The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the one-mile oval of Phoenix Raceway this weekend for the fourth race of the 2026 regular season.

Kaulig Racing drivers AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon finished 9th and 16th, respectively, in Sunday’s race on the road course at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. Dillon is now 19th in points, and Allmendinger jumped to 8th.

Sunday’s race marks the first short-track, points race of the season.

FS1 will broadcast the 312-mile race at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 8, 2026.

Campers Inn RV first race this season: This weekend marks the season debut for Campers Inn RV as primary sponsor of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet at Phoenix Raceway. It’s the first of two primary races for Campers Inn RV with Allmendinger in 2026. Campers Inn RV will return at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in August
Campers Inn RV: Campers Inn RV is one of the most awarded RV dealer groups in the United States, remains family-owned and operated, and is dedicated to sustainable and strategic growth. For more information about Campers Inn RV, visit www.campersinn.com.
Phoenix 2025: Allmendinger’s last time out at the one-mile oval was during the season-finale where he finished 38th (accident) after starting 38th. In the spring race, he finished 22nd after starting 16th.
Phoenix Career: In 25 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Phoenix Raceway, Allmendinger has one pole award (4/10/2010) and two top-10 finishes. His best finish is sixth (11/13/2011). In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series he has two top-five and four top-10 finishes
Season so Far: Allmendinger finished 9th in the most recent NASCAR Cup Series race at COTA. He finished 12th at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Ga. and 19th in the Daytona 500.
AJ at Kaulig Racing: AJ Allmendinger began his 18th full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway. It marks his fifth season with Kaulig Racing’s NASCAR Cup Series program.
Career: Allmendinger is a three-time NASCAR Cup Series winner and owns 22 top-five, 88 top-10 finishes and five pole awards in the division. This year he will make his 500th NASCAR Cup Series start at Sonoma Raceway. He is an 18-time winner in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Crew Chief: Trent Owens joined Kaulig Racing in January 2022. The Darlington, S.C., native became Allmendinger’s NASCAR Cup Series crew chief in 2025. Owens has 20 years of experience in NASCAR and has won in all three of NASCAR’s top series in a crew chief role.
Kaulig Racing: The Matt Kaulig team owns two NASCAR Cup Series victories and 27 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victories.

AJ Allmendinger:

What is your mindset going into Phoenix after having a tough race the last time there?

“Phoenix is a racetrack that for whatever reason, whether racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (formerly NASCAR Xfinity Series) or the NASCAR Cup Series, it’s just a racetrack that as a company we have struggled at in the past. You know, I think it’s about going there and trying to have realistic expectations. We are just trying to be better and have speed. We do want to have a solid improvement from where we have typically been there and put on a good showing for Campers Inn RV.”

What is the best approach?

“We know we are going to face some challenges, but it’s how we handle them and stay positive that matters most. Over the next few weeks, we’ll really get to see where we stand as a race team with our cars. Our focus is making the most of every weekend and that’s unloading with speed, improving through practice/qualifying and getting better when it counts in the race.”

How are you feeling after receiving medical attention from the heat upon exiting your race car at COTA last Sunday?

“I feel okay. I was just a little sore earlier in the week, but otherwise, really, I feel pretty good now. All things considered, we got a solid top-10 out of the day at COTA, some stage points, and gained spots in the points standings.”

Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Returns: Grizzly Nicotine Pouches returns to Dillon’s car this weekend after appearing on the No. 10 at the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium and in the Daytona 500. Grizzly Nicotine Pouches will sponsor Kaulig Racing’s Dillon and Allmendinger in 27 total NASCAR Cup Series races, Kaulig announced in January.
Grizzly Nicotine Pouches are a tobacco leaf-free nicotine product available to adult nicotine consumers nationwide (where permitted). The program also features The Fallen Outdoors organization, a non-profit that organizes outdoor adventures for veterans, Gold Star families and active-duty service members to bring together like-minded people who find comfort in each other through common interests.
Birthday Boy: Ty Dillon turned 34 last Friday in COTA.
Season so Far: Dillon finished 14th in the Daytona 500, 16th at Atlanta and 16th at COTA – a career best at the track. He is 19th in points.
Phoenix 2025: Dillon finished 16th in the spring race at Phoenix Raceway after starting 25th. In the season finale at the same track, Dillon finished 35th after starting 34th, with issues including a tire problem that brought out a caution at the end of Stage 2.
Phoenix Career: Dillon has 16 Cup starts at Phoenix, and his best finish there is 11th in 2017. He owns two top-five finishes in O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competition.
NASCAR Career: Dillon owns a career-best third-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in the fall 2020 race. He has three truck series wins (Atlanta in 2012, Kentucky and Texas in 2013) and a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2014.
Crew Chief: Andrew Dickeson, 43, a native of Melbourne, Australia, joined Kaulig Racing before the 2025 season after years in Australian racing and as an engineer at Richard Childress Racing.
2025 NASCAR In-Season Challenge: Dillon authored one of the greatest “Cinderella” stories in NASCAR history last year. He entered the 32-driver bracket as the No. 32 seed — the lowest possible — and went on a miraculous run, defeating Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman and John Hunter Nemechek before falling to Ty Gibbs in the championship round, just short of the $1 million prize. Throughout the competition on social media, Dillon jokingly called out fans of the drivers he beat, posting: “I beat your favorite driver.”
The 2026 NASCAR In-Season Tournament seeds lock in after the June 14 race at Pocono Raceway, with competition featuring the TNT-broadcast races at Sonoma, Chicagoland, Atlanta, North Wilkesboro and Indianapolis.

Ty Dillon:

Thoughts on Phoenix Raceway?

“I think Phoenix might be one of the tracks that I’ve probably raced at the most on the NASCAR circuit. I ran many races there in the K&N West and East Series. It’s a place I really enjoy and love racing at. I’ve raced at the old surface, the new surface, the front stretch, and the back stretch and when the back stretch was the front stretch. But it’s a place that I always have confidence going to. We didn’t end on a great note there last year, but right before we blew a tire, our car was getting really fast and competitive. And last year, we had a real chance to win in the spring. So, we’re going to go back there full of confidence, and that’s a place that I always kind of look forward to.”

How Much is Artificial Intelligence (AI) a part of NASCAR?

“AI is certainly something that’s growing in our sport. We’re finding new avenues to use it. Engineering is so massive, crunching numbers constantly, simulation and all that stuff, and using AI tools to just eliminate time and processes, and having to have one of our engineers do three days of work and get it done in a couple of minutes. Especially in this sport where things are moving and developing so fast, time elimination creates money and speed for us. AI is going to be a force in our sport, and it’s coming at us quickly.”

Kaulig Racing PR