Whelen Mod Tour Driver Tommy Barrett Jr. Makes Court Appearance On DUI Charge

Tommy Barrett Jr.

Tommy Barrett Jr.

DANIELSON – NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver Tommy Barrett Jr. made his first appearance at Danielson Superior Court Monday morning stemming from his arrest April 17 for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Barrett met briefly with his attorney before the two filed paperwork with the clerk’s office and left the court. Barrett did not face a judge.

Barrett had no comment on the appearance and his attorney also refused comment.

Asked if Barrett was applying for the state’s Pre-Trial Alcohol Education Program, the attorney said he does not comment to the media concerning his clients.

The state’s Pre-Trial Alcohol Education Program is a diversionary program open to those who are charged with driving under the influence for the first time.

When the program is applied for the court file for the defendant is sealed. Those who apply for the program are evaluated by the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and that evaluation is used to recommend that the applicant be placed in one of the three programs, if the court grants the application.

The three programs include a 10-week educational program, a 15-week educational program or a treatment program. If the defendant finishes the assigned program successfully, the charges will be dismissed by the court.

The 19-year old Barrett, of Millis, Mass., was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs at 1:48 a.m. on April 17 in Willimantic. Barrett was also cited for driving unreasonably fast and failing to signal a turn.

Barrett is in his second year competing full-time on the Whelen Modified Tour for team owner Chris Our and his Our Motorsports team. Our Motorsports suspended Barrett for Sunday’s Whelen Modified Tour NAPA Spring Sizzler 200 at Stafford Motor Speedway. Keith Rocco of Wallingford drove the Our Motorsports No. 22 in the event and finished 12th. Barrett was in attendance for the event Sunday.

It’s unclear at this point what Barrett’s future is with the Our Motorsports team. Our made clear last week that Rocco was only scheduled to run one race for the team at this point. The Whelen Modified Tour returns to action May 30 at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl.

Whelen Modified Tour director Jimmy Wilson said Sunday morning that NASCAR officials are investigating the situation and have made no decisions concerning any further punishment going forward for Barrett.

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Comments

  1. Why are you reporting on someone’s personal affairs? Please report on racing issues like why did Rocco get penalized in the sk race? He was leading the race on a restart, did he dump someone? Never heard of a leader get penalized for over aggressive driving before. Like to see the film

  2. Grey Matter says

    RacedayCT has turned into Fox news….

  3. Grey Matter,
    Were there incorrect facts reported here? It’s reporting the news that’s taking place involving a driver on a series that is covered by this site. It’s funny Grey Matter because you are part of the group that gets upset that not enough media outlets give Modified racing the attention it deserves, but then the ones that do cover it fully have those same people basically saying “Just cover the positive and ignore the negative.” Which way do you want it?

  4. News is news, good or bad. Reporters report the news, good or bad. Is the Whelen Tour too small to report the bad, negative aspects of the news? Point is, whether you are T. Stewart, Kurt Bush, Jeremy Mayfield, or Tommy Barrett, news about you(good or bad) will get reported. When UCONN basketball players get in trouble, it gets reported. It goes with the territory. I would rather have the facts reported by someone like Shawn than have nothing but rumors going around, because like it or not, people WILL talk about what happened to T. Barrett.

  5. Fast Eddie says

    Rocco moved Pennick up the track coming out of turn four on the restart, then he spun the tires which got Rocco’s car a little sideways and they bumped a couple of times. If he didn’t move him up to begin with, it probably would have been a clean start.

  6. Ironic hat…

  7. Well, as unsavory as this news is, what would happen if there was no reporting on this issue, and then out of nowhere, Keith Rocco is the driver of the 22 with no explanation.

    That would be bizarre.

    There would be all sorts of cover up and conspiracy theories.

  8. Exactly my thought darealgoodfella, better to have the facts reported than rumors… Because people are gonna talk about it

  9. Andy Boright says

    Well said Chris D – on both accounts.

  10. Fred Wilcox says

    People will make up the “facts” when there is a lack of information. Said another way, a void will be filled with rumors. Better to know the truth than have someone make it up.

  11. Grey Matter says

    Shawn,
    I understand that reporting is your job but, does his actions really constitute hounding the kid? We have all made mistakes and some, I’m sure, much worse that what Tommy did. He’s 19 and he’s gonna do some stupid crap, it’s a part of life. Knowing that he got busted and news about his tour deal is good enough which is news about racing. It’s public knowledge about his run-in with the law and it’s something he will have to work his ass off to get past. Putting his court status on the internet isn’t going to help a thing except turning this great racing page into a cheap gossip rag. Continue on with the valid racing reporting Shawn.

  12. Fact is the kid was pinched for DUI, enough said…. Let’s get to real racin news, heard shayne Prucker flipped his sk light on Saturday, should be an article on that not an article on somebody went to court. Would have liked to see a report stating Shayne was ok and pictures JMO

  13. Well, there are some things that beg to be asked, such as what is a 19 YO kid that lives in Millis, MA doing 80 miles from home in Willimantic, CT at 2 AM? And that was 2 AM on a Friday. School day? Willimantic? Willimantic is not exactly a tourist destination. Willimantic has the dubious reputation of being the drug capital of Connecticut.

    Keeping things like this quiet tends to allow the situation to continue. Exposure makes sure you can’t hide. There is a reason NASCAR and other sports have substance abuse testing: for the integrity of the sport and safety of those involved.

    Not sure what his record is, but it is now on the radar, and he is using up his three strikes, nine lives, or whatever you want to call it. His choices affects the involvement of other owners, drivers, and the fans. We all deserve to know. If I were a driver, I certainly want to know that the other drivers were healthy and not OUI. I’m sure all others feel the same.

    Was this his first genuine transgression and he also happened to get caught? Or is there a trend and he has been getting away with much more? Doesn’t matter… DWI/OUI is a serious offense, even the first time. Looks like somebody thought “it will never happen to me”.

    Perhaps when a driver is identified, like this, there should be mandatory blood and urine sampling for a year, and the competitor pays all costs of testing and oversight. Many of us know people that have substance abuse issues, and from my perspective, I don’t see this as “hounding” the kid, but protecting the sport from the kid, his bad judgement, and potentially other problems. Don’t make your problems my problems.

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