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AJ Allmendinger's NASCAR outfit Kaulig Racing has taken a jibe at Stewart-Haas Racing's sponsorship model ahead of the Talladega weekend.
With nine races into the ongoing season, tumultuous times reign supreme inside the Stewart-Haas Racing camp. The Tony Stewart-owned outfit, once a NASCAR champion, currently faces financial struggles off the track and a lack of form on the circuit.
Departures of veterans such as Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola have led to the team losing crucial sponsorship deals, leaving its future hanging in the balance. Latest reports have also suggested that the team is potentially looking for a charter sale in the coming days in order for its survival in NASCAR's premier division.
Amidst the chaos, SHR's X (formerly Twitter) handle shared the news of Overstock sponsoring its rookie drivers Noah Gragson and Josh Berry for the upcoming GEICO 500 NASCAR Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.
However, upon the announcement, Kaulig Racing, a Cup and Xfinity Series outfit that features the likes of AJ Allmendinger and Shane van Gisbergen, took a swipe at Stewart-Haas's sponsorship policies.
The team wrote on X:
"SHR has the weirdest sponsorship model in NASCAR. Doesn't make any sense economically for Overstock to sponsor two cars in the exact same race. This isn't Formula One."
Both Noah Gragson and Josh Berry joined Stewart-Haas Racing at the start of the 2024 season.
AJ Allmendinger reacts to season-best finish in Texas
Allmendinger, who moved back to the Xfinity Series after a full-time Cup stint last season, secured a fourth-place finish in the Andy's Frozen Custer 300 race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday.
This was AJ Allmendinger's best finish so far in the ongoing season. The driver of the No. 16 Chevrolet spoke to Frontstretch after the race, where he acknowledged the physical challenges he faced during the race and battling the effects of illness. Allmendinger said:
"Physically it was hard, just trying to fight the cold or flu. I felt like crap in the race car. Proud of everybody...we startled a bit in first stage and I think we made it a lot better in the second and third stage."
After eight races in the 2024 season, AJ Allmendinger finds himself seventh in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings. The 42-year-old driver has 229 points to his name, courtesy of four top-10 finishes and an average finish of 13.875.
