HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Kaulig Racing has set its Cup Series lineup for the 2027 season, its first as the official partner of Dodge.
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As expected, AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon will both return to the lineup on a full-time basis in 2027. Allmendinger will be in control of the No. 16 Dodge while Dillon will be in control of the No. 10 Dodge.
The return of Dillon is something that became a bit of a question mark throughout the season. After all, the grandson of Richard Childress has obvious ties to the Chevrolet family.
But Dillon will be back for his third full season with Kaulig Racing as the team runs an engine that is reportedly the result of collaboration between NASCAR's OEM partners.
Photo credit: Kaulig Racing
"Opportunities like this don't come around often in a driver's career," Dillon said in a press release. "To extend my time with Kaulig Racing and be part of Dodge's return to the Cup Series is a dream scenario.
"Matt (Kaulig, owner) and Chris (Rice, CEO) have built a world-class culture here, and the commitment everyone is putting into this transition is unmatched. Dodge has a rich winning history in stock car racing, and our entire organization is focused on honoring that heritage when we hit the track in 2027."
Allmendinger, for comparison, has essentially been a "lifer" at Kaulig Racing after originally joining forces with the team in 2019. He has delivered 16 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series wins and two Cup Series wins to the team while competing in multiple series.
The team has regularly said that Allmendinger can drive for it as long as he desires; the veteran driver has long said that he will just do whatever Rice and Kaulig want.
That will certainly be the case in 2027 as he will be back for another full-time run.
"When we sat down and we talked about it and we thought about it, you know, we thought about AJ retiring or quitting or us quitting and all that, we felt like we couldn't do that," Rice said. "So we felt like that he needed to race full-time again next year."
