AVONDALE, Ariz.: AJ Allmendinger is hoping to close out his Xfinity Series career with a championship on Saturday night.
The same fire that fueled him as a five-year-old racing BMX bikes in California was slowly rekindled after Kaulig Racing recruited Allmendinger, now 42, in 2019.
Six seasons and 16 victories later, Allmendinger is hoping to deliver the biggest win of his career—the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship.
“If it doesn’t go well this weekend, it’s not from a lack of effort, it’s from a lack of talent on my end,” Allmendinger said with a laugh. “Honestly, we cannot be any more prepared than the way it’s went since Vegas—building the race car, running sim laps.
“There are no promises when we unload, but I can tell you it won’t be from a lack of effort. We’re fully prepared, more than we’ve ever been for one race.”
Allmendinger won the Ambetter Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 19. His first victory of 2024 could not have come at a more opportune time. Allmendinger was seventh in the standings, and although he had been consistent enough to point his way into the postseason, winning the first race in the Round of 8 vaulted the driver into the Championship 4 for the second time in his career.
“We’ve had three weeks to work on our race car since Vegas. We’ve maximized everything we can maximize. We all hope that we unload tomorrow and the speed is there, but it’s definitely more confidence than we had three years ago here.”
Allmendinger needed a break following the 2018 Cup season with JTG Daugherty Racing. Four years of not being competitive had taken its toll. Kaulig brought Allmendinger back into the fold gradually—five races the first season, 11 races the second year. The Dinger was winning again. His average qualifying effort was 4.2 in 2019. In the three races where the No. 10 wasn’t disqualified, he posted two podium finishes.
In 2020, Allmendinger won twice in his 11 starts and earned an average finish of 8.9. The following year, Kaulig elected to race full-time and compete for the Xfinity title.
“Looking back at 2021, and throughout the Playoffs, we didn’t want to talk about it but we were struggling for speed,” Allmendinger said. “When we made it here (to the Championship 4 at Phoenix), it was more hope that we would unload and find something magical. I felt like in the first 10 laps of practice, we were going to need a miracle to win this.
“I’m not going to say we’re going to unload tomorrow and have the fastest car out there. But I think that some of the stuff we found in the second half of the season—and over the last few weeks—we at least have speed in our race car…if we get it right, we will have the speed to win this race.”
Before crashing last week at Martinsville Speedway, Allmendinger had led laps in seven of the last 10 races. In his last nine starts, he’s posted four finishes of third or better and six top 10s.
Phoenix has been a mixed bag for Allmendinger. In seven starts on the one-mile track, he has two fifth-place results and three top 10s. Since he raced full-time in Cup last season, Allmendinger did not compete in the Xfinity Series race at Phoenix in 2023. In the spring, he finished 18th in the No. 16 Chevrolet.
Allmendinger comes from an open-wheel background, starting in go-karts and working his way up to the IndyCar Series. Although the aggression has picked up in the Xfinity Series, Allmendinger doesn’t expect to push the issue on Saturday.
“We all want to win it the right way. I mean I do,” Allmendinger said. “I’m not saying if you get roughed up early in the race that you’re not game-on after that. You’re going to do what it takes to win it, but I think you want to look at yourself in the mirror and be happy with the way it went down.
“We have that respect. We’re still going to be aggressive. But at the end of the day, I want to win it the right way.”
Nothing would please Allmendinger more than to deliver Kaulig its first Xfinity title. The belief from the organization in his abilities has resulted in 20 victories between Xfinity and Cup.
“There are probably only a hundred people that can say they’re NASCAR champions,” Allmendinger said. “It’s something I’d love to be a part of. But I’m trying to do it more for everybody at Kaulig Racing. That would be the satisfaction that I’d get out of this—to be able to bring Matt (Kaulig, owner), Chris (Rice, president) and all the men and women a championship. The best way I can show my appreciation.
“Having (wife) Tara and (son) Aero be a part of this, they see the ups and downs. Maybe Aero doesn’t quite get this, but my wife definitely sees the struggle I go through at times when it’s not going well, because I put so much on myself. But it’s stuff like this that makes it all worth it when you get the opportunity to go do this.”
Allmendinger will return the NASCAR Cup Series next year for his 13th full season on the tour and his second with Kaulig. He is grateful for the opportunity the organization has afforded him. He remembers his modest upbringing in Northern California, where he was given the option of new shoes for school or new tires for his race car.
“That young kid would be shocked that at 42 we’re still getting to go out and do this,” Allmendinger said. “And I don’t take that for granted by any means. I feel very lucky. It’s an honor to be able to go out and run for a championship.
“Hell, that kid just wanted to race professionally—and we’ve done it for 20 years now. I’m very lucky.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
