No. 16 Acceptance Insurance Camaro ZL1
- Shane van Gisbergen qualified 34th for the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
- After completing the first lap, Van Gisbergen battled a tight-handling No. 16 Acceptance Insurance Chevy. Maximizing a caution one lap later, crew chief Travis Mack opted to bring Van Gisbergen to pit road for a quick adjustment. Van Gisbergen restarted the stage 33rd. During green-flag pit stops, Van Gisbergen progressed to the front of the field and led three laps during the stage. The No. 16 Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet ran in the top 10 for more than 15 laps. Van Gisbergen continued to battle tight conditions and finished the first stage 30th.
- The No. 16 came to pit road at the stage break for fresh tires, fuel, and adjustments. Van Gisbergen started Stage 2 in 30th and pitted for four tires, fuel, and adjustments 45 laps into the stage. Van Gisbergen pitted once more for fresh tires, fuel, and adjustments, as he continued to battle a tight-handling car. He went on to finish the second stage in 31st place.
- Van Gisbergen started the final stage in 31st. The No. 16 team opted to pit for the first time in the stage with 85 laps remaining, giving the Assurance Insurance Chevrolet four fresh tires and fuel. A caution came out with 52 laps remaining in the race, and the No. 16 team opted to pit for new tires and fuel, restarting the stage in 27th. Multiple cautions occurred at the end of Stage 3, and Van Gisbergen took the checkered flag in 26th.
“That was a tough one. The car was just super tight all race, but my No. 16 Acceptance Insurance team never gave up and kept trying to make the car better as the night continued. I learned a lot and am looking forward to next Sunday with this team.”
– Shane van Gisbergen
No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1
- Daniel Hemric qualified 25th for the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
- The first and only caution of the opening stage came after just two laps complete. As the first round of green-flag pit stops began, Hemric made it as high as 19th, before pitting on lap 36 for four tires and fuel. He made his second stop on lap 70 for more tires and fuel, before finishing the first stage in 28th.
- Hemric radioed that the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy was handling on the free side, before pitting during the stage break for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. He started the second stage from 26th place and made his first green-flag pit stop of the stage on lap 160 for tires and fuel. He made his second stop of the stage 30 laps later but brushed the wall, before coming down pit road. Hemric radioed that the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy had a slight toe issue, following contact with the wall. He went on to finish the second stage in 32nd.
- During the second stage break, Hemric pitted multiple times to repair the toe on the No. 31 Chevy, as well as tires and fuel. He started the final stage from 32nd place. Hemric battled handling issues in the No. 31, due to the contact with the wall. He pitted under green on lap 276 for tires and fuel. A caution on lap 313 allowed Hemric to pit for a wedge adjustment to help free up the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy. He restarted 33rd on lap 320, but the field went just one lap before another caution brought out the yellow. Hemric pitted under caution for tires, before restarting 33rd with 40 laps remaining. The next caution came out for debris with 32 laps to go. Ineligible to take the wave around, Hemric pitted under caution for four tires and fuel, before restarting 32nd with 26 laps remaining. The field went green only two laps, before a wreck brought out the yellow once again. Hemric restarted 29th on lap 350 and went on to finish 29th.
“A long, tough battle at Darlington transitioning from day to nighttime. We started making improvements by the end of the second stage, but I got into the wall, knocking the toe out of the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy. That definitely hurt us quite a bit, but I’m proud of the fight in this Kaulig Racing team.”
– Daniel Hemric
Kaulig Racing PR
