. He made it as high as 19th before making his first green-flag pit stop on lap 19, short pitting the stage. He finished the opening stage 25th. 
• Staying out during the first stage break, Haley started the second stage from 18th, and made it up to 16th before the green-flag pit stops began. He made it as high as 11th before short pitting once again on lap 45. The first non-stage caution came out on lap 48, ending the second stage under caution. Haley finished the stage in 26th. 
• Haley stayed out during the second stage break and started the final stage in 17th. He made it as high as third as the pit stops cycled through and pitted on lap 74 for tires and fuel before a caution came out the very next lap. Haley stayed out during that caution and restarted 17th with 31 laps to go. Another caution came out just one lap later, as Haley avoided the wrecking cars. After restarting on lap 82, the field went green for three laps before another caution came out. Haley pitted for tires, as he reported his current set was completely worn. The field went back to green on lap 87 before another caution came out on lap 93. Crew chief Trent Owens radioed that Haley likely had better tires than the cars in front of him as he sat 19th. The field restarted on lap 95 before a caution came out on the restart. Following the next restart, the race stayed green until the end, and Haley finished 22nd. 

“We had potential today, but we made a few mistakes and couldn’t quite get the setup of our No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevy just right. I’m super proud of my teammate, AJ [Allmendinger], for getting Kaulig Racing its second Cup Series win. We will get back to work for Vegas, a track we have done well at in the past.“

– Justin Haley

Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina

Daniel Hemric, No. 10 Action Industries Chevrolet Camaro

• Daniel Hemric qualified fourth for the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina.
• Hemric remained in the top five during the opening laps, running similar lap times to second place. On lap 10, he reported he was starting to lose rear grip, but continued to work his way through the top five. While some leaders pitted with three to go in stage, Hemric stayed out and finished the stage in second, earning nine stage points. 
• Hemric pitted at the stage break for four tires and fuel before starting 14th on lap 25. Happy with the handling of his car, he was up to ninth by lap 28, being told he was running second place lap times.Once again, the leaders elected to short-pit the stage, putting Hemric in second. A caution came out shortly after, which ultimately ended the stage. He finished second in stage two.
• Hemric pitted at the stage break for four tires, fuel and a slight air pressure adjustment. After restarting 15th with 24 to go, he worked his way back through the field and was up to 10th with 15 to go. The caution came out with 11 to go, and the team made the call to come down pit road under the caution for four tires and fuel. Hemric restarted 11th with eight to go, but another caution came out before the lap was complete. After restarting 8th with five to go, Hemric went on to finish the race seventh, just missing the Playoff round of eight by two points. 

“We raced hard today, I am truly proud of this race team and the way we executed today. We had a plan and stuck to it. We didn’t loose it here today, we lost it at Texas. That falls on myself, but I have big shoulders and I can handle it. We will continue this journey.” 

– Daniel Hemric

Chandler Smith, No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevrolet Camaro

• Chandler Smith qualified 17th for the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina.
• Smith made three opening-lap passes, which placed him in 14th. On lap seven, he radioed to crew chief Bruce Schlicker that the No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevrolet Camaro lacked lateral drive, affecting his speed out of corners. He made a move into 13th on lap 11 around teammate Jordan Taylor, and after multiple cars in front of him pitted before the end of the stage, he finished the opening stage in sixth place.
• Smith pitted during the stage caution for tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. He restarted in 18th on lap 25 and quickly fell back to 20th. After fighting with the No. 08 and 07 cars for multiple laps, he broke apart from them on lap 34 to move back in 19th. A debris caution came out with two laps to go, ending the stage under caution, leading to Smith finishing in eighth since multiple drivers in front of him had already pitted.
• After stopping for more tires and fuel and another track bar adjustment, Smith restarted in 20th with 24 laps to go in the race. He made four passes to move into 16th by the time the caution came out with 12 laps remaining. Smith brought the No. 16 Chevy back into the pits for one last set of tires and more fuel before restarting with eight to go in 17th. The race’s final caution came out just moments after the green flag flew, forcing Smith to make a quick maneuver to the inside to avoid the wreck in turn one. He restarted four spots higher up the order when the race got going for the final time, taking the green from 13th place on lap 63 of 67. He moved up one more spot, finishing in 12th and qualifying for the NXS Playoffs Round of 8.

“I was trying to get acclimated to the race track, and I felt like I did by the middle part of stage one or the beginning of stage two. I just didn’t have any forward drive. I could get it to turn really well, but I just couldn’t get it to come off the corner fast. I think it’s going to take a win to make it into the championship race, but I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in the Round of 8.“

– Chandler Smith

Jordan Taylor, No. 11 LA Golf Chevrolet Camaro

• Jordan Taylor qualified 12th for his first NXS start at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
• 10 laps in, while running 13th, Taylor fell to 18th as he radioed to the No. 11 LA Golf team that he thought he was overdriving the car; ultimately missing the bus stop, resulting to his Chevy falling back to 18th. As stage one concludes, Taylor expressed that the team will need to make a pretty big swing when he comes in to pit. Not long after that statement, Taylor was called to pit road on lap 17, while under green, for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Taylor ultimately finished stage one 33rd.
• As stage two commenced, Taylor restarted 10th. Settling in to feel out how the adjustments from his previous stop weighed out, Taylor fell back to 17th by lap 33. Stating he can’t get close enough to the car in front of him to make passes, Taylor asked the No. 11 team to make additional adjustments. By lap 37, Taylor was called to pit road for additional service which included four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. As he reentered the track, a caution was called for debris just shy of the stage flag. This caution served as the end to stage two and scored Taylor 32nd.
• Restarting 12th for the final stage, Taylor expressed that he felt a vibration in his brakes by lap 49 and fell to 16th. A debris cation fell on lap 55 while Taylor was running in 16th. The No. 11 team took that opportunity to pit for the final time for tires, fuel and an additional double chassis adjustment. Restarting 20th, the field did not even complete a lap before the final event caution waived. When the field restarted on lap 62, Taylor was marked 17th and he was able to gain one stop in the final five laps to bring the No. 11 LA Golf Chevrolet home 16th.

“I’d say things didn’t go exactly to plan. I felt like we had a top 10 pace after qualifying, but as soon as the green flag dropped I felt like I struggled a bit over the long green flag run. The guys made great adjustments in the stops to get us some more pace, but I think we had lost too much track position but that point to be a contender. Huge thanks to everyone at Kaulig for giving me another shot. Always great working with them, just wish I could have given them a better result.”

– Jordan Taylor