AJ Allmendinger is back in the NASCAR Cup Series. Kaulig Racing announced that he will compete full-time at the highest level in 2025.

The talented driver began his partnership with Kaulig Racing in 2019 when he took on a part-time schedule in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He remained in that role until 2021 when he was promoted to a full-time Cup Series driver.

AJ Allmendinger then competed for two more seasons at the Cup Series level before returning to the Xfinity Series for the 2024 season.

Now he will be back at the top level.

AJ Allmendinger, the 2021 and 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season champion, has competed in 440 NASCAR Cup Series races over 17 years, earning 78 top-10 finishes and three wins.

His last win was at the 2023 Bank of America Roval 400 (Charlotte Roval).

Austin Dillon’s playoff spot was revoked

While the news about AJ Allmendinger is welcome news for many NASCAR fans, the big news this week was the penalty imposed on Austin Dillon after the Cook Out 400 at the Richmond Raceway.

After the destruction of both Joey Logano And Denny Hamlin In the final corner of the last lap, officials revoked Dillon’s automatic playoff spot, according to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports.

Dillon also received a 25-point deduction. His spotter Brandon Benesch was suspended for three races. As the two approached the start-finish line, Benesch was heard on the radio telling Dillon, “Wreck him,” in reference to Denny Hamlin.

After Sunday’s race, it felt like something had changed. The post-race interviews and ceremonies had a certain vibe. Now we know that NASCAR felt the same way and penalized Dillon for his reckless driving on the final lap.

Jonathan Howard of On3 also contributed to this report.