- Shane van Gisbergen qualified 32nd for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
- Van Gisbergen maintained position throughout the opening stage, while battling a loose-handling No. 16 SafetyCulture Chevrolet. The first stage concluded without caution, and Van Gisbergen crossed the line in 36th.
- The No. 16 SafetyCulture Chevy started the second stage 39th, after being issued a speeding penalty on pit road. Halfway through the second stage, Van Gisbergen worked his way through the field into the top 10, running eighth for multiple laps, before a caution came out. The No. 16 team opted to pit for fuel and fresh tires during the yellow flag, restarting the stage 13th. Van Gisbergen quickly broke back into the top 10, three laps into the restart. After running at the front of the field, the No. 16 SafetyCulture team opted to drop towards the back of the pack. On lap 80 of the race, the No. 16 exited the race due to a mechanical problem and finished 35th.
“Unfortunate circumstances today. Our No. 16 SafetyCulture Chevy was a solid car and had a lot of speed. I hate it for our Kaulig Racing team, but something we can’t control. Ran up front there for a bit and showed our potential, but not the finish we hoped for. Get another shot at it next weekend in Darlington!”
– Shane van Gisbergen
- Daniel Hemric qualified 28th for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
- Hemric made it up to 18th within the first seven laps of the race and maintained a top-20 position for the majority of the opening stage. As the intensity ramped up towards the front of the field, Hemric dropped back with five laps to go, playing it safe and finishing the first stage in 33rd.
- During the first stage break, Hemric radioed that the front end of the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy felt a little light. Crew chief Trent Owens made the call for Hemric to pit the second time by, in order to save fuel. He started the second stage from 32nd place. Hemric made it as high as third, where he ran for a handful of laps. By lap 59, a massive crash brought out the first caution, and Hemric was unable to avoid it completely. Fortunately, the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy received minimal damage and was able to carry on. After pitting to change tires and check for damage, he restarted 28th on lap 66. The next caution came out on lap 81, and Hemric pitted for tires and fuel, with the plan of pitting for fuel only at the stage break. Playing it safe, Hemric dropped out of the lead pack for the final seven laps of the second stage, finishing 25th.
- During the second stage break, Hemric pitted for fuel only. After acquiring a pit-road penalty, he started the final stage in 20th place. On lap 109, Hemric radioed from ninth place that his No. 31 Cirkul Chevy was tight on the bottom. The next caution came out on lap 140, as Hemric avoided a spin in front. He pitted for right-side tires and fuel, before restarting 19th with 16 laps remaining. With nine to go, a wreck brought out the caution. Hemric avoided the mayhem and restarted 15th with three to go. As an overtime-inducing caution brought out the yellow, Hemric avoided getting any major damage. He restarted ninth for the first overtime attempt and finished the race in ninth.
“Speedway racing. It was chaotic. I thought we lined up pretty well there for the green-white-checkered and tried to formulate something going into [turns] three and four. I made a move to separate, and I got shoved. Luckily, I got a big shot coming to the line to even get back forward and get spots back into the top 10. All-in-all, it was a decent day for the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy team. Appreciate Cirkul and all they do for us and all the people we have here supporting us. Looking forward to going to one of the coolest race tracks in the country next weekend.”
– Daniel Hemric
Kaulig Racing PR
