Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 in the NASCAR Cup Series largely remains a mystery for 2024 in terms of its driver lineup, but one piece of the puzzle was announced Dec. 20: AJ Allmendinger will run the Daytona 500.
Allmendinger will return to the car he piloted full time in 2023 for the season opener, Kaulig revealed.
The news comes after Allmendinger was announced as the driver of Kaulig’s No. 16 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series earlier this month.
He’ll be a teammate to Kaulig’s full-time Cup driver, Daniel Hemric.
Allmendinger scored a win, four top fives and seven top 10s in the Cup Series in 2023.
The announcement all but confirms plans for Kaulig’s No. 16, should it remain the team’s chartered entry, to have a rotating lineup in 2024, much like it did in 2022.
Kevin Rutherford is the executive editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2025 after being the managing editor since 2015, and serving on the editing staff since 2013.
At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.