By Kirby Arnold, Special Contributor
AVONDALE, Ariz. — A.J. Allmendinger and his Kaulig Racing team haven’t left anything untouched in their preparation for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series championship race at Phoenix Raceway.
The team tweaked the No. 16 Chevrolet to the point it couldn’t be tweaked any more.
As for the driver, Allmendinger drove so many laps around the one-mile track on a simulator that he was ready for the real thing by early in the week.
“It got to the point I think on Tuesday I was probably on our 15th hour (on the simulator),” Allmendinger said. “I was like, ‘Guys, I’m tapped out.’ Like, you know, your brain just becomes mush.”
The bottom line is that Allmendinger believes he and the team are in a great position to win the championship. He must finish ahead of the other three title contenders – Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill and Cole Custer – to win his first NASCAR crown.
“I’ll put it to you this way: If it doesn’t go well this weekend, it’s not from lack of effort,” he said. “It (would be) from lack of talent probably on my end, honestly. We are fully prepared more than we ever have been for one race.”
Allmendinger was fourth-fastest among the championship four (and ninth overall) in Friday’s practice, although Allgaier wound up in a backup car after crashing his primary shortly after posting the best speed of the four.
Allmendinger has won two Xfinity Series regular-season championships, in 2021 and 2022. But in the what-have-you-done-lately aspect of Playoff racing, he reached the final four only in 2021 when he finished fourth.
He will race fulltime next year in the Cup Series for Kaulig, which makes this weekend’s title attempt even more special. In his open-wheel racing days, Allmendinger won the Toyota Atlantic championship in 2003 and the Barber Dodge Pro Series championship in 2002. He finished third in the Champ Car World Series standings in 2006.
At age 42, Allmendinger wants this championship more for the Kaulig team he has driven with since 2019, especially owner Matt Kaulig and president Chris Rice, than for himself.
“I think this weekend is more about them,” he said. “I definitely have the motivation (but) it would mean way more to bring it to them than it would for me. Of course, I would love that on my resume and I’d love to be called a champion. But I definitely…
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