Justin Haley qualified 26th for the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
During the opening 10 laps of the race, Haley lost two spots, radioing that his No. 31 Chevy was too tight handling. When the first caution came out on lap 14, Haley reported he was better in the rubber but still tight. The No. 31 was one of the only cars to take four tires during the first caution. The next caution fell on lap 34 as Haley had made his way from the rear to 27th place. Haley stayed out and restarted as the fourth car on bottom with six to go in stage, going three wide during the final few laps before finishing the stage 14th.
Haley reported he had no grip in the front tires and pitted for four tires, fuel and a right-rear adjustment before starting the second stage as the 13th car on the outside. The first caution of the stage came out just after the restart before going back to green on lap 56. The stage went green for eight laps before the next caution came out with Haley sitting 20th. Under caution, Haley pitted for right side tires and fuel before restarting as the 13th car on the outside on lap 70. Rain began falling on lap 74, bringing out the caution and red flagging the race as Haley sat 28th. He radioed that he was way too tight. As the race resumed Monday, Haley pitted under caution for left-side tires and fuel before restarting as the 14th car on the outside on lap 83. The caution came back out on lap 104, and Haley relayed the handling on the No. 31 Chevy was handling fine but was slow in traffic. He pitted for qualifying scuffs before the green flag came back out on lap 108 for the remainder of the second stage. Haley finished the stage in 22nd.
After staying out during the second stage break, Haley started the final stage as the eighth car on the outside before the caution came out on the restart. The field went back to green on lap 134. As the green-flag pit stops cycled through, Haley made it as high as 11th before pitting on lap 173 for right-side tires. Haley was forced to save fuel for the remainder of the race, ultimately crossing the finish line 23rd.
“It wasn’t exactly the finish we wanted, but we’ll take it after the adversity we fought. We fired off super tight and were just slow in traffic. We finally got the No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet feeling pretty sporty by the end of the second stage; we just needed track position. Then at the end we were showing short on fuel, so we had to save quite a bit. Overall, not a bad finish.”
– Justin Haley
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions FARMSMART Camaro ZL1
AJ Allmendinger qualified 24th for the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
In the opening stage, Allmendinger fell back to 26th by lap 13 when the first caution came out, reporting to his team that his overall balance wasn’t bad, but he lacked speed. Allmendinger came down pit road for fuel only and restarted 22nd on lap 19, before falling back to 27th by lap 35 when another caution came out. The team came down pit road for an air pressure adjustment to help Allmendinger with rear security. Restarting in 29th on lap 39, Allmendinger had more rear security after the adjustment, and he went on to finish stage one in 22nd.
Allmendinger stayed out under the stage break and restarted 11th on lap 50. When the caution came out on lap 51, Allmendinger was running ninth. After restarting ninth on lap 55, Allmendinger fell back to 12th by lap 62 where he was running when the caution came out on lap 64. Still overall happy with the balance of his No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions FARMSMART Chevy, Allmendinger asked for more rear security as he especially struggled in dirty air. The team came down pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Allmendinger restarted 20th on lap 69 and moved up to 15th by lap 70 where he was running when the red flag came out for rain on lap 74. The reminder of the FireKeepers Casino 400 was postponed until Monday, due to inclement weather. When the race resumed, Allmendinger stayed out under caution and restarted ninth on lap 82, holding his position until the caution came out on lap 102. Staying out under caution, the No. 16 Chevy restarted sixth on lap 107 and went on to finish the second stage in eighth, earning three stage points.
Under the stage break, Allmendinger came down pit road for four tires and fuel and restarted in 26th on lap 126. The caution came out on the first lap back to green, and Allmendinger restarted 18th on lap 133. Allmendinger drove up to 15th on the restart but lacked grip when racing in traffic, causing him to fall back to 21st by lap 147. As cars began green flag pit stops, Allmendinger drove up to 12th before coming down pit road on lap 164. He came back down pit road under green to tighten a loose lug nut and went on to finish 26th.
“We had decent handling in our Nutrien Ag Solutions FARMSMART Chevy all weekend; we just struggled in traffic and overall lacked speed. Pit road mistakes definitely cost us today. We’re disappointed in our finish, but our focus right now is making our team better. We’re moving on to Indy; hopefully we can unload with speed and have a solid weekend.”
– AJ Allmendinger
Cabo Wabo 250
Ross Chastain, No. 10 Jockey Chevrolet Camaro
Ross Chastain qualified 11th for the Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan International Speedway.
The first caution of the day came early after only four laps complete. Chastain maintained his starting position and radioed that his No. 10 Jockey Chevrolet was too loose. The next caution fell just one lap after the restart. Chastain avoided a wreck, and moved up to ninth, adding that the car was beginning to tighten up. The caution flag would come out two more times before the end of the stage. Chastain went on to finish 13th and radioed that his No. 10 Chevy began handling extremely tight from possible nose damage.
Upon pitting for a right-side adjustment, the team found a small hole in the right front of the nose. Chastain came back down pit road to allow the team to fix the hole before starting the second stage at the rear of the field. The first caution of the second stage came out just two laps after the restart. Chastain said his No. 10 Chevy had better rear grip. After going back green on lap 43, the stage remained green until the end. Chastain finished 14th after coming from the rear, but radioed to the team his No. 10 Chevy was once again too tight handling.
During the stage break, Chastain pitted for four tires, fuel, a wedge adjustment and an air pressure adjustment to free up the No. 10 Chevy. The No. 10 crew earned Chastain five spots on pit road to begin the final stage. With under 50 laps remaining in the race, Chastain continued furthering the gap to the cars behind him and was told his lap times were much better before making his final green-flag pit stop of the race on lap 98. The next caution came out with just 12 laps to go, as Chastain sat eighth. The race went back to green with seven to go. Chastain crossed the finish line in seventh place.
“It was a battle all day. We were loose to start the race, and then it built really tight after we got some right-front-fender damage, so we had come back down after our first pit stop to fix that. The guys did a great job patching that up, and we were super fast on pit road. We were tight the second run, and I felt like we were really behind the curve after that. Finally on the last green-flag stop in stage three, we got it freed up and had a couple of good restarts to hang on and finish seventh. I felt like it was a really productive day.”
– Ross Chastain
Daniel Hemric, No. 11 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet Camaro
Daniel Hemric qualified 16th for the Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan International Speedway.
The first caution of the day came out on lap four, and Hemric relayed to the team that his center-exit could be better. He was told to save fuel under caution before restarting 13th on lap 10. The caution came out again on lap 11, and the team elected to stay out. Hemric restarted as the fourth car on the inside lane with 14 laps to go in the opening stage. The caution came again on lap 19, and Hemric reported he needed front turn and help getting into the corner better. Hemric restarted 10th with seven laps to go in the stage. Still battling handling issues, Hemric finished the stage 12th.
During the stage break, Hemric came down pit road for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments. He restarted 17th when the green flag flew on lap 36. The caution flag came out on lap 38 and went back to green on lap 42 with Hemric sitting 13th. Hemric went on to finish the second stage 15th.
Hemric pitted at the stage break for four tires, fuel and adjustments. The team did a track bar and air pressure adjustment to help the balance of the car before restarting as the eighth car on the outside lane on lap 67. By lap 90, Hemric sat 15th as the green-flag pit stops began. He made his schedule, green-flag stop on lap 98 for four tires and fuel. As the green-flag stops cycled through, Hemric moved up to 13th before the caution came out with 12 laps to go. The green flag came back out with just seven laps to go, as Hemric restarted 12th. He quickly jumped to 10th after the restart but was shuffled back to 15th where he finished the race.
“It was a weekend of humbling experiences. We just struggled with the ability to make overall speed, as well as the ability to make speed with the balance. This weekend was a struggle, but I’m still proud of everyone on this No.11 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet team. We get another opportunity to bounce back in the weeks ahead.”
– Daniel Hemric
Chandler Smith, No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevrolet Camaro
Chandler Smith qualified sixth for the Cabo Wabo 250 at Michigan International Speedway.
Smith jumped to fifth just after the initial start. The yellow flag flew on lap four, and Smith said under caution that his car was tight from mid-corner on. The race restarted on lap 10 with the No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevy lined up third on the outside. Smith took fourth place, but the yellow flag waved for a second time one lap later. He again lined up third on the outside and moved into the top three on the green flag, but another caution was called with the subsequent restart on lap 24. Smith dropped back to fourth in the seven-lap dash to the first green-white-checkered flag, where he would finish the first stage.
Smith pitted for tires and fuel during the stage caution, and crew chief, Bruce Schlicker, instructed the pit crew to make an air pressure adjustment to loosen up the car. The No. 16 restarted seventh on the outside line on lap 37 and moved into 11th before another caution was signaled on lap 39. Smith made up two spots quickly following the lap-43 restart, but fell back to 11th, where he finished stage two.
After more adjustments — including adding more tape to the grille – during the team’s penultimate pit stop, Smith began the last stage in 13th on lap 67. He moved up as high as 11th before coming down pit road for his final, full-service stop of the race on lap 97. The team made a trackbar adjustment, and Smith cycled back to 11th. The race’s final yellow flag came out with 12 to go, leading to a restart with seven laps remaining, and Smith lined up seventh on the outside. On the final lap, Smith was hit in the left rear and sent into the outside wall, while battling with the No. 21 for 12th. He nursed the car home for a 20th-place finish.
“We got the No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevy as good as it could be by the final restart, but having to line up just outside the top 10 put us right in the middle of the craziness. The car got really aero-tight all day when running in traffic, and it felt like we were behind the eight-ball after the first stage when we restarted in the pack. I’m not thrilled with where we finished and how we ended up there, but we thankfully got a chunk of points in the first stage to make the ending not hurt as much.”
