“Miss him!”: AJ Allmendinger’s wife Tara shares a heartwarming collage of her four-legged friend in latest IG update

NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger’s wife Tara posted pictures of her white cat, Mr. Tickles on social media to remember her. Mr. Tickles had passed away in February 2023.

Tara and AJ married in December 2019 and welcomed their first child, Aero James in September 2023. Tara was crowned Mrs. North Carolina America in 2021 and placed second in the national pageant last year. She regularly shares updates about her life on Instagram, where she has over 20k followers. In her latest story, Tara shared a collage of photos with her cat and wrote:

"Miss him @mr.tickles_thecat."

Tara's Instagram story. Source: @mrs.allmendinger on Instagram

Meanwhile, AJ Allmendinger will start the NASCAR Cup Series season next month in Kaulig Racing's No. 16 Chevrolet. He joined the team in 2019. AJ Allmendinger has registered 18 Xfinity series wins. 16 out of his 18 Xfinity series wins came while driving for Kaulig Racing while two other wins came in association with Team Penske.

Allmendinger made it to the Xfinity Series Championship Four last season and finished third in points. However, he won only one race, compared to the five wins in 2021 and 2022. Allmendinger also raced in the Cup Series races in 2024.

"I'll keep doing it for as long as possible" - AJ Allmendinger on racing to support his family

During an interview last year, AJ Allmendinger opened up about his career in racing and shared the reasons for returning to the Cup Series.

The 43-year-old started racing BMX bikes at age five and moved on to racing quarter-midgets and go-karts. He raced open-wheel cars before making his debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at the 2006 New Hampshire 200.

"They keep asking me, like, 'Well, how long do you want to do this?' I'm like, 'I'll be honest, if it's going well, and you believe in me, and you think I can still do the job, and we're getting better, I'll keep doing it for as long as possible. You know, you only live once. I've been paid to drive race cars for 22 years. So, part of having Aero James and my wife, Tara, is that this is my way of providing for the family," AJ Allmendinger told NASCAR.

"But I truly enjoy the success of it. I think I don't get excited leading up to it because I do put so much pressure there. But when it's successful, or I feel like I'm helping us succeed, that's what I love being a part of. So that's why I wanted to go back to Cup racing" he added.

Notably, AJ Allmendinger made his debut in the Cup Series with Red Bull Racing in 2007. Red Bull Racing is returning to NASCAR with Trackhouse Racing in 2025.