AJ Allmendinger embraces his role as a catalyst for Kaulig Racing during the Circuit of the Americas race weekend. (Photo: John Arndt | The Podium Finish)
DEL VALLE, Texas — Following the frantic start of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, AJ Allmendinger and his competitors welcome a different kind of chaos in the 2.3-mile Circuit of the Americas.
For what it is worth, Allmendinger, who starts 12th in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, knows his return to full-time Cup competition has its ups and downs.
“It’s tough when you start the season with two superspeedways,” Allmendinger said. “You don’t really know whether your stuff’s really good or really bad. Daytona was disappointing. I guess the good thing about it was I felt like we had a lot of speed there. But stuff happens and unfortunately, it’s very rare with ECR. Unfortunately, we had a motor issue there and kind of put us in a hole.”
“Atlanta was a crazy race. There was stuff that we could have probably made better about the racecar after when we go back there the next time. But yeah, it’s been OK. And we come here. So I’m really looking forward to this weekend.”
Coming off a respectable 14th place finish at Atlanta, Allmendinger knows that Sunday’s race at COTA is when the real racing for drivers and teams.
“I kind of feel like, in a way, this is the start of the season just because we’re going to be here at a road course, you go to a mile racetrack next week in Phoenix, then you go to Vegas. You go to a couple mile and a half [tracks],” he said. “So, after about 6 to 8 races, you kind of see exactly where you are as a race team. Just back at the shop and everything that we’ve done in the offseason, I think it’s probably the most prepared we’ve been on the Cup side of it. So yeah, I’m looking forward to kind of seeing where we stack up.”
Allmendinger, considered one of the adept road course racers in motorsports, considered the recent changes to COTA with his trademark along with the big picture for who benefits with the shift to the revised National Circuit layout.
AJ Allmendinger may be one of the major contenders for Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. (Photo: John Arndt | The Podium Finish)
“I’m still questioning why we make corners 6A, 6B, I mean, they’re two separate corners. I don’t know why, it’s just not [Turns] 6 and 7,” he said. “We’ve always done that in motorsports. So I don’t know why one corner gets an A or a B and then another corner just gets a real number. So we’re going to have to work on that part of it.
“But the new layout, it’s interesting. I’m going to admit I loved the way it was, but I do understand NASCAR’s decision of why to shorten it and get us going around in front of the fans more. It’ll be interesting to see.”
Prior to Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions, Allmendinger pondered how Turns 6A and 6B may be a game changing element in terms of daring passing opportunities.
“Driving it, that’s one thing, but the way it races is another,” he observed. “I think it’s an area that definitely can lend itself to dive bombs, and it’s going to bring a lot of chaos and some action, which is another reason why they’re doing it. But yeah, so it’s the same for everybody.
“And we’ll get out there and kind of feel it out. Watching the XFINITY [Series] cars, it was kind of what I would expect kind of going through there by yourself. But we’ll find out more when we get on the racetrack.”
In the practice sessions, Allmendinger posted the fifth and 11th fastest times. Although he was within a second of Shane van Gisbergen in the two preliminary sessions, he knows he must gain and preserve his spot on the track given how difficult passing will become during green flag runs.
“I think it’s going to make track position probably a little bit more critical, because the areas that they took away were passing zones,” Allmendinger said. “So I think you’re going to have to try to, if you have a good racecar and you’re contending to win, do everything you can, which we kind of did anyway.
“But I felt like this racetrack, you could maybe stay out one stage and get some of that track position and make some passes. I think you’re probably going to have to do everything you can to stay up front now with the shorter layout.”
By far, Allmendinger has the makings to be a genuine contender in Sunday’s 95-lap race, winning the XFINITY Series race twice [2022 and 2023] and was in position to win the 2022 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. While those were on the Grand Prix Circuit, Allmendinger and his No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet, fielded by Kaulig Racing, will be a factor come Sunday afternoon.
With COTA kicking off NASCAR’s unofficial West Coast swing, Allmendinger has plenty to look forward to, on and off the track. One of those anticipated moments for the 43-year-old racer comes on Mar. 13 when he will be inducted into the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame.
When Allmendinger learned about his upcoming induction into these hallowed grounds, he was around his loved ones, making the call truly memorable.
AJ Allmendinger, with his wife, Tara, and son, Aero, enjoy some family time before the race weekend at Atlanta. (Photo: Sydney Redden | The Podium Finish)
“I don’t think it’s kind of really sunk in yet,” he shared. “When you’re still in your career and you have something like this, it was definitely unexpected. I’d kind of seen the the ballot and really didn’t think twice of it.
“It was like, OK. And when they called me about it, Tara, Aero and I were on vacation. So that’s a special moment, and I look forward to being able to share that with them when we go there in Las Vegas, here in a couple of weeks.”
This year’s inductees into the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame include Allmendinger, Chuck Gurney, Davey Hamilton, Jeff Jefferson, Justin Marks, Boris Said and Rick Ware. Names like Jeff Gordon, Bill Vukovich, Scott Pruett, Walker Evans and the late Jason Leffler are among past inductees, something not lost upon Allmendinger.
When the moment arrives for Allmendinger to be inducted, it will not only be emotional, but perhaps something for the memory books.
“The list of people that are in the Hall of Fame is a kind of a who’s who and to be recognized,” Allmendinger observed. “I guess it’s weird because in a way, I’ve always done this for for myself and it started with my parents and so it’s always just been kind of a family thing. So I’ve never done it to be recognized in the outside world. I’ve always done it just because I like challenging myself and this is what I love doing.
“But to be a part of that, that history now of, of being in the Hall of Fame, it’ll be a fun night. I think Matt [Kaulig, owner of Kaulig Racing] and Chris [Rice, president of Kaulig Racing] will be there, and Chris is going to be the one inducting me. So God knows what he’s going to say about me. When I asked him, I was a little nervous. I don’t know which way it’s going to go, but it’ll be entertaining for sure.”
