AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Camaro ZL1
Allmendinger started the Daytona 500 29thin the No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Camaro ZL1 after finishing 15th in the first Blue Green Duel Thursday night.
After losing the draft on the first round of green-flag pit stops, Allmendinger battled for the free pass position and finished stage one in 33rd.
Back on the lead lap, Allmendinger fought through traffic and worked on pit strategy to finish stage two in eighth place, earning his first stage points of the season.
During the final stage, Allmendinger led a lap but lacked the speed to stay at the front. Restarting as the third car on the inside line and being in contention on the final restart, Allmendinger was caught up in a last-lap crash and brought the No. 16 Camaro ZL1 home in sixth.
“I’m really pleased with the finish we had. Any time you get to start the season with a top 10 in the Daytona 500 it’s a big deal. I felt like our car handled very well. It was just tough racing that was very track-position oriented. When we got out front, we just lacked a little bit of speed to stay up there; that was the toughest thing. Overall, our guys did a great job and fought hard throughout the day. You just have to be there at the end. We had a shot to win the Daytona 500. That’s pretty freaking cool. I wish we could have done it, but all you can ask for is having a real opportunity, and we did tonight. That’s pretty special.”
– AJ Allmendinger
Justin Haley, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1
Justin Haley started 28th for the Daytona 500 following a 31st-place time trial and 14th-place duel finish.
Haley’s No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1 built tight throughout the first stage of the Daytona 500. Pitting on lap 38 for two tires and fuel, Haley went on to finish 16th in the first stage.
Haley made a fuel-only, green-flag stop on lap 106, before pitting again for four tires when a caution fell on lap 118. He went on to finish stage two in 22nd.
Haley raced his way into the top 10 during the final stage but ultimately lost track position before being turned into the wall during a green-white-checkered incident. He was scored 32nd.
“We had a great run going there for a while. We were unfortunately just caught up in what was ultimately just one of those green-white-checkered deals that are inevitable at superspeedways. We struggled a little bit all weekend. This package is pretty tough to pass with, but it was fun to be up there battling in the top 10 there for a bit.”
– Justin Haley
Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. 300
Justin Haley, No. 10 DaaBIN Store Chevrolet
Haley qualified 19th in the No. 10 DaaBIN Store Chevrolet for the Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. 300.
Justin Haley worked with teammate, Chandler Smith, throughout stage one, and Haley finished the stage in fourth, while pushing Smith to a runner-up stage finish
Haley acquired left rear damage and a tire rub during the second stage on lap 42, and pit for repairs. Haley restarted 32nd and quickly worked his way back up to just outside the top 10 before finishing the stage in 20th.
During the final stage, Haley was separated from teammate, Smith, unable to link up to the finish. He was able to avoid last-lap mayhem to finish the race in 10th.
“We had some really good speed in our No. 10 DaaBIN Store Chevy. The race just didn’t pan out the way we needed it to in order to work with our teammates. Without any help at the end, we just didn’t have enough. We will try again here in the summer.”
– Justin Haley
Chandler Smith, No. 16 Quick Tie Chevrolet
Chandler Smith qualified 8th for the Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. 300 in the Quick Tie Chevrolet Camaro.
After working with teammate Justin Haley throughout stage one, Smith fought with eventual race winner Austin Hill for the stage win, but ultimately finished the stage in second
During the second stage, Smith bailed out of the pack to avoid a stage-ending crash and crossed the line in 32nd
Smith went on to avoid another late-race crash and finished 12th overall in the final stage
“Bringing the Quick Tie Chevy Camaro home in 12th place was a good day’s work. I tried to make a few moves out of the draft earlier than I probably should have, so I know we could have had a better finish, but I am extremely happy with my first result with Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series.”
Daniel Hemric qualified sixth in the No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet for the Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. 300.
Hemric started out strong in stage one, running in the top 10 alongside Kaulig Racing teammates, Justin Haley and Chandler Smith
Hemric‘s day was unfortunately cut short after acquiring damage in an incident on lap 21, relegating him to a 36th-place finish
“That was definitely not how we wanted our season to start. It looked like someone changed lanes, and next thing i know, i saw him (07) turn right in front of me. It was just wrong-place-wrong time. That’s how this goes sometimes — it’s all fair game with plate racing. We had started to put together some good runs, so it’s unfortunate for our No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet team. This mistake won’t define us. We will carry on to next week.”
