AJ Allmendinger has returned to full-time duty in the NASCAR Cup Series with Kaulig Racing, and the early stretch of the season shows the No. 16 camp keeping its Next Gen car’s wheel rolling well. Driving a Chevrolet entry, Allmendinger has stayed within reach of the front despite the team running without technical ties to powerhouse outfits. Through four races, the veteran has kept away from almost all the on-track skirmishes and piled up results that kept his No. 16 car in the hunt.
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After crossing the line within the top 10 at Circuit of the Americas, despite his health issues at the road course, Allmendinger had a 19th-place finish at Phoenix Raceway. Those runs have placed the #16 driver 13th in the standings with 104 points.
However, regarding this weekend’s race in Las Vegas, his mixed past performances at the track have resulted in an average finish of 19.7 across 15 starts. Still, the driver plans to keep his head down and race carefully when the series heads to Nevada this weekend.
Speaking ahead of the Sunday event, Allmendinger said the next stretch will reveal where the team stands. “We’ll find out what we really have over the next five or six weeks and where we’re truly at as an organization. When it comes to the points, sometimes you just have to race smart.”
The Kaulig Racing driver has already found success at the Las Vegas track in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, having won there twice. Also, he logged an eighth-place finish in last year’s Cup race at the venue. That’s why he believes that the track suits the team.
“Las Vegas Motor Speedway has probably always been our best mile-and-a-half racetrack, along with Homestead-Miami Speedway. It’s a really fast track,” he said.
Turns 1 and 2 force drivers to wrestle through bumps, while Turns 3 and 4 can turn slick when heat builds. Allmendinger noted the team has notes in hand and a setup from past visits, giving them a base to work from once the cars hit the track. The goal is to unload with pace, make small changes, and keep the car in the mix from green flag to checkered flag.
Besides that, the start of the season contrasts with the same point last year. In the opening four races of 2025, Allmendinger logged finishes of 41st, 14th, 30th, and 22nd at the Daytona 500, Atlanta Motor Speedway, COTA, and Phoenix, with no stage points and the team buried around 30th in the standings.
This season, the No. 16 group has kept its car steady with all four finishes inside the top 20. The team went to Phoenix last week, knowing the track had been a stumbling block in the past, yet still managed to steal another top-20 finish of the season and keep the points tally moving.
