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  • Kaulig Racing reveals crew chief lineup for 2025 Xfinity season

    Kaulig Racing reveals crew chief lineup for 2025 Xfinity season

    Kaulig Racing took to social media to reveal its 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series crew chief lineup that features the return of three familiar names from the previous season.

    For the upcoming racing season, Kevin Walter will be working atop the pit box of the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro team that is set to be piloted by incoming Xfinity Series rookie Daniel Dye. Veteran Eddie Pardue will remain as a crew chief for Josh Williams and the No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro team, a position he assumed midway into the 2024 season, while Alex Yontz will return as a crew chief for Kaulig’s No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro team that will be driven by incoming rookie Christian Eckes.

    The news comes as Kaulig Racing is coming off its ninth consecutive campaign in the Xfinity Series and fourth in a row fielding three full-time entries. The organization has also fielded a fourth entry for 10 races total that was piloted by Dye, the latter of whom was making his first set of appearances in the Xfinity division while also competing as a full-time competitor for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series.

    Throughout the 2024 season, the Kaulig organization notched four victories, three with Shane van Gisbergen and one with AJ Allmendinger as both also made the Playoffs. While van Gisbergen finished 12th in the final driver’s standings, Allmendinger finished third after he made the Championship 4 round by winning the Playoff’s Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October. Meanwhile, Williams, who campaigned in his first Xfinity season at Kaulig, finished 18th in the standings on the strengths of four top-10 results while Dye recorded two top-10 results during his 10-race stint.

    In total, Kaulig Racing achieved a combined four victories, three poles, 14 top-five results, 34 top-10 results and 374 laps led in 2024.

    Fthe start of the 2025 season at Kaulig’s No. 10 team is set to mark his third different entry working within the organization and since he began as an Xfinity crew chief in 2024. He initially commenced this past season as a crew chief for Williams and the No. 11 team. Following the first 20 scheduled events, Walter replaced the departing Bruce Schlicker to work atop the pit box of Kaulig’s No. 97 Chevrolet that was piloted by van Gisbergen. Through 33 appearances as an Xfinity crew chief, Walter has notched one pole, two top-five results and seven top-10 results while working with two competitors (van Gisbergen and Williams). Both he and driver Daniel Dye enter the 2025 season with pursuits of notching their first victories in the series.

    Walter’s midseason change of Kaulig entry teams in 2024 resulted in Eddie Pardue assuming the position of crew chief Williams and the No. 11 Chevrolet team, beginning at Michigan International Speedway in August. It also marked Pardue’s first appearance as a crew chief in the Xfinity circuit since he was at TriStar Motorsports in 2016. Having made his Xfinity crew chief debut at the start of the 1998 season while working with Elton Sawyer, Pardue has called a current total of 351 events while working with 24 competitors as an Xfinity crew chief.

    Throughout the span, Paedue achieved three victories, two with Greg Biffle and one with Matt Kenseth, while leading Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 16 Ford team in 2009. Before being elevated as a crew chief for Kaulig, he was the team’s engineering manager, a position he held since December 2022. Having also called 33 events as a Cup Series crew chief and 22 in the Truck Series, Pardue is set to call a full season with Williams, the latter of whom continues his pursuit for his first Xfinity victory.

    Meanwhile, Alex Yontz remains as a crew chief for Kaulig’s No. 16 Chevrolet team for a second consecutive season come the start of the 2025 season. With AJ Allmendinger returning for a full campaign at Kaulig, Christian Eckes assumes Allmendinger’s Xfinity seat after spending the previous two seasons in the Truck Series, where he won a total of eight races with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing and made the Championship 4 round this past season.

    Yontz, who made his crew chief debut at the start of the 2019 Xfinity season, has achieved a total of nine victories with four competitors through 184 appearances as a crew chief. During the six years, he also made two Championship 4 appearances: the first with Justin Haley in 2020 and his recent with Allmendinger in 2024, both of which resulted in third-place finishes in the final driver’s standings. Eckes will become the 16th competitor overall to work with Yontz, the latter of whom continues his pursuit for his first NASCAR championship as a crew chief.

    Ironically, Kaulig’s reveal of its Xfinity crew chief lineup in 2025 comes exactly two weeks after the organization revealed its Cup crew chief lineup that consists of Andrew Dickeson and Trent Owens for Ty Dillon and Allmendinger, respectively.

    The 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season will commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 15 at 5 p.m. ET on the CW Network.

  • Kaulig Racing reveals driver-crew chief pairing for 2024 Xfinity Series season

    Kaulig Racing reveals driver-crew chief pairing for 2024 Xfinity Series season

    Kaulig Racing took to social media to reveal its driver-crew chief pairing that features a full shuffling of crew chief assignments alongside new and familiar drivers towards its three-car operation for the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

    First off, Kevin Walter joins the Kaulig organization to serve as a crew chief for the first time in his career and for the No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro entry that will be piloted by Josh Williams in 2024. Walter joins Kaulig after previously serving as an engineer for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series and as a Cup Series crew chief for five races while paired with Michael McDowell and Leavine Family Racing in 2015. He spent this past season as an engineer for Josh Berry and the No. 8 JRM team. Like Walter, his driver, Williams, is a newcomer at Kaulig, a team he joins after making 186 series career starts to date (2016-23). He spent this past season as an Xfinity competitor for DGM Racing, where he ended up in 21st place in the final driver’s standings and has both 11 top-10 career finishes and an average-finishing result of 22.7 to date.

    Meanwhile, Alex Yontz will return to Kaulig for a fifth season as he will work atop the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro entry team that will be piloted by veteran AJ Allmendinger. Yontz, a former racer turned crew chief from Walnut Cove, North Carolina, has eight Xfinity victories as a crew chief to date, including three this past season with Allmendinger twice (Circuit of the Americas in March & Nashville Superspeedway in June) and Kyle Larson once (Darlington Raceway in May) while working atop Kaulig’s No. 10 pit box. For 2024, he will be paired with Allmendinger, a 17-time Xfinity race winner who returns to the series amid a one-year absence, where he spent the previous season in the Cup Series at Kaulig and won at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course last October.

    Lastly, Bruce Schlicker also returns for a fifth season at Kaulig as he will work atop the No. 97 Chevrolet Camaro entry team that will be piloted by newcomer Shane van Gisbergen. Schlicker, who holds both a Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University, has seven Xfinity victories as a crew chief to date, including five with Allmendinger in 2022 and one this past season with Chandler Smith that occurred at Richmond Raceway last April. The upcoming season presents a new pairing for Schlicker as he will work with van Gisbergen, a three-time Supercars champion from Auckland, New Zealand, who won in his Cup Series debut at the Chicago Street Course last July and is set to campaign in his first campaign within NASCAR’s top three national touring series for the 2024 Xfinity circuit. The Australian will also compete as a part-time Cup Series competitor for Trackhouse Racing, the team which van Gisbergen won with at Chicago.

    The 2024 season is set to mark Kaulig Racing’s ninth consecutive season in the Xfinity Series and fourth fielding three full-time entries. Through a combined 524 starts, the organization has notched 23 victories, 15 poles, 121 top-five results, 274 top-10 results, 2,789 laps led. The team has also notched two Cup Series victories in a combined 158 career starts. Having placed at least one entry in the Xfinity Series Playoffs since the team’s and Playoff’s inception since 2016, Kaulig remains in pursuit of its first NASCAR national touring series championship.

    Kaulig Racing’s crew chief lineup for its NASCAR Cup Series operations, including its plans for the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team that still remains vacant along for Jason Trinchere, who served as the crew chief for Kaulig’s No. 11 entry in the Xfinity Series, remains to be determined.

    With Kaulig Racing’s driver-crew chief pairing for the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season set, the team’s upcoming season campaign commences at Daytona International Speedway for the United Rentals 300. The event is scheduled to occur on February 17, 2024, at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Kaulig Racing finalizes crew chief lineup for 2023 NASCAR season

    Kaulig Racing finalizes crew chief lineup for 2023 NASCAR season

    Kaulig Racing took to social media to reveal its driver-crew chief pairing for the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series season that is nine days away from commencing. For this season, all three Xfinity crew chiefs that feature Bruce Schlicker, Jason Trinchere and Alex Yontz will remain with their respective Chevrolet Camaro entries.

    Yontz, a five-time race-winning crew chief who swapped from Kaulig’s No. 11 to 10 entry late during the previous season, will remain atop the No. 10 pit box that will serve as the team’s “all-star” entry and be piloted by multiple competitors. Justin Haley will be driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for the Xfinity season opener at Daytona International Speedway while former Xfinity champion Austin Dillon will make his first start of the season with Kaulig at Auto Club Speedway in late February. In addition, veteran AJ Allmendinger will be making select Xfinity starts alongside his full-time Cup Series duties with Kaulig, beginning at Circuit of the Americas in March.

    Meanwhile, Trinchere, who commenced the previous season as the crew chief of the No. 10 entry before transitioning to Kaulig’s No. 11 entry, will be remaining with the No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro team to crew chief Daniel Hemric, who returns for a second full-time stint at Kaulig. Trinchere has five Xfinity career victories to his resume, all of which occurred in 2021 with Allmendinger as the duo made the Playoffs before finishing in fourth place in the final standings. Hemric, the 2021 Xfinity Series champion, is coming off his first season at Kaulig, where he achieved a pole, three top-five results, 14 top-10 results, an average-finishing result of 15.6 and an Xfinity Playoff berth before being eliminated from title contention during the Round of 12 and finishing in ninth place in the final driver’s standings.

    Lastly, Schlicker will return as the crew chief of the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro entry that is set to be piloted by Chandler Smith, who will embark in his first full-time campaign in the Xfinity circuit and compete for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Schlicker has six Xfinity victories to his resume, with his first occurring at Talladega Superspeedway in 2021 with Jeb Burton before notching five with Allmendinger during the previous season. Smith, the 2021 Craftsman Truck Series Rookie-of-the-Year recipient, graduates to the Xfinity Series following two full-time seasons in the Truck circuit with Kyle Busch Motorsports, where he notched a total of five victories and is coming off a third-place result in last year’s championship standings. He also made his first three Xfinity starts in 2022 with Sam Hunt Racing, where he notched a career-best seventh-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway in October.

    The trio of Xfinity Series crew chiefs finalize Kaulig Racing’s full crew chief lineup that will also see Matt Swinderski and Trent Owens remaining as Cup Series crew chiefs for the team’s Nos. 16 and 31 entries, respectively. Justin Haley will be returning for a second full-time Cup stint at Kaulig in the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while Allmendinger returns to full-time Cup competition for the first time since 2018 in the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

    The 2023 season is set to mark Kaulig Racing’s eighth season in the Xfinity Series and third fielding three full-time entries. Through a combined 425 career starts, the organization has notched 19 victories, nine poles, 100 top-five results, 223 top-10 results and 2,145 laps led. Having placed at least one entry in the Xfinity Series Playoffs since its inception, the organization continues to pursue its first NASCAR championship.

    Kaulig Racing’s 2023 Xfinity Series season is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway next Saturday, February 18, at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Alex Yontz to call 100th Xfinity event as crew chief at Darlington

    Alex Yontz to call 100th Xfinity event as crew chief at Darlington

    A significant milestone start is in the making for Alex Yontz, crew chief for Daniel Hemric and the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. By participating in this weekend’s event at Darlington Raceway, Yontz will call his 100th career event in the Xfinity circuit.

    A native of Walnut Cove, North Carolina, Yontz, who grew up competing in go-karts and made starts in legend cars, late models, the ASA National Series, the ARCA Menards and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, made his debut as a NASCAR crew chief for the 2019 Xfinity Series season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway. Serving as a crew chief for Kaulig Racing’s part-time entry, the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro, that was first piloted by Ross Chastain, Yontz led Chastain to a stage victory and a 13th-place result to commence the season. 

    Through the first 15 events of the season, Yontz and Kaulig Racing’s No. 10 Chevrolet team appeared in seven. The North Carolina native also appeared as a crew chief for Justin Haley and the No. 11 Chevrolet team at Michigan International Speedway in June. During the eight-race span, Yontz’s best performances were a fourth-place run with Austin Dillon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March and an eighth-place result with Chastain at Chicagoland Speedway in June. 

    When NASCAR returned at Daytona in July, Kaulig Racing expanded to a three-car effort as Yontz served as crew chief for the team’s newly formed No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro entry piloted by Chastain. During the event, Chastain led teammates Justin Haley and AJ Allmendinger to a 1-2-3 finish (though Allmendinger was later disqualified for failing post-race inspection) as both Yontz and Kaulig Racing achieved their first victories in NASCAR while Chastain earned his second Xfinity victory. 

    In late July at Iowa Speedway, Yontz expanded his crew chief responsibilities by working atop the Kaulig Racing’s No. 11 Chevrolet team piloted by Haley after veteran Nick Harrison, who started the season as Haley’s crew chief, died unexpectedly a week earlier. Transitioning between Kaulig Racing’s Nos. 10 and 11 teams for the final 15 events of the season, Yontz’s best on-track results were a third-place result with Allmendinger at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August, a fifth-place result with Haley at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September and a fourth-place result with Haley at Dover International Speedway in October during the Playoffs. Yontz also served as Haley’s crew chief during Haley’s contention in the 2019 Xfinity Playoffs, where he was eliminated from title contention following the Round of 12 and finished in 12th place in the final standings.

    In 2020, Yontz took over as a full-time crew chief for Kaulig Racing’s No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro team piloted by Haley. Through the first 10 scheduled events, Haley and Yontz earned six results inside the top 10. Then at Talladega Superspeedway in June, Yontz achieved his second career victory in NASCAR after Haley received drafting help from teammates Chastain and Allmendinger to beat Jeb Burton and claim his first Xfinity Series career victory. Eleven races later, Haley and Yontz achieved a second victory of 2020 at Daytona after dodging a final lap incident involving teammates Chastain and Allmendinger. Entering the 2020 Xfinity Playoffs as a dark horse candidate, Haley and Yontz achieved their third victory of the season at Talladega in October and transferred from the Round of 12 to 8. The combo were able to reach the Championship Round at Phoenix Raceway in November after earning three consecutive top-12 finishes during the Round of 8. During the finale, however, Haley finished eighth on the track and in third place in the final standings. Nonetheless, the third-place result marked Kaulig Racing’s best points result in the team’s history.

    Remaining as Haley’s crew chief in 2021, Yontz led the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet team to 14 top-10 results during the first 22 scheduled events. At Dover International Speedway in May, Yontz worked with Zane Smith, a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor for GMS Racing who filled in for Haley after Haley entered COVID-19 protocols. Following an up-and-down stretch throughout the regular season, Haley and Yontz achieved their first victories of the season at Daytona in August after Haley edged teammate Allmendinger in a photo finish. The Daytona victory guaranteed the No. 11 team a spot in the 2021 Xfinity Playoffs. After capping off the regular season stretch with three consecutive top-10 results, Haley and Yontz posted another trio of top-10 results to advance to the Playoff’s Round of 8. Despite finishing seventh at Texas Motor Speedway and fourth at Kansas Speedway in October, their hopes of reaching the Championship Round for a second consecutive season evaporated due to brake issues at Martinsville Speedway in October. Ultimately, they concluded the season in sixth place in the final standings.

    Yontz remained as a crew chief for Kaulig Racing’s No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro team for the 2022 Xfinity Series season. While Haley graduated to the NASCAR Cup Series, Yontz was paired with Daniel Hemric, who was coming off the 2021 Xfinity Series title with Joe Gibbs Racing. Through the first 10 Xfinity events of the season, Yontz and Hemric have achieved three results in the top 10 with their best result being third place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. They are ranked in 12th place in the drivers’ standings.

    Through 99 previous starts, Yontz has achieved five victories, two poles, 24 top-five results and 58 top-10 results while working with six different competitors.

    Yontz is scheduled to call his 100th Xfinity Series event as a crew chief at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, May 7, with the event’s coverage to start at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.