(By Greg Engle)
Posted: Friday,October 30th, 2009
(By Greg Engle, CupScene.com Editor)
Richard Petty Motorsports has fined their driver AJ Allmendinger $10,000 and placde him on probation through the end of the year after he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor DWI.
“We are disappointed with his actions,” a statement issued by the team read. “A.J. has told us that he has accepted full responsibility for his actions and will do what is right. We have placed A.J. on probation through the end of the 2010 racing season. In addition, he will be fined $10,000 which will be donated to charity.”
According to report from the Mooresville North Carolina police department, Allmendinger was pulled over early Thursday morning and given a field sobriety test that registered a .08, which is the legal limit in North Carolina.
Allmendinger was not booked into jail but was issued a citation, signed a promise to appear for a court date of December 18th and released. In a statement the driver later acknowledged that he had made a mistake and apologized.
Richard Petty who owns Richard Petty Motorsports and the No. 44 Dodge that Allmendinger drives in the NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series had earlier released his won statement.
“I am deeply disappointed this has happened,” Petty said. “AJ has accepted full responsibility for his actions and will work to make this right. On behalf of everyone at Richard Petty Motorsports we sincerely apologize to our fans and partners.”
The last time a team or sponsor fined their own driver was in August 2002 when Home Depot, which at the time sponsored Tony Stewart’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac, fined the driver $50,000 and placed him on team probation for the rest of the season for punching a freelance photographer. NASCAR had also fined Stewart $10,000 and put him on probation for the outburst.
In Allmendinger’s case NASCAR placed him on probation for the rest of the year.
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