AJ Allmendinger is a Cup Series veteran who garners huge respect in racing circles. On Sunday at Darlington Raceway, the 43-year-old proved why he is deserving of such clout.
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Driving the No. 16 Chevy Camaro for Kaulig Racing, he finished the Cook Out Southern 500 in fifth place. It was his second top-five finish of the season after a fourth-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600.
In his post-race interview, he explained what led to the extraordinary result in the first race of the playoffs. During the first stage of the race, his car had been its usual self running mid-pack.
But thanks to the work of his crew chief, it kept improving and became a different beast as the race progressed. The change that the track underwent complemented it greatly as well.
Allmendinger noted, “Once we ran fifth or sixth, I thought, ‘Okay. We got speed. Now we just got to execute.’ Mostly, on my part. Because this place is so intimidating at times, and I am constantly trying to get better here.
“Slightly proud of myself. I know I need to get better here, but to run inside the top-five, top-six, from really the second stage on, it’s not easy to do.”
.@AJDinger and @KauligRacing are thrilled with their strong night at Darlington. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/kCpl99m2ko
— Noah Lewis (@Noah_Lewis1) September 1, 2025
Notably, Allmendinger’s was the only Chevrolet that finished in the top-seven. The entire day was dominated by the Japanese automaker, and the bow-tie brigade was championed only by him. He continued to thank ECR engines and his team, Kaulig Racing, for giving him a great car and trusting him to garner top results.
Is Allmendinger happy about beating the playoff drivers?
The Southern 500 was shocking in the sense that it featured multiple drivers who hadn’t made the playoffs in the top-10. Allmendinger was asked for his thoughts about being one of them.
He replied, “The ultimate goal is always to win, right? You want to go out there and win. But I don’t worry about trying to play spoiler or anything like that. We’re just trying to get everything out of every race.”
Along with him, Legacy Motor Club drivers Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek helped round up the top-five as Chase Briscoe emerged as the winner and Tyler Reddick finished runner-up to him.
Allmendinger spent 2024 racing full-time in the Xfinity Series after being demoted from the Cup Series in 2023. Hopefully, the spoils he has earned in 2025 will be enough to keep him here in 2026.
