(Cover Photo Credit - Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
By Adam Carabine
In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2023 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the 36 charters of 2022.
26th Place – #16 Car – 621 pts
KAULIG RACING – CHEVROLET
AJ Allmendinger (18 Races) – Noah Gragson (10 races) – Daniel Hemric (8 races)
1,014 Quality Passes in 2022 – Collectively, the three drivers of the #16 Chevrolet in 2022 combined for 1,014 quality passes (green flag passes while in the Top-15). An average of just over 28 per race is pretty respectable, especially without the consistency of having a full-time driver on board. Considering that the #16 had an average finish outside of the Top-15 (20.22 this year), it’s clear that the finishes didn’t always match the running position.
12.33 Average Finish at Road Courses in 2022 – AJ Allmendinger is no slouch when it comes to the NASCAR road course. His two Cup Series victories are at Watkins Glen and the Indianapolis Road Course. This year was no exception, as Allmendinger was tasked with all of the road courses (among other tracks too). While he didn’t earn Kaulig Racing a Cup Series win in 2022, he is consistently a threat when it comes to turning both right and left.
9 Top-10s in 2022 – When you consider that 2022 was the #16 Car’s first full-time year in the Cup Series, that’s a solid number of Top-10 finishes. Aside from Daniel Hemric earning a 9th place finish at Auto Club Speedway, the remainder of Top-10s came from Allmendinger.
7 DNFs in 2022 – While not a great stat for the #16 Car, it can hardly be chalked up to the drivers. Unfortunately, of the 7 DNFs, 5 of them were related to failures of the car, not wrecks. Issues with brakes, suspension, throttle, etc. plagued the 16 machine throughout the season. In order to contend next year, they’ll want to clean that part of their operation up.
50% Lead Lap Finishes in 2022 – Again, not a stat that looks great for the #16 Car, but for a program that’s still in its relative infancy, this isn’t a glaring red flag. Tied for 26th of all Cup Series charters, 18 lead lap finishes were not the worst of the field, by far. However, it’s just hard to consistently earn points when you’re finishing laps down.
Daniel Hemric will return to the Xfinity #11 for Kaulig Racing next year - the same ride he drove full-time this year.
Noah Gragson will make the step up to the Cup Series in ’23, running in the Petty-GMS Motorsports #42, replacing Ty Dillon.
AJ Allmendinger will pilot the Cup Series #16 for Kaulig Racing full-time next year, giving the ride some much-needed stability.
Coming up next in the Countdown to Daytona series – Cole Custer!
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