NASCAR lands new multi-car, full-time Cup team for 2022

NASCAR is set to see a new team join the Cup Series on a full-time basis in the 2022 season, and that team is set to run multiple cars.

Kaulig Racing, which have competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since 2016, announced earlier this season that they planned to join the Cup Series on a full-time basis in 2022, though nothing else was confirmed at the time.

They made their Cup Series debut in the 2020 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway with Justin Haley behind the wheel of the #16 Chevrolet, and they returned to the series in 2021 with a part-time effort (superspeedway races and road course races only).

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Now they have confirmed their plans for the 2022 season, and those plans include a full-time Cup Series effort with not one but two cars.

They have purchased charters for both of these entries.

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Haley, who is currently in his third full season with the team in the Xfinity Series, is set to drive one of their cars on a full-time basis. The second car is set to be driven by multiple drivers. The only confirmed driver for that car thus far A.J. Allmendinger.

Allmendinger, who is currently in his first full season with the team in the Xfinity Series, is also set to return to the team as a full-time driver for the 2022 Xfinity Series season.

Here is what Kaulig Racing team president Chris Rice had to say about the decision.

"“(Owner) Matt Kaulig is continuously showing how much he has invested in NASCAR and what he’s going to do. We’ve been working hard over the last three years on trying to secure a charter and how we went about it and it’s been so much fun it gives me cold chills but also it’s been a lot of work, a lot of endless nights. … Going Cup racing means a lot. Bringing somebody like AJ back to help us understand a little bit more about Cup racing helps, because he’s done it.”"

Here is what Haley had to add about the opportunity.

"“It’s just really cool for me, right? I’ve been within their Xfinity program, and building that up to a championship-level organization has been so cool, so to kind of flood that over and get the Cup opportunity with Kaulig Racing, it just feels like the right fit. It feels like a family atmosphere and it feels like I’m still part of the family, so to go Cup racing my first full-time season, to go to the Daytona 500 with the Matt Kaulig racing machine is pretty cool.”"

Here is what Allmendinger had to add.

"“I feel like I’m a small part of it, but I love seeing where this team is going; what Kaulig Racing as a whole in NASCAR is trying to develop into. It’s to the degree where I told Chris Rice, ‘I’m all-in whatever you want me to do,’ whether that’s full-time in Cup or part of the Xfinity program full-time again and running Cup races, I’m here to help this team in whatever capacity I can help them with.”"

In the meantime, Haley, Allmendinger and teammate Jeb Burton are still pursuing the 2021 Xfinity Series championship. Allmendinger sits in second place in the championship standings with two wins while Haley sits in sixth and Burton sits in seventh with one win.

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The 2022 Cup Series is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, February 20 with the 64th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

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