What exactly is Kaulig Racing's long-term plan?

Let's not mince words: Kaulig Racing tapping A.J. Allmendinger for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is not a bad thing.

Even at 42, the road-course ace is a proven Cup Series winner, and when the circuit visits a road course, he's all but guaranteed to contend for the win.

However, this marks the third consecutive season in which Allmendinger and Kaulig Racing are playing musical chairs with Allmendinger's future. Allmendinger was full-time in the Cup Series in 2023, went down to the Xfinity Series for 2024 and now knows he'll be back at the highest level of NASCAR full-time in 2025.

Allmendinger can credit the second wind of NASCAR career to the team, but while the announcement of his return in 2025 should be celebrated, it also exposes the organization's biggest issue.

Every time Kaulig relocates Allmendinger — or any of its other drivers such as Daniel Hemric, whose situation with the team is rocky heading into 2025 — to a new series, it continues to kick the can further down the road. With a 33-year-old Hemric producing mediocre Cup Series results for Kaulig in 2024 after an underwhelming tenure with its Xfinity Series program, there's little young talent to speak of within the walls of Kaulig Racing.

It may have the uber-talented Shane van Gisbergen driving its Xfinity Series cars this season, but it will likely be Trackhouse Racing who snatches him for Cup Series duties in 2025. Allmendinger moving back up to the Cup Series also means the team will need to find at least one new full-time Xfinity Series driver, if not two or three. van Gisbergen is expected to join Allmendinger in the Cup Series in 2025, and Josh Williams' poor performance has many wondering if the 31-year-old will return to the team next season.

Aside from van Gisbergen's three Xfinity Series wins, the team's performance in both the Cup and Xfinity Series has been middling as Allmendinger sits sixth in Xfinity Series points. Williams sits a distant 18th while Hemric currently sits 30th in the Cup Series standings.

Allmendinger and van Gisbergen have given Kaulig's No. 16 car a boost in their part-time efforts this year, but the car still sits 33rd in owners points out of 36 full-time entries. Williams, Ty Dillon and Derek Kraus have bore little fruit in their Cup starts this year while the team's "trophy-hunting" car in the Xfinity Series has only yielded two top-10 finishes in six starts.

Kaulig's biggest problem? Its lack of young talent has led them to continue to rehash grizzled veterans who simply aren't at the top of their game. Hemric may be an Xfinity Series champion, but his second stint in the Cup Series has been worse than his first. Allmendinger may be Kaulig's best chance at Cup Series success, but even he seems to have lost a step this season.

With 20-year-old Daniel Dye potentially being the team's only long-term hope, it's time for Kaulig to fire up LinkedIn and start looking for driving candidates. Or its long-term future may be filled with one-year deals and a short list of accomplishments.