John Wes Townley Charged With DUI After Car Crash In Georgia

John Wes Townley will climb into a race truck this morning for his first official NASCAR action since Sept. 2010, but before doing so he met with reporters to apologize for his recent DUI arrest.

“This is something I’m really serious about as an individual,” he said Friday morning at Martinsville Speedway. “What happened that night, I take full responsibility for it. I don’t want it reflected poorly on my team, my sponsors, and I want to sincerely apologize.”

Following a one-race internal suspension for a DUI arrest, John Wes Townley will make his official return to NASCAR next weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

Townley will race in the Camping World Truck Series event for RAB Racing, his former team that offered another shot at NASCAR only to see him crash a new BMW into a telephone pole while allegedly under the influence.

To those of us armchair NASCAR team owners, the decision seems simple: If your driver gets arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, you must suspend him.

But the actual choice is often more complicated, which results in drivers usually getting off with little punishment – at least when it comes to NASCAR.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver John Wes Townley was charged with driving under the influence after crashing his 2012 BMW into a telephone pole in Georgia, the Athens Banner-Herald reported Friday.

The incident, which occurred early Tuesday morning, came to the attention of the Oconee County Sheriff’s Department when a 911 call reported “a suspicious man knocking on the back door of a home” at 4:30 a.m.

He’s baaaaaaack!

John Wes Townley, the infamous “Chicken Man” who once seemed to wreck on a weekly basis, has announced an unlikely return to NASCAR.

As it turned out, ‘The Bet’ didn’t last for as many races as we thought it would be.

But in the head-to-head competition between John Wes Townley and Danica Patrick, Townley was victorious with a clean 4-0 sweep.

John Wes Townley is no longer with RAB Racing, but don’t ask his former team owner Robby Benton why.

Benton has no idea, saying he was “baffled” by a sudden turn of events that led to Townley’s departure from the team. The future of the Zaxby’s-sponsored driver in NASCAR is unknown.

‘The Bet’ is turning into a one-sided affair.

John Wes Townley extended his lead over Danica Patrick by finishing 17th on Saturday afternoon at Michigan, besting Danica’s 27th-place finish to take a 4-0 lead in our friendly charity wager.

The Chicken Man is back.

John Wes Townley will return to the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend at Iowa Speedway, RAB Racing team owner Robby Benton told SBNation.com on Tuesday.

John Wes Townley’s tenure at Richard Childress Racing – and perhaps in NASCAR – appears to be over.

RCR announced a “revised” sponsorship plan for its No. 21 car on Friday, a plan which includes sponsor Zaxby’s but not Townley, whose father is one of the fast-food company’s founders.

John Wes Townley will not drive this weekend at Texas, a Richard Childress Racing team spokeswoman said. Clint Bowyer will be in the No. 21 car instead.

“At this point the future driver schedule is still in discussion,” she said.

John Wes Townley’s future will become clearer on Tuesday, according to a report from Lee Spencer of FoxSports.com.

But that may not be acceptable much longer at Richard Childress Racing, according to Spencer’s report.

John Wes Townley will not race in tonight’s Nationwide Series event at Phoenix, but a team spokesman said it was not due to Townley’s performance.

Townley crashed during Nationwide practice earlier Friday, and the hard hit was the reason the 20-year-old will not race tonight, according to the team.

Nationwide Series director Joe Balash was a guest on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel online chat on Wednesday, and came up with a surprising name when he listed the drivers who could win a race this season.

Asked by a reader which non-Cup drivers could win, Balash responded with the following (Note: Spelling left as is):