CONCORD, N.C. -- AJ Allmendinger and Kaulig Racing dealt with struggles over the past month, but they snapped this streak with a points-heavy performance that they truly needed at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Allmendinger crossed the line fourth overall in the Coca-Cola 600 and scored his first top-five finish of the season. More importantly, he captured 49 points, the third-most in the field behind William Byron (65) and race-winner Ross Chastain (50).
"Any time a team like ours that's trying to grow runs well like this, it's a lot of confidence for everybody back at the shop and here at the race track," Allmendinger said on pit road after the race.
"...Nights like this is something that can kickstart us, which we've been running great except for the last couple of weeks. So we've got some good tracks."
This is what we worked for. This is where we belong. @KauligRacing earned this. pic.twitter.com/fZl9pCFmzn
— Chris Rice (@C_Rice1) May 26, 2025
Allmendinger was in a playoff position on points after a ninth-place finish at Bristol. However, he finished 24th at Talladega and lost some momentum. He then finished 36th at Texas due to a crash and 38th at Kansas due to an engine failure.
These poor finishes dropped Allmendinger back below the cutline heading into the All-Star Race break.
This weekend was a completely different scenario. Allmendinger was one of the fastest cars during Saturday's practice session, and he was the fifth-fastest in qualifying.
Once the green flag waved on Sunday, he was able to make the moves he needed with a car that handled well for the majority of the 600 miles. He raced solidly inside the top 10 in all four stages while battling drivers from much bigger organizations.
Equally important, the team just had a strong all-around outing. Allmendinger was good on restarts, and the crew had a strong day on pit road. They didn't have penalties or miscues, and they didn't lose positions with slow stops.
"So Trent (Owens, crew chief) did a great job on the adjustments," Allmendinger said. "We didn't make a lot of adjustments, and it's such a fine line. You need the rear under you, but you can't get too tight.
"So the car, all weekend, has been right in that box. And it's about trying to make good restarts and get that track position. Pit stops were great. ECR motors were great. Everything was... just a solid night. So I'm just really appreciative of it."
The Coca-Cola 600 is not like any other race on the schedule. This is an event that starts after 6 p.m. and lasts nearly five hours.
The cars have to handle well during the day, as well as late into the night as the racing surface cools and the track lights come on. They also have to stand up to 600 miles of racing, something that many cars in the past have failed to do.
Both Kaulig Racing cars did exactly what the team needed.
"I think that's a sign that the cars were really good because we didn't really make many adjustments from the beginning to the end," Mike Cook, Kaulig Racing's technical director, told AltDriver. "And that's when you know that you're in a good situation.
"When a car behaves well in the day -- and it did change a little bit in the night -- you do a little bit of air pressure adjustments, but you're not swinging at it."
The performance on Sunday was a confidence booster for Kaulig Racing and Allmendinger, but it was only one step in the journey. They didn't jump back above the cutline with the points-heavy day, but they did move closer to the playoffs by gaining eight spots.
Now, the team just has to keep this momentum heading to tracks where Allmendinger has performed well throughout his career. This includes Sonoma, Watkins Glen, Daytona, and Atlanta.
Cook and Kaulig Racing believe that they will continue to be in the mix as the end of the regular season approaches. Charlotte was a strong indicator, but it was not actually the reason for this optimism.
"I think our cars are getting even better yet, relative to the field," Cook added. "And honestly, if you think about AJ's best tracks, like we had Homestead penciled, Vegas, too. He is really good at intermediates, and we ran good there.
"But then he started to come to some tracks that like, maybe he wasn't so certain about -- Martinsville, Bristol -- and like, 'Oh, we still have speed.' And then you come to Charlotte, it's not high on his list. (He) runs great.
"Nashville is high on his list, and then you look through the summer, we still have four more road courses before the playoffs. Like I said, don't ever count us out."