MOORESVILLE, N.C. — NASCAR placed driver AJ Allmendinger on probation after his arrest on a charge of drunken driving.
Police said Allmendinger failed a field sobriety test. Late Thursday, he was placed on probation until the end of the year for actions detrimental to stock car racing.
Allmendinger, who drives the No. 44 for Richard Petty Motorsports, said he had drinks with dinner Wednesday and made a mistake by driving afterward. He registered 0.08 on the breath test, the police report said.
“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. “It was a bad judgment call and I apologize for that.”
Blackmar, Sluman shoot 66s
SONOMA, Calif. — Phil Blackmar and Jeff Sluman shot 6-under-par 66s to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour’s season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Eduardo Romero was a stroke back at 67, and John Cook and Brad Bryant opened with 68s.
• The first round of the PGA Tour’s Viking Classic in Madison, Miss., has been postponed until today after steady overnight rainfall left the course unplayable.
Blanco returning to Mexico
MEXICO CITY — Mexican star Cuauhtemoc Blanco will leave the Chicago Fire of the MLS and return home to rejoin second-division Veracruz in January.
• D.C. United president Kevin Payne was fined $5,000 by MLS, then apologized for criticizing the league and three of its teams.
Payne was critical of the conservative playing style of the Rapids, New England and Real Salt Lake. Payne, saying the team’s tactics create “a lot of games in our league that I can’t watch.”
Williams sisters notch wins
DOHA, Qatar — Serena Williams became the first player to clinch a spot in the semifinals of the WTA Sony Ericsson Championships, defeating Elena Dementieva 6-2, 6-4 for her third straight win in the round-robin group phase.
Her sister Venus, the defending champion, stayed alive by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4 for her first win in three matches.
Footnotes.
New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter won the Roberto Clemente Award, which is given annually to a major-league player who combines community service with excellence on the field.
• The Baltimore Orioles declined their $8 million option on utilityman Melvin Mora, 37, allowing their longest-tenured player to become eligible for free agency.
• Yellow cards outnumbered scoring chances as the expansion Seattle Sounders debuted in the MLS playoffs with a 0-0 draw against the visiting Houston Dynamo in the first match of a home- and-home, aggregate-goals set.
• Brazilian Bruno Senna signed a deal to drive next year for new Formula One team Campos.
• The U.S. Olympic Committee picked the team that will search for a new CEO, hoping to replace Stephanie Streeter by the end of the year. The Associated Press
