Kaulig Racing Weekly Preview | Chicago Street Course

July 3, 2025

Victory Junction

Kaulig Racing drivers, team members and pit crews spent time at Victory Junction this week, where they performed pit stops and interacted with campers at the NASCARnival event.
For more information on donations or volunteer opportunities at Victory Junction, visit https://victoryjunction.org/.

At Chicago Street Course:

AJ Allmendinger will serve as a guest analyst alongside Jamie McMurray and Parker Kilgerman in The CW booth for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, July 5th. Allmendinger will begin coverage with the pre-race show at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Kaulig Racing won the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Chicago Street Course with Shane van Gisbergen. Van Gisbergen won the pole award and led 14 laps en route to victory.
The team earned a runner-up finish in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicago in 2023 with Justin Haley. Haley led 23 laps before ultimately being passed by eventual winner Shane van Gisbergen.

Brackets Busted! 16 Drivers. 4 Races. $1 Million still on the Line.

The first-ever NASCAR In-Season Challenge kicked off last weekend at EchoPark Speedway with both AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon advancing to the second round.
The In-Season Challenge includes five rounds at five tracks.
- Round 1: EchoPark Speedway
- Round 2: Chicago Street Course
- Round 3: Sonoma Raceway
- Round 4: Dover Motor Speedway
- Championship Round: Indianapolis Motor Speedway – The winner walks away with $1 Million!
For Challenge Round 2, in a bracket format, the remaining 16 drivers compete head-to-head with the highest finisher advancing to Challenge Round 3 at Sonoma Raceway.
For Kaulig Racing, AJ Allmendinger will face Ty Gibbs, and Ty Dillon will go against Brad Keselowski.

10 Team Info
Crew Chief: Andrew Dickeson
Partner: Sea Best

Ty Dillon, No. 10 Sea Best Camaro ZL1

Sea Best: Sea Best will serve as the primary partner of the No. 10 Chevrolet this weekend for the Chicago Street Course with Ty Dillon and Kaulig Racing. Sea Best proudly serves as the flagship brand of Beaver Street Fisheries, a family-owned and operated company based in Jacksonville, Florida. As one of the nation’s largest importers, manufacturers, and distributors of seafood and meat, the Sea Best brand is synonymous with premium-quality seafood. Its product lineup includes a wide range of frozen fish fillets—such as ahi tuna, mahi-mahi, cod, and catfish—along with shrimp, scallops, and lobster.

At Chicago Street Course:

Ty Dillon will make his second start on the Chicago Street Course on Sunday for the Grant Park 165.
In his previous start on the course, Dillon was having a strong run in the rain until a broken suspension relegated the team to a 35th-place finish.
After knocking out the No. 1 seed — Denny Hamlin — in the first round of the In-Season Challenge, Dillon now goes up against the No. 17 seed of Brad Keselowski in Challenge Round 2. The driver who finishes the highest in Sunday’s race on the Chicago Street Course will advance to Challenge Round 3 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, July 13.

“I’m excited for this weekend in Chicago. I only have the one start there from the first year in the rain and was actually running pretty good until we broke some left-rear suspension. Last year, I wasn’t racing in the Cup Series but spotted for Austin (Dillon) in turn two, so I have a different, unique perspective. I’m excited to go back. I’ve been working really hard in the simulator. We have Will Brown, who came over from the Australian Supercars Series, and just trying to learn as much as I can from him. I still have a lot I can improve on, but it’s been fun. I love being challenged and the journey of getting better. My goal this weekend, from the first lap of practice until the end of the race, is to just to progressively get better. I think if we can do that, we’ll have a good weekend.”
– Ty Dillon on Chicago Street Course

13 Team Info
Crew Chief: Mike Cook
Partner: MobileX

Will Brown, No. 13 MobileX Camaro ZL1

MobileX: For his first outing with Kaulig Racing, Brown and the No. 13 Chevrolet will be heavily supported by long-time partners of the Aussie. MobileX, the most customizable wireless service designed to save customers money, available at Walmart, will serve as the primary partner along with financial services leader, Shaw and Partners Financial Services. Additional partners featured on the No. 13 car include QuadLock, KMC Wheels, Direct Plasterboard Outlet (DPO), Complete Parts & Equipment Solutions, Southern Cross Truck Rentals (SCTR), Wurth, Supercars Championship Repco, Xpress Fleet (XF) and LeafFilter Gutter Protection.

At Chicago Street Course:

Will Brown will make his second-career NASCAR Cup Series start this weekend.
The reigning Supercars champion has made one other NASCAR Cup Series start, which came at Sonoma Raceway in 2024.

“It’s awesome to be coming back over stateside and to be competing with Kaulig Racing. Chicago is probably the one place I’ve always wanted to go after watching Shane [van Gisbergen] compete there. This type of course is similar to what I’m used to in Australia; we do about five street courses per year. It’s still very easy to make a mistake around those circuits, but I definitely feel comfortable on a track like that. With this course, there’s not a lot of room for error as far as braking with the lack of run-off areas that I’m used to, so it will be interesting seeing how the first lap or two will actually be. Having Shaw and Partners Financial Services and MobileX, two massive supporters and partners of mine, come back on board has been great, and I wouldn’t be able to do it without them.”
– Will Brown on Chicago Street Course

16 Team Info
Crew Chief: Trent Owens
Partner: Celsius

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Celsius Camaro ZL1

Celsius: The No. 16 Chevy will feature the Celsius on-board camera during Grant Park 165 race weekend. Celsius is known for their better-for-you lineup of energy and hydration products, all zero sugar and created with essential vitamins. As the Official Energy Drink of Kaulig Racing, Celsius fuels Allmendinger and the No. 16 team every race weekend to keep them performing at their best.

Meet AJ Allmendinger:
- Friday, July 4th
  - AJ Allmendinger will be at Jewel Osco, located at 17117 S. Harlem Ave Tinley Park, IL 60477, on Friday, July 4th, from 2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. CT to meet fans, sample Celsius, and sign autographs.

At Chicago Street Course:

AJ Allmendinger will serve as a guest analyst alongside Jamie McMurray and Parker Kligerman in The CW booth for the NASCAR Xfinity Race on Saturday, July 5th. Allmendinger will begin coverage with the pre-race show at 3:30 p.m. ET.
After advancing from the first round of the In-Season Challenge, Allmendinger will go head-to-head with Ty Gibbs during the Challenge Round 2 – Grant Park 165. The highest finisher of the two will advance to Challenge Round 3 – Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.

“I love racing on the streets of Chicago, and I always think it’s a fun event overall. Racing on a street course is unique; it’s challenging in so many different ways. The weather has always been a factor there and that throws another kind of obstacle to figure out. The two years we’ve been there have been difficult in the way the race has played out. I need to be better with some of the mistakes I have made on track and we’re working hard to get a better result. Our focus this year is getting out there and having a good practice. That will set the tone for the weekend and that’s probably where we’ve lacked most in the past. I’m doing all my homework to try to be better for practice and moving on to put together a good race. We’ve had opportunities to have really good finishes, and it just hasn’t played out. We’re working to learn from those mistakes and be better this weekend.”
– AJ Allmendinger on Chicago Street Course

10 Team Info
Crew Chief: Kevin Walter
Partner: Bettenhausen Automotive

Daniel Dye, No. 10 Bettenhausen Automotive Chevrolet

Bettenhausen Automotive: Daniel Dye will pilot the No. 10 Bettenhausen Automotive Chevrolet for his first outing at the Chicago Street Course. Bettenhausen Automotive is a family-owned dealership in the Chicago suburbs with over 60 years of history and a no-hassle, one-price sales approach. They offer a wide selection of new and used vehicles backed by top-rated service and strong customer reviews.

At Chicago Street Course:

Daniel Dye will make his first start at both the Chicago Street Course and a street circuit this weekend.
Following his eighth-place finish at EchoPark Speedway, Dye has earned six top 10s in the 2025 season.

“Chicago will be a really unique challenge that I’m excited to take on. I’ve never raced on a street course, so that will be a really cool experience. I’ve spent a lot of time getting laps virtually on both iRacing and the Chevy simulator, so hopefully that all pays off. I’m excited to have another returning partner of mine on our No. 10 Chevrolet. Bettenhause Automotive has supported me since my first season in the truck series, and I’m proud to have them back for what’s sure to be an exciting weekend.”
– Daniel Dye on Chicago Street Course

11 Team Info
Crew Chief: Eddie Pardue
Partner: Alloy Employer Services

Josh Williams, No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet

Alloy Employer Services: Based in Columbus, Ohio, Alloy Employer Services helps a range of clients, from small businesses to large employers. Industries served include healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, maintenance, hospitality, and construction. Alloy’s Midwest roots have led to national reach, serving clients with workers nationwide because of a love to design, build and innovate in our industry. Alloy Employer Services is a Fortune-HR, LLC company.

At Chicago Street Course:

Josh Williams has raced at the Chicago Street Course two times, with his best finish coming in last year’s edition. Williams climbed 18 positions in the 50-lap race en route to a 12th-place finish.
Williams made the second-most green flag passes in the field in that race, surging past 37 other drivers at speed.
Williams’ best-career finish on a road course came with Kaulig Racing at Portland International Raceway in 2024 (seventh).

“I have really enjoyed racing in Chicago the last couple years. We had a really good race last time, and I think we could have another good run this year. Road racing has always been something I’ve been pretty solid at, and even though we haven’t had the results I think we’re capable of on road courses yet this year, there’s no better time to change that up than now.”
– Josh Williams on Chicago Street Course

16 Team Info
Crew Chief: Alex Yontz
Partner: Benesch

Christian Eckes, No. 16 Benesch Chevrolet

Benesch: Benesch and Kaulig Racing will team up for the third-consecutive year at the Chicago Street Course, this time onboard Christian Eckes’ No. 16 Chevrolet. Benesch, an AmLaw 200 law firm with more than 450 attorneys and offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai and Wilmington, continues to be recognized by the legal industry.

Meet Christian Eckes:

Friday, July 4
- Christian Eckes will be at Jewel Osco, located at 17117 S. Harlem Ave Tinley Park, IL 60477, on Friday, July 4th, from 2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. CT to meet fans, sample Celsius, and sign autographs.

At Chicago Street Course:

Christian Eckes will make his first start at both the Chicago Street Course and a street circuit this weekend.
Eckes has earned two top-five finishes at both road course events in the 2025 season.
His best finish of the year came at his home track, Pocono Raceway, where he finished third.

“I’m looking forward to going to Chicago for the first time and racing on my first true street course. It will be different from the typical road courses we race on with it being more narrow and less run-off room for braking, so I think that will be my biggest challenge. We’ve had some success on the first couple of road courses this year, so that gives us some confidence heading into the weekend. If we can take care of our equipment and be there at the end, it should be another good day for this No. 16 group.”
– Christian Eckes on Chicago Street Course

Meet the Kaulig Racing Drivers

Friday, July 4
- AJ Allmendinger and Christian Eckes will be at Jewel Osco, located at 17117 S. Harlem Ave Tinley Park, IL 60477, on Friday, July 4th, from 2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. CT to meet fans, sample Celsius, and sign autographs.