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(AP Photo/Chuck Butron, File)
AJ Allmendinger, former open wheel racer and NASCAR Sprint Cup driver of the number 44 for Richard Petty Motorsports, was arrested early Thursday morning after failing a sobriety test according to NASCAR.com.
"I honestly felt fine, but I obviously should have erred more on the side of caution, particularly given what I do for a living," Allmendinger said. "It was a bad judgment call and I apologize for that."
Allmendinger, a native of Los Gatos, had admitted to having drinks with dinner when he was pulled over at 1:27 a.m. along highway 150 in North Carolina. Police said he blew a .08 on a breathalyzer test. He has a court date for Dec. 18th, ESPN.com reports.
The AP had reported only yesterday that Allmendinger was going to be moving to the storied number 43 next year, taking Elliot Sadler’s sponsor Best Buy with him.The word was the Stanley would remain with the number 19 of Sadler, according to team officials who spoke under conditions of anonymity.
Allmendinger had been showing improvement in the Cup series in his number 44 this year. This arrest could be a factor in those plans for 2010 as it has been not secret that the Petty enterprise is firmly against the use and abuse of alcohol.
You weigh in: Take a moment to weigh in through the comments section below. Should Allmendinger lose the 43 ride for his drunk driving arrest?
For more information on Southern California Motorsports, check out:
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Janelle Jalbert is a fan of a variety of racing formats and equally enjoys the history of the sport. Janelle grew up in an auto mechanic’s family and swears that there is carb spray running through her veins. She can be reached via email for both comments and story ideas. You can follow Janelle as the Southern California Motorsports Examiner on Twitter as @SoCalMotorsport.
Janelle also serves as the NASCAR Truck Series Examiner. Feel free to join the discussion about the hard racing in the CWTS at the NASCAR Truck Series Examiner fan page on Facebook
Comments
Innocent until proven guilty is all I have to say
It depends on what the contract they signed says. If RPM had them sign something about alcohol that applies then he's out of luck.
"Just drinks with dinner."At 1:30am ???, (I don't think so. That's what they all the DRUNKS say.That's the point, alcohol impairs judgment).I've heard it said, given his size the alcohol was more likely to show up in his system Nonsense, the only size that matters is the size of his brain, apparently its pretty small. He's either stupid, narcissistic or both. A $10,000 fine by Nascar, what a joke. What's that 2 laps around the track in last place. How will a donation to charity help any of us who have lost or injured people to drunks who drive. He must have been drunk enough to be pulled over. Was he weaving, speeding or what?If I sound bitter it's because I am. I have had my life turned upside down three times by drunk drivers. Please, Nascar,Mr. Petty,somebody stand up and take a stand. The public needs to know that this kind of behavior is not acceptable. Just the fact that he says he was fine tells me he doesn't get it.He needs to be FIRED !!It's the only language these idiots get.
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