BY TEAM FORD RACING CORRESPONDENT

Talladega, Ala. — Dodge driver A.J. Allmendinger has publicly apologized after being charged with DWI early Thursday morning in Mooresville, N.C. NASCAR made him pass a Breathalyzer test before allowing him to practice on Friday and has put him on probation through Dec. 31. Richard Petty Motorsports also put him on team probation until Dec. 31 and fined him $10,000. Even so, Allmendinger is still in the Richard Petty-owned No. 44 this weekend. … NASCAR has fined Steven Wallace $5,000 and put him on probation through Dec. 31 for his post-race contact with Ford driver Greg Biffle after last weekend’s Nationwide Series race in Memphis. Wallace has been in NASCAR’s doghouse before, leading some to believe he needs more Nationwide seasoning before even thinking about moving to Cup. … Morgan Shepherd and Jack Smith are this year’s inductees into the Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame in Davey Allison Memorial Park in Talladega, Ala. Two of Shepherd’s four career Cup victories came in Ford cars, for Bud Moore in 1990 and the Wood Brothers in 1993.

Dick Thompson, 74, died Wednesday in Martinsville, Va. He was the media relations and PR director at Martinsville Speedway from 1966 until his retirement in 2005 and was the second full-time media and PR director in NASCAR after Houston Lawing in the early ‘60s at Daytona International Speedway. … Dodge displayed its Challenger “pony car” for the first time Friday afternoon, several weeks after Ford unveiled the Mustang it’ll field in four Nationwide Series races next year. Chevrolet and Toyota will run their current models in the July race at Daytona Beach, the August race at Michigan, the September race at Richmond and the October race at Charlotte. The series will run “sporty cars” for the full 2011 season.