Kaulig plans full-time Cup program next year

Matt Kaulig told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Wednesday that it’s a “done deal” his organization will be racing full-time in the Cup Series in 2022.

“We’ll have one car,” Kaulig said. “We’ll have at least one car, let’s put it that way. So that’s definitely a done deal. We’re super excited about that. That’s the reason we’re running -- we’ll run 10 or 11 Cup races this year, and man, we’re already three in.”

Kaz Grala finished 28th for Kaulig Racing in the Daytona 500 and was sixth last Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. It is the team’s best result to date. Grala and AJ Allmendinger have split the No. 16 Chevrolet in the Cup Series this season, while Justin Haley qualified them for their first race last year (Daytona).

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Grala and Allmendinger will continue to share the car when it’s entered in races this season. A driver for the full-time team next season is unknown.

In his interview with Sirius, Kaulig also revealed he’d purchased another race shop in Welcome, North Carolina, for the Cup Series program. His Xfinity Series team, which fields cars for Allmendinger, Justin Haley, and Jeb Burton, is housed on the campus of their alliance partner Richard Childress Racing in Welcome.

“We’re just getting that program rolling,” Kaulig said of the Cup Series effort. “Super fun, super exciting, and we’ll see what it brings next year.”

Kaulig’s move into the Cup Series will coincide with the introduction of the Next Gen race car.