Two more work weeks until Daytona Speedweeks will grace NASCAR fans. As this Monday gets underway, there are 16Â Days to Daytona left until Daytona 500 qualifying. This year, the #31 Kaulig Racing team will have a new driver behind the wheel. Daniel Hemric returns to the Cup Series as Kaulig’s only fulltime driver. Questions about Kaulig are abound. What answers will fans find in 2024?
#31 Kaulig Racing
Driver: Daniel Hemric
Crew Chief: Trent Owens
Sponsors: LeafFilter Gutter Protection, Cirkul
2024 Season Preview
Returning to Cup
Daniel Hemric will be returning to fulltime Cup Series action since his rookie season in 2019. The former Rookie of the Year was replaced by Tyler Reddick at Richard Childress Racing 2020. After receiving the boot, Hemric went back to the Xfinity Series. While there, he finally won his first NASCAR race and claimed the 2021 championship in an upset. Now, Hemric replaces Justin Haley, who departed for Rick Ware Racing. Hemric is a solid driver, but his selection definitely was not flashy.
A Step Back
Much has been discussed about Kaulig Racing seemingly losing steam in their Cup Series endeavors. Heading into 2023, there was excitement around the team. AJ Allmendinger was racing in Cup fulltime to pair with a promising Justin Haley. Now, Daniel Hemric is the lone fulltime driver. Once again, Hemric is a fine driver but no one is expecting him to perform as well as Allmendinger or Haley. Remember, Kaulig Racing was rumored to be chasing after Kyle Busch in 2022. To go from that to this is a step back. Maybe Hemric can turn heads this year, but the likely outcome is watching the 31 drift further fall back in the pack.
Chasing a Win
The 16 Kaulig Racing Cup car has 2 wins to its name. AJ Allmendinger wheeled the 16 to wins at the Indy road course and the ROVAL. Meanwhile, the 31 car is still looking for its first win. Also, the driver of the 31 is in search of his first Cup win. While it seems unlikely for either to collect their first in 2024, NASCAR has turned into a parity machine. Since the NextGen car, 25 different drivers have found victory lane. Although the odds are not in their favor, you cannot rule out the 31 team winning this year, especially on the superspeedways.
Daytona 500 Chances
The last time Daniel Hemric took to the high banks of Daytona, he found himself involved in the rain-caused pile up in 2022. Hemric made both starts at Daytona in the 16 car that year. He finished a respectable 12th in the Daytona 500. His only other Daytona 500 start ended with a DNF. Hemric has shown to be a solid superspeedway racer in the Xfinity Series. However, that might not transfer well to the Daytona 500 since Kaulig’s Xfinity program is known for their teamwork in pack racing.
Speedweeks Outlook
Surprisingly, Hemric has qualified well in his two Daytona 500 efforts. In 2022, Hemric managed to qualify the 16 car 11th. Both of his duel races ended with Hemric finishing a lap down. Unless AJ Allmendinger falls into the same Bluegreen Vacations Duel as Hemric, do not expect the 31 to be fighting for top positions. It would be surprising to see the 31 contend for the win in the Great American Race. A Top-10 cannot be ruled out, but expecting more than that would seem unwise.
Previous Days
40-36 Days: 40 – #12, 39 – #5, 38 – #24, 37 – #20, & 36 – #11
35-31 Days: 35 – #45, 34 – #17, 33 – #6, 32 – #1, & #31 – #9
30-26 Days:Â 30 – #19, 29 – #22, 28 – #4, 27 – #8, & 26 – #34
25-21 Days: 25 – #34, 24 – #23, 23 – #54, 22 – #99, & 21 – #48
