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AJ Allmendinger will drive his #16 Camaro ZL1 for Kauling Racing at his favorite track, Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), this weekend. As a full-time Xfinity Series racer and part-time Cup Series driver, the Los Gatos, California, native will have a full weekend racing for both the series.
However, the defending winner at the IMS will have difficulty fighting for the trophy after NASCAR ejected his car chief and denied him pit stall selection.
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The penalty was attracted after the #16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 failed pre-qualifying inspection twice on Friday. AJ Allmendinger is not the only driver to get axed. His teammate Justin Halley, driving the #31 Chevy, will also face the same fate. Daniil Kvyat, a former F1 racer, will make his Cup Series debut without a mechanic in his #26 Ford Mustang crew for Team Hezeberg.
In 2021, AJ Allmendinger made only five Cup starts and earned one win and three top-five finishes. To win the inaugural Cup Series race at Indianapolis Speedway, Allmendinger led only two final laps, taking the lead from Denny Hamlin after Briscoe shoved him, eliminating him from the winning stage. The Indy win marked AJ’s second career win in his 10th season.
AJ Allmendinger's performances in the 2022 season
After five starts in the 2021 season, AJ Allmendinger has leveled up his game this season and has managed to make 11 starts in the past 22 races NASCAR has held. He also got a chance to compete in the NASCAR’s Cup exhibition at the LA Coliseum at the start of the year, where he scored a top-ten finish.
After the exhibition, his first Cup Series race for the 2022 season was in Phoenix, where he debuted his season with a P20 finish. Another disheartening result followed at the Circuit of the Americas, earning him only a P33 finish. He has recorded other poor finishes as well, earning a 27th finish at Richmond, 24th at Martinsville, and 33rd at Dover.
The All-Star race served as his breakthrough after he scored his first a top-ten finish of the season, earning a P7. Since then, the worst he has recorded is a P19 finish. His last race was in New Hampshire, where he recorded a P16.
It will be interesting to see how he will cope at the Verizon 200 this weekend.
