NASCAR championship contender arrested, suspended indefinitely

Daniel Dye, who sits in second place in NASCAR’s ARCA Menards Series standings, has been arrested and suspended indefinitely.

On Tuesday, April 26, ARCA Menards Series driver Daniel Dye was arrested in Volusia County, Florida on a charge of felony battery. The ARCA Menards Series is a NASCAR-owned series used as a feeder series into the sport’s three national touring series.

Dye, who competes for GMS Racing behind the wheel of the #43 Chevrolet, was arrested after allegedly punching his victim in the groin during class at Father Lopez Catholic High School in Daytona Beach, sending him to the hospital and leaving him with a possible ruptured testicle.

The punch reportedly came after Dye danced in front of the victim. As he danced, his groin was near the victim’s face, and after the victim tried to push him away, Dye struck.

According to Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Dye’s attorney, Aaron Delgado, believes that his client will be “completely exonerated”, as the situation supposedly stems from “people playing a game at the school”.

Dye was released on Tuesday evening after posting $2,500 bond.

Following his arrest, he was suspended indefinitely by ARCA. His alleged actions were considered “a violation of the 2022 ARCA Rulebook Section 12-8.1.E.2, a behavioral penalty which references ARCA Member Conduct Guidelines”.

GMS Racing released the following statement.

Through three races in the 2022 season, the 18-year-old DeLand native sits in second place in the point standings, trailing points leader Rajah Caruth by a single point.

He finished in third place in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway before finishing in second at Phoenix Raceway and 17th this past weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.

Last year, he finished in second place in the ARCA Menards Series East standings with two top three finishes and five more top nine finishes in eight starts. He competed in six of 20 races on last year’s ARCA Menards Series schedule, winning at Berlin Raceway and adding two more top three finishes.

The next race on the ARCA Menards Series schedule is scheduled to take place at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, May 14.