Kaulig Racing nets best Cup effort of 2024 at Dover
DOVER, Del. — Kaulig Racing continued the momentum from Talladega into their best effort of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season at Dover Motor Speedway.
Daniel Hemric had a repeat of his run at Talladega, finishing ninth Sunday at The Monster Mile. It marks the first time Hemric has scored back-to-back top-10 finishes in his NASCAR Cup Series career.
Hemric stayed out and took the lead with all but seven other cars lapped on lap 322. On that same lap, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wrecked on the backstretch and drew an extremely timely caution for Hemric.
Hemric punched a free ticket to victory lane. He then left pit road in sixth with Kyle Busch and Alex Bowman behind him.
Hemric held his own on the restart, even challenging Busch after he passed Hemric. While free-pass recipient Ryan Blaney and Bowman got by, Hemric held on for ninth.
“This is great for us. It’s my first time going to all these racetracks with this car. We were too loose to start the race but then I got tightened up and thought if we could get up there, we could hold our own and we did. A lot of people think we shouldn’t be doing what we’re doing but we’re all capable and doing it,” Hemric told FS1.
While Hemric benefited from a timely caution to run inside the top-10 and finish there, teammate AJ Allmendinger ran up there all day.
AJ Allmendinger started 10th and jumped to eighth right away. Allmendinger had a good short-run car as he ran inside the top-10 during the first two restarts — on laps 48 and 130 — but slipped back after a few laps.
Allmendinger appeared in the top-10 from time to time but never consistently. He almost never dropped out of the top-15, either, as he spent 385 of 400 laps in the top-15. For his effort, he finished 13th.
“We had a really solid day; the No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1 was really consistent, and the pit crew did a great job of keeping our track position. We battled handling all day, and track position was key. All in all, running inside the top 15 all day and having top-10 speed is great. Our day, along with Daniel’s [Hemric] top-10 finish, is great for the organization and our momentum,” Allmendinger said.
Allmendinger accounts for three of Kaulig Racing’s five best runs this season. The other four are his pair of sixth-place finishes and Hemric’s pair of ninth-place finishes he rounded out at Dover.
Hemric sits 25th in points, -97 to the playoff cutline. Allmendinger is not running for the NASCAR Cup Series championship.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com