Column By: MARTY CZEKALA / RPW – LONG POND, PA – Life is good for AJ Allmendinger.
On and off track, the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet driver is having fun in 2023.
On the track, Allmendinger is in the fight for the Playoffs in his return to Cup. He is currently the first driver out of the Playoffs, 17 points behind Michael McDowell.
“I’ve enjoyed it,” said Allmendinger in an exclusive with RPW Sunday. “It’s tough. Beginning of the year, we struggled a bit more than expected. At times, you get all these big teams that have developed the car over the offseason. It was a challenge; over the last 8-10 weeks, I feel we’re back where we should be. It’s all about the process and making Kaulig Racing stronger.”
A rough start of the year for Allmendinger, as low as 27th after 10 races, with only one top 10 in the Daytona 500. After race 10 at Talladega, he has finished on track, has finished every race except for two on the lead lap, and has recorded a sixth at Sonoma and a third at Atlanta.
With five races left until the Playoffs, two are at tracks that Allmendinger has won at in Watkins Glen and Indianapolis Road Course. Allmendinger feels confident about those races to lock him into a Playoff spot, but he has the next two races on his mind at Richmond and Michigan.
“Richmond is a place we have completely sucked at,” Allmendinger said. “Every race, we’ve been off. That’s a key race. Michigan, I didn’t run last year. Noah [Gragson] was really quick. Hopefully, we can unload and have some speed.”
Allmendinger finished 27th in the spring at Richmond. Michigan, he won in an Xfinity car in 2021.
The drivers Allmendinger has circled on his radar are drivers he is racing for a Playoff spot, from the likes of Daniel Suarez, Michael McDowell, and Bubba Wallace. But as the races count down, you never know if top driver Chase Elliott could win to put him in or if an underdog steals a spot at Daytona in the regular season finale.
“I still focus on looking ahead that we have to win a race,” Allmendinger explained. “We’re strong at the road courses. I think, more than anything, we just got to keep getting better. If we have strong runs, the points work themselves out. At the end of the day, if we’re meant to win a race or make the Playoffs, we’re gonna do that. If not, we don’t deserve to be in it. It’s still about being a lot stronger than what we started.”
Off the track, important things are on the way for Allmendinger and his wife Tara as they expect their first child, a boy, in a couple of weeks.
“Knock on wood, Tara has been feeling amazing during the whole process,” Allmendinger said. “Hopefully, everything goes smoothly. A lot happening right now in the Allmendinger household.”
He hopes the birth happens in the middle of the week to avoid missing a race and have a relief driver on standby.
“Hopefully, we time it out on a Tuesday or Wednesday,” Allmendinger thinks. “You never know. Nature works in its own way. All good things are happening.”
Allmendinger will try to make him a golf star, as “racing is really expensive.”