Kaulig Racing has shown a definite turnaround in performance and competition this year in the NASCAR Cup Series. Admittedly, while the improvement has been slow and somewhat in baby steps, it’s been improvement, nonetheless.
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AJ Allmendinger is currently 16th in the Cup standings heading into this weekend’s race at Talladega. While he doesn’t have a win or top-5 finish yet, Allmendinger has been coming on with three top-10 finishes in his last five races.
And then there’s Allmendinger’s teammate, Ty Dillon. In his first full Cup season since 2023, Dillon may be 29th in the standings, but he’s definitely shown improvement, flirting between running 15th and 20th regularly in several races already, including four finishes in the top-16.
Dillon earned a promotion to full-time status with Kaulig this season after just seven starts for the team last year.
Last week’s episode of the Dale Jr. Download addressed several teams and drivers that have both overachieved and underachieved.
And in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s opinion, Kaulig Racing and Allmendinger, and Dillon have definitely overachieved.
“I give them a hard time,” Earnhardt quipped. “We’ve raced against them all the time in the Xfinity Series, and at times like Daytona and Talladega over the years, they’ve been a thorn in our sides, they’ve been tough competitors. We love to race them and beat them, and they love to beat us.
“But last year, they were abysmal, awful (their only full-time driver, Daniel Hemric, finished a lowly 29th). I was even under the impression that maybe they were looking for the exit ramp as an organization in the Cup world.
“Fast-forward to right now, they bring AJ back to the Cup car, they hire Ty Dillon, which I didn’t know how that was going to work out because Ty’s kinda been MIA for a while and just piecing things together and struggling.
“But both cars have overachieved in my opinion. Just looking at the statistics, you can see a huge improvement. AJ’s been running great.”
And then there’s Ty Dillon
Even though he’s 29th in the Cup standings heading into this weekend’s race at Talladega, Dillon is actually ahead of former Cup champion Brad Keselowski, as well as Noah Gragson, Shane Van Gisbergen, and Riley Herbst in this week’s standings.
“The number one trait Ty has in his mind and on the racetrack is determination,” Earnhardt said. “No matter what has happened to him throughout his career, he has not lost the idea in his head that he believes he can do it.”
Brother of fellow Cup driver Austin Dillon and grandson of legendary Cup team owner Richard Childress, 33-year-old Ty Dillon has had an extremely rough career in the Cup Series.
In 254 starts, Ty Dillon has no wins, just two top-5 finishes, and seven top-10 finishes. Even worse, his best season finish has only been 24th in 2017 for Germain Racing.
“He’s stubborn,” Earnhardt concedes about Ty Dillon. “Most people who’ve had the career he’s had would go, ’Meh, I guess I don’t got it, it’s just not for me,’ or they’d beat themselves down. And I’m sure he’s had some tough days, I’m sure he has.”
“But when he’s behind the wheel of that car, he’s a damn suborn ass, I’m going to drive my ass off and I belong here kinda guy. And it’s starting to prove out. I’m seeing some comments on social media, people are taking notice that their cars are running better this year, and they should be recognized.
“It’s hard to be recognized, and for an organization like theirs that’s much, much smaller and they have an alliance with a larger team (Richard Childress Racing), they’re not supposed to do this, they’re not supposed to turn things around like that.
“And so, it’s just hard to run competitive, as competitive as they’re running. They’re right behind these bigger teams, they’re right up their ass, man, and it’s impressive to see.
“I didn’t know if AJ still had the drive, but the dude’s getting up there. He’s done it, what’s he got to prove? And he seemed almost annoyed to be in the Cup Series a couple years ago, like he was ready to drop back down to the Xfinity Series, have some fun, get back to racing and running up front. He was frustrated.”
But team owner Matt Kaulig convinced Allmendinger to give the Cup Series another run at full-time competition, and he’s done well thus far in his Cup comeback this season.
“And then I was surprised when he took the role to go back,” Earnhardt said. “The Cup racing garage, they ain’t smiling, it ain’t roses and sunshine over there, that garage is tough, it’s cutthroat. … But the Xfinity garage is funner, less pressure, see a few more people smiling, he could go over there and be more competitive and probably make the same amount of money.
“But he goes back to the Cup Series where everybody’s grumpy and everybody’s mad, and he’s over there and making it work. It’s tough, but I’m impressed.”
