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It was hard to find a more hyped-up Xfinity Series team this off-season than Kaulig Racing. The team revamped their driver lineup with the cagey veteran A.J. Allmendinger, lovable underdog Josh Williams, and Australian Superstar Shane Van Gisbergen. However, the start of the season has not been ideal for Kaulig Racing. So what happened?
While SVG and Williams have struggled, A.J. Allmendinger has done pretty well to this point. He’s led laps in two of the first three races with two top-10 finishes. He has not won a race yet, but, he’s been up there.
This is what makes Kaulig Racing so puzzling. Allmendinger is still fighting up in the top-10, but, his teammates are struggling. In fairness, Allmendinger was likely expected to be the number one driver for the team given his experience and pedigree, so, he seems to be meeting those expectations.
Allmendinger does not seem to be the problem at Kaulig Racing. However, if he fails to win, concerns will start to arise.
SVG has had a very strange start to 2023. Either he is running solidly, or he is out of the race before it seemingly even starts. He started off the year with a solid 12th-place run at Daytona, and he backed it up by taking advantage of a late caution to finish 3rd at Atlanta. Then….Las Vegas happened.
SVG was out of the race after only 27 laps thanks to an engine failure. This is a HUGE blow to SVG because his goal this season is to gain as much experience as he can. This was his first race on a traditional intermediate race track, and he was done before the race developed any sort of flow.
The issue at Vegas was not the driver, it was the equipment. SVG has shown flashes of talent, but, he still needs to gain significant experience if he wants to move up to the Cup Series eventually. Continual equipment failures cripple SVG in getting what he truly needs, experience.
If this was a video game with a reset button, Williams would be spamming it for all it’s worth right now. He finished 34th and 37th in the first two races at Daytona and Atlanta. He showed up at Las Vegas, and he was behind all day, using pit strategy to salvage a 14th-place finish.
While Daytona and Atlanta were out of his control, Las Vegas was very concerning. He was flat out off the pace, and he was well behind his teammate, A.J. Allmendinger.
It is very early in the season for Williams, and some short track races are coming up, which he should do well in. However, being off the pace at an intermediate track is not a great start.
Kaulig Racing has had some tough luck early in the season. However, some equipment issues and being off the pace have plagued them as well. Particularly SVG and Josh Williams have gotten the shortest end of the stick.
However, A.J. Allmendinger gives Kaulig some hope. Allmendinger is showing how good Kaulig can be, and, if he wins races, that will further prove how high they can fly.
Kaulig is in a strange place with one driver doing well, but, the other two showing some struggles. However, there have been flashes of brilliance there. Can they turn that into consistent performance for all three cars?
