After consuming a few drinks with dinner NASCAR driver 27-year-old Al Allmendinger was pulled over by Morresville Police and charged with a North Carolina DWI. Allmendinger drives the No. 44 for Richard Petty Motorsports and was slated to move up to the coveted No. 43 next year with sponsorship from Best Buy. Now his future is cloudier, as Petty is known for his dislike of alcohol sponsorships.
Allmendinger was asked to get out of his car and take a field sobriety test, which he failed. He then took a breath alcohol test that resulted in a 0.08, the legal limit in North Carolina. He was pulled over at 1:30 am on Thursday morning.
Allmendinger will be in court on December 18 regarding his DWI charge. Neither his team or NASCAR has announced any disciplinary actions as of yet. He is slated to race in Talladega this weekend.
“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 of his decision to drink and drive. “It was a bad judgment call and I apologize for that.”
Last week, NASCAR driver and owner Michael Waltrip hit a motorcycle rider while driving drunk in his car – and NASCAR drivers in general have in the past racked up a number of drunk driving charges and traffic violations.