Did You Notice? … How rare it is for AJ Allmendinger to have a full-time NASCAR Cup Series opportunity return years after he left the series behind?
Allmendinger, in a move first reported by The Athletic, will become the full-time driver of Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Cup program in 2023, an announcement likely made by the time you read this Wednesday (Oct. 5).
The two-time Cup winner will return a full four seasons after he left the Cup Series in shambles, released from his ride at JTG Daugherty Racing’s No. 47 Chevrolet at the end of 2018. It’s been a long, slow rebuilding process for the ‘Dinger at Kaulig, where he’s worked his way back into competitive shape in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Winning a dozen times in 77 starts over the past four seasons, an impressive 15.5% clip, he’s a favorite to make the NXS Championship 4 a second straight year.
Expectations will be high after Allmendinger won during a limited Cup schedule the last two seasons at Kaulig, reaching victory lane in the inaugural road course race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2021. He nearly tacked on a second one at Circuit of the Americas this March before Ross Chastain bumped him out of the way.
How rare is this type of opportunity, climbing back up the ladder into a car that has a chance to win? What’s so unique for AJ is the number of years he’s spent away from the Cup Series. Looking back over the past 30 years, most drivers who have returned from a year off or scaled back to part-time before ramping back up were already well established in their careers, left with little to prove.
That group includes drivers like Hall of Famer Mark Martin, who scaled back to a limited schedule for two seasons before returning full time with Hendrick Motorsports in 2009. He’s by far the biggest success story, winning five times that first year and finishing second in the championship standings. Martin, back in the 1980s, also spent four years rehabbing his career in both ASA and the NASCAR Xfinity (then Busch) Series before hooking up with Jack Roush to restart his Cup career for good in 1988. Keep in mind Martin was in his 20s; Allmendinger will turn 41 in December.
Most others in the “unretired” category found themselves struggling to compete. Matt Kenseth underwhelmed in 2020, posting the worst average finish of his Cup career (21.4) and just two top 10s when he replaced Kyle Larson at Chip Ganassi Racing after a full year off. Ricky Rudd fared even worse,…
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