Kaulig Racing Race Recap | Pacific Office Automation 147 - Speedway Digest

Shane van Gisbergen wins the Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway
SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 97 Quad Lock Chevrolet Camaro

Shane van Gisbergen qualified second for the Pacific Office Automation 147.
Shane van Gisbergen and the Quad Lock team started the 75-lap event from second on Saturday afternoon. By lap 15 SVG worked his way back into second after dropping to third on lap one. SVG took over the race lead on lap 16 and lead the field until making a scheduled green-flag pit stop with two laps remaining in the stage. Following the stop, Van Gisbergen ended the stage in 32nd on lap 25.
Van Gisbergen started the second stage from the lead on lap 29. Following contact on the restart, Van Gisbergen slipped to fifth on lap 34 and maintained his position, ultimately finishing the second stage in fifth on lap 50.
Van Gisbergen started the final stage in 10th with 21 laps remaining in the race. SVG worked his way up to second when caution flag waved once again with 13 laps remaining in the race. Staying out, the Quad Lock team restarted second with eight laps remaining.
Following another quick caution, Van Gisbergen maintained his position and restarted in second once again with four laps remaining in the 75-lap event. On the restart, Van Gisbergen took over the lead and never looked back, earning his first-career NASCAR Xfinity Series Victory.

“What an effort by this Quad Lock Kaulig team. We fought through a little adversity through the middle part of the race but never gave up and ended up with a great result!”

Shane van Gisbergen

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro AJ Allmendinger qualified 10th for the Pacific Office Automation 147. Allmendinger started at the rear of the field after suffering damage in qualifying, resulting in the team going to the back up car.
By lap three, Allmendinger was up to 30th place. On lap 16, Allmendinger was running 17th, reporting his No. 16 Celsius Chevy was tight and lacking rear grip. He went on to finish the opening stage in 15th place. Under the stage break, Allmendinger came to pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments.
Allmendinger restarted in 15th, and by lap 35, he was in 10th place. He remained quiet on the radio and went on to finish the second stage in 12th place. Allmendinger asked for more turn in his race car. After coming to pit road, the team restarted the final stage in 15th place.
With 14 laps remaining, Allmendinger had driven back into the top 10. With multiple late race cautions and restarts, the No. 16 was running fifth with three laps remaining. Allmendinger went on to finish fourth in the Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway.

“What a day. Proud of our team for preparing the backup car and getting it ready to race after qualifying. Disappointed for my guys we came up short, but congratulations to Shane and the No. 97.”

AJ Allmendinger
JOSH WILLIAMS
No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet Camaro Josh Williams qualified 22nd for the Pacific Office Automation 147.
Williams began picking off positions towards the top 10, reaching a stage high of 13th on lap 15. After pushing hard at the start however, Williams’ tires quickly fell off, and he fell to 17th before the leaders pitted near stage end. He finished stage one in 16th.
Williams brought the No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevy down pit road for tires and fuel and took the stage two green flag from 16th on lap 30. Battling a racecar that got tighter as the stage progressed, Williams lost one spot en route to a 17th-place stage two finish.
Williams pitted for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment and started the final stage in 16th with 20 laps to go. He took advantage of chaos on the restart, rolling into 11th place one lap after firing back off. The race’s first natural caution came out with 12 laps remaining, and Williams elected not to come into the pits. After a brief run under green, another wreck brought out the yellow, and he restarted with four to go while running 11th. Williams hustled his way to a seventh-place finish, beating his previous best finish of the season that came in the race prior.

“Just an awesome day for everyone at Kaulig Racing, and I couldn’t be happier for Shane [van Gisbergen]. We had a fast car all day, and all it took to get the finish we deserved were a couple minor adjustments. I appreciate everyone on the Alloy Employer Services team for their hard work over a long Saturday here at Portland.”