Despite Still Facing Pandemic Restrictions Heading Into 2021 Nascar’s Sponsor Climate Is Actually Getting Better

AJ Allmendinger is no rookie in the world of motorsports. The 38-year-old California native has raced everything from open wheel, sports cars, and stock cars; he’s raced for teams large and small and has even spent time in the broadcast booth.

After racing fulltime in Nascar’s Cup series for nearly a decade, along with maintaining a part time schedule in the Xfinity and IMSA sports car series, Allmendinger parted ways with JTG-Daugherty Racing after the 2018 Nascar Cup season. With a slate of younger drivers rising through the ranks, Allmendinger seemed content with picking up few Xfinity series races as well as one-off sports car races competing in the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Things began to change, however, in 2019. Allmendinger signed on for five Nascar Xfinity series races with Kaulig Racing, a relatively new team founded by entrepreneur Matt Kaulig. Allmendinger would score one pole and a win in those five races. This past season there were 11 races with Kaulig; Allmendinger won twice.

With records like that, it should have been no surprise when Allmendinger recently announced that he will be back in Nascar fulltime with Kaulig in the Xfinity series next season.

“I didn’t know where this was going to lead in 2019. It wasn’t like I had it in my head, like, Oh, I would love to go back full-time racing or whatever. But I just really love this,” Allmendinger said. “Just very grateful for this opportunity. Because I just feel like a small part of the team that keeps helping it grow. And it’s been fun over the last couple years.”

Normally a driver, and any Nascar team, would need outside sponsorship to race, and compete. Kaulig Racing is different, however. Owner Matt Kaulig owns most of the sponsors the three cars on the team need. Despite this, the Kaulig companies will face the same challenges next season that were there this past year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Allmendinger isn’t worried though.

“None of us know what next year looks like when it comes to the pandemic,” Allmendinger said. “To have fans back at the racetrack, in a more full capacity to where we can bring sponsors to the racetrack is a big deal. “

The way Nascar handled the situation this past season with shutdowns and limited fans at some races has shown that sponsors can still have a presence at a race, thus value for their sponsorship. And according to Allmendinger because of 2020, the sponsorship climate is actually improving.

“I do,” Allmendinger said. “You know, what Nascar is able to do to make sure that all the races got in this year, which I can’t even fathom how tough that was in the internals of Nascar to make it all happen. I really think (it) kind of put Nascar in a in a good light again, when it comes to getting the sponsorship out there and how important it is and what it means to be a part of Nascar racing and these teams specifically.”

Nascar proved in 2020 that they can still complete an entire season. With the 2021 season fast approaching and the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, there are few who doubt that not only will Nascar continue to provide value for sponsors, but the sponsorship climate will continue to improve. In the case of Kaulig Racing, that improvement is helped in large part by the team’s founder.

“Matt Kaulig is such a great businessman, got a sense of humor, who wants to be involved with this race team. And we have a lot of great partners already,” Allmendinger said. “You know, you got Kaulig companies and more sponsorship, that’s involved.

“When it comes to the climate of NASCAR and sponsorship, and especially with Kaulig Racing, I’m really loving the direction that we’re heading.”

For Allmendinger the main attraction to Kaulig Racing goes beyond sponsorship, however. He’s raced for small teams before, as well as large corporate organizations such as Team Penske. His new team though, is different.

“More than anything. It’s a family,” Allmendinger said. “And I know, I’ve been on teams, it’s easy to say, Oh, yeah, we’re family. But with this organization, it starts with Matt Kaulig. He’s a sports guy, you know, he played quarterback. He is around a lot of athletes with everything that he does, especially in Ohio. And he’s got that personality. It makes it fun to be around him because he’s great on the business side of it. But he’s also an ex-athlete that deals with a lot of athletes. So, he knows how hard it is. It’s, you don’t just show up immediately and start winning.

“We know at the end of the day, we have each other’s backs and it’s not finger pointing against each other, it’s all going the same direction. And that’s ultimately to try to win races and try to win a championship. And that’s what I love about it. But in the meantime, while we do that, it’s very enjoyable, whether at the racetrack or at the shop, or just hanging out all of it. It’s just very enjoyable. And that’s why I love all the men and women at Kaulig Racing.”