Several dominoes in the NASCAR Silly Season have fallen in recent weeks, with many top drivers re-signing with their teams. One uncertainty has been AJ Allmendinger’s future with Kaulig Racing, but we now have a definitive answer on that front.
Speaking to reporters this weekend at Naval Base Coronado, Kaulig Racing CEO Chris Rice said that Allmendinger is a “lifer” with the team and essentially has a contract to race in the Cup Series with them for as long as he wants.
“AJ Allmendinger is a Lifer Here at Kaulig Racing.”
Kaulig Racing CEO Chris Rice on AJ Allmendinger’s future with the team (via FrontStretch)
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- A.J. Allmendinger stats (2026): 346 points, 3 top 10s, 1 top 5, 21.647 average starting position, 19.471 average finishing position in 17 races
Kaulig has every reason to be elated with the results delivered by Allmendinger this season in the No. 16 car. Through 17 races, the 44-year-old veteran driver sits 20th in points and is outperforming his numbers from last season. While he hasn’t won a Cup race since 2023, he’s widely viewed around NASCAR as one of the drivers who gets the most out of the support and equipment he receives at Kaulig.
There’ve been a few NASCAR rumors over the last year that Allmendinger could generate some interest from better teams who could potentially offer him superior equipment than Kaulig. However, as he told reporters this week, he’s very happy with where he’s at and he doesn’t want to work anywhere else.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Allmendinger said. “Like, I laugh when I see that. I mean, according to Chris, I’ve got a contract till like 2032, so I’m not going anywhere. So I do kind of laugh about, like, ‘oh, next year?’ I’m like, that’s not on my mind because I’m here for life in one way or another.”
A.J. Allmendinger on his future with Kaulig Racing (via NASCAR.com)
Just like that, another potential domino in the NASCAR Silly Season has fallen with Allmendinger joining the likes of Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney to secure long-term commitments with their current teams. While silly season hasn’t delivered much shakeup, there should still be a few moving pieces in the weeks and months to come.
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