NASCAR: The partnership that’s taking A.J. Allmendinger to the next level

A.J. Allmendinger spoke about Kaulig Racing’s partnership with Hyperice and how that gives him an advantage as a NASCAR Xfinity Series driver.

A.J. Allmendinger has been competing in NASCAR for well over a decade, but he is currently in his first season as a full-time driver in the Xfinity Series. He drives the #16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing and sits in second place in the point standings with two wins through the first 18 races of the 33-race 2021 season.

Part of the 39-year-old Los Gatos, California native’s success can be attributed to a new partnership that the Matt Kaulig-owned team formed ahead of the 2021 season with Hyperice.

Hyperice is the industry leader in recovery technology and pioneer of percussion, vibration, dynamic air compression and thermal technology, and they formed a partnership with Kaulig Racing ahead of this past February’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

This partnership extends through the team’s Xfinity Series program and brings recovery technology to the track for the team as well as to a new and passionate fanbase.

Allmendinger recently spoke to Beyond the Flag about this partnership and what it has meant for him thus far.

“First of all, in our sport, any time you can bring a new partner, a new sponsor into a race team or NASCAR in general and get their insight on what they enjoy about the sport or kind of open their eyes to what NASCAR racing is all about, [that] is really important,” he said.

“Our sport is sponsor-driven. Without sponsors coming into the sport, NASCAR, our race teams, they can’t survive. So any time you can do something like that and have a new partner come into a race team is a big deal, especially with Kaulig Racing because we’re still a fairly new team. We’re six years into existence, and Matt Kaulig, with his background on the business side of it with LeafFilter and everything that he’s been a part of, it’s big.”

Allmendinger went into the specifics of why this particular partnership with Hyperice is so special.

“With Hyperice for me especially, I’m very active in my life,” he continued. “We’re racing every weekend for the most part. I love to play golf, and with all the products that Hyperice has, it truly helps me because I definitely don’t give myself a lot of rest. To have all the Hyperice products that I’m able to use is a big deal for my body. I’m getting up there a little bit in age in what I like to do, and my body’s sore. So it’s a big deal!”

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He uses Hyperice products both to prepare for and to recover from his physical activity, including races.

“It’s both,” he said. “It’s great what Hyperice has done for us because we have the Hypervolt Plus. … You get to the race track, and you have a little bit of down time before the race. We get there generally probably three or four hours early before the race, and to be able to get inside the hauler and kind of relax and use those products before the race is a big deal to kind of get my body loose and get ready for the race.”

As for his recovery, he has several products at home to use as well.

“When I get home, I have a variety of their products that I use to recover,” he said. “As I said, I love to play golf, so I’m almost playing golf every day as well. So it’s big for me to be able to have those and to be able to help myself kind of stay loose, recover, prepare in general for the activities that I like to do.”

But these products aren’t just meant for athletes; Allmendinger would recommend them for anybody.

“Whether you’re always on the go, whether it’s working out or sports or just being active, or just in general if you’re working at a desk and you’re sitting there, I think sometimes we lose sight of how important it is to take care of your body,” he exampled. “And sometimes just straight-out stretching and things like that, it hurts and it’s time-consuming.

“With Hyperice, you can sit there, even if you’re at work, working at a desk, sitting at a desk, you can use it on your arms and legs and hands and feet. Or if you have an active lifestyle, to be able to go hard and right away be able to get out all that lactic acid that has built up and things of that nature, just your bones being stiff and muscles being tight, right away. … it’s huge to be able to quickly do that.

“Or, just as I said, if you’re just sitting there working, to be able to do that and not let your body get too stiff, because once you get it there, it’s truly hard, especially once you get older, to get that stiffness out of your body. The longer that you sit and the longer you let it happen, the harder it is to get that stuff out of your body, that lactic acid, just all those toxins that are inside your body that have built up over time.

“So using those Hyperice products, especially right away, can really shorten that time and really take a lot of the pain away that you can live with on a daily basis.”

The next race on the Xfinity Series schedule is scheduled to take place this Saturday, July 17 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET.