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The No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro is going to turn some heads during the Coca-Cola 600. The Cup Series team has partnered with the Charlotte Knights, a Triple-A Minor League Baseball team, for the Crown Jewel race.
Kaulig Racing made the announcement on May 25 and provided the first look at the No. 16. Noah Gragson will take on Charlotte Motor Speedway with a baseball-themed scheme that features a white base with pinstripes. The Charlotte Knights logos will sit on the sides and the hood while the gold and black colors will take over the door numbers.
“We are excited to support Kaulig Racing with Noah Gragson driving the No. 16 Charlotte Knights Car at this Sunday’s NASCAR race,” said Dan Rajkowski, COO of the Charlotte Knights, in a press release. “This partnership made perfect sense bringing together the incredible fan base of racing in Charlotte with the passionate fans of the Charlotte Knights.”
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The Race Presents a New Challenge for Gragson
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GettyNoah Gragson (top) races AJ Allmendinger (bottom) at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Fresh off his best career finish in the Cup Series — 18th at Kansas Speedway — Gragson is about to take on a new challenge. He will now prepare for the longest race of his NASCAR career, one that is the most grueling in the Cup Series.
May 29 will mark the first time that Gragson has competed in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He has previous experience at the 1.5-mile track from the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series, including two top-10s while driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports and one top-five while driving for JR Motorsports.
The Coca-Cola 600 presents a new challenge. The 600-mile race is the only points-paying race on the schedule with four stages, and it has a run time between four and five hours. The most recent Coca-Cola 600, which Kyle Larson won in a dominant fashion, took 3:58.45 while the 2020 Coca-Cola 600 took 4:29.50 due to an overtime finish and other factors.
Gragson Pursues Another Career Goal at Charlotte Motor Speedway
The weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway will be crucial for Gragson for two different reasons. First, he will continue to gain experience in the NASCAR Cup Series while making his sixth start of the season.
The second reason is that Gragson will be able to pursue another career goal. He will try to win a race at a 1.5-mile track for the first time in his Xfinity Series career. He has one intermediate win in the Camping World Truck Series, but he has yet to achieve this goal in the Xfinity Series.
Gragson has seven Xfinity Series wins at seven different tracks. He conquered Daytona International Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway in 2020. He then headed to Victory Lane at Darlington Raceway, Richmond Raceway, and Martinsville Speedway in 2021. His 2022 season has featured wins at Phoenix Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway.
Gragson came very close to winning at a 1.5-mile track during the 2020 Xfinity Series season. He had the lead at Texas Motor Speedway on the final lap, and he appeared to be within reach of his first intermediate track win. However, Harrison Burton passed him exiting Turn 4 for a stunning upset.
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