It was not a great start for Kaulig Racing’s 2024 recruit, Josh Williams. The driver, who had shown promises to change the tidings of his fate, was off to a rocky start in the first two races of the season and ended up with visitations to the infield care centers on the track. However, it seems that William’s streak of bad luck is finally on the verge of ending, especially after Saturday’s promising run in Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Although it was the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers who stole the show with their dominant performance and ended Chevrolet’s dominance in the season so far, the underdog drivers were not far behind them. This was evident after Kaulig Racing’s Josh Williams finished fourteenth in the race, while AJ Allmendinger notched a sixth-place finish on Saturday afternoon. Nevertheless, Josh Williams doesn’t seem to be over the moon after his point-earning finish on Saturday and this was apparent from his post-race interview.

Kaulig Racing’s 2024 recruit shares his disappointment despite his good run

Very few drivers are as eccentric as Josh Williams. Although he has immense talent which he has proved time and again during his stint in ARCA and his stay at DGM Racing, it is his on-track antics that have propelled the driver to the limelight. However, it seems that the tables are about to turn and it would be his talent that would do the talking, especially after earning his first points in the series in the 2024 season.

Williams’ earlier two races were mired in wrecks and the driver finished at the bottom of the points table. As a result, his 14th-place finish after running a complete race is nothing less than a breath of fresh air for Williams and his team. Speaking to the media, an elated Williams expressed, “I didn’t even have to go to the infield care center this week, that’s awesome. I needed to learn a little bit, these Kaulig cars are different than what I am used to and our qualifying car wasn’t that great but told guys I will figure it out in the race and we definitely did.”

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Despite his best performance in the season, Williams is yet to be satisfied. He also complained, “I kind of made it a little bit too tight, asking for adjustments just for security but once we got to where I was secure, we needed to go back the other way. Kevin Walter did a great job with a strategy there. We capitalized on the moment and ended up with a good finish is what we needed. Gained a little points, I didn’t have many so at least we got a few more.”

Williams’ strategy of staying out in the final stage of the race and pitting with just 10 laps to go paid off. He was able to capitalize on the track situation and earned his season-best finish of P14 after going a lap down.

On the other hand, Williams’ teammate Shane Van Gisbergen will be far from satisfied after a mechanical DNF took the Kiwi out early.

Las Vegas proves to be a tough nut for Shane Van Gisbergen

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While Williams had all the reasons to be smiling, his teammate and rookie Shane Van Gisbergen had faced early setbacks in the race. Although he had notched a runner-up finish in Atlanta, SVG’s run at Las Vegas was utterly dismal. The initial hiccups began when the team failed to clear the pre-race inspection twice. 

To add to the woes, the Kiwi faced the first DNF of his stock car racing career during the race due to overheating issues and was able to complete only 25 laps out of the 200 laps. He was heard complaining on the radio about how “oil temperatures were rising”. That axed the hope of the rookie driver and ended the day after stopping in the garage.

Ahead of the race, SVG had also fretted over the gusty winds on the track and how he was terrified of it. He exclaimed, “We went for a walk (on the track) before and just the wind is how that’s going to affect. You know, like I’ve felt wind and race cars before, but not at these speeds. I’m not sure what it’s going to be like.”

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Although a rookie, the Supercars champion has persevered in the unknown terrains of NASCAR with ease. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if the driver has learned his lessons from the curve ball of Las Vegas Motor Speedway.