AJ Allmendinger’s chief ejected for the Richmond race after the Kaulig Racing car fails inspection

AJ Allmendinger will race at Richmond Raceway without car chief Jaron Antley, who was suspended after the #16 Kaulig Racing car failed pre-race inspection twice on Friday. The team will also lose its pit-stall selection, hurting its playoff hopes.

In the playoff picture with two regular-season races remaining, Allmendinger is 129 points below the cutline in 20th. He desperately needs to win to make the playoffs, but the #16 team will race with handicaps due to the penalties for failing the pre-race inspection.

This year marks Allmendinger's return to the NASCAR Cup Series with Kaulig Racing full-time after racing for the team in the Xfinity Series last year. So far, he has recorded one top-five and five top-10s. His best result came from Charlotte Motor Speedway with a fourth-place finish.

His teammate, Ty Dillon, is having a tougher season with only one top-10 coming from Atlanta Motor Speedway. However, Dillon managed to reach the championship fight of the In-Season Challenge as the last-seeded driver. He fell short of the $1,000,000 prize money after Ty Gibbs won the race at Indianapolis.

The Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway is scheduled for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET (August 16). Allmendinger will enter the 400 lapper at the 0.75-mile oval without in-race penalties.

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“I feel very fortunate”: AJ Allmendinger on early challenges and long NASCAR Cup Series career

AJ Allmendinger is among the longest-tenured active NASCAR Cup Series drivers, alongside Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. He entered the Cup Series in the mid-2000s with Team Red Bull, a challenging era given that over 50 cars qualifed for races. Nearly two decades later, he feels fortunate to still be competing.

The #16 Kaulig Racing driver said (via Motorsport):

“I kind of got shoved right into it with Red Bull. I would never change it, but I didn't have any experience in stock car racing. And they went right to Cup. We probably were trying to do it in, I wouldn't say the most competitive era, but it definitely had the most cars right there. My first two years, we had 50 to 56 cars trying to qualify for the race every week. So that was difficult.”

“I felt like there was no way I was going to be in the sport that long. So I feel very fortunate," he added.

AJ Allmendinger drives the #16 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing - Source: Imagn

Throughout AJ Allmendinger's Cup Series career, the Californian has driven for multiple teams, including Richard Petty Motorsports (now Legacy Motor Club) and JTG Daugherty Racing (Hyak Motorsports). He has also won three races: Watkins Glen in 2014, Indy Road Course in 2021, and Charlotte Roval in 2023.

Aside from NASCAR, the 43-year-old competed in other racing series, including the IndyCar Series and the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. He notably won the 24 Hours of Daytona with Michael Shank Racing in 2012.