“When you are just standing there and you see somebody who has made his first 500, his eyes lit up - it made me feel good.” “I was standing next to Kaz by the car during driver intros and I think veterans sometimes, we lose sight of how big the 500 is,” Allmendinger said.
He remembered last week when Kaz Grala made his first Daytona 500 start just how special the sport had once been to him. Having a central role in Kaulig's push to the top has made NASCAR enjoyable again for Allmendinger. He'll also drive select Cup races as part of Kaulig's development. The team started in 2016 and this season Allmendinger will run full time for the Xfinity championship as one of three Kaulig contenders. The program swelled to 11 races last season and the “Trophy Hunter” had three victories in 16 starts.Īllmendinger was helping Kaulig grow a program. Kaulig kept Allmendinger engaged in 2019 by giving him quality cars that could win in five Xfinity races. He planned to do television work and maybe moonlight for team owners he considers friends.
He had no desire to drive for mediocre teams just to have a seat. “I am pumped to be racing in the Cup Series for Kaulig Racing,” Allmendinger said.Īllmendinger was weary of the grind when he lost his job at the end of 2018. NASCAR added Sunday's road course race to the schedule in December and Kaulig persuaded his “trophy hunter” Allmendinger to help pull the team to the top level. His familiarity with Daytona made Allmendinger the smart pick for Matt Kaulig to take another step forward. Nearly everyone else? The bulk of the Cup field ran it for the very first time last August, when the pandemic pushed Daytona's winding 14-turn, 3.61-mile circuit onto the calendar for the first time. The team last week made its second Daytona 500 - a critical first step in trying to become a full-time Cup team - and now its dusted off ol' ‘Dinger to take another shot Sunday on Daytona’s road course.Īllmendinger is a ringer with 15 appearances in the Rolex 24 sports car race in Daytona. – AJ Allmendinger is back, racing for wins this time, and eager to help young Kaulig Racing reach the big show.Īllmendinger will run his first Cup race since the 2018 season finale in Kaulig's first Cup race not at a superspeedway.
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