A.J. Allmendinger is back in the NASCAR Cup Series full-time with Kaulig Racing this year after running the full Xfinity Series schedule a year ago.
It marks the third straight season in which Allmendinger's role as a full-time driver has changed from the previous year, as he competed full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2021 and 2022 before running the full Cup Series schedule in 2023. But one thing that hasn't changed amid another full-time series swap is his partnership with CELSIUS.
CELSIUS, the energy drink which features healthy energy formulas clinically proven to offer significant health benefits to dedicated consumers and racers, has been around NASCAR since 2019.
When Allmendinger first saw CELSIUS at the Kaulig Racing shop, he wasn't even sure what it was.
"No, honestly," he admitted to Beyond the Flag. "And it wasn't even at the track, it was when I first started coming to Kaulig Racing. We had a small fridge of it, and it was one little mini fridge, and I remember just kind of walking by. I had actually never seen it, this was back in 2019, so I had never even seen it and hadn't really even in stores seen much of it. So it never kind of entered my mind really to begin with.
"I remember talking to Chris Rice like, what is this, and do you guys have a partnership here or what is it? And at the time it was just a product sponsorship, and look what it's grown [into] now.
Now here we are in 2025, and the brand remains one of the fastest growing drink brands in the world. And Allmendinger, who is one of an increasing number of drivers and athletes now sponsored by the fan-favorite partner, is still enjoying the ride.
"I think it's just as we grow together, and we've talked about it before, and I think just the growth of CELSIUS here in the States and kind of throughout the world right now, we see all the partnerships that they have, whether it's in Formula 1 or different sports teams and athletes, it's just really cool for me and for us at Kaulig Racing in general to be a part of that family," he said. "And hopefully we're all growing together."
The growth of CELSIUS speaks for itself.
"I think we got like nine or 10 races this year," Allmendinger continued. "Obviously they're on Christian's [Xfinity] car as well, so our partnership continues to grow, and you see a lot more fans at the race track, especially having CELSIUS cans, carrying them around. So yeah, it's been a lot of fun, and I'm very happy and honored that they still want me as part of the family to help represent the company.
"I've been part of that 'energy drink', or however you want to word it, in the past, and to see kind of how much it's growing and what we're doing together, and just what CELSIUS, in general, where they're going as a company, it's pretty special. It's been pretty cool honestly, from 2019 to here in 2025, just from this little fridge, compared to now it'll be on two race cars this weekend. I've been very happy that I've been able to get CELSIUS in Victory Lane a few times. So yeah, it's special.
When asked to name his favorite flavors, Allmendinger had a tough time narrowing it down from the several dozen that now exist.
"I don't have like a specific, but the Tropical Vibe, probably, if you're pinning me down like that, that's probably the one I'm going with," he stated. "But between a lot of the Vibes, I'll drink those. The Essentials, those I really enjoy, but that's what's great about it. Skylar, my PR girl, she can hand me any flavor, and I'm good with it, so it's nice at the race track because as we see what our schedule is. It's nice to have it every weekend there, and it's definitely used a lot."
It will be needed this weekend, as Allmendinger and the rest of the Cup Series field prepare to take on a modified layout at Circuit of the Americas for the first time. The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix is set to be broadcast live on Fox beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 2. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!