No. 16 Celsius Camaro ZL1
- AJ Allmendinger qualified 28th for the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
- After reporting early the No. 16 Celsius Chevy was free, Allmendinger came to pit under green on lap 39. Crew chief, Travis Mack, called for air pressure and wedge adjustment to help with the handling of the car. Allmendinger went on to finish 30th on the opening stage.
- Allmendinger restarted the second stage in 32nd. When the caution came out on lap 117, the No. 16 came to pit road for wedge and air pressure adjustments to assist with handling. On lap 137, a caution was displayed for weather. When the race resumed, Allmendinger stayed out to restart in 24th on lap 141. Allmendinger went on to finish the second stage in 22nd place.
- The No. 16 pit under the stage break and restarted in 24th. When the caution came out on lap 210, Allmendinger came to pit road for right sides only and restarted in 21st on lap 213. By lap 219 when the next caution was displayed, Allmendinger was in 18th place and reported his No. 16 Chevy was good, but he needed clean air. The team stayed out and restarted on the front row in second place on lap 226. Allmendinger maintained second place until lap 240 when he fell to 3rd, where he was running when the next caution came on lap 244. The No. 16 stayed out under this caution to restart in 3rd on lap 249. The No. 16 slowly faded back to 11th place by lap 276. On lap 292, Allmendinger came to pit road under green for four tires and fuel. The caution fell two laps later and Allmendinger restarted in 31st for overtime. The caution came back out after the restart, Allmendinger received the lucky dog and came to pit road for sticker tires. After five overtime restarts, Allmendinger finished in 11th.
“Long, hard fought day. I felt like as the race went on, we improved the race car. We weren’t able to get the track position there til the end. Unfortunately, that strategy didn’t work out. We were able to miss all the wrecks, get our lap back and make the most out of our day. Overall, something we can learn fun. Good finish for both cars. Good day for the race team.”
– AJ Allmendinger
No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1
- Daniel Hemric qualified 37th for the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
- Hemric gained four spots on the initial start and was told he would be running long in the No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1. He made it as high as fourth during the green-flag pit stops and made his stop on lap 70 for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The opening stage remained green, and Hemric finished 32nd.
- During the first stage break, Hemric was able to take the wave around, placing him back on the lead lap to start the second stage from 28th place. The first caution of the day came out on lap 117, as Hemric sat 30th. He pitted for tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment, before restarting 26th on lap 122. The next caution came out just five laps later, and Hemric elected to stay out. Once the green flag came out on lap 131, lightning brought out the red flag on lap 137. When the pits reopened, Hemric pitted for tires, fuel and a front adjustment, before restarting 33rd on lap 140. Struggling with front grip, Hemric finished the second stage in 35th.
- During the second stage break, Hemric pitted for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to free up the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy. A caution on lap 203 allowed Hemric to pit once again for tires, fuel and more adjustments. The field went back to green on lap 209, before another caution came out on the restart. Crew chief Trent Owens made the call for Hemric to pit for fuel only, before he restarted 34th with 87 laps remaining. The eighth caution of the day came out on lap 219, and Hemric made another fuel-only stop in the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy, before restarting 21st with 70 to go. Hemric avoided a spin in front of him on the restart, putting the field back under caution. The team elected to stay out before restarting 20th with 66 to go. The next caution came out for a wreck with 58 laps to go. Owens made the call to put four tires on, and Hemric restarted 26th with 52 laps remaining. Running faster laps than the next seven cars ahead of him with 10 laps to go, Hemric had made it up to 18th when an overtime-inducing caution came out with two laps remaining. Owens made a strategy call to stay out under caution, putting Hemric 11th coming to the first overtime attempt. Unable to avoid a wreck on the restart, Hemric sustained minor damage, forcing him to pit for tires. After pitting too early, Hemric restarted at the rear for the second overtime attempt. The field was unable to make it to the white flag, and went on to make five-overtime attempts before finally seeing the checkered flag. Hemric finished ninth, his third top-10 of the season.
“Today was just another example of our season; it’s been a roller coaster ride. We struggled with short-run speed all weekend on the No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet. After the rain delay and a couple of good adjustments, I thought if we could get track position, we would be OK. We finally got it and got caught in a crash. I thought every corner was knocked off the car. Somehow, some way, the seas kept parting. We were able to have a couple of good restarts at the end and cross the line in ninth. What a weekend, but I’ll take it”
– Daniel Hemric
Kaulig Racing PR
