Almost one year after her Xfinity Series debut in 2022, former Truck Series sensation, Hailie Deegan was at the helm of the #15 Ford Mustang after a multi-year deal fell through with AM Racing. While the driver’s season-opening race at Daytona ended in a disastrous DNF, she quickly bounced back to better her position, ending her day with a top 15 finish in the recent race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

With that being said, there’s another driver who has made major strides, making a quantum leap in terms of performance who also transitioned from the Truck side of things much like Deegan.

Josh Williams, Kaulig Racing‘s #11 driver despite his shaky start in 2024 has made it to the top of the list as NASCAR’s stat guy uncovered the 30-year-old’s impressive stats.

Josh Williams beats JGR veteran and Hailie Deegan to top the list

According to Trey Ryan, Williams has topped the list of drivers with the “Biggest improvement in average running position (1st half of race vs 2nd) in Las Vegas (Xfinity Series),” beating Joe Gibbs Racing‘s new part-timer, Aric Almirola, and Hailie Deegan in the process who are in the list, improving 6.10 and 5.65 positions against Williams’ 7.08.

Josh Williams has had a bit of a rough start to his season, ending up in wrecks in two out of the three races he’s competed in. His run at the Daytona 300 wrapped up in 34th place, and things didn’t look up at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he finished 37th. However, he turned things around in Las Vegas, securing a P14 finish. Despite these setbacks, he’s actually faring a bit better than Hailie Deegan, the rookie who’s been all the buzz on social media.

Deegan only lasted 22 laps at Daytona, and because of a miscalculated fuel-saving strategy, missed a top-10 finish in Atlanta, landing in 27th place. But she did snag her first top-15 of the year in Las Vegas.

Another driver, whom Williams beat in this particular statistic, is Cup Series veteran Aric Almirola. The former Richard Petty Motorsports and SHR driver missed the top 10 at Vegas by 2 spots, still putting him ahead of Deegan and Williams.

While their overall stats from these three races might seem neck and neck, a closer inspection of their last race in Las Vegas paints a clearer picture. Hailie Deegan managed to move up about five places during the second half of the race, and Almirola, six. Whereas Josh Williams pushed his Chevy to the limit, climbing nearly seven spots. This comparison sheds light on their performance dynamics, especially in the latter half of the Las Vegas race.

Former trucker, Josh Williams, shot to fame last year when he parked his car during the Xfinity Series race. In fact, the driver decided to park his car on the front stretch in protest before getting out and waving to the fans, riling up the crowd in the process and leading to a one-race suspension. This Atlanta performance got him the headlines as teams and fans noticed the driver’s gutsy attitude to let his displeasure be known.

But now, Williams has impressed so much, and evidently as per the stats shared by Trey Ryan, that even the team’s new sponsor has taken notice.

Williams extends his partnership with his longtime partner through 2024

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“We’re excited to have Call811.com join our team at Kaulig Racing,” said Kaulig President Chris Rice as he revealed the #11 team’s new sponsor. For the unversed, Call811.com is a national online resource that helps to identify each state’s call-before-you-dig service for the coordination of markings for the approximate locations of buried utilities. Using the 811 process EVERY time, for EVERY dig, is essential to preventing serious injuries and loss of vital services resulting from damages to underground utilities.

In addition to its primary races, Call 811.com serves as the associate partner of the #11 Kaulig Racing team for the 2024 NXS season after starting its association with the team in Phoenix as its primary sponsor.

Reflecting on the long-standing association, Williams said, “Call811.com’s support has been important to get me to where I now am in my career, having my partners follow me to Kaulig Racing means a lot, and I’m excited to continue building our relationship.”

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