NASCAR: A.J. Allmendinger reveals how full-time deal came together

A.J. Allmendinger spoke about how his full-time NASCAR Cup Series deal came about and what he can take from his current role as a part-time driver into next year.

Kaulig Racing recently confirmed their driver lineup for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, announcing not only that Justin Haley is set to stay for another year behind the wheel of the #31 Chevrolet but that they will have a second full-time driver for the first time.

This year, the team expanded from one part-time car to two full-time cars after securing two charters from Spire Motorsports. But three drivers have split time behind the wheel of the #16 Chevrolet alongside Haley’s #31 Chevrolet.

Kaulig Racing Xfinity Series drivers A.J. Allmendinger and Daniel Hemric have both had several opportunities to drive the car, as has JR Motorsports Xfinity Series driver Noah Gragson. Gragson is set to move to the Cup Series with Petty GMS Motorsports next year, replacing Ty Dillon behind the wheel of the #42 Chevrolet.

It is Allmendinger who is set to drive the #16 Chevrolet full-time next year.

Kaulig Racing revealed in early September that they would be making a 2023 NASCAR Cup Series driver announcement in early October, at which point some believed they were the favorites to sign Kyle Busch.

That obviously didn’t happen, and it emerged a few days ahead of the official announcement that Allmendinger was going to be named the full-time driver of the #16 Chevrolet.

According to Allmendinger, who most recently competed full-time in the Cup Series in 2018, things weren’t fully settled until around two weeks before that announcement, which took place as a part of Kaulig Racing Fan Day.

“Honestly, there were a lot of talks,” Allmendinger told Beyond the Flag. “This wasn’t decided like, ‘You want to do it? Yea let’s do it.’ There were a lot of talks over a couple-of-month period of what we wanted to do.

“What I love about [team owner] Matt [Kaulig] and [team president] Chris [Rice] is they want what’s best for the organization. But they truly make all of us at Kaulig Racing, especially with me because I’m spending so much time with them all the time, make sure that it’s the right decision for me personally.

“When I stopped Cup racing in 2018, I was pretty worn out, and it’s a different level when you’re in the Cup Series every weekend. It was just one of those things: okay, I want to make sure I’m fully set for this, head on straight, there are going to be ups and downs, especially with a new team like Kaulig Racing.

“So yeah, we spent a few months on it, and it wasn’t really until two weeks prior to when we announced it that we actually decided, ‘Okay, this is what’s gonna happen.’”

Allmendinger believes that having three drivers behind the wheel of the #16 Chevrolet has proven beneficial this year, but he also believes that Kaulig Racing were in a position where their best option moving forward with that entry was to name a single full-time driver, as they have indeed done.

“I think it’s just having opinions,” he said about the team’s approach to this season. “As drivers, we all feel different things in the race car and you sometimes wonder, ‘Okay, is this what I’m supposed to be feeling, or do they feel something else?’

“So I think being able to talk with Daniel and Noah a bit, just okay, what do they feel in this car? It’s good I think for the #16 group, the crew chief, Matt [Swiderski], and the engineers, to get feedback out of all the drivers because like I said, we do all feel different things.

“It’s been a benefit, but it was definitely one of those things, part of the reason why we made the decision, is you can’t keep doing that. You can’t keep having multiple drivers in the car, especially in the Cup Series at the elite level and think you’re going to keep growing. You gotta pick a driver, and I think Justin in the #31 car has done an amazing job this year. We needed somebody full-time in that other car, and that’s partly why we made the decision.”

As for right now, Allmendinger knows that his 2023 plans are secure, and he has to focus on winning the Xfinity Series championship. He is also aiming to make the most of his remaining Cup Series appearances before his move to full-time next year.

“You just gotta have the focus on what is important right now,” he said. “When we get to Sunday and we get in the Cup car, that’s what the focus is on, going out there and trying to run up front or just learn for next year, building the notebook.”

Allmendinger is set to compete in each of the next three NASCAR Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Sunday, October 16), Homestead-Miami Speedway (Sunday, October 23), and Martinsville Speedway (Sunday, October 30).

Gragson, who had been set to drive the #16 Chevrolet in these three races, is instead set to replace the injured Alex Bowman behind the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports in each of them.

“That’s what’s great about being able to get in the car now for the next three weeks,” Allmendinger said. “More seat time in this car, because I’ve only been in it 14 or 15 times, but six of them have been on road courses, so this [Las Vegas] will be my first mile-and-a-half race since the All-Star Race at Texas.

“So learning the car, and things of that nature — just trying to help move the team in the right direction going into next year. But the ultimate goal is the Xfinity race and getting ready for that and full focus on that, the next three weeks, trying to get to Phoenix, and then once we get to Phoenix, trying to win the championship.

“You just gotta put that in the back of your mind that once you’re in the Cup car that’s what you focus on, but more than anything, during the week, a lot of the prep is for the Xfinity side of it and trying to be at our best because that is what is most important right now.”