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AJ Allmendinger to Reach 500 NASCAR Cup Starts at Sonoma Raceway
AJ Allmendinger will become the 48th driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to reach 500 starts on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway. The 44-year-old enters the race 20th in the standings and 21 points from the Chase.
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AJ Allmendinger will become the 48th driver to reach 500 starts in the 77-year history of the NASCAR Cup Series when he competes on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway. The 1.99-mile road course in California hosts the June 28, 2026, event. Allmendinger, 44, from Santa Clara, enters the race 20th in the 2026 Cup Series standings after 17 events and sits 21 points outside the Chase.
"I didn't even think about the 500 till our race team started posting about it," Allmendinger said Saturday at Sonoma. "You think 500 starts, immediately my mind goes, 'Damn, I wish I would've won more. '" Allmendinger made his first Cup start in 2007 for Red Bull Racing and failed to qualify for 19 of 36 races that season.
He was arrested for drunk driving in 2009 while with Richard Petty Motorsports and was suspended by NASCAR in 2012 after failing a drug test at Team Penske. He recorded his first Cup win at Watkins Glen in 2014. Allmendinger has maintained an eight-year relationship with Kaulig Racing and remains under contract through 2029 with an option for 2032.
"But, if you'd have asked 2007 AJ as I was missing most of the races on a brand-new race team, 'Hey, by the way, 19 years later you're gonna be at start 500 at Sonoma', I'd be like, there's not a chance in hell," Allmendinger said. " Allmendinger said the milestone start at Sonoma offers a chance for his first victory at the California road course. "It'd be one hell of a victory lane," he said.
