AJ Allmendinger back to Cup again in 2025
WELCOME, N.C. — A.J. Allmendinger will return to the NASCAR Cup Series full-time with Kaulig Racing in 2025, the team announced Thursday.
2025 will mark Allmendinger’s fourth full-time stint in the Cup Series. Last year, he contended for the playoffs, and even won at the Charlotte Roval in October, before going back to the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
This season, Allmendinger has three Top-5 finishes, 10 Top-10s and sits sixth in points, +102 points to the cutline, despite no wins.
Allmendinger has three Top-10 finishes in 10 Cup Series starts so far this season. His average finish (19.7) is also almost identical to his average last season (19.6).
First stint: 2007-12
Allmendinger began his Cup Series career with Red Bull Racing, racing full-time for them in 2007 and 2008, until the organization fired him late in the season.
Allmendinger joined Richard Petty Motorsports and remained there until signing with Team Penske for the 2012 season.
Then, before the July Daytona race, NASCAR indefinitely suspended Allmendinger after he failed a drug test. Team Penske later rehired him to run for them in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NTT IndyCar Series.
Allmendinger won in both of his Xfinity Series starts and nearly won the Indianapolis 500 in 2013, reviving his career.
Second stint: 2014-18
The next year, Allmendinger earned his first Cup Series win at Watkins Glen International and made the playoffs with JTG-Daugherty Racing. He remained with the team until 2018 but never won for them again.
In 2019, Allmendinger made just five NASCAR starts – all with Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series – as he started doing more TV work. He expanded his schedule the following year to 11 races, claiming wins at Atlanta and the Roval.
By 2021 and ’22, Allmendinger was back full-time. He won five times in each year and finished fourth in his lone Championship Four appearance to date.
Third stint: 2023
While Allmendinger missed the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, he contended for a playoff spot until late in the regular season and earned a career-high four Top-5 finishes, including the Roval win. He also finished in the Top-10 seven times and had his best average finish (19.6) since 2016 (17.8).
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com
Allmindinger is my favorite driver, along with Truex Jr. I am happy to see him back full time. He makes racing interesting. Yay !!