“He doesn't know who he's fu**ing dealing with”: AJ Allmendinger shows Carson Hocevar how it’s done after overtaking him at COTA

AJ Allmendinger made a bold statement following the clearing of Carson Hocevar at the Circuit of the Americas. The veteran NASCAR driver showcased his racing prowess after his spotter warned him about battling with Hocevar.

Allmendinger is a 43-year-old NASCAR Cup Series driver signed by Kaulig Racing. The Californian took seventh on lap 15 from Carson Hocevar, who recently made headlines for upsetting drivers with his aggressive driving.

Regardless, AJ Allmendinger proved a point with a pass for seventh in turn one before radioing an explicit remark to his spotter.

"He [Carson Hocevar] doesn't know who he's f**king dealing with," Allmendinger said.

This was a response to his spotter who warned him by saying:

"Be careful with this dude, you know what you're dealing with."

Carson Hocevar, who came off a career-best second-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway, started the race strong after qualifying fourth. AJ Allmendinger started 12th but found himself fighting for the lead in the latter stages of the road course race.

Allmendinger scored a point following a 10th-place finish in stage one. He earned five points after crossing the line sixth at the end of stage two.

During the closing laps, AJ Allmendinger was challenging Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell for the lead until he dropped down the order due to tire issues. When the checkered flag fell, the No. 16 driver finished 30th behind teammate Ty Dillon who finished 28th.

AJ Allmendinger drives the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing - Source: Imagn

The 2025 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA witnessed a back-to-back victory for Christopher Bell. He was trailed by William Byron and Tyler Reddick, respectively.

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AJ Allmendinger shared his thoughts on driving for rehauled Kaulig Racing

Before the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season started, AJ Allmendinger talked about Kaulig Racing having Mike Cook as a technical director. Allmendinger looked forward to the team overhaul with Cook ensuring improvement throughout the season.

Speaking to veteran NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass, the No. 16 Chevy pilot said:

"The biggest thing is it'll be the first time that we've had a competition director not be the crew chief. When you're trying to race at this elite level, it's tough to do when you're kind of limited on people. [...] So, to have Mike Cook there as our competition director, to be able to be the guy that focuses on just kind of the everyday grind of making sure that we're getting better, we're doing the right things, things like that."

He also looked forward to reuniting with Trent Owens as the crew chief for the No. 16 team.

"I'm really looking forward to working with Trent (Owens) again," he added.

So far, Allmendinger is struggling to finish in a good position. Despite qualifying just outside the top 10 in the season's first three races, the Californian hasn't scored a single top-10 finish. His best finish was 14th place at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

After the COTA race, the veteran NASCAR driver moved up six positions in the standings ranking 25th.