March 29, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

With hurt feelings in the rear view, Kaulig and Trackhouse embrace new rivalry

Turn about is fair play—especially when it comes to racing. 

Ross Chastain was completely justified when it came to executing the bump-and-run on AJ Allmendinger on the final lap at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday. On that same lap and the previous white-flag lap prior to the final caution, Allmendinger laid the chrome horn to Chastain. 

Only Chastain knows whether he intended to simply move Allmendinger or turn the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. 

“I didn’t draw it up that way in my head, but, yeah, I did what I did,” Chastain said. “I stand by it.”

Clearly, the situation was complicated by having Alex Bowman in the mix. Contact with the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy in the aftermath resulted in Allmendinger ricocheting off course. 

Rather than ending up in Victory Lane, Allmendinger ended up in the infield care center and with a 33rd-place result.

“At the end of the day, we all have to look ourselves in the mirror,” Allmendinger said following the Echopark Automotive Texas Grand Prix. “If you are okay with it, you're okay with it. Each person is different.”

Understandably, Allmendinger was upset. So was Kaulig Racing, which released a post-race tweet saying, “Had to wreck us to beat us.”

Kaulig’s sentiment reeks of sour grapes—even though it was Chastain who scored the first company win for the team in 2019. Chastain also accepted responsibility for the outcome and would not have changed a thing. After the time Allmendinger spent mentoring Chastain on road courses, it’s unlikely that he would have intentionally dumped his former Kaulig teammate to win. 

In the three races prior to COTA, Chastain remarkably scored three podium finishes leading up to his first Cup win. Trackhouse Racing continues to provide him with competitive equipment.

Until this season, Chastain had never enjoyed such a consistent run. Unfortunately for the driver, his bull-in-a-china-shop approach to racing remains in the minds of many of his opponents—including Allmendinger, whom Chastain wiped out in the August 2020 Xfinity contest at Daytona.

“It's not lost on me that I make some of the same mistakes,” Chastain said. “It's just staring down a Cup Series win. I just couldn't let that go.”

Neither could Kaulig. Despite their direct shot at Chastain, the second line of the tweet showed their resounding support of Allmendinger: “HECK of a drive @AJDinger, NO ONE better. NO ONE.” 

There is no driver in NASCAR right now who is as smooth on a road course as Allmendinger. And his craft has improved with age. Allmendinger, 40, leads the Xfinity Series in all-time road course wins with seven. His two Cup wins both came on road courses. 

In Allmendinger’s defense, his adventures in NASCAR have been an uphill climb since he was recruited by Red Bull to run the 2007 Cup season. He had just three truck starts before attempting to compete at stock car’s highest level. Talk about being thrown into the deep end.
 
It wasn’t until the end of his rookie season that management decided to get him more seat time in an Xfinity Series ride. Starting that September, he ran three NXS races on ovals with three different crew chiefs. After two years with Red Bull, Allmendinger had two scored just two top-10 finishes. 

Following more instability with Richard Petty Motorsports—even during better days for the organization—Dinger’s big break in NASCAR didn’t come until he signed with Team Penske in 2012. After half of a season, he was suspended for failing a drug test. While Roger Penske was forced to replace Allmendinger, that didn’t stop The Captain from circling back and offering the driver a second chance the following year. The most successful open-wheel team owner in the U.S. realized the blue-collar racer’s potential. He recruited Allmendinger for two Xfinity road course races and six IndyCar starts—including the Indianapolis 500.

While Allmendinger didn’t duplicate his previous CART success, he was leading the Greatest Spectacle in Auto Racing until his seat belts came loose and he was forced to pit with 33 laps remaining in the 500. In the Xfinity Series, Allmendinger scored his first two NASCAR victories behind the wheel of a Penske ride.

After working his way back to a full-time Cup ride with JTG/Daugherty Racing, in 2018, Allmendinger realized that wasn't the path for him. Fortunately, Kaulig Racing provided Allmendinger with a slow, deliberate road back. And he has thrived within the Kaulig culture. Each year Allmendinger has increased his races and his wins. Last year, in his first full season in NXS, he scored five wins and finished fourth in the standings. After his Austin Xfinity win on Saturday, Allmendinger has not finished worse than ninth in the first six races of the season.

As Kaulig Racing expanded to add a Cup program, Allmendinger’s experience has proved invaluable. In the No. 16 team’s seventh start, Dinger wheeled the car to Victory Lane in the Indianapolis Grand Prix. In his second start this season, he nearly provided Kaulig with the organization’s first weekend sweep.

To the “Had to wreck us to beat us.” tweet, Trackhouse Racing replied, “Come on now.” 

In an attempt to take the high road, Kaulig Racing responded, “Congrats on your first of many team wins!! We look forward to battling it out with you guys for years to come.”

For the sake of the race fans, let’s hope so. This could be the beginning of a beautiful rivalry.