Chris Rice Confirms Kaulig’s Shocking Strategy to Assist Hendrick Motorsports at Talladega

Last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, William Byron’s day went from great to garbage in the blink of an eye. After winning Stage 2 and running second to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson with less than 40 laps to go, the unthinkable happened. It was a gut punch for a driver who had been a picture of consistency all day. On lap 235, Ty Dillon, driving for Kaulig Racing, was a lapped car trying to get to pit road.

He was running about a half lane up from the bottom, right where Byron was charging hard. As Dillon slowed to hit the pit entrance, Byron, with a massive closing rate, had nowhere to go. He slammed into the back of the No. 10 car, and just like that, both of their races were over. For Byron, a serious contender in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, it was a devastating blow. He went from a comfortable 22 points above the playoff cutline to a precarious 15 points below, with his championship hopes hanging by a thread.

The Aftermath and Kaulig Racing’s Stance

It was a harsh reality to face for all those involved. Chris Rice, the CEO of Kaulig Racing, spoke about the incident on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. He made it clear he hated that the crash ruined the day for a championship contender, but he stood by his driver, Ty Dillon. “When I look at what happened, man, we can blame it on a lot of things, but I’m going to tell you it’s unfortunate for us,” Rice said.

“A couple of hundred thousand dollars of damage for a car that was slow, and it hurt the 24 in the Playoffs, but man, it’s racing, dude.”Rice’s point was simple: when the green flag is out, it’s every driver for themselves. Pit road was open, and drivers made their moves. He didn’t feel Dillon did anything out of the ordinary. Many people watching felt Dillon was too high on the track to be pitting, but Rice pointed out that other drivers had taken a similar line all day.

He even brought up a close call between Michael McDowell and Shane van Gisbergen earlier in the race that looked almost identical.”Go watch a lot of the guys pit at that place,” Rice explained. “Was Ty off the bottom? Absolutely. But go watch [Michael McDowell] when [Shane van Gisbergen] passed him.” He was adamant that his driver was just running his own race, trying to make the best of a tough situation. It’s hard to argue with that logic. Every team out there is fighting for something, whether it’s a win, a top-10, or just to finish the race.

Kaulig Racing’s Plan to Make Amends

Even though Rice defended his driver, he and the entire Kaulig Racing team felt terrible about how the incident affected Byron’s championship chances. They’re a Chevy team, and they take that manufacturer alliance seriously. Wrecking another Chevy, especially one in the playoffs, is the last thing they want to do.

So, heading into the high-stakes race at Talladega Superspeedway, Kaulig Racing has a plan. Rice announced that his team will do what they can to help Byron. It’s a gesture of goodwill, a way to try and right a wrong, even if they don’t feel they were at fault.”To hurt a Chevy is nothing we want to do. We absolutely want to win a manufacturer championship,” Rice stated.

Pushing The 24 to Victory

“If we can push the 24 to a win, we’ll probably do that… if we’re behind the 24, if one of our cars is behind the 24, and we can push him to a win this weekend, that’s what we’re going to do to try to give back.”This is a significant promise. At a track like Talladega, a good push from a teammate, or in this case, a quasi-teammate, could mean the difference between winning and getting shuffled out of the draft.

Unlike Byron’s actual Hendrick Motorsports teammates, who have their own races and championship hopes to worry about, the Kaulig Racing drivers can offer help without compromising their own positions. It’s a silver lining for Byron after a disastrous week. That brutal crash at Vegas might just be the unexpected twist that helps him secure a win at Talladega and a spot in the Championship 4. Racing is a funny sport; sometimes, your biggest setback can lead to your greatest comeback.