Kaulig Racing had to pivot suddenly on Tuesday evening after the team and NASCAR indefinitely suspended driver Daniel Dye. Now, the team has chosen a replacement driver for this week's trip to Darlington Raceway.
Videos by FanBuzz
According to a brief statement on Wednesday morning, Kaulig Racing will have AJ Allmendinger take over the No. 10 Ram 1500 for Friday evening's Craftsman Truck Series race at the South Carolina track.
The team did not provide details about its plans for other upcoming series events.
The length of Dye's suspension remains unknown considering that he still has to complete NASCAR's mandatory sensitivity training after making controversial comments about Team Penske driver David Malukas during a livestream.
This marks the first time in over a year that Allmendinger will pull double-duty for Kaulig Racing. The veteran driver previously made one-off starts in one NASCAR series while competing full-time in another.
Sometimes, he competed full-time in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series while making select starts in Cup. Other times, he competed full-time in Cup while making select starts in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.
The situation changed after 2024, Allmendinger's last time competing full-time in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. The team moved him back up to Cup and said that he would place all of his focus on the top level of NASCAR. This remained the case in 2025 and entering 2026.
With Dye's suspension, Allmendinger will now return to a lower-tier series. He will make his first Craftsman Truck Series start since the 2021 season when he joined GMS Racing at Watkins Glen International. This will be his 15th start overall in the series and his first at Darlington Raceway.
This start at Darlington Raceway also marks a bit of a reunion for Allmendinger. He is one of the few active drivers in NASCAR who has raced under the Stellantis umbrella.
He previously drove a Dodge in the Cup Series for Richard Petty Motorsports and Team Penske. He also drove a Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing in the O'Reilly Series. Now, he will drive a Ram 1500 for Kaulig Racing.
