Post by BUCKINTHEWOODZ on Feb 6, 2004 9:37:53 GMT -5
i cant believe it, the guy gets a dui and hit and run and still nothing done to him, what if he would have killed someone,
Wimmer learning from drunk driving incident
By Lee Montgomery, Turner Sports Interactive February 5, 2004
6:18 PM EST (2318 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Scott Wimmer has dreamed about this day, this time.
Scott Wimmer
Being able to drive during Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway -- getting a chance to compete in the Daytona 500 -- is something most of us can only fantasize about.
For Wimmer, it's about to come true. But there was a time a few days ago when Wimmer wondered if his dream was going to become reality.
Wimmer was charged with a DWI and hit-and-run stemming from an accident near his home in High Point, N.C. on Saturday. Wimmer had a blood-alcohol level of 0.15, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08. The Bill Davis Racing-owned truck Wimmer was driving hit a rock, flipped over and hit a road sign.
No other cars were involved, and Wimmer was unhurt. His driver license was revoked, Wimmer said Thursday, and a hearing is scheduled for March 10 on the case.
Meanwhile, Wimmer will continue to drive BDR's No. 22 Dodge in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. For that, Wimmer is thankful.
"When people make errors, sometimes it costs the lives of themselves or others," Wimmer said. "I'm just thankful that I'm here and able to talk to you guys and am able to compete in the Daytona 500. I've been coming to Speedweeks since 1994, whether it was racing at New Smyrna or coming to watch.
"I can remember sitting in the stands and just wanting to drive at Daytona, wanting to race Daytona."
ALSO
HIGH POINT, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR driver Scott Wimmer faces drunk driving charges after he wrecked a pickup truck owned by his racing team.
• Complete story, click here
A contrite Wimmer spoke with reporters at NASCAR's Media Day at Daytona. With his hat pulled low over his forehead, and a drop of sweat sitting on his lip, Wimmer was clearly uncomfortable with the situation he put himself in.
"All I can say is I made a bad decision and embarrassed a lot of people, embarrassed Bill Davis Racing, my sponsor Caterpillar and NASCAR, family and my wife," Wimmer said. "We've got a court date, and I really don't have any comment until that.
"But I'm not backing away from anything. I'm taking full responsibility. I'm going to work through it, and I'm going to be strong. I know my team's behind me and my sponsor's behind me, and most importantly, my car owners."
NASCAR, too, is apparently behind Wimmer, at least until his court appearance. NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter said Thursday won't make any decisions until then.
"We're going to let the judicial process run its course," Hunter said. "We view this seriously but we're not going to speculate on what may or may not happen. We'll handle it as it unfolds.
"There are all sorts of things that we can do, but we want to have command of all the facts before we do it," he said. "We want to be fair."
Kyle Petty, though, wondered why NASCAR didn't send a message.
Bill Davis
"Drinking and driving is wrong. It's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong," Petty said. "And if as a sport we condone it by turning our head and looking the other way, we are guilty by association."
Wimmer pleaded his case by saying he wasn't competing in any NASCAR events when he crashed.
"I was not at the racetrack," Wimmer said. "I was home in High Point, N.C. I haven't been accused of anything yet. It's something that pro football players, baseball players, everybody goes through. Our private time isn't very private any more."
Wimmer, thought, wished for more private time after the crash. The incident hit him hard, and Wimmer said no one has been as hard on him as he has.
"You can't eat, you didn't want to talk to anybody, you just kind of want to wake up and wish everything would go away, wish people would stop calling and you could get on with your life," Wimmer said. "After two days of that, I realized that wasn't going to happen and I needed to start trying to make things better."
Wimmer said he called NASCAR and started talking to his team, car owners Bill and Gail Davis, and his sponsors. He said he was thankful they have all been supportive.
"They know I don't make decisions like this," Wimmer said. "Twenty-eight years, one mistake, and it turned out to be a big mistake. It's something I'm definitely learning from."
Wimmer learning from drunk driving incident
By Lee Montgomery, Turner Sports Interactive February 5, 2004
6:18 PM EST (2318 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Scott Wimmer has dreamed about this day, this time.
Scott Wimmer
Being able to drive during Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway -- getting a chance to compete in the Daytona 500 -- is something most of us can only fantasize about.
For Wimmer, it's about to come true. But there was a time a few days ago when Wimmer wondered if his dream was going to become reality.
Wimmer was charged with a DWI and hit-and-run stemming from an accident near his home in High Point, N.C. on Saturday. Wimmer had a blood-alcohol level of 0.15, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08. The Bill Davis Racing-owned truck Wimmer was driving hit a rock, flipped over and hit a road sign.
No other cars were involved, and Wimmer was unhurt. His driver license was revoked, Wimmer said Thursday, and a hearing is scheduled for March 10 on the case.
Meanwhile, Wimmer will continue to drive BDR's No. 22 Dodge in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. For that, Wimmer is thankful.
"When people make errors, sometimes it costs the lives of themselves or others," Wimmer said. "I'm just thankful that I'm here and able to talk to you guys and am able to compete in the Daytona 500. I've been coming to Speedweeks since 1994, whether it was racing at New Smyrna or coming to watch.
"I can remember sitting in the stands and just wanting to drive at Daytona, wanting to race Daytona."
ALSO
HIGH POINT, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR driver Scott Wimmer faces drunk driving charges after he wrecked a pickup truck owned by his racing team.
• Complete story, click here
A contrite Wimmer spoke with reporters at NASCAR's Media Day at Daytona. With his hat pulled low over his forehead, and a drop of sweat sitting on his lip, Wimmer was clearly uncomfortable with the situation he put himself in.
"All I can say is I made a bad decision and embarrassed a lot of people, embarrassed Bill Davis Racing, my sponsor Caterpillar and NASCAR, family and my wife," Wimmer said. "We've got a court date, and I really don't have any comment until that.
"But I'm not backing away from anything. I'm taking full responsibility. I'm going to work through it, and I'm going to be strong. I know my team's behind me and my sponsor's behind me, and most importantly, my car owners."
NASCAR, too, is apparently behind Wimmer, at least until his court appearance. NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter said Thursday won't make any decisions until then.
"We're going to let the judicial process run its course," Hunter said. "We view this seriously but we're not going to speculate on what may or may not happen. We'll handle it as it unfolds.
"There are all sorts of things that we can do, but we want to have command of all the facts before we do it," he said. "We want to be fair."
Kyle Petty, though, wondered why NASCAR didn't send a message.
Bill Davis
"Drinking and driving is wrong. It's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong," Petty said. "And if as a sport we condone it by turning our head and looking the other way, we are guilty by association."
Wimmer pleaded his case by saying he wasn't competing in any NASCAR events when he crashed.
"I was not at the racetrack," Wimmer said. "I was home in High Point, N.C. I haven't been accused of anything yet. It's something that pro football players, baseball players, everybody goes through. Our private time isn't very private any more."
Wimmer, thought, wished for more private time after the crash. The incident hit him hard, and Wimmer said no one has been as hard on him as he has.
"You can't eat, you didn't want to talk to anybody, you just kind of want to wake up and wish everything would go away, wish people would stop calling and you could get on with your life," Wimmer said. "After two days of that, I realized that wasn't going to happen and I needed to start trying to make things better."
Wimmer said he called NASCAR and started talking to his team, car owners Bill and Gail Davis, and his sponsors. He said he was thankful they have all been supportive.
"They know I don't make decisions like this," Wimmer said. "Twenty-eight years, one mistake, and it turned out to be a big mistake. It's something I'm definitely learning from."
