NASCAR: AJ Allmendinger lands Cup Series ride at Daytona road course

Change is something that always seems to breed opportunity and that is exactly what happened to NASCAR driver, AJ Allmendinger, being selected by Kaulig Racing to run at the Daytona road course in February.

Fortunately for Allmendinger, it could also be an opportunity to help a lower funded NASCAR team out and even nail down a ride for later in the season. Think about it! If Allmendinger can perform well at the Daytona road course, there is no doubt that he will be asked to compete for someone later in the season.

Whether that happens at the Cup, Xfinity, or Gander Mountain Outdoor Truck Series level doesn't matter. What does matter is getting an opportunity and doing the most with it, which seems to be why he is so pumped up for the chance to run at the Cup level again.

“I am really looking forward to racing in the Cup Series once again, but more importantly, I am pumped to be racing in the Cup Series for Kaulig Racing,” Allmendinger said in a release from the team. “I keep wanting to help Kaulig Racing grow as much as possible, and the next step is racing in some Cup races with them.

Keep in mind that Allmendinger is 1 of only a handful of NASCAR drivers that have been suspended from the sport for failing a drug test. The incident happened during a random drug test before the 2013 Coke Zero, which forced NASCAR to rule him not illegible to compete.

NASCAR later handed him a full on suspension and ordered him to go to Road to recovery to get some help. While things seemed grim for Allmendinger after the incident, he eventually got reinstated and won races in the Cup Series and in the Xfinity Series. He has raced on and off since then with varied succesus.

If nothing else, AJ Allmendinger is one of the better road course ringers in NASCAR, and could very well pull at upset here. It all really depends on what kind of car the team brings to the track, and if it is capable of competing with what the other teams brought. Allmendinger could level the playing field though.

“Having AJ (Allmendinger) compete in our very first non-superspeedway Cup race was really a no-brainer for us,” said Chris Rice, Kaulig Racing’s president. “Kaulig Racing is honored to be able to be get AJ back into the Cup Series for the first time since his retirement. I think he will pick right back up where he left off as a road course ace.”