No. 16 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1
- AJ Allmendinger qualified 32nd for the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
- The first caution of the race came early on lap two; Allmendinger had driven up to 29th place. The field restarted on lap six, and Allmendinger continued to gain positions, taking over 16th place on lap 27, before green-flag pit stops began on lap 33. The No. 16 stayed on track, claiming second place on lap 34 and came to pit road on lap 39 for tires and fuel. The second caution of the day fell before Allmendinger had cycled through the field after his green flag stop. He was scored in 24th and reported his Chevy was tight and he needed more turn, but he had good rear drive he didn’t want to lose. The team came to pit road for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment and restarted in 30th place. Battling through the field, Allmendinger went on to finish the opening stage in 16th.
- Allmendinger came to pit road during the stage break for tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment to help with the handling of the car. He restarted the second stage in 17th place on lap 88. By lap 100, Allmendinger had taken over 12th place and stayed on track as green-flag pit stops began on lap 115. On lap 124, from third place, Allmendinger came to pit road for a scheduled, green-flag pit stop. After exiting pit road, Allmendinger continued to drive through the field, reporting the front end was tight, and he was losing rear grip. On the last lap of the stage, Allmendinger took 10th place, where he finished the stage.
- The No. 16 came to pit road during the stage break for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment to loosen up the car. Allmendinger restarted in 12th place on lap 172, hoping for a long run for the handling of the car. The caution came 14 laps later on lap 186; Allmendinger was scored in 12th. The team pitted for tires, fuel, and additional adjustments before restarting in 13th on lap 192. On the restart, Allmendinger took over 10th place and had taken ninth by lap 193. The team stayed on track as green-flag pit stops began, before coming to pit road on lap 223 from the fifth position. By lap 233, Allmendinger had regained his position in 10th place, and on lap 253 Allmendinger had taken over seventh. When the caution came on lap 257, the No. 16 came to pit road for four tires and fuel. He restarted in eighth place with seven laps remaining. Allmendinger went on to finish in eighth place.
“Overall, really good day. We had to come from the back several times. Andrew [Dickeson] and the whole No. 16 group did a great job. Pit stops were good, strategy was good. We probably needed just a little bit more front turn to go run with the leader. I was really happy; I felt like we had really good pace. Proud of our group and the effort today.”
– AJ Allmendinger
No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1
- Daniel Hemric qualified ninth for the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, earning his best qualifying effort of the 2024 NCS season.
- The field completed only one lap, before the first caution came out for a spin ahead of Hemric. Restarting from eighth, Hemric was slow to fire off and fell to 24th, before making his first, scheduled green-flag pit stop for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Firing off better the second run, Hemric made it back to the top 20, as debris brought out the second caution. While driving down pit road for a scheduled pit stop, Hemric made contact with another car and was forced to pit twice to make repairs to the grille of the No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet. Restarting from 36th, Hemric made up nine spots to finish the first stage in 27th.
- During the first stage break, Hemric pitted for tires, fuel, wedge and right-side air pressure adjustments to help him drive into the corners better. He started the second stage from 23rd and made it as high as 12th when the green-flag pit cycle began. Hemric pitted on lap 120 for fresh tires and fuel. Towards the end of the stage, Hemric found speed and stayed on the lead lap to finish the second stage in 29th.
- Crew chief Trent Owens made the call for an attitude adjustment on the No. 31 Chevy, making multiple adjustments during the team’s scheduled pit stop. Hemric started the final stage in 30th, making his way up to 27th when the next caution came out. Hemric relayed that the previous changes gave him more movability in the No. 31 Chevy, as Owens brought him back down pit road for more of the same changes. Hemric restarted 30th on lap 192 and eventually fell one lap to the leaders. A late caution with 12 laps to go allowed Hemric to take the wave around and gain the lap back. He restarted 31st with seven to go and went on to finish the race in 29th.
“We started the weekend with so much speed and our best qualifying spot of the year. Unfortunately not being able to run the top was our biggest challenge. Trent [Owens] made some positive changes that helped get some movability in the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy and get us moving in the right direction towards the end.”
– Daniel Hemric
Kaulig Racing PR
