What’s Happening?

Veteran road course ringer A.J. Allmendinger knows his plans for 2025. His longtime team, Kauling Racing, posted today that the three-time Cup Series race winner will return full-time to the No. 16 in 2025.

• A.J. Allmendinger first raced for Kauling Racing in 2019, initially in a part-time role and then as a full-time driver in the Xfinity Series. With 15 wins, Allmendinger is Kauling’s all-time race wins leader in both the Cup and Xfinity Series. This includes the 2021 and 2022 Xfinity campaigns, where he won 5 races. This performance moved him to Kauling’s full-time No. 16 Cup Series entry in 2023.
• The No. 16 car was Kauling’s first Cup Series entry, with Allmendinger winning the team’s first Cup Series race in the initially unchartered entry in 2021. In 2022, the car became a chartered entry with a rotation of drivers, including A.J. After stellar performances in the Xfinity Series that year, Kauling moved him full-time in 2023. Last season was a letdown, and A.J. returned to the Xfinity Series, and the No. 16 became an “all-star” car again.
• Kauling has been a disappointment this year in the Cup Series. Their other full-time Cup Series entry, piloted solely by Daniel Hemric, is 30th in the Cup Series standings. The No. 16 has seen three top-tens from Allmendinger, while the five other drivers have yet to show much for their efforts. The move looks to be a call for consistency, as Allmendinger’s 2023 campaign was the best finish in the team’s history.

Allmendinger will pilot No. 16 this Sunday in Michigan as part of his part-time schedule with the team.

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