Allmendinger Aiming for Charlotte Roval Weekend Sweep

One of the best news items to come out of this week was the decision for Allmendinger to return to the Cup series as a full-time driver. Although he only recorded one win from 2007 to 2018 in Cup, Allmendinger knows this situation with Kaulig Racing is completely different.

After linking up with the organization in 2019 for Xfinity series racing, the two have had much success together. With five wins already this season, Allmendinger is one of the favorites to win the championship this season. Whether or not that comes to fruition, these two have some bigger fish to fry next year.

"Competing full-time is a mentally tough battle," Allmendinger said. "For a while, I think I lost that competitive drive to be the best. Kaulig Racing helped me find that again. I now feel more competitive than ever and believe there is more success to be earned as a team."

The fit at Kaulig is what makes Allmendinger so comfortable with this decision to return to full-time Cup racing. "I love this organization," AJ said. "This is not a race team. This is a huge family. There will be tough times and growing pains, but I love that they believe in me. I’ll be okay whether it’s good or bad."

So far this season in Cup, Allmendinger has recorded a runner-up finish at Watkins Glen, five top-ten results, and has performed well on all types of tracks.

Today AJ makes his 14th start of the season at his favorite stop on the schedule. "The Roval is my favorite track on the NASCAR circuit, so I’m definitely looking forward to this race."

Allmendinger has been remarkable on the Charlotte Roval, even by his standards. Yesterday he won the Xfinity race for a fourth straight year. He remains undefeated on this track in Xfinity, and has also done well in Cup.

AJ started on the front row in the inaugural Roval race and finished 7th with JTG-Daugherty Racing. His only other Cup start came last year with Kaulig, but an engine issue ended his day halfway through the race.

Now with his future at Kaulig solidified, AJ has all of the momentum on his side.

"It’s hard to not think of AJ Allmendinger when you think of Kaulig Racing," said team owner Matt Kaulig. "When we started this team in 2016, I never imagined we’d have won as many races as we have, including a Cup race and two regular-season championships in two years."

They will try to add to those numbers today, with Allmendinger starting 7th and teammate Justin Haley starting 13th. If all goes according to plan, the team will continue this celebration in victory lane.