Truex Jr. charged with disorderly intoxication
The Associated Press
January 23, 2007
02:20 PM EST (19:20 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Two-time Busch Series champion Martin Truex Jr. was charged with disorderly intoxication after an officer saw him urinating in a parking garage, authorities said.
TRUEX JR. STATEMENT
"The incident that recently occurred in Daytona Beach, Fla., was in poor judgment and shouldn't have happened. I want to apologize to Bass Pro Shops, the NASCAR community and my fellow employees of Dale Earnhardt Inc. After testing on Thursday afternoon, some team members and I went to a local restaurant that evening. We had a few drinks, I was not intoxicated and we had a designated driver.
"Afterwards, while I was standing by our SUV, a man walked up to me in the parking deck. He didn't immediately identify himself as a police officer. I was taken a little off guard, but once I realized he was an officer, I fully cooperated. There was no resistance on my part in any way.
"I don't feel I was being disorderly, but that doesn't make what happened right, and again, I want to apologize for my behavior."
A Volusia County Beach Patrol officer observed Truex, 26, urinating on his own car Saturday morning, according to a police report. Capt. Rich Gardner approached Truex and said, "I hope that's worth 100 bucks," the report said.
According to Gardner, Truex responded with, "It is worth 100 bucks," and he held out a $100 bill.
"I got a ticket for doing something stupid," Truex told The Daytona Beach News-Journal on Monday.
"It was a stupid mistake and I'll never do it again."
Gardner repeatedly asked Truex to place his hands behind his back so he could handcuff him before Truex agreed, according to the report. Gardner smelled alcohol on Truex's breath and charged him with disorderly intoxication.