AJ Allmendinger admits it has been a challenging season, but he hopes to finish the 2025 campaign on a high note in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup season finale and championship-deciding race at Phoenix Raceway.

“When you’re in a position like ours, trying to just grow the race team and get it better, sometimes it’s hard to just look at the result and say, ‘Okay, it’s A or B, right, like happy or not happy,’” Allmendinger exclusively told EssentiallySports. “I think there’s a lot of positives in our year.

“We’ve had a lot of speed at a lot of different types of racetracks, speed that maybe previously we didn’t have at those racetracks. So on that end of it, I think it’s a very positive year because we have made a lot of gains compared to last year, or even the last time I was full time in Cup (2023 season).

“With that said, there’s been a lot of disappointments. We have seven DNFs this year, which is just kind of crazy to think about. And, quite honestly, you kind of look at them and I would love to say, ‘Gosh, I’ve made these mistakes or this is what happened and I cost us a DNF or a finish.’ We’ve just had a lot of bad luck and that’s easy to say.”

Allmendinger still has hope of moving up in final standings

Even though he comes into Phoenix in 25 position in the Cup standings, with a ledger of zero wins, two top five and seven top 10 finishes, Allmendinger believes he can still finish the season a few places higher in the rankings, perhaps as high as 22.

It’s not exactly where he wanted to be when the season began, but Allmendinger remains positive about how the season has turned out.

“You always want more,” he said. “We’re still battling for a points position going into this weekend. There’s a couple of positions that we can gain. So we’re still fighting for something.

“Could it have been a lot better? Sure. But just taking all the gains that we’ve made with the speed, it’s been positive. And I think there’s a lot of momentum that we can take from that into the offseason to try to make it better next year.”

Allmendinger showed some great flashes of speed, like at Darlington, where he started from the 22nd position and finished 5th. The No. 16 rated his pit crew “1,000 out of 10” for their efforts.

Phoenix Raceway is a place where Kaulig Racing has struggled in recent seasons in both Cup and Xfinity. While Allmendinger is picking Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron to win the Cup championship, he isn’t selling his own chances short to potentially steal away a win or a top five finish.

“For everybody, it’s a little bit different how they race those guys (in the Championship Four),” Allmendinger said. “For me, you don’t want to be part of the story unless you steal the win. That’s the way I look at it. If we got a chance to win the race on Sunday, I’m going to do everything that I can for our race team. I don’t care about their championship. We’re going for the win.

“We’d love to have a solid run. If we run top 15, that’s a great day. But if we got a chance to win the race, we’re going to do whatever it takes.”

Here’s who Allmendinger is picking to win the Cup championship

Allmendinger likes all four finalists but is leaning toward Martinsville winner William Byron to win his first Cup championship on Sunday.

“William has been really strong there,” Allmendinger said. “Obviously, Kyle’s (Larson) won in the past, the championship (2021). And the Toyotas have just been strong all year, Denny (Hamlin) and Chase (Briscoe). If you’re making me choose one, I’m going to say the 24. You just get that momentum off of Martinsville and you take it into Phoenix.”

It’s true that Byron’s strong at Phoenix. His five top 10 finishes in the past six visits there speak for themselves.

But while Allmendinger is picking Byron to win the championship, he also has a soft spot for Denny Hamlin. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing FedEx Toyota is in his fifth Championship Four (plus two other top four finishes prior to the start of the playoffs). However, Hamlin is still in search of his first Cup crown in what potentially could be his last chance (Hamlin turns 45 on November 18). His contract runs through till the end of 2027.

“Denny, he’s a Hall of Famer,” Allmendinger said. He’s the Mark Martin of our generation. He’s won so many races. So (winning the Cup crown is) the cherry on top for him. If he wins it, he’s going to be a Hall of Famer no matter what.”

Allmendinger is excited about Kaulig’s new Truck program for 2026

Allmendinger turns 44 in December and anticipates racing for at least two more seasons. He wants to continue to help Kaulig grow and succeed, especially with the exciting news that the team will field the first five Dodge Rams to run in the Truck Series starting next season.

“It’s huge for the race team to have a brand like Dodge and Ram believe in your race team and us to be the flagship team on the truck side of it,” Allmendinger said. “We’ll see what happens is hopefully they move towards Cup.”

The Los Gatos, Calif., native isn’t sure if he’ll occasionally drive any of the trucks next season, but even if he doesn’t, he’s going to be a big cheerleader for the drivers that will be behind the wheel of the new Rams.

“I’m always interested in whatever they want me to run, and I’m interested in it,” Allmendinger said. “So, if there’s an opportunity there to go do a few races, of course, I’m going to do it.”

Thoughts about potential changes in playoffs for next season

Allmendinger also discussed rumored changes to the NASCAR playoff format next season. Nothing official has been announced yet, but it’s pretty clear that changes will take place early in the off-season.

“One thing that I would love to see is however many guys make it to the playoffs, if you don’t make it to whatever they consider the final number, whether it’s where they were, because that’s something like for us, we were kind of 18th, 19th at points before the SVG win (Charlotte Roval) and Austin Dillon, those guys that we were ahead of in points.

“The way our last two months have gone, I don’t know if we would still be ahead of them, but that sets us back at points. I would love to see the guys that don’t make it to the final kind of reset their points to kind of where they are running.

“That’s big money for the teams. I would love for (all points below the top four finishers) be reset. Then if we’re still going to have the playoffs, make it a three race battle for those guys, and just let those points accumulate.

That’s a fair stance. Post elimination, the drivers, instead of being locked out and pushed back, should be able to continue from where they left off in the standings before elimination. It only reflects their true performance. And his three-race idea for the eliminated drivers somewhat matches the four-race idea for the final race that’s being speculated.

“But I get it. The factor of going to the last race for TV and having four guys, we’re an entertainment business. We race cars, but it’s entertainment. You’ve got to have that factor. I’m kind of open to all ideas, but I think just kind of resetting the points would be a good thing for the guys that don’t continue on.”

Allmendinger loves the new paint scheme on his car

Allmendinger is excited about the CELSIUS-sponsored paint scheme his No. 16 Chevrolet will carry in Sunday’s race.

“Well, first and foremost, they sponsor us,” Allmendinger said. “Which, at the end of the day, if they didn’t do that, we wouldn’t be racing. That right there in itself is all we need.

“But on a personal basis, for me, it’s my go-to for everything, for training and trying to get ready for the upcoming weekend. When I’m out on the golf course, which I do a lot, I always have a CELSIUS with me, if not a couple, depending on if we’re planning 36 holes or not.

“It’s the partnership that we’ve had that I hope we grow. We’ve done that over the last several years, it’s very important to myself and more importantly to our race team.”

“This weekend is really cool because we’re doing a different (paint) scheme. And the new flavor, the limited edition flavor that has come out, gold top on the can, the Spritz Vibe, I think the race car looks awesome. It just has got a desert vibe to it. The look, the colors on it, I think it’s perfect for going to Phoenix.

“I got to try the flavor when I was at the shop on Tuesday. It has immediately become my favorite flavor. So, yeah, it’s important for so many reasons on a personal level and for our race team. Without them, we’re not racing.”