Kaulig racing has been an xFinity Series team since 2016 when Matt Kaulig decided to found the race team. They have always had mild success but in the last year their success has skyrocketed and they have gotten enough money to be going full time Cup racing in the 2022 season. They have run part time in the series and have been a decent mid pack team when they run. How has such a young team gotten so good and gained so much respect throughout the garage when it takes some teams almost double the time they have raced to even get a win?
Kaulig racing has a perfect formula that all came together in 2020 when the young star Justin Haley made it to the championship 4 and finished 3rd in the xFinity Series. They have compiled the almost perfect team, but it all starts with the atmosphere and the family that they have built over the years. It is well known that the Kalig garage is one big family and it shows when they win, very few times do you see a team finish 1-2 and have the second driver immediately run over to the winner to celebrate with him. Not often do a team owner and president rush down to their car after a celebration burnout and immediately embrace their drivers. The chemistry is unmatched and is very rare in a sport where even teammates are rivals and there is generally tension between team mates (I refer to you Brad K and Joey Logano).
This family atmosphere trickles down to the drivers. Justin Haley and Aj Allmendiger are like a father and son and Jeb Burton, while in his first full time season with the team, is fitting right in with his team. All 3 drivers have blossomed so far in their time at Kaulig and the way they did it was simple.
The atmosphere of them all encourages them to work as team mates and still race hard, but remember the team in the process. The next thing is to have a seasoned vet be there for the younger drivers to help them learn and grow as drivers. AJ is a well seasoned vet and has been running stock cars longer than some kids on this planet have been born and knows a lot about racing. This allows each driver to learn and get better and turn into the stars of the series they are today. One of the few teams in all national series with all of their drivers to have wins this season. Kauai is a competitive team that has a real shot to become one of the best xFinity series teams and can be a great team in the Cup someday if they do what they did and grow as a team.
The Slow Restart 