NASCAR: Has Kaulig Racing’s status changed?

Kaulig Racing have improved their NASCAR Xfinity Series results year-over-year, but they still may be overlooked compared to other top teams in the series.

Kaulig Racing have developed into one of the best teams in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but with a surprise driver lineup and a lack of history, should they still be considered under-the-radar?

The Matt Kaulig-owned team picked up their first two wins in 2019, and they totaled nine top five finishes and 29 top 10 finishes. In 2020, they added a second full-time car and continued to run a part-time ride, and they increased their totals to five wins, 31 top five finishes, and 56 top 10 finishes.

Last season, the team ran three full-time cars and recorded seven wins, 34 top five finishes, and 62 top 10 finishes. They also sent a driver to the Championship 4 in each of the last two seasons, with Justin Haley finishing in third place in points in 2020 and A.J. Allmendinger finishing in fourth in 2021.

They have clearly gotten better with time, but how do they compare with other teams?

Kaulig Racing ran half as many full-time cars as JR Motorsports (JRM) in 2020 but matched the team’s total of five wins. While that’s impressive, they also had fewer wins than a pair of one-car teams, with Austin Cindric and Team Penske winning six races and Chase Briscoe and Stewart-Haas Racing winning nine. Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) had eight wins and ran three full-time cars.

Last year, JGR led the way with 12 wins, followed by both JRM and Kaulig Racing with seven each. Kaulig Racing had three full-time cars compared to four for both JGR and JRM, but they also had just two more wins than one-car Team Penske.

While Kaulig Racing have run with the best, they are still easily overlooked compared to the more-established top teams in the Xfinity Series. All of the other big teams have close ties to big teams in the Cup Series, while Kaulig Racing are in the midst of launching their own Cup Series program.

JGR, JRM, Team Penske, and Richard Childress Racing (RCR) all have multiple owner or driver championships in the last decade, while Kaulig Racing are still looking for their first. Since 2016, the first year for both the Xfinity Series playoffs and Kaulig Racing, JGR have 73 wins, JRM have 32 and Team Penske have 27. Kaulig Racing have 14.

While this should come as no surprise, given the fact that it is a comparison of veteran teams to a relatively new organization, it’s a prime example of why Kaulig Racing can still be viewed as under-the-radar when they compete against these other top contenders.

Also notable is the fact that 10 of Kaulig Racing’s 14 wins have come on road courses or superspeedways, which make up just 10 of the 33 races on this year’s schedule.

Three of the team’s four wins away from a road course or superspeedway came last year and all four have come with Allmendinger, so perhaps that’s a sign that they’re moving in the right direction.

Still, their resume is filled predominantly with wins at these tracks, which helps make the established teams look like bigger threats throughout the bulk of the season.

Let’s take an ever deeper look at Kaulig Racing’s driver lineup.

The established teams in the Xfinity Series also boast big names, with Cup Series stars and young talents in their driver lineups.

JGR fielded full-time cars for Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez in 2016, with Suarez winning the championship. Both drivers now compete in the Cup Series. Christopher Bell won 15 races and made two Championship 4 appearances in 2018 and 2019 before moving up to the Cup Series. Harrison Burton won four races in 2020 and is now moving up to the top level as well.

Stars such as Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin have also made starts for JGR, with Busch winning in 26 of his 51 starts since 2016.

JRM’s driver lineup has featured veterans such as Justin Allgaier and Elliott Sadler, with Allgaier winning 13 races and making four Championship 4 appearances since 2016. William Byron won four races and the championship in 2017 before moving to the Cup Series. Noah Gragson has five wins in the last two seasons and is set to return to JRM for a fourth season in 2022, while also competing in select races for Kaulig Racing in the Cup Series.

Cup Series star Chase Elliott, a past Xfinity Series champion with JRM, continues to make the occasional appearance for the team. And Tyler Reddick won consecutive Xfinity Series championships, one with JRM in 2018 and another one with RCR in 2019, before moving to the sport’s top level.

In comparison, Kaulig Racing have run full-time cars for Blake Koch, Ryan Truex, Justin Haley, Ross Chastain, A.J. Allmendinger, and Jeb Burton. This year’s driver lineup features full-time rides for Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric, and Landon Cassill.

Allmendinger joined Kaulig Racing part-time in 2019 after more than a decade of running largely for middle-of-the-pack teams in the Cup Series. He had one win in 371 Cup Series starts, with the victory coming for JTG Daugherty Racing at Watkins Glen International in 2014. He also had two career Xfinity Series wins, both in 2013 for Penske Racing.

Allmendinger has since experienced a career revival with Kaulig Racing, winning three races in 16 starts between 2019 and 2020. Then in 2021, he won five races and recorded 18 top five finishes en route to a Championship 4 appearance.

He also won a wild Cup Series race with Kaulig Racing in 2021 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Still, he doesn’t have the longest track record of NASCAR success and could be getting past his prime at 40 years old.

A new addition to the team is defending champion Daniel Hemric, who signed back in September. Hemric won his first career NASCAR race in last season’s finale at Phoenix Raceway, taking the championship with JGR.

While winning the 2021 title will give him more respect and attention, it took him a while to break through. He had 10 runner-up finishes in 119 starts before grabbing his maiden Xfinity Series victory, despite racing for the top teams of RCR, JRM, and JGR across four seasons. He has made it to the Championship 4 in all three of his full-time campaigns thus far.

Hemric has 15 top five finishes in 50 Truck Series starts and had two top 10 finishes, an average finish of 22.5, and a points finish of 25th place in the Cup Series in 2019, when he raced full-time for RCR. While his sample size outside of the Xfinity Series is small and his consistency in the series is visible, he’s still the driver who has just one breakthrough in one race of his career.

The most surprising addition to Kaulig Racing for this upcoming season is Landon Cassill. Cassill is an experienced driver in terms of starts, but not in the quality of his rides. He has one top five finish and 14 top 10 finishes in 176 Xfinity Series starts, most of which came with JD Motorsports. Five of his top 10 finishes came with JRM in 2008.

Cassill has made 326 Cup Series starts, which came with a variety of teams. Most recently, he made two appearances for Gaunt Brothers Racing in 2021. His only top 10 finish is a fourth place result at Talladega Superspeedway in 2014, driving for team owners Joe Falk and Mike Hillman Sr.

Chastain and Jeb Burton were both relative wild cards for Kaulig Racing, but it’s safe to say that Cassill will be the ultimate wild card for the team in the time since they’ve become a contender.

While Kaulig Racing have become a top contender in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, their surprise driver lineup and smaller track record of success puts them under-the-radar compared to the more-established teams with bigger names and resumes. They’re a known threat now, but they can still be easily overlooked.