Kaulig Racing Race Recap | Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola

NKP #11: Josh Williams, Kaulig Racing, Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet Camaro, #19: Joe Graf Jr, Joe Gibbs Racing, REAGAN The Movie Toyota Supra

Josh Williams qualified 10th for the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway.
The caution came out on lap one, and Williams restarted from eighth on lap 10. Moving down to the bottom, Williams ran as the second car on the inside line at the halfway point of Stage 1. He dropped back as the pack raced towards the green-white-checkered and finished the stage in 14th.
Williams pitted for tires and fuel and fired off for Stage 2 as the fourth car on the outside line on lap 37. Quickly moving down to the inside line once again, Williams hooked up with teammate AJ Allmendinger and attempted to push the middle lane forward. The outside line gained momentum near halfway, and Williams dropped back down to the inside line. The pack evolved to single-file running with Williams at the tail of the lead group. As the racing up front intensified, Williams continued to run passively within the pack. The stage finished under yellow with Williams running in 10th.
After stopping for tires and fuel, Williams took the green for the final stage from 16th place with 35 laps to go. He slid into the outside line just before a spin brought out the yellow flag with Williams running 20th. Restarting from the inside of the eighth row with 27 laps remaining, Williams moved to the outside line immediately. On lap 77, a wreck broke out right in front of the No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevy Camaro, and by mere inches, Williams avoided it. The race restarted with 18 laps left, and Williams fired off in 13th. With the intensity elevating late, a car narrowly avoided collecting Williams in a wreck once again with five laps to go, setting up overtime. Williams restarted in 12th and took the checkered under yellow in 11th.

“We had a top-five car for sure, just every lane we got in wasn’t the right one. Still a good day overall, and we got a bit of luck missing two big wrecks. Kept the car clean. We’ll get after it again next weekend.”

– Josh Williams

AJ Allmendinger qualified third for the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway.
The first caution of the night came on the opening lap. Allmendinger was still scored in third place, where he would restart on lap 10. On the first lap green, Allmendinger took over second, maintaining his position in the bottom lane. On lap 11, the bottom lane surged and Allmendinger took the lead. As the field went three wide and the top lane gained momentum, Allmendinger fell back to fourth and then back to eighth as the field went double file. Within two laps, Allmendinger had taken the lead again and went on to finish the opening stage in third place. During the stage break, Allmendinger reported he was a little free off the corners. The team came to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment.
Allmendinger restarted as the third car top row on lap 37. On the first lap green, Allmendinger took fifth place. By lap 41, Allmendinger had taken the lead and reported his No. 16 Campers Inn RV Chevy fired off better. Allmendinger went on to finish the second stage in fourth place. As the green-white-checkered flag waved, Allmendinger reported he was loose at the end of the stage. The No. 16 Chevy was brought to pit road for track bar and air pressure adjustments.
Allmendinger restarted in 12th place for the final stage on lap 66 and had taken over ninth place on the same lap. One lap later, Allmendinger was in third place, where he remained when the caution came out on lap 70. He reported he was happy with the car and he restarted on the top of the front row on lap 74. Allmendinger took the lead on the start and maintained position in the top three. When the caution came on lap 72, Allmendinger was scored in second. Going into NASCAR overtime, Allmendinger restarted front row on the top lane. On the final lap, Allmendinger spun on the entry to turn one and finished 24th.

“We had a fast No. 16 Campers Inn RV Chevy today. I’m proud of my guys for their effort and the progress we’ve made. It’s disappointing; I felt like we did everything right, but it didn’t work out there at the end.”

– AJ Allmendinger

Shane van Gisbergen qualified 19th for the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway.
Van Gisbergen fought to maintain position as he battled an extremely loose race car during the entire stage. Nearing the stage conclusion, he relayed a potential vibration and issues with the steering. Van Gisbergen took the green-white-checkered in 21st.
At the conclusion of the first stage, the No. 97 SafetyCulture team opted to pit before pit road was officially open to make major adjustments. Van Gisbergen was sent to the back of the field for entering pit road early. The No. 97 team started stage two, 26th, quickly advancing to 21st to begin the stage. Van Gisbergen continued to battle a loose car during the duration of the stage, reporting the previous changes had not been helpful. He completed the stage 19th.
The No. 97 team came to pit road for a huge adjustment before starting the final stage of the race. Van Gisbergen started stage three, 33rd. Van Gisbergen quickly made his way up to 18th, five laps into the stage. Caution came out with 31 laps remaining in the race and the No. 97 team opted to pit for four fresh tires. The No. 97 Chevy restarted the stage, 25th. Van Gisbergen avoided a huge crash with 24 laps remaining in the race. The No. 97 team opted to pit for four new tires. Van Gisbergen restarted the stage 24th with 19 laps remaining in the event. The No. 97 SafetyCulture Chevy quickly made its way to 15th with just 15 laps remaining in the race. Van Gisbergen was damaged in a wreck with 6 laps remaining in the race, making the No. 97 come to pit road for new tires and front end repair. Van Gisbergen restarted the race, 26th and ultimately took the checkered flag, 25th.