Allmendinger To Run Daytona 500 With Kaulig

WELCOME, N.C. – A.J. Allmendinger is set for his 11th start in the Daytona 500, added to the pool of entries for the 66th running of the Great American Race on Wednesday.

The 42-year-old Los Gatos, Calif., native will drive the No. 16 for Kaulig Racing, the same organization he’ll return to full time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series next year.

Kaulig Racing announced Allmendinger’s Daytona 500 entry via the team’s social media accounts.

Allmendinger has finished third twice in Daytona 500 competition, first in 2009 with Richard Petty Motorsports and again in 2017 with JTG-Daugherty Racing. He finished sixth in this season’s event in Kaulig’s No. 16 entry, a race won by his former JTG-Daugherty team and driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

While Allmendinger has never won at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway in either the Cup Series or the Xfinity Series, he does have a superspeedway win on his resume. Allmendinger topped the Xfinity Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Daytona’s sister track, in October of 2022.

He’s a three-time Cup Series race winner, most recently with Kaulig Racing at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in Concord, N.C., in October.

Allmendinger joins full-time teammate Daniel Hemric (No. 31) on Kaulig Racing’s Daytona 500 roster. Barring any changes, he'll be locked into the race, as the No. 16 was one of NASCAR's 36 chartered race teams this past season.