AJ Allmendinger has set his plans for the 2025 NASCAR season. He will return to the Cup Series.
Kaulig Racing announced the move on Thursday afternoon ahead of the return to Michigan. The team also said that Allmendinger will once again drive the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro after he has spent this season splitting time in the entry with other drivers.
Allmendinger currently competes full-time in Xfinity for Kaulig Racing, where he also drives the No. 16 Chevrolet.
"(Allmendinger has) been a cornerstone of our Cup program from the beginning and we're ready to continue moving forward for years to come," Team President Chris Rice posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The California native has raced full-time in Cup for Kaulig once before. He was the driver of the No. 16 last season while working alongside teammate Justin Haley.
The team struggled with consistency throughout the season, but Allmendinger still took them to victory lane. He won the race at the Charlotte Roval after leading 46 of the 109 laps.
This win last October was Allmendinger's second Cup victory with Kaulig Racing. He scored the first in team history back in 2021 when he took advantage of a late-race scuffle featuring Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin. Allmendinger took over the lead with two laps remaining and held off Ryan Blaney.
The veteran driver, who leads NASCAR with 14 road course wins across Cup and Xfinity, returned to the second-tier series this season. He joined newcomers Josh Williams and Shane van Gisbergen in the three-car Xfinity lineup while Daniel Hemric took over one of the Cup cars.
With Allmendinger setting his plans for next season, now he can continue focusing on his primary goal for this season. He remains in pursuit of his first Xfinity win of the season and a return to the playoffs. Allmendinger also continues to hunt the Xfinity championship after finishing fourth and fifth in the standings in his last two full seasons.