“You know he’s going to be the aggressor.” Christopher Bell had a clear verdict for Carson Hocevar after the Ambetter Health 400. The young Spire Motorsports Cup Series driver ruffled some feathers at the NASCAR Cup Series outing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. From spinning out Ryan Blaney to running aggressively with Ross Chastain, his antics seem relentless. But that is not enough to rattle AJ Allmendinger.

The Kaulig Racing driver is yet to brush with victory in the 2025 season. But his efforts are no less. Despite jumping from Xfinity to Cup, AJ Allmendinger is taking the challenges head-on. That includes facing the young rabble-rouser of NASCAR.

AJ Allmendinger hurtles expletives at COTA

After NASCAR introduced the Next-Gen car in 2022, 12 different drivers have triumphed on road courses. AJ Allmendinger stands tall among them, although his road course glory is older. He achieved his first Cup Series win in 2014 at Watkins Glen International. Then he shone again at the Cup Series’ Indianapolis road course event in 2021. His third Cup Series win was yet again at a road course, this time in Charlotte in 2023 – and Allmendinger had mastered the Next-Gen. So when the No. 16 Chevrolet driver headed to COTA last weekend, he was not at all afraid. Not even of Carson Hocevar, who wreaked havoc less than two weeks ago in Atlanta.

AJ Allmendinger qualified in 12th place for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. By lap 15, he was running close to Hocevar and battling for the 7th position. Fans and drivers were fresh off of shock after Ross Chastain bizarrely rammed into Chase Elliott on the very first lap. So the No. 16 spotter Frank Deiny cautioned: “Be careful with this dude, you know what you’re dealing with.” To this, Allmendinger boldly retorted: “He doesn’t know who he’s f—— dealing with.”

Immediately after, AJ Allmendinger smoothly completed the pass, zooming past Carson Hocevar. Subsequently, the Kaulig driver clinched a tenth-place finish in Stage 1. Then he gathered 5 points for finishing in 6th at the end of stage 2. During the closing laps, Allmendinger was contending with the leaders – hounding Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell for the lead. Sadly, tire issues affected his run, and the racer fell back to 30th by the time the race ended. Still, Allmendinger’s fearless approach to Hocevar is commendable. Even back-to-back race winner Bell issued warnings about Hocevar: “If there’s a hole, he’s going to take it. If there’s not a hole, he’s going to make one.”

AJ Allmendinger aggressively denied Carson Hocevar any opening at COTA. However, he could not do the same just two years ago on the same track.

Allmendinger fell prey to the other rabble-rouser

Maybe the Kaulig Racing speedster learned his mistakes in a span of two years. The 2022 rendition of the NASCAR Cup Series COTA race was memorable for chaos. AJ Allmendinger was on the brink of clinching a double win during the COTA weekend. But Ross Chastain never left his side – the two racers fought tooth and nail for the lead. Alex Bowman also entered the foray as a late riser, trying to take advantage of the two drivers’ fight. But on the final lap, Chastain stamped his signature style of doing whatever it takes. A pivotal push from his end sent Allmendinger’s car ricocheting off Bowman’s, clearing the way for a breakthrough win for both Chastain and his team Trackhouse Racing.

The sheer aggression of this pass would have been enough to tick off anybody. However, AJ Allmendinger controlled his emotions. He said: “At the end of the day, like I said, you’ve got to look at yourself in the mirror. If you’re OK with it, you’re OK with it. Every person is different. So it doesn’t matter what I think. We had a shot to win a Cup race. It’s pretty special.” In 2023, he completely forgave Chastain: “We all know how hard he can race but at the same time, we all race that hard at times, you know?” But we can see how that incident took away his fears, as Allmendinger faced Hocevar bravely at COTA.

With the majority of the Cup Series schedule left, we will get to see more of AJ Allmendinger’s bold moves. Let us see what the Kaulig Racing driver dazzles us with next.