Reasons Behind A. J. Allmendinger’s “Demotion” Cleared by Kaulig Racing President

Published 02/22/2024, 3:12 PM EST

AJ Allmendinger pulled off an impressive show in the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity season. He competed in five races for Kaulig Racing and secured a spot in the top 10 in all of them. Doing so, he snagged a pair of victories as well, at Circuit of The Americas and Nashville. Moving away from the Xfinity Series, he proved his worth at the Cup too by winning the Charlotte Roval. Despite all of that, his team had to cut his wings short. And now as they reveal, it was due to unavoidable circumstances.

Driving for Kaulig Racing since 2019, Allmendinger feels a special connection with the team. The 17-time Xfinity series winner thundered into this season albeit the stacked competition. He kicked off his 2024 race schedule with top-10 efforts in both the Cup and Xfinity Series at Daytona. So this update becomes all the more shocking, knowing his team is well aware of his talent.

AJ Allmendinger to retain his racing rep despite stripped ranks

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Allmendinger ran a full-time Cup series schedule in 2023. He even verbally expressed his interest in extending the Cup glory. But his team, Kaulig Racing, had other plans as they declared his part-time Cup schedule and full-time return to Xfinity in 2024.

Dustin Albino, digital content editor for Jayski, recently posted on Twitter updating fans on the team’s plans. “Repost: @AJDinger wanted to remain in the Cup Series, but a business decision was made to have him return to the Xfinity Series with @KauligRacing.”

Repost: @AJDinger wanted to remain in the Cup Series, but a business decision was made to have him return to the Xfinity Series with @KauligRacing.
“I don’t look at it as a demotion – I know a lot of people do – but it’s still Kaulig Racing.”https://t.co/SLflKHOHd9
— Dustin Albino (@DustinAlbino) February 22, 2024

The Kaulig Racing team cited a business reason for rolling back Allmendinger’s ambitions. Chris Rice, president, said it costs the team somewhere between $16-$17 million to field an entry in the Cup Series. “I don’t look at it as a demotion – I know a lot of people do – but it’s still Kaulig Racing,” Rice said.

AJ Allmendinger is absolutely on board with his team’s decision. In fact, he pledged his allegiance to Kaulig considering the long relationship he has had with them. “I’ve always told them that I’m willing to do whatever they want me to do. I’ve always been brutally honest with them. With that, my alliance is to [Kaulig], so if you want me to run Cup, Xfinity, trucks, whatever, I’m going to do it for you guys,” Allmendinger said.

Allmendinger will run a chunk of the Cup schedule in the #16 Chevrolet Camaro. Josh Williams will run the same car at Atlanta, while Shane Van Gisbergen will take the wheel in seven events. AJ Allmendinger hopes that Kaulig will up its game with weekly wins at the Cup level.

With his comeback into Xfinity, Allmendinger has a prominent sponsor who has his back.

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Celsius to light up the racetrack for Allmendinger

AJ Allmendinger already took part in a double-header campaign at Daytona. Both his Xfinity and Cup races were sponsored by Celsius. The energy drink brand had also sponsored Toni Breidinger in the Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday.

“To represent Celsius in both of these races — the biggest weekend in our sport — is a huge deal for us,” Allmendinger said of the partnership. “When Chris [Rice, team president], Matt [Kaulig, owner] and I talked about what the program was going to be this year, I said, ‘If I’m not full time, I completely understand, but I want to run the Daytona 500.’ You want to be part of this race.”

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Allmendinger does not consider his team’s decision to be a dampener for his career. Instead, he is looking at the brighter side. He is focusing on enjoying the races: “I’ve always loved the Xfinity Series, and the level of competition this year is going to be stacked.”

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Written by:

Sumedha Mukherjee is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports who is known for her in-depth track analysis as well as her lifestyle coverage of Cup drivers like Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick. Inspired by the Kiwi's journey so far, Sumedha has also written pieces on Shane Van Gisbergen, predicting how the Supercars Champion would do in the new and unfamiliar American setting. Pairing her research skills with her vast experience as a writer, Sumedha creates stories her readers can easily get lost in.

Edited by:

Ranvijay Singh

Reasons Behind A. J. Allmendinger’s “Demotion” Cleared by Kaulig Racing President

AJ Allmendinger to retain his racing rep despite stripped ranks

Celsius to light up the racetrack for Allmendinger

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