■ A.J. Allmendinger has been fined $10,000 and placed on probation through the 2010 season by Richard Petty Motorsports following his arrest on a charge of drunken driving.
Mooresville (N.C.) police said Allmendinger, who drives the No. 44 Dodge for RPM, failed a field sobriety test after being pulled over early Thursday morning. Allmendinger said in a statement he had drinks with dinner and made a mistake by getting behind the wheel.
Allmendinger registered 0.08 on the breath test, the police report said.
NASCAR placed Allmendinger on probation through the end of the season for actions detrimental to stock car racing.
RPM is requiring Allmendinger to donate the fine to charity, adding in a statement that it was disappointed in his actions.
■ Juan Pablo Montoya said he was never upset by the "taco" remark of ESPN announcer Bob Griese.
The network suspended Griese from broadcasting a college-football game today for the remark he made last week about Montoya. During a spot for NASCAR, the top five drivers in the Sprint Cup Chase were shown. Griese, when asked where Montoya was in the promotion, replied: "Out having a taco."
"At the end of the day, it's not my responsibility, it is not our sport, it is completely out of my hands," Montoya said yesterday at Talladega Superspeedway. "I never paid attention to the comment, and as I said, I didn't really care. If they wanted to suspend him for what he did, it's their problem, not NASCAR or myself. I was good with (the remark.)"
Montoya has poked fun at Griese's comment several times this week and yesterday said he almost brought trays of tacos for reporters to his weekly news conference.
■ Dale Earnhardt Jr. will keep Lance McGrew as his crew chief next season, Hendrick Motorsports said yesterday.
McGrew took the job on an interim basis in May when Tony Eury Jr. was fired.
Team owner Rick Hendrick said he has faith that McGrew can get the No. 88 team turned around. Earnhardt is 24th in the standings but has two top-10 finishes since McGrew took over.
Earnhardt has lobbied lately to keep McGrew, but also said that his confidence in himself has been shaken during this slump.
■ Dover Motorsports Inc. is ceasing operations at Memphis Motorsports Park after a deal to sell the track to another investor fell through.
The 0.75-mile track has staged Nationwide and Truck Series races for the last decade.
The Trucks race will move to Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway next April, and the Nationwide race will move to Gateway (Ill.) International next October.
Dover had agreed to sell the track to Gulf Coast Entertainment, but the company was unable to secure financing to complete the purchase. Refunds to ticket holders for the 2010 races will be mailed soon.
- NASCAR will allow double-file restarts in its Truck Series in 2010, part of a series of modifications coming to the circuit next year.
Teams will be able to add fuel and change tires on the same pit stop, and teams will be able to have a maximum of six crew members in the pits during the race, up from five this year.
NASCAR will also allow teams to use spec engines at tracks shorter than 1.25-miles in length.
Double-file restarts are already being used in NASCAR's Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, moves that have provided more compelling racing.
Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition, said the modifications will help teams keep costs in check going forward.
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