Drivers Testimonies Contradict NASCAR’s Defense
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Last week, Aaron Fike stunned the entire sports world when he revealed to ESPN the Magazine that he had been using heroin on race days during his rookie season in the Craftsman Truck Series, and ever since, NASCAR’s substance abuse policy has been the hottest subject in the garage area.
For over two decades, it has been NASCAR’s policy that they would reserve the right to issue random drug testing, and would do so if there were “reasonable suspicion.” Several of NASCAR’s top stars, however, feel that this policy has been too lax in the past and fear – or, rather loathe – the thought of driving their cars next to someone who could potentially be under the influence.
Two-time Cup Series champion, Tony Stewart, has stated that he’s never once been tested by NASCAR. He feels very strongly, however, that NASCAR should implement a firm standard of weekly testing throughout the duration of the series to ensure that nobody could potentially be using on race day. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Burton both claim that they have also never been tested.
NASCAR President, Mike Helton, however defended the sport’s policy, claiming that the system they’ve used for over twenty years has worked very well and that the drivers do a great job of policing one another. He also added that there’s no way they could ever guarantee that a driver would be clean on race day, regardless of the counter-measures that they deployed. He also went into the fact that when they do catch a driver to be abusing illegal drugs, the repercussions are swift and firm.
“There are a lot of random drug testing policies or substance-abuse policies in our sport, and they come through the car owners,” he stated in a recent interview with the Associated Press. “We’re different than other sports where we have multiple layers of independence. That’s why we feel that the reasonable suspicion element that NASCAR implements has served its purpose and works well.”
Former race car driver and current FOX Sports analyst, Darrell Waltrip, concurred with Helton’s sentiments, stating that he doesn’t believe NASCAR has any sort of drug problem and that they test more people in the sport than the fans or media are aware of.
Fike wasn’t the only driver that NASCAR suspended for drug use last year. In May of 2007, Tyler Walker was randomly tested by NASCAR following the qualifying event for the Craftsman Truck Series at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, and Walker tested positive. Two weeks later he was suspended indefinitely by the sanctioning body, and though clean now, he is still awaiting another opportunity to drive. Tyler now claims that had NASCAR had a more firm policy in place when he began racing in 2003, he would have quit a long time ago for fear of being caught.
Contradictory to NASCAR’s defense for their policies, though, are the testimonies of Cup Series stars Kasey Kahne and Kevin Harvick. Kahne said that while he feels the majority of the sport is clean, there are certain drivers that he has his suspicions about, and Aaron Fike was definitely one of them – yet, it took Fike’s arrest by local authorities to bring his drug use to NASCAR’s attention.
Kevin Harvick claims that he approached NASCAR officials at the end of 2007 about their lax policy and the lack of testing, but it “fell on deaf ears.” He stated in an interview that he had been in a race with Fike before, and that he knows for a fact that Aaron wasn’t the only one abusing the policy.
“There’s another driver that is suspended that I can almost guarantee you was in a race car while he was under the influence, and that pisses me off! That is not fair to the 95 percent of this garage I can guarantee you is clean, but there’s a five-percent chance,” Harvick said.
DYN Imposes: This week, Do You NASCAR also asks you …
1) Should NASCAR enforce a more standard substance abuse policy in all of its series?
2) What should the penalty be for a driver that tests positive for drugs?
3) Should Aaron Fike or Tyler Walker ever be allowed to drive in NASCAR again?
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POSTED IN: NASCAR
3 opinions for Drivers Testimonies Contradict NASCAR’s Defense
Ovalscream
Apr 17, 2008 at 9:46 am
1) Should NASCAR enforce a more standard substance abuse policy in all of its series?
Of course it should. Way overdue.
2) What should the penalty be for a driver that tests positive for drugs?
Scaled to the offense(s): Suspensions ranging from 3 races to the season; reduction in driver’s points; eventual disbarment from the sport; drawing and quartering just prior to the National Anthem.
3) Should Aaron Fike or Tyler Walker ever be allowed to drive in NASCAR again?
They’re like baseball players who offended in the years when there were no rules. I’d say Fike should go for shooting horse on race day.
But here’s another whole area of drugs in NASCAR which I haven’t seen much discussion on: what about performance enhancing doping? Beyond the recreational stuff, what about pills and such which allege to bolster performance?
roc
Apr 17, 2008 at 1:37 pm
1. Nascar needs a strong policy not like a lot of other sports you could hurt or kill people that had nothing to do with the stuff ant time your on the track.
2. I believe in one strike rule if I fail my drug test at work I’m done and most of you guys the same why should they be any diffrent.
3. No if there wasn’t any rules they would be racing now they might as well hang up there helments as far as I’m conserned.
ovalscream makes a graet point they could or probaly take all kind of pills to stay awake or get energy anybody that played high school sports know how easy that stuff is to get it was always floating around looker rooms. They need to check for any illegal drugs not matter what the effects they give.
Tim Zaegel
Apr 18, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Ovalscream, I think you might be the first person I’ve heard state that they feel there are certain drug-related incidents that would require suspension of less than a year. Pretty interesting. Thanks for the input!
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