2025 season preview: Kaulig Racing

Editor’s Note: Today’s Kaulig Racing preview continues NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the 2025 Cup Series season.

KAULIG RACING

Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Engine: ECR Engines
Driver-crew chief pairings: Ty Dillon-Andrew Dickeson (No. 10), AJ Allmendinger-Trent Owens (No. 16)

Team outlook: Ahead of its fourth full-time season at the Cup Series level, Kaulig once again wipes the slate clean with different drivers in their two cars compared to 2024. AJ Allmendinger returns to Cup full-time in the No. 16, while Ty Dillon will debut the No. 10 for the organization as he goes for points in the Cup Series after spending time in the Craftsman Truck Series with Rackley W.A.R. Racing last season. Expect Allmendinger to be a contender on every road course and have an outside shot of a playoff spot, but it will be hard to see Kaulig be a true challenger week in and week out without consistency in who drives their cars from season to season.

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 CHEVROLET

Experience: Nine full-time seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series
2024 stats: Third in final Xfinity standings; 1 win, 7 top fives, 18 top 10s
2024 championship odds (DraftKings): 200-1

Outlook: 2025 marks the fourth consecutive year Allmendinger has flip-flopped between the Cup and Xfinity Series. The 43-year-old wheelman is coming off a run to the Xfinity Championship 4 last season, where he snagged a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the playoffs. His Cup fortunes in recent years haven’t borne the same fruit; Allmendinger has a best points result of 21st but highlighted his 2023 run with a rousing win at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.

This season marks a crossroads for Allmendinger. While his road-course prowess is just as good as anyone at the Cup level, he’ll need better results across the board if he wants to be a formidable playoff contender. He has the talent to do it, but it’s Kaulig finding speed in the No. 16 on ovals and short tracks to really get the most out of the fan-favorite veteran.

RELATED: Kaulig brings Allmendinger back to Cup for 2025 | Dillon returns to full-time Cup racing with Kaulig in 2025

TY DILLON, NO. 10 CHEVROLET

Experience: Six full-time seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series
2024 stats: 22nd in final Truck standings; 0 wins, 0 top fives, 2 top 10s
2024 championship odds (DraftKings): 500-1

Outlook: Dillon makes his return to full-time action for the first time since 2023 and brings a new number for Kaulig to the Cup level to start anew. In 245 Cup starts, Dillon has just two top fives to his name, but in his part-time Cup schedule with Kaulig last season, the 32-year-old collected two top 20s at Texas Motor Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway, along with a third with Richard Childress Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

With expectations not incredibly high for Dillon, he should enter 2025 a bit looser than prior years to potentially elevate his results. A good takeaway from last year is that Dillon kept his cars out of trouble and finished races, so if he can manage that for a good portion of the schedule, he could find himself with enough career-high marks to make a statement to the rest of the field.

MORE: 2025 Cup Series schedule

BOLD PREDICTION: Like he did in 2023, Allmendinger could play spoiler in the playoffs and win for the second time on the Roval. But Mexico City’s looming Cup debut should be the one circled for him as there will be bragging rights galore going up against fellow road-course ace Shane van Gisbergen, who will make his rookie campaign in Cup this season. With Larson also being one of the top road-course drivers, it will be fun to see how the trio battle it out on each circuit this season.

Allmendinger is a familiar face for Dillon, and there is still a lot for Dillon to learn from his teammate. If Dillon can have a clean season like Daniel Hemric did in 2024, there’s no stopping Dillon from finishing top 25 in the points standings, which would be in the ballpark of where his results were when he first ran full-time at the Cup level.