With Kaulig Racing focusing their primary efforts on the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the 2021 season, that isn’t stopping one of the most popular teams in the garage area from getting their feet wet on the premier level.
Kaulig Racing confirmed on Thursday that the team intends to run a limited Cup Series schedule for the 2021 season. The organization plans to participate in “road course and superspeedway events” as well as the 2021 Daytona 500 per a media release.
?? NEWS ??
Kaulig Racing anticipates running a limited @NASCAR Cup Series schedule in 2021.
More details:https://t.co/GzrcEXn5iY
— Kaulig Racing (@KauligRacing) January 7, 2021
“From where we started in a go-kart shop to a now championship-contending team, I have seen the growth of Kaulig Racing first-hand over the last 5 years,” said team president, Chris Rice. “It has been a privilege to be able to have Matt Kaulig’s trust in establishing ourselves as a competitive team in one of NASCAR’s top series, and I am confident we are ready to take that next step as an organization.”
The team will likely reutilize the No. 16 that Justin Haley brought to the Daytona 500 in 2020, finishing 13th in the team’s first Cup Series start.
Since Kaulig Racing plans to race on the superspeedway and road courses, it’s entirely possible that Justin Haley and A.J. Allmendinger will split the duties respectively as Haley has shown great performance in Xfinity at Daytona and Talladega. A.J. has won multiple times for Kaulig on road courses in both 2019 and 2020, both as part-time only entries.
The organization had a banner year in 2020, with five wins, and both full-time entries qualifying for the NASCAR Playoffs and Justin Haley finishing third overall in the final standings.
Heading into 2021, Kaulig Racing will three full-time entries to the Xfinity Series with Haley, Allmendinger, and newly signed driver Jeb Burton.
Looking ahead to 2022, owner Matt Kaulig is allegedly already in the market for a charter that would grant guaranteed entry into all NASCAR Cup Series races when the Next Gen car hits the track, per SBJ’s Adam Stern.
The driver(s) and sponsorship for the limited Kaulig Cup schedule for 2021 are expected to be confirmed at a later date.
