Kaulig Racing
Results: A.J. Allmendinger (21st in points); Justin Haley (26th in points)
Grade: C
Kaulig was once among the best feel-good stories in NASCAR, delivering some new blood to the Xfinity series with an impressive series of victories. But their move to the Cup series has been less uplifting.
The highlight was of course A.J. Allmendinger’s win at the Charlotte Roval, which was a fan favorite. But AJ’s overall year was spotty in terms of performance, and he will likely end up returning to Xfinity (by his choice), with the driver of the No. 16 still to be announced (rumored to be Ty Dillon).
Justin Haley had an unmemorable year in the 31, and will move over to the Rick Ware team in 2024 (an interesting choice to say the least), being replaced by Daniel Hemric in the 31 car. With so many unknowns, it’s unclear what the future holds in terms of Cup success for this team.
JTG Daugherty Racing
Results: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (16th in points)
Grade: C
The year started off in the best way possible for JTG Daugherty Racing, with driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. winning the biggest race of the year — the Daytona 500.
This locked Stenhouse into the playoffs, which was huge for this one-car team. But the reality is that Stenhouse was destined to finish in 16th and last in the playoffs.
The Daytona win was one of just two top-5 finishes, and Stenhouse was top-10 in a respectable 9 out of 36 races. Looking ahead to 2024, outside of another surprise win like Daytona, I don’t see Stenhouse returning to the playoffs.
Wood Brothers Racing
Results: Harrison Burton (31st in points)
Grade: D-
While the historically great Wood Brothers team hasn’t exactly been blowing the doors off competitors in recent years, their efforts were especially futile in 2023. Over 36 races, young Harrison Burton could only manage 2 top-10 finishes, and had 6 DNFs. Mostly he was just getting lapped a lot and getting involved in wrecks, and he finished four spots lower in the points than in 2022.
Both driver and team need to make major steps in 2024 to avoid a repeat at the bottom of the barrel.
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