AJ Allmendinger has always had an adventurous road throughout his auto racing career, and 2024 will be no different as Kaulig Racing has announced that the three-time Cup Series race winner will return to the team's Xfinity Series to run full-time.
Saturdays are better with The Dinger.@AJDinger will return to the No. 16 Chevrolet full-time in the @NASCAR_Xfinity Series in 2024!#NASCAR | #TrophyHunting pic.twitter.com/C4L6peyDHh
— Kaulig Racing (@KauligRacing) December 7, 2023
Allmendinger was the full-time driver of Kaulig's No. 16 car in the Cup Series in 2023 and won at the Charlotte Roval during the playoffs.
He has proven to be a true road course ace, with his three Cup wins coming on road courses. This move isn't for lack of results in Cup from the well-experienced Allmendinger, it's more of a move that will only help Kaulig Racing grow its organization.
Allmendinger showed in 2022 that he could be a championship contender in the Xfinity Series, winning plenty of races, including several oval races.
Kaulig Racing team president, Chris Rice, explained to Kelly Crandall from Racer.com why this was the right choice for AJ.
"We feel AJ returning full-time to our Xfinity Series program gives us the best chance to continue growing our organization as a whole," Rice said. "He's passionate, he's aggressive, and he pushes us to keep getting better. We're excited to see what we can accomplish in the 2024 season on both the Xfinity and Cup side."
Allmendinger returns to the number that he drove to victory lane 15 times between 2019 and 2023 in the Xfinity Series. He was so close to winning a championship in both the 2021 season, where he finished fourth in the standings, and in 2022, when he finished fifth.
Allmendinger will still get an opportunity in Cup with a handful of starts for the team in 2024 as well. Those details aren't clear yet, but one thing is for sure, he's excited about helping Kaulig in whatever way possible, not to mention he's excited about being teammates with the newly signed Josh Williams.
"My plans for 2024 have always been whatever Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice think is best for the team, " Allmendinger said. "We've got work to do on both our Xfinity and Cup side as we continue to grow but I think we are putting ourselves in the best position to keep improving. With Josh Williams coming on board, it'll be fun to learn each other's driving styles and work together as teammates on Saturdays. I'm excited to be a part of everything we're working on at Kaulig Racing and see what we can get done next season."
Allmendinger will surely be a driver to keep an eye on for the 2024 Xfinity Series title.
