The silly season is starting to wrap up as more and more announcements have helped paint the picture of just who will be where in 2023. An announcement came on Wednesday (Oct. 5) that AJ Allmendinger will drive the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2023. Allmendinger hasn’t driven full-time in the Cup Series since the 2018 season; meanwhile Justin Haley will begin his third consecutive full-time season.
The NASCAR Cup Series schedule has changed significantly since Allmendinger last ran for a championship and he is with arguably his best team in the Cup Series not named Team Penske. That has brought up the debate — who will have a better season in 2023? Allmendinger or Haley? Clayton Caldwell and Michael Nebbia debate.
It’ll be AJ
Allmendinger is the kind of driver who can win anywhere. He has proven that the last few seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, winning at not only road courses but also at a wide variety of tracks. They include victories at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway.
However, the biggest reason why I think Allmendinger will make the playoffs is the amount of road courses on the Cup Series schedule, which plays right into his hands. Allmendinger left the Cup Series in 2018 and at the time, there were still only three road courses on the schedule. In 2023, there will be six, including a street course which most Cup drivers have never raced on.
It’s hard to find a better road course racer in NASCAR than Allmendinger. Allmendinger has 11 road course victories in his NASCAR career. Find me someone with more. Can you imagine the amount of wins Allmendinger would have had had there been six road course races on the schedule?
Allmendinger also doesn’t have much learning to do.
He has proven in his racing career that he can adapt to any style of racing and be successful. Whether it’s open-wheel or cars with fenders — Allmendinger has raced a lot and won a lot. He also has some experience in this new Cup car, running a good amount of races in this new car in 2022 so he’s not coming in completely blind. He’s also driving with a team he is familiar with and the amount of resources that Matt Kaulig pumps into this team is impressive.
There’s no doubt the No. 16 Chevrolet will be given a ton of resources to win, arguably more than any team in his career outside his brief stay at Penske.
I have confidence that…
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