Kaulig Racing makes major change to No. 16 Cup Series team ahead of Las Vegas

Kaulig Racing announced a major change to their No. 16 Chevrolet team in the NASCAR Cup Series ahead of this weekend’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

According to a statement posted by the team on social media, Travis Mack will no longer serve in his position as crew chief for the No. 16, and Darian Grubb, the team’s Director of Performance, will fill in as interim starting this weekend, with Shane van Gisbergen piloting the Chevrolet.

An update regarding Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series: pic.twitter.com/xXMebBh7U1

— Kaulig Racing (@KauligRacing) October 16, 2024

“Travis Mack will no longer serve as crew chief for the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, effective immediately,” a statement from Kaulig Racing read. “We appreciate the commitment Travis made to the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season and wish him well in the future.

“Darian Grubb will serve as the No. 16 crew chief this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with driver Shane van Gisbergen. More announcements regarding the position will be made in the near future.”

Evidently, Kaulig prefers Grubb to help the aforementioned SVG during his trip to Sin City this weekend, where he’ll participate in the NASCAR Cup Series race, as he prepares to move up from the Xfinity Series full-time in 2025.

The New Zealander had a solid time at the Charlotte Roval this past weekend, notching both poles in qualifying, but he couldn’t put it all together on race day, ending up eliminated from the Xfinity Series Playoffs with his finish on Saturday.

On Sunday, SVG came home P7 in the Cup Series, which isn’t too shabby, but many believed he’d be racing for the win on both days. 

While van Gisbergen has looked unbeatable at times on road courses, Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic elaborated on how his recent struggles show how difficult it is to put it all together and win a NASCAR race, and he believes we could see an even more aggressive SVG in 2025.

“You need a lot of things to work in your favor,” Bianchi responded, regarding the difficulties of winning at the Cup Series level. “… A lot has to come your way. It feels like he’s been — he’s kind of been used up, it feels like, sometimes this year. I don’t say guys are taking advantage of them, but as he’s adapting to the culture of stock-car racing here in America, it’s like — there’s been moments where you’re like, guys are really not hesitant to put a bumper to him and be aggressive around him. I think, for the most part, he’s been, I really don’t recall a moment where you’re like, ‘Oh man, he’s being real forceful here.’ I guess maybe Austin Hill at Sonoma, but that, to me, was more hard racing than anything. It wasn’t like he used up Hill or anything to that level. 

“You kind of wonder if this is going to evolve a little bit, as he gets more acclimated to this and says, ‘All right, I’m going to have to modify this, and now I’m gonna have to stop being pushed around,’ and that’s just how it is. That’s kind of the maturation process that any rookie driver goes through.”

While Shane van Gisbergen will be with Trackhouse Racing, not Kaulig, in 2025, the teams both have played a role in getting the veteran wheelman ready for full-time Cup Series racing next year, and that’ll continue this weekend in Las Vegas, with a new crew chief for the No. 16 Chevrolet.