AJ Almendinger and his number 16 centigrade The Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing qualified for the Championship at Phoenix Raceway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but the hard work this season is just beginning for the veteran driver. almendinger We sat down with Newsweek for an exclusive interview ahead of this weekend’s National Debt Relief 250 at Martinsville Speedway.

Do you drink Celsius on race day?

AJ Almendinger: Yeah, there’s always a mix of hydration and race prep, but it’s definitely something I need constantly throughout the weekend. The good thing is that Celsius does a great job of providing us with plenty of energy, so I quit yelling, grabbed one, and went back in. But yeah, it’s very important for me during the race weekend.

You’ve already clinched the championship round in Phoenix. What is your mindset for tomorrow’s Martinsville race?

AJ Almendinger: Yeah, so at least for me, I do it all the time because I like to challenge myself more than just racing and going out there and doing my best for the race team. So there’s no pressure to get to the last four and thankfully I’ve had that situation at Martinville, it’s probably one of the most stressful racetracks I’ll ever have to do it at. That definitely took the pressure off of me, but there’s still pressure on my shoulders when it comes to going out there and trying to win the race and be the best for the race team. For me, my focus is on there still being a cup to be won, especially here in Martinsville. The grandfather clock is extremely iconic and will always be one of the trophies I dream of owning.

That’s definitely what we’re competing for. And I think Homestead, we went there last week, we had a very fast race car that we ran at the front. Hopefully we can do that in Martinsville because you still want to keep the momentum we’ve had since winning Vegas and getting into the final four. I think our preparation for Martinsville was a little different. The race car was still preparing as closely as if this were a race trying to get to the final four. But when it came to simulation, we didn’t do a lot of stuff like that just because we were focused on Phoenix. But yes, the mentality is still the same. I want to win, and if I don’t, I want to finish as high as possible to keep the momentum going.

Still carrying momentum from Vegas?

AJ Almendinger: Yeah, I felt like we really allowed ourselves to try a few different things at Homestead, but most of all we didn’t have great practice, but I thought the race was really good. We had one car in the top three. The 10th-place finish doesn’t suggest that we have an opportunity to make a different strategy and really try to steal the wind because we’re locked in. So I was really excited leaving Homestead because of the speed we had. And that’s something we’ve really been focusing on for the last four weeks. We really tried in the second half of the year, but we showed in the last four weeks that we are very fast. So I left Homestead feeling like we had as much momentum as we had in Vegas.

You’ve had a lot of success at Martinsville, top five, some top ten. Think you’ll be able to come home with a grandpa clock this weekend?

I hope. I know drivers that are not locked in and this race has shown that over the last few years. I mean, there’s a lot of desperation and aggression. So if this is the end-of-race warning, if you’re leading the race or you’re ahead, there’s a possibility you can move. There’s also the mentality that you don’t want to anger anyone or make enemies by going to Phoenix.

So there is a fine line that I think I have to walk on as a driver because of course we want to win and if we have a chance to win we will do everything we can to win the race. But you definitely don’t want to get these enemies and make Phoenix more challenging than it already is. So we had a really good car in the spring and I felt like we had a chance to win. We got caught in a reboot crash there. So I’ll know more once we get into practice and qualify and see what kind of pace we have. But the mentality is that this is a race track where we are always good and then we can win.

How is the team feeling today in practice and qualifying?

AJ Almendinger: Yes, we feel good. The practice and qualifying here is unique because as we speak now when the race starts the trucks are on the race track and there are no tires on the race track. I think this track changes a lot because it really changes the handling characteristics of the car depending on how the rubber is laid. So between what we’re talking about right now, having the trucks on the race track, then us practicing, qualifying, and then having cup practice for qualifying before the race tomorrow, this track is going to change a lot. But I think we’re just trying to get into a rhythm here. And ultimately we would love to have a good qualifying because that determines Phoenix’s pit choices, which is very important. But we’re happy with what we’ve done and hopefully we can unload here and get good speed.

It’s a bit of a strange time. We’re approaching a silly season, the season is coming to an end. Right now, Stewart-Haas Racing is shutting down, 23XI is heading to court… What do you think of the current state of NASCAR?

AJ Almendinger: Yeah, I mean I think there’s a lot of things happening in NASCAR right now. I will always say that it is sad to see an iconic team like Stewart-Haas Racing go. I think it’s sad for the fans in general, like the race team, but it’s definitely sad for the people who work there too. There are so many people working there and you hope they find other places and teams to work on it. So this is the difficult part.

On the litigation side of things, I honestly didn’t pay much attention to a lot of the inner work, the details that I’m sure we don’t know, and the things that will be good or bad. These are decisions made by those organizations, and it has nothing to do with us, with me driving for Kaulig Racing. So I don’t pay much attention to that.

What I’m focused on is obviously trying to win a championship over the next two weeks and then really trying to get our Cup program to where it needs to be in the offseason and getting on the racetrack at Daytona in 2025. I feel like we showed a lot of speed, like last week at Homestead, we ran in the top 10 all day. We passed a lot of cars. We are showing that when we are at our best we can compete with the best teams, but we need to do it more consistently when it comes to people and the things we need to do in the off-season to get where we need to be. That’s what we’re focusing on at least to start the season.

So I can tell you about the competition side of things, that’s what I focus on, it’s an all-time high when it comes to Xfinity and the Cup. So we have to focus on our ‘A’ game and that’s what we focus on.

How do you feel about possibly winning a championship?

AJ Almendinger: First and foremost, just having the opportunity to win a championship is a huge accomplishment. It’s an honor to compete for the championship in NASCAR. I was able to do this once before and Phoenix is ​​unfortunately a racetrack for whatever reason. I’d like to tell you why if we knew why we’ve struggled as a racetrack in the past, I think we could fix it. So we won Vegas and giving us these three weeks to do everything we can to be ready is a huge thing for us. So that’s what we focus on. I really don’t know, I guess I just don’t let myself think about the championship just because I know how difficult it will be to go against the three teams we’re competing against just because I know what we did that season. We moved on to Phoenix and we should be a lot better than we have been so far.

That’s why I don’t let my mind wander, but I’ll explain it to you this way; Winning championships at the highest level of motorsport, that’s what we all strive for. I mean, we push ourselves for it every day. I mean, all the ups and downs we’ve been through and me, especially my wife Tara and my son Arrow, my family and friends, my race team Matt (Kaulig) and Chris (Rice), especially they see how good I am. I care about that, how much work and frustration I go through when things don’t go well, and how much I put on my shoulders to not let everyone down. So I think if that were to happen, the emotions would probably be something that I wouldn’t even be able to channel and put into practice. Happiness and relaxation happen everywhere and the kind of incredible things you dream of happen.

So hopefully I can experience that. It makes me feel like everything has come full circle and it’s come to a head, especially going back to the Cup when Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice won the Xfinity Championship and all the men and women on a race team Celsius is a part of that team. I have been a sponsor for a long time. We’ve done some really cool things together over the last few years, like winning races and sharing those things. So to be able to put them in Victory Lane or I guess Championship Lane (Celsius) with them in the car would be very special. But until it happens, I don’t allow myself to go for it. So there’s a lot of work to be done and that’s what I’m focused on.

You have two races left and then you’ll be back in the Cup series. How do you feel about next year’s rise?

AJ Almendinger: Yeah, yeah, I mean, I really enjoy driving Cup cars. You want to race against the best every weekend, and I think that’s a different mentality than what we do in Xfinity. The ultimate goal is always to win, and if you show up now, if you take that as the ultimate goal, you probably shouldn’t show up.

However, it can be said that the Cup side is really difficult. You’re racing against the best of the best teams, the best drivers. At this point, I think our vehicles are in 29th and 33rd place. It just shows the amount of work we have to do to get into the top 15, top 20 level of racing. But you know, I probably wouldn’t have gone to the Cup if I didn’t feel like we could do it. And I really feel like we can.

I think that mentality is to make our team a top 20 team on a consistent basis. We know that on places like road courses and certain race tracks we can do our best and get into the top five, maybe win the race, and then focus on the weaknesses and try to make them a little bit better than where they are. Right now. I think if we do that we can get into the top 20 and maybe have a chance to make the play-offs. I think that challenge is what I’m really looking forward to next year and I can’t wait to do it.