A. J. Allmendinger facts for kids

Quick facts for kids A. J. Allmendinger
Allmendinger at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2024
Born	Anthony James Allmendinger (1981-12-16) December 16, 1981 (age 43) Los Gatos, California, U.S.
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Achievements	2021, 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Champion 2-time IKF Champion 2002 Barber Dodge Pro Series champion 2003 Champ Car Atlantic champion 2008, 2014, 2018 Monster Energy Open Winner 2012 Rolex 24 at Daytona winner 2014 Cheez-It 355 at The Glen winner 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 Drive for the Cure 250 Winner 2021 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard Winner 2023 Bank of America Roval 400 Winner
Awards	2004 Champ Car World Series Rookie of the year West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame (2025)
NASCAR Cup Series career
446 races run over 17 years
Car no., team	No. 16 (Kaulig Racing)
2023 position	21st
Best finish	13th (2014)
First race	2007 Food City 500 (Bristol)
Last race	2024 Straight Talk Wireless 400 (Homestead-Miami)
First win	2014 Cheez-It 355 at The Glen (Watkins Glen)
Last win	2023 Bank of America Roval 400 (Charlotte Roval)
Wins Top tens Poles 3 80 4
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
131 races run over 10 years
2024 position	3rd
Best finish	3rd (2024)
First race	2007 Camping World 300 (Fontana)
Last win	2024 Ambetter Health 302 (Las Vegas)
Wins Top tens Poles 18 86 11
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career
14 races run over 4 years
2021 position	111th
Best finish	34th (2007)
First race	2006 New Hampshire 200 (Loudon)
Last race	2021 United Rentals 176 at The Glen (Watkins Glen)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 3 0
IndyCar Series career
6 races run over 1 year
2013 position	27th
Best finish	27th (2013)
First race	2013 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (Birmingham)
Last race	2013 MAVTV 500 (Fontana)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 0 0
Champ Car career
40 races run over 3 years
Best finish	3rd (2006)
First race	2004 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (Long Beach)
Last race	2006 Lexmark Indy 300 (Surfers Paradise)
First win	2006 Grand Prix of Portland (Portland)
Last win	2006 Grand Prix of Road America (Road America)
Wins Podiums Poles 5 14 2
Statistics current as of November 9, 2024.

Anthony James Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981), known as "the Dinger,” is an American professional stock car racing driver. He races full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. He drives the No. 16 Chevrolet ZL1 for Kaulig Racing.

A. J. Allmendinger started his racing career in open-wheel cars. He won five races and finished third overall in the 2006 Champ Car season. Later, he moved to NASCAR. He drove for teams like Team Red Bull, Richard Petty Motorsports, Penske Racing, Phoenix Racing, and JTG Daugherty Racing. In 2019, he became a part-time driver for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series. He also worked as a TV commentator for NBC. He returned to full-time racing in 2021.

He also competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona almost every year from 2006 to 2021. He won this famous race in 2012.

Early Racing Days

Allmendinger began racing at age five on BMX bikes. By age eight, he was racing quarter-midget cars on oval tracks. A few years later, he started karting. He won two big championships with the International Kart Federation.

In 2001, Allmendinger raced in the Formula Dodge National Championship. This led him to the Barber Dodge Pro Series in 2002, which he won. He also raced in New Zealand in 2002. In 2003, he joined Carl Russo's RuSPORT team. He won the Champ Car Atlantic Championship, taking nine pole positions and seven race wins.

Open-Wheel Racing Adventures

2004–2006: Champ Car Success

Allmendinger racing at Long Beach in 2005

In 2004, Allmendinger and RuSPORT joined the Champ Car World Series. Red Bull also sponsored him. He had six top-six finishes that year. He won the Rookie-of-the-Year Award. In 2005, he often finished on the podium (top three).

In June 2006, RuSPORT decided to replace Allmendinger. Five days later, Forsythe Championship Racing signed him. In his very first race with Forsythe, Allmendinger won the Grand Prix of Portland. He was the first American to win a Champ Car race since 2004. He then won the next two races in Cleveland and Toronto. This gave him three wins in a row. He moved into second place in the championship.

He won two more races that season in Denver and Road America. He left Champ Car early to join NASCAR's Red Bull Racing Team. He later said that having only one major open-wheel series would be better for racing.

2013: Trying IndyCar Again

In 2013, Allmendinger returned to the IndyCar Series. He raced for Team Penske in a few events. His goal was to add more races later in the season.

NASCAR Journey

2006: First Stock Car Race

Allmendinger (left) and Tony Raines

Allmendinger made his NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck Series in September 2006. He finished 13th in his first race. He also finished fifth at Talladega Superspeedway in October.

Red Bull announced Allmendinger would join their Nextel Cup Series team. He tried to race at Atlanta in October 2006. But he did not qualify because of rain and low team points.

2007–2008: Red Bull Racing

Allmendinger and Brian Vickers were Red Bull's drivers for 2007. Allmendinger struggled to qualify for races. He missed 19 races that season. To help him, he also raced in some Truck Series and Busch Series events.

Allmendinger in 2008

He also missed the 2008 Daytona 500. He was temporarily replaced by Mike Skinner. Allmendinger returned later and won the Sprint Showdown. This allowed him to race in the Sprint All-Star Race. He had his best finish at the time, ninth place at Kansas Speedway. He was then released from the team. He raced for other teams for the rest of the season.

2008–2011: Richard Petty Motorsports

Allmendinger joined Gillett Evernham Motorsports. He had an average finish of 15.4th in five races. The team later merged with Petty Enterprises to form Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM).

Allmendinger's 2008 Sprint Cup Series car

In 2009, Allmendinger finished third in his first Daytona 500. This was his best finish in that race. He was one of only two drivers to qualify for the first five races without guaranteed spots.

He drove a Ford Fusion for the last three races of 2009. In 2010, he moved to the famous No. 43 car. He had two top-five finishes, eight top-10s, and one pole position. He finished 19th in the standings.

2011 Sprint Cup Series car

In 2011, Allmendinger had his best year yet. He finished 15th in points with 10 top-10 finishes.

2012: Team Penske and a Setback

At the end of 2011, Allmendinger joined Penske Racing. His best finish was second place at Martinsville Speedway.

In July 2012, Allmendinger was suspended from racing due to a rule violation. He was later released from his contract by Penske Racing. He completed a special program and was allowed to race again in September 2012. He returned to NASCAR in October 2012, driving for Phoenix Racing.

2013: Xfinity Series Wins

Allmendinger in 2013 before his Road America win

Allmendinger celebrating his win at Road America

In June 2013, Roger Penske announced Allmendinger would race for his team in the Xfinity Series. Allmendinger won his first race of the season at Road America. He started from the pole position and led 29 laps. In August, he won again at Mid-Ohio. He won both Xfinity Series road-course races for Penske Racing that year.

Part-time in Cup Series

Allmendinger also raced part-time in the Cup Series for Phoenix Racing. He had several strong finishes. He later moved to JTG Daugherty Racing. He finished 10th at Watkins Glen International. In August 2013, it was announced he would be a full-time driver for JTG Daugherty Racing in 2014.

2014: First Cup Series Victory

Allmendinger had a few tough races early in 2014. But he finished eighth at Fontana and had top-tens at Richmond and Talladega.

At Sonoma, he led many laps. He was close to his first Cup win but was involved in a crash.

At Watkins Glen, Allmendinger took the lead with less than 30 laps left. He battled Marcos Ambrose and held on to win. This was his first Cup Series win after 213 starts. He led 30 laps. He said, "My gosh, I can't believe we won a NASCAR Sprint Cup race." Ambrose congratulated him, saying, "They deserved that win."

2015: A Steady Season

Allmendinger at the 2015 Food City 500

Allmendinger chose not to race in the 2015 Sprint Unlimited to save his equipment. He worked as a radio commentator for the race instead.

He started the season well, leading laps in the Daytona 500. He finished seventh at Atlanta and sixth at Las Vegas. In May 2015, he signed a five-year contract to stay with JTG Daugherty.

2016: Close Call at Martinsville

Allmendinger almost won the 2016 STP 500 at Martinsville. He charged from 13th place to finish second, just behind Kyle Busch. This was his best finish at Martinsville. He ended the season strong with four top-ten finishes in the last six races.

2017: Daytona and Talladega Moments

Allmendinger on track at Daytona in 2017

Allmendinger started 2017 with a third-place finish at Daytona. This matched his best finish there. At Talladega, he was in a multi-car crash. His car spun and flipped over. At Watkins Glen, he finished ninth, the highest-finishing Chevrolet.

2018: Another Open Win

Allmendinger started 2018 with a top-ten finish in the Daytona 500. He also finished eighth at the STP 500. In May, he won the Monster Energy Open for the second time.

In September 2018, it was announced that Allmendinger would leave JTG Daugherty at the end of the season.

2019–2020: Part-time with Kaulig Racing

Allmendinger in 2019 at Road America

In March 2019, Kaulig Racing announced Allmendinger would race part-time in their No. 10 Xfinity Series car. His schedule included four road course races. He finished third at Daytona but was disqualified after his car failed a post-race inspection. He was also disqualified at Watkins Glen for a similar issue.

At his final race of the year, the Charlotte Roval, he won his first race of the season. This was his third Xfinity Series career win.

For 2020, Allmendinger moved to Kaulig's No. 16 car. He raced in eight events, mostly on road courses and superspeedways. He scored his first career oval victory at Atlanta. This win made him eligible for a $100,000 bonus. He claimed the bonus by finishing fourth at Homestead-Miami.

In October, Allmendinger won on the Charlotte Roval again. This was his second win in a row at that track.

2021–2022: Full-time and Cup Return

Allmendinger celebrating his win at the 2021 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard

In December 2020, Kaulig announced Allmendinger would race the full 2021 Xfinity Series schedule. He also joined the team's Cup Series program for the Daytona road course. In March, he won his sixth Xfinity career race at Las Vegas. He won again at Mid-Ohio in June.

In August 2021, Allmendinger won his second career Cup Series race. This happened at the Indianapolis road course. It was Kaulig Racing's first Cup Series victory.

At Bristol, Allmendinger won the race and the Xfinity regular-season championship. He broke the record for most wins (6) at a road course in Xfinity Series history. As of March 2023, he has won 11 road course races in NASCAR.

In November 2021, it was announced that Allmendinger would race in 14 Cup Series races in 2022.

Allmendinger’s No. 16 Cup car at Sonoma Raceway in 2022

Allmendinger started the 2022 season with a second-place finish at Daytona. He won races at Circuit of the Americas, Portland, and Indianapolis. He clinched the regular season championship after the 2022 Food City 300 at Bristol. He then won back-to-back races at Talladega and the Charlotte Roval. He finished fifth in the Xfinity points standings.

2023: Cup Series Win

Allmendinger's No. 16 car at Dover Motor Speedway in 2023

In October 2022, Kaulig Racing announced Allmendinger would drive the No. 16 full-time in the 2023 season. This was his first full-time Cup season since 2018. He won a race at the Charlotte Roval. He finished the season 21st in the points standings.

Allmendinger also continued to race part-time in the Xfinity Series. He won races at Circuit of the Americas and Nashville.

2024: Back to Xfinity Full-time

In December 2023, it was announced that Allmendinger would return to the Xfinity Series full-time in 2024. He will drive the No. 16 car for Kaulig Racing.

Sports Car Racing

Allmendinger has competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona almost every year from 2006 to 2021.

On January 28–29, 2012, Allmendinger won the Rolex 24 race. He drove the final part of the 24-hour race for Michael Shank Racing. His teammates were Justin Wilson, John Pew, and Oswaldo Negri. He had to hold off experienced sports car drivers to win.

In 2014, he returned to Michael Shank Racing for the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Television Work

Allmendinger started working in television with Fox Sports' NASCAR Race Hub. He was a driver analyst while still racing. In December 2018, NBC Sports hired him as an analyst for their IMSA Sports Car coverage. He also contributed to NBCSN's NASCAR America.

He also joined NBCSN's coverage of American Flat Track as an analyst in 2019. In July 2019, Allmendinger joined the IndyCar Series on NBC broadcast team.

Personal Life

Allmendinger was born in Santa Clara and grew up in Los Gatos. These are towns near San Francisco.

He was married to Canadian model Lynne Kushnirenko in 2007. They divorced in 2012.

In 2019, Allmendinger married Tara Meador. They had a pet cat named Mr. Tickles.

Allmendinger was very close friends with his former teammate Justin Wilson. After Wilson's death in 2015, Allmendinger honored him by placing Wilson's name on his car. He also said he would only return to IndyCar racing if the series added cockpit protection for drivers.

See also

In Spanish: A. J. Allmendinger para niños