ARCA driver charged with felony battery after allegedly punching classmate in groin

ARCA Series driver Daniel Dye was arrested Tuesday and charged with felony battery after allegedly punching a classmate in the groin.

Dye is 18 and a senior in high school in Daytona Beach, Florida. Per a police report, he’s accused of dancing and “grinding” near a male classmate. When the classmate tried to get Dye to move away, Dye then allegedly punched the victim in the groin. The police report stated that Dye allegedly punched the victim so hard that the victim was diagnosed with a possible ruptured testicle and had been referred to a specialist.

Battery is a third-degree felony in Florida and is punishable by up to five years in jail. Dye's attorney told Fox Sports that his client would be "completely exonerated" when all of the details come to light and that Dye was participating in a game at his school.

ARCA announced Wednesday afternoon that Dye had been suspended indefinitely. ARCA is the fourth-tier of stock car racing in the United States and the series is owned by NASCAR. Dye is currently second in the ARCA points standings through the first three races of the season and has two top-five finishes. He finished 17th at Talladega on Saturday after he spun while racing for the win on the final lap.

Dye competes for Gallagher Motorsports in the ARCA Series and is in his first season of full-time competition. He raced in six of 20 ARCA races in 2021 as a 17-year-old and won in his second career start at Berlin when he led 198 of 200 laps. He ran all eight ARCA East Series races in 2021 and was second in the points standings with seven top-10 finishes in eight races.

The next ARCA race is on May 14 at Kansas and Dye is likely to be suspended from that race unless his court case is resolved by then.