Allmendinger placed on probation after DWI charge
Richard Petty Motorsports driver AJ Allmendinger, who was arrested and charged with driving while impaired Oct. 29, has been put on probation by NASCAR through the end of 2009 and by his team through the 2010 season.
According to a Mooresville (N.C.) Police Dept. report, Allmendinger was cited for having a blood alcohol content level of 0.08 percent. Allmendinger apologized for the incident a day later.
“Obviously, it was my fault,” Allmendinger said. “It was a bad decision. I wish I could take it back. I’d do anything to be able to take it back, but that’s life; you can’t. So all I can do is go out there and learn from it and be a lot better person from it, which I will be, and hopefully educate other people that you don’t have to have a ton of drinks to [be] drunk.”
By announcing that he was put on probation through next year, RPM indicated that the 27-year-old Allmendinger will keep his job. The team also fined him $10,000, which will be donated to charity. While NASCAR did not suspend him, it did force him to pass a blood-alcohol test prior to practice Oct. 30 at Talladega Superspeedway.
“I feel very fortunate that I get the opportunity to still do what I love to do and come here and race cars,” Allmendinger said. “I’m not in the position to ask questions. I have to go along with whatever is doled out to me. … Hopefully it doesn’t [impact my career].”
Allmendinger said he didn’t think he was impaired when stopped by police after 1 a.m. on Oct. 29.
“I just had a couple of drinks, had a couple at dinner and a couple that night,” Allmendinger said. “I honestly thought I was fine. I had been drinking water for an hour-and-a-half at that point and thought I was OK to drive home. I unfortunately got pulled over and it went from there.”
“We are disappointed with his actions,” a Richard Petty Motorsports statement said. “AJ has told us that he has accepted full responsibility for his actions and will do what is right.”
Anheuser-Busch, the sponsor through its Budweiser brand of RPM driver Kasey Kahne, issued a statement on the issue as well.
“Richard Petty Motorsports is a great partner in our efforts to promote responsible drinking, and they have communicated to us their own disappointment regarding this matter,” said Kathy Casso, vice president of corporate social responsibility for Anheuser-Busch. “We are adamantly opposed to drunk driving, and any incident of it is a serious issue. We hope this will serve as a reminder of the importance of making responsible choices.”
Allmendinger has a Dec. 18 court date.
