Today during a NASCAR media availability at Kansas Speedway, AJ Allmendinger revealed to media members that he has signed an extension to his driver agreement with JTG Daugherty Racing that will make him the driver of the No. 47 Chevrolet SS for at least through the 2020 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race season.
“I have always said I have a verbal lifetime contract with JTG Daugherty Racing, but I want to announce today that I have officially signed a contract for a five year deal,” Allmendinger said. “It’s pretty cool to me because I love it here and love the family atmosphere Jodi (Geschickter), Tad (Geschickter) and Brad (Daugherty) have established. Not only do we have a family bond, we have a healthy future with some of the biggest and best brands in the business.”
This announcement follows The Kroger Company’s news of sponsoring the team for multiple years starting with 17 races this season and 24 in 2016. Kroger is one of many great partners of JTG Daugherty Racing, such as, Better Than Bouillon, BUSH’S Beans, Charter Spectrum, Clorox, Core Power, Freightliner, Glad, Hidden Valley, House-Autry, Hungry Jack, Kingsford, SCOTT Products and Shore Lunch.
“Sponsorship is the lifeblood of teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and it’s awesome to see companies take their programs to the next level and activate like Kroger and our longstanding partners are doing,” Allmendinger said. “I know there was big news about a sponsor leaving recently, but look at the sponsors coming back to our team and taking their program to the next level. It’s pretty awesome to see our team thriving and I love our sponsors. They allow me to do what I love to do. I know Tad has busted his butt to put all of this together and he has the business model figured out.”
JTG Daugherty Racing co-owner Tad Geschickter added, “AJ has done a tremendous job for our team and for our sponsor partners. More importantly, he is family. We have all decided that he is our guy and that we are going to work together to build this racing organization to deliver results on the track and in the marketplace.”
Allmendinger competed in nine races for JTG Daugherty Racing in 2013. In his first full season the next year, he delivered the team’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory and Chase berth.
“It’s a day I will never forget,” said Allmendinger about his win at Watkins Glen International (8/10/14). “I dreamed about that moment and I’m not going to ever forget it. It was just a dream come true.”
Heading into race 11 of the season at Kansas Speedway, Allmendinger has one victory, two pole awards, seven top-five and 37 top-10 finishes.
“We just want to leave Kansas Speedway with a solid finish,” Allmendinger said. “We’ve had some bad luck, but we hope that’s all behind us now. We’ve got a lot of good momentum off the track right now with our sponsors and that’s pretty exciting. We’re focused on building momentum on track and selling some cases. It’s a great time for us.”
JTG Daugherty
Image: Jonathan Ferrey/NASCAR via Getty Images
