AJ Allmendinger focuses forward on building Kaulig Racing’s NASCAR Cup Series efforts in his return to full-time competition this year. (Photo: Erik Smith | The Podium Finish)
RIDGEWAY, Va. — AJ Allmendinger embraces his role at Kaulig Racing much like Jim Plunkett did with the Raiders — rising to the occasion when it matters most.
For the past seven years, the Los Gatos, California, native has helped transform Kaulig from an XFINITY Series upstart into an emerging contender in the NASCAR Cup Series. Now, when crunch time arrives, Allmendinger is all in — not just for himself, but for the entire organization.
Allmendinger has been there for Kaulig’s shining moments in NASCAR. After all, he orchestrated Kaulig’s incredible, four-race winning streak at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in the XFINITY Series. He has kissed the bricks at Indianapolis twice, once as a part-time Cup competitor in 2021 and a year later when chasing after an XFINITY title.
It is hard to top a celebration like that of Allmendinger when he wins in any of NASCAR’s top levels. He does more than the typical whooping and hollering that drivers shout when clambering out of their cars on the frontstretch.
All the emotions are released by Allmendinger in that moment. The 43-year-old racer basks in a victory for his family, the diligent Kaulig crew at the track and shop and for those who gave him a new lease in life — Chris Rice and Matt Kaulig.
Last year, Allmendinger, driving Kaulig’s No. 16 Chevrolet in the XFINITY Series to improve the team’s overall program, did exactly that. He won at Las Vegas in October and placed third in the championship standings.
Returning to the Cup Series this year, it was not an easy start for Allmendinger with an engine issue in the 67th DAYTONA 500. Following it up with a respectable 14th at Atlanta, the real start of the season ensued a week later at Circuit of the Americas.
During the race weekend in Del Valle, Texas, Allmendinger reflected on his team’s start and how the races this and next month would serve as a true, telltale sign of their capabilities.
AJ Allmendinger’s No. 16 Kaulig Racing team have built toward competitive, quality performances in 2025. (Photo: Erik Smith | The Podium Finish)
“It’s tough when you start the season with two superspeedways,” he acknowledged. “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 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 race car after when we go back there the next time. But yeah, it’s been okay. I kind of feel like, in a way, this is the start of the season just because we’re here at a road course, you go to a mile racetrack in Phoenix, then you go to Vegas. You go to a couple mile and a half. So, after about six to eight races, you kind of see, OK, exactly where you are as a race team. But 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.”
After six races into the season, Allmendinger ranks 16th, an incredible charge in the standings after the DAYTONA 500 when he was 30th. With two consecutive top 10s heading into Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway, the versatile racer is channeling his inner Plunkett, rallying his troops to greater heights.
However, Allmendinger faces a new challenge in Martinsville, a track that once favored his style. Prior to taking on the 0.526-mile he considered his prospects and a newer, added wrinkle from Goodyear. Last fall’s race at the paperclip shaped track introduced a softer right side tire compound designed to promote tire wear or degradation to encourage more on track battles and pit strategies.
Going into Sunday’s race, Allmendinger, who will make his first Cup start at Martinsville since 2023, hopes the tire compound will suit his driving style to continue the positive, upward trend since Las Vegas race weekend.
“In the past, Martinsville has been a favorite racetrack of mine, but I’ve felt like we struggled there with the Next Gen car,” Allmendinger said in a Team Chevy press release. “Obviously, we’re coming off some good momentum the last two weekends so we’ll take that will us and put together a solid weekend to keep that rolling. It should be an interesting race with the tires being softer than last year, so hopefully that will make the racing more exciting.”
The perspective from Allmendinger’s windshield will be exciting as he starts 23rd in the field of 38. Since the advent of the Next Gen car in 2022, his best result at the charter stock car track is 23rd in the Xfinity 500. Momentum is certainly on his mind with the strong pace on display with Kaulig’s No. 16 Chevrolet.
“Honestly, the last two weeks have been really good,” Allmendinger said to Scottie Spirinkle of Short Track Scene. “We’ve generally had good speed everywhere. At Phoenix, even a times, especially on the softer tire, we had good speed. We just had some bad luck early. So, it’s nice to execute the last two weekends.
“This is a racetrack with the new [Next] Gen car, it hasn’t been our best racetrack. So, these next few weeks will be a little bit of a test to see where we stand at different types of racetracks. We know that our mile and a half program is really good.
Over the past three years, things have changed for Allmendinger and his team. For starters, there is a greater emphasis on collaboration and it goes beyond the walls of the Kaulig Racing shop.
AJ Allmendinger wants to keep the momentum going for his No. 16 Chevrolet team. (Photo: Sydney Redden | The Podium Finish)
It is beyond a roster reshuffle for Kaulig as well in having Allmendinger back in their No. 16 Chevrolet in the Cup Series. Likewise, Ty Dillon’s presence in the No. 10 Chevrolet, the sister car to Allmendinger’s No. 16, is no coincidence.
This season is about uniting an upstart effort like Kaulig with a proven collective like Richard Childress Racing to strengthen both organizations’ efforts and challenge for wins and championships.
“I think a lot of this in general is to work with RCR better,” Allmendinger said. “There’s no secret that they struggled as well last year when Kyle Busch doesn’t win a Cup race. We gotta improve it. So we’re working on… we call it the “1 Welcome,” which is where both teams are based (Welcome, North Carolina) and just get both working better. And we got to do our job to be at a level that can help RCR.
“But with that said, I think the people that we’ve added between the two organizations are going to work well to better together, just really try to make two two-car teams [into] one four-car team and Ty’s a part of that. He knows the inner workings of RCR. He’s been a part of it for a long time. This is hopefully his best opportunity when it comes to the Cup side of it. I’ve always gotten along with him. Well, I’ve never been a teammate with him, but just at the racetrack, we’ve always gotten along well. So, so far, so good. And hopefully we just keep building.”
Editor’s Notes
We’re just getting started with AJ’s story! Dive into the extended version on TPF+ to hear about his life as a pet parent, his thoughts on the upcoming NASCAR 25 game, and the unforgettable “Welcome to NASCAR” moment that shaped his career.
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