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Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger will be a very busy driver in 2022. He will start all 33 races on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule, as well as “a good portion” of the Cup Series races while teammate Justin Haley goes full-time.
Allmendinger provided an outlook for his upcoming season during the championship four media day on Thursday, November 4. He explained that he loves being part of the Xfinity Series, which is why he will not take on a full-time Cup Series schedule. Allmendinger added that running at the front of the pack and having the opportunity to win races “makes it enjoyable” each week.
“There’s a lot of times where I didn’t have that, so I don’t want to run away from it anytime soon,” Allmendinger told media members during his availability. “…I love what I’m doing and I’m probably going to run a good portion of the Cup races, at least 12 to 15 races is something we’ve talked about. I’ll get the best of both worlds.”
Allmendinger Made Limited Starts in the Cup Series in 2021
If Allmendinger makes a dozen or more starts in the Cup Series, it will mark his most extensive action since 2018 when he ran in the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet. Allmendinger started all 36 races and posted five top-10 finishes and one top-five, a third-place finish in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
Allmendinger remained away from the Cup Series after his final full-time season, but he returned in 2021 on a limited basis. He made five starts for Kaulig Racing while simultaneously running full-time in the Xfinity Series and finished with three top-10s, two top-fives, and the second win of his career.
Allmendinger let everyone know his intentions prior to the August trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course. He told media members that his goal was to finally kiss the bricks while taking part in the time-honored tradition. He did not achieve this goal during the Xfinity Series race due to Austin Cindric capturing the checkered flag, but he defeated the Cup Series’ biggest stars the following day to finally fulfill his dream.
The Xfinity Program Will Not Step to the Side in 2022
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GettyNASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger celebrates a win at Las Vegas.
Along with his confirmation that he will run 12-15 Cup races in 2022, Allmendinger also explained that the Xfinity Series program will not be a forgotten part of the organization. He noted that team president Chris Rice views the Xfinity Series cars as his “baby” and that it serves as a pipeline for Team Penske, Hendrick Motorsports, and Joe Gibbs Racing among other Cup Series teams.
“With Matt [Kaulig] and Chris [Rice], I want to be part of the organization and help them in any way they want. It’s still a big deal that the Xfinity program — even though they are going full-time Cup with two cars — the Xfinity program has to be strong. You want that pipeline of young guys coming in and knowing that there’s Cup cars in the future.”
Kaulig Racing has two full-time drivers confirmed for the 2022 Xfinity Series season. Allmendinger will return to the No. 16 and pursue another trip to the playoffs. Daniel Hemric will leave Joe Gibbs Racing and take over the No. 11 Chevrolet. Kaulig has not confirmed whether the No. 10 that Jeb Burton drove in 2021 will return.
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