NASCAR Nationwide Series: Michael Annett Apologizes For Drunk Driving Incident

An extremely apologetic Michael Annett faced reporters on Saturday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway repeatedly calling his decision to drive drunk a “horrible mistake.”

“Aside from shooting somebody, it’s the worst thing you could possibly do,” he said. “You can make a lot of mistakes in your life, but that’s one you should never do. It’s a horrible judgment call on my part, and we’re taking steps to make sure it never happens again.”

Annett said all the right things, which will likely go along way in our forgiving society. The Rusty Wallace Racing driver said he was owning up to everything he did and offered no excuses.

“It’s a wake up call that I made that bad of a decision to get behind the wheel that night,” he said. “I need to sit back and think ‘What kind of person am I?’ I need to better my life and better my decisions.”

The 24-year-old said the drunk driving arrest following his accident set off the worst week of his life, adding he understood few people had much sympathy for him.

But he pledged to use the incident as a wake-up call for changing his life, promising to become a better person in general.

“Alcohol is a poison, and to take a poison out of your body, everything you do is going to be better,” he said. “...You’re going to be a better person in general.”

Annett began a substance abuse counseling program on Wednesday (he’s also under a zero-tolerance drinking policy) and said he addressed his team on Tuesday, telling them he realized he had lost their respect but was determined to earn it back.

The driver said the incident “scared the hell” out of him because he realizes “I could have killed somebody or even injured somebody.”

“There are so many lives I risked,” he said.

Annett said he never considered removing himself from the Daytona race, because he planned to use his platform to promote a positive message. He said team owner Rusty Wallace was disappointed but offered full support in the aftermath of the incident.

Related: Our take – Why Annett should have been suspended