Josh Williams on departure from Kaulig Racing: ‘I’ve got more drive than ever’

Kaulig Racing announced on Wednesday it was parting ways with driver Josh Williams after more than a year and a half together. Both sides felt it was for the best. After a 22nd-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, discussions began internally about the immediate future of the No. 11 car. Williams is 19th in the regular-season championship standings and needed a Hail Mary to make the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, so there was no sense in delaying the inevitable. "We had our differences a little bit. I don’t think they were happy, and I wasn’t happy," Williams told NASCAR.com. "It seemed like it was the best thing to do for both of us that we can all move forward and work towards the future a little bit faster. It worked out for both of us." MORE: Xfinity standings | Iowa schedule Chris Rice, team president for Kaulig Racing, agreed with Williams. The relationship just wasn’t working out for either party. "Sometimes, chemistry just doesn’t work in marriages, life, anything," Rice told NASCAR.com on Thursday morning. "When you look at our Xfinity program, there’s a lot of potential there, but we haven’t been putting it to work. Those decisions are tough. When you think about our M.O., we’re all about having fun and trying to win trophies. At the end of the day, it’s not about that -- it’s about giving people opportunities to showcase their talent and making sure our stuff is up to par for everybody else." Williams earned six top-10 finishes in 54 starts in Kaulig’s flagship No. 11 Chevrolet, with a best effort of sixth in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Williams led 14 laps total in those starts. Kaulig Racing is winless through 21 races in 2025, with Rice considering the season unacceptable. That is on the heels of a 2024 season where Shane van Gisbergen dominated three road-course races in Kaulig equipment and AJ Allmendinger ultimately made the Championship 4 by scoring an upset victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the Round of 8. "We all want to win, but we want to be in contention to win and have a better opportunity to win and run top 10, run top five and we haven’t even come close to that," Rice added. "We’ve got to figure that out. I think over the next couple of weeks, before we get into the playoffs, we can judge our Xfinity program and see what needs to be changed and what we need to do for 2026." Rookie Christian Eckes is the only Kaulig driver to score a top-five finish in 2025, earning three so far this year. He leads Kaulig with eight top-10 finishes, while fellow rookie Daniel Dye has seven top 10s. Williams wouldn’t go as far as saying he didn’t get a fair shot with Kaulig, but he said, "It wasn’t an ideal situation." "The past few years, as a whole organization, the performance wasn’t as good as it was a few years before I even got there," Williams said. "Teams go through cycles. A lot of times, teams are really good and then they fade off a little bit and go back to being good. We were in that low part. I don’t think it’s anybody’s fault; it’s just the position that we were in." Since the news dropped on Wednesday, Williams’ phone hasn’t stopped buzzing. Countless people within the racing industry reached out, making the process easier to reconcile. Rice said the same with the No. 11 car being a key opening leading into the offseason. Currently, he’s unsure if Kaulig will operate two or three full-time Xfinity cars come 2026. "I’ve had numerous Xfinity teams, numerous truck teams reach out to me," Williams said. "A lot of team owners, other drivers, people very high up in NASCAR, Hall of Fame drivers -- I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me today and they are all on my side and everyone is behind me." With a host of people checking in on Williams, he feels satisfied despite the circumstances. Every colleague working directly on the No. 11 Chevrolet reached out to him, aside from crew chief Eddie Pardue, Williams added. "It goes to show you what type of person that I am," he said. "I can’t walk down pit road without being late to the car because I’ve got to stop and talk to 100 people on the way. Everyone respects me and knows who I am as a person and how I treat people. "I never burn a bridge because you don’t know what the future holds. Motorsports is the smallest community in the world. Everything is a circle, no pun intended. We’re all in this small circle and you never know when you’re going to need that person one day. I might need Kaulig Racing one day and they might need me one day. You’ve got to keep those doors open." Rice appreciated the opportunity of getting to work with Williams and alluded to being thankful for the partnership they had. Williams isn’t done racing in 2025. Highlighted by primary partner Alloy Employer Services, Williams has a loyal sponsorship following that is committed to four more races this season. He couldn’t confirm yet which races he will participate in or with which team. "I have the people who are important to further my career on my side and that means a lot," Williams said. Nailing down 2026 plans is top of mind for Williams. Separating from one of the series' mainstays didn’t hurt too much, Williams said, because "I know where my future is going." "It’s still upsetting because I’m a racer; I want to go race," he said. "I have a plan for the future, so I feel like that makes it easier. I feel like I’ve got more drive than ever."