AJ Allmendinger, Anthony Alfredo Returning to the Daytona 500
The entry list for the 2024 Daytona 500 expands with AJ Allmendinger and Anthony Alfredo both finalizing rides for the Great American Race.
Kaulig Racing announced Allmendinger will return to drive the team’s No. 16 Chevrolet for his 11th start in the Daytona 500. The move marks another swing in the driver’s recent career trajectory.
The Los Gatos, California, driver rejoined the Cup Series full-time in 2023 with the No. 16 team. He racked up four top-5 finishes and a win at the Charlotte Road Course to outperform teammate Justin Haley in all major categories. However, Kaulig announced ‘Dinger would be leaving full-time Cup competition in 2024 to run the full Xfinity Series schedule. He placed fourth and fifth in the points in 2021 and 2022, respectively, with 10 wins. He earned two wins in just five races with Kaulig’s Xfinity team in 2023.
Allmendinger’s Daytona Cup resume includes 21 races with an average finish of 20th. He placed third in both 2018 Daytona races with JTG-Daugherty Racing. He placed sixth in the 2023 running.
Kaulig’s Cup driver lineup is not yet finalized for 2024. Daniel Hemric will drive the No. 31 Chevrolet, replacing Haley who will compete with Rick Ware Racing in the upcoming season.
Anthony Alfredo will mark his return to Cup competition in the 2024 Daytona 500 with Beard Motorsports. The No. 62 team, which runs a limited schedule of superspeedway events in the Cup Series, announced it will run in both Daytona and Talladega races again in 2024. Alfredo will also drive the No. 62 in the spring Talladega race.
The driver(s) for Beard’s other two planned races will be announced later in the season, the team said.
“Fast Pasta” has competed in NASCAR’s upper tier since joining the Truck Series in 2019. He raced full time for Front-Row Motorsports in 2021 with one top-10. He earned two Cup starts for BJ McLeod’s Live Fast Motorsports in 2023.
Alfredo has one top-5 and six top-10s in his last two full Xfinity Series seasons with Our Motorsports.
As of now, Alfredo, “Dinger” and David Ragan highlight the non-full-time entries for the Daytona 500. Ragan will compete for RFK’s new Stage 60 initiative. More entries could be announced in the coming weeks. The 2023 race featured several notable drivers qualifying for the race in one-off or limited entries. They included Travis Pastrana, seven-time Cup champ Jimmie Johnson, and IndyCar star Conor Daly.