Inside Matt Kaulig’s NASCAR journey at Daytona

Founded in 2016, Kaulig Racing has quickly grown into one of NASCAR’s rising organizations.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — At Daytona International Speedway, the energy starts long before the green flag goes down.

For team owner Matt Kaulig, race week is about far more than watching cars circle the track. It’s about the months of preparation, the countless people behind the scenes, and the dream of building a NASCAR team capable of winning on the sport’s biggest stage.

That competitive spirit has been a constant throughout Kaulig’s life. He was once a quarterback at the University of Akron before turning to business, where he launched LeafFilter in his basement and grew it into a billion-dollar company. That success gave him the means to chase another passion: racing.

For Kaulig, the drive to win is no different, whether it’s business or motorsports.

“If it was LeafFilter, it’s like, ‘All right, what, how much revenue did you do?'” Kaulig explained. “It’s the same thing with NASCAR. Like, ‘All right, well, where’d we finish? Did we finish first? Did we hold the trophy up or did we finish 14th?'”

Founded in 2016, Kaulig Racing has quickly grown into one of NASCAR’s rising organizations. In less than a decade, the team has earned 29 victories across the Xfinity and Cup Series and built a reputation as “trophy hunters” — a group focused not just on competing, but on winning.

“We have three teams in the Xfinity Series, we have two teams in the Cup Series,” Kaulig said. “So you look at it as one team, and you try to get them to work, you know, together.”

At Daytona, that teamwork is tested in ways fans rarely see. Success starts at the team’s headquarters in Welcome, North Carolina, where every car, part, and piece of equipment is prepared weeks in advance.

When it’s time to race, the operation hits the road.

“You literally, for the week, have to bring everything from North Carolina to Daytona,” Kaulig said. “Every wrench, every nut, bolt — everything is here.”

The massive transporters — five for a single race weekend — carry not only cars, but spare engines, tires, tools, radios, even the smallest parts that could mean the difference between finishing the race or an early exit.

Behind the drivers are engineers, mechanics, strategists, and pit crew members who train year-round for the few critical seconds that can decide a race. It’s a traveling circus of precision and pressure.

Racing isn’t new to Kaulig. His father once sponsored IndyCar teams, and young Matt grew up attending the Indianapolis 500 every year. Those early experiences left a lasting imprint.

“I started going to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in eighth grade,” Kaulig said. “Fast forward to (when) we won the Brickyard 400 (on the road course in 2021 with A.J. Allmendinger). We literally bent down and kissed the bricks. For me, it was surreal.”

Now, when he sees his name stitched onto fire suits, pit boxes, and cars, it’s a continuation of that legacy.

“To have your name on everything, it’s cool,” he said. “I think about my dad, I think about my daughter. I mean, we’re just making things happen. It’s cool.”

Kaulig Racing may be young compared to NASCAR powerhouses like Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, or Team Penske, but Kaulig makes no secret of where he wants to take his team, an ambition that fuels the long hours, the massive investment, and the pressure of competing at NASCAR’s highest level.

And while long-term goals drive the organization, nothing looms larger than the Daytona 500 — the Super Bowl of stock car racing.

“It would mean more to me, for other people … for our whole race team,” Kaulig said. “To win the Daytona 500 would be unbelievable. It’s almost unimaginable.”

But in Kaulig’s world, impossible dreams don’t stay impossible for long.

“Somebody has to win it,” he said, “and somebody’s going to win it.”

This Saturday’s Cup race at Daytona won’t be the 500, but the Coke Zero Sugar 400, with two spots in the playoffs still up for grabs. Kaulig’s two full-time drivers — Allmendinger and Ty Dillon — will have to win in order to make the postseason. The race will air live on WKYC at 7:30 p.m.

Over in the Xfinity Series, the Wawa 250 will take place Friday night, with Daniel Dye, Christian Eckes, and Cup veteran Michael McDowell all competing for Kaulig.