In 2023, Allmendinger drove for Kaulig within the Cup Collection and was pretty aggressive, as he received on the Charlotte Roval and completed a stable twenty first in factors. So why is he being demoted?
One phrase: cash.
Allmendinger will nonetheless run choose Cup races in 2024, however a scarcity of sponsorship will forestall him from operating the complete schedule. Kaulig’s No. 16 machine will as an alternative supposedly be shared by a number of drivers. This could by no means occur for a driver who continues to be able to competing on the highest stage, and it is NASCAR’s largest drawback right this moment.
In each different sport, opponents are signed as a result of the crew considers them the very best accessible possibility for the job. In auto racing, although, there’s a prerequisite: you will need to deliver a paycheck with you. It wasn’t all the time this manner — sponsors as soon as primarily hooked up themselves to race groups moderately than drivers, which allowed these groups to make their hiring selections solely based mostly on expertise.
That started to alter, although, together with NASCAR’s decline in nationwide reputation and the lack of longtime full-season Fortune 500 sponsors similar to Lowe’s, Mars, Inc., Goal and the Miller Brewing Firm. Changing them have been a lot smaller company manufacturers, manufacturers which are typically package deal offers with one driver specifically.
The dearth of part-time alternatives in right this moment’s NASCAR is one other issue, with the playoff format in all three sequence requiring drivers to run each race to be eligible and with the Cup Collection discouraging extra entries on the grid past the 36 chartered groups. Seldom are drivers ever launched midseason as a result of poor efficiency, so if you cannot land a full-time seat initially of the 12 months, you are all however out of luck.
Certain, NASCAR has by no means been a real meritocracy, provided that the associated fee required to compete within the sport is way greater than the typical household earnings, undoubtedly leaving numerous potential superstars to fall via the cracks over the a long time. Nonetheless, there was once a construction in place wherein all you needed to do was get your foot within the door and alternatives would come so long as you earned them.
The game’s present state — wherein a aggressive Cup driver like Allmendinger is demoted to part-time as a result of sponsorship points — is unacceptable. Gone are the times wherein you could possibly have a look at the Cup Collection area and contemplate it a showcase of the 36 (beforehand 43) greatest inventory automobile racing drivers on the planet and it is a disgrace.
NASCAR and its groups can, and should, do higher.