NASCAR's Dirty Little Secret Revealed?

by Matt Brannen

Much space has been spent in this column over the last year or so writing about the problems that Major League Baseball has had with performance enhancing drugs. However, it seems that MLB is not the only major pro sports league that now finds itself in a quandry over drugs and drug testing. The National Association of Stock Car Racing (AKA-"NASCAR") now stands in the forefront, along with baseball, as a sport where the drug questions outweigh drug answers. Due to NASCAR being one of the most popular fan sports in America and, likewise, a darling of TV networks, it may well be time for NASCAR to admit that it could have a problem, now or in the future, on its hands.

NASCAR has prided itself on having one of the toughest drug punishment policies over the last few years. This makes perfect sense, especially when you consider that drivers race at speeds well over 100 miles per hour on most tracks and regularly at around 200 mph. When you consider that drinking alcohol and driving an automobile at 55 miles per hour as being illegal in the United States, any intake that effects a person's judgment not only could negatively impact them but all the other competitors. The past rhetoric from NASCAR folks, especially when talking about its competitors compared to athletes from other sports that got into trouble, was that drivers understood the dangers that they could create if under the influence. The other argument was that drivers were spokesman for their sponsors and, thus, would not partake in such potentially embarrassing activities for fear that their sponsors would leave them. While this may or may not have been true in the past, the recent spate of events involving drugs in NASCAR cannot be overlooked.

In recent years, a handful of NASCAR affiliated series drivers have been suspended for drug use and/or admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. While the Cup series (the top level of NASCAR racing) was not involved until recently, several lower tier drivers have been suspended for and/or admitted to drugs. Shane Hmiel, a promising young driver in one of NASCAR's developmental leagues, was given a lifetime ban for three failed drug tests in 2006. During the same year in that series, driver Kevin Grubb was suspended for a second positive test. Tragically, Grubb was found dead within the last month, reportedly from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The truck series that NASCAR supervises has also seen its share of drug concerns. A former driver in that series, Aaron Fike, admitted in 2008 that he used heroin while competing in the series. Reports indicate (you can read a full story on this issue by clicking on the below link) that Fike even claimed to use illegal drugs on race days. Former champion Ron Hornaday Jr. admitted in September 2008 that he used testerone for about a 2 year period and acquired HGH in an effort to treat what was ultimately diagnosed as an overactive thyroid condition. Now, this drug issue has made its way into NASCAR's preeminent series.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=ap-nascar-inthepits&prov=ap&type=lgns

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/truck/news/story?id=3580292

NASCAR veteran driver Jeremy Mayfield was suspended for a failed drug test during preparations for the Cup series race a few weeks ago at Richmond International Speedway. At the time, rumors swirled around NASCAR circles as to what showed up on Mayfield's test. Quickly, NASCAR announced that it was not alcohol, but was a "serious violation." Mayfield continues to contend that this is all a big misunderstanding, because he only took legally prescribed medication (that he has yet to publicly reveal) and an over the counter allergy remedy. NASCAR does not agree with Mayfield's assertions and stands by its initial ruling of an indefinite suspension. The whole situation has brought the same kinds of performance enhancing drug storm clouds over NASCAR that have accumulated to darken Major League Baseball.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;_ylt=AkUfIm5TQv2dv5lQDs0_idHov7YF?slug=ap-nascar-mayfieldsuspension&prov=ap&type=lgns

Three-time defending Cup series champion Jimmie Johnson is leading the call for NASCAR to not only announce what Mayfield apparently tested positive for that led to his suspension, but Johnson also has pointed out that PEDs could be a concern in stock car racing. While race car drivers don't have to worry about who can run faster or who is the strongest in competition, the logic does have merit. Anything that might heighten a driver's awareness, allow him or her to maintain focus/stamina for longer periods of time, or be more fearless in making aggressive racing moves could give drivers under the influence an edge over their clean competitors. When you consider the amount of money that it costs to run a NASCAR team and how much money is out there to get by winning races, it would be foolish to think that there haven't been drivers and teams that have, at the least, thought about what they might do to get an advantage. A humorous old NASCAR axiom is "If you're not cheating, you're not trying." Another example of this reasoning comes from NASCAR's All-Star Race, which was run last night in Charlotte, North Carolina. The winning purse for that 1 race alone was 1 million dollars.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;_ylt=AnIC4EB_KJhflGqTKHqW3Mzov7YF?slug=dw-johnson051409&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

The whole importance of this situation is that NASCAR may still have time to close the door firmly on the drug issue, unlike Major League Baseball. NASCAR, being the self-contained world that it is, needs to test for not only drugs and alcohol, but for as many forms of performance enhancing drugs as possible. The recent downturn of the last year or so in the American economy has impacted NASCAR as much, if not more, than most other sports. Because so many teams rely on sponsors that pay upwards of $20 million per car each year, NASCAR cannot afford to alienate major corporations that are dealing with their own problems right now. About 10 years ago, NASCAR was considered the fastest rising sport in America. If it doesn't handle itself well regarding drugs in the near future, racing fans may look back at this period as the modern "Golden Years" of NASCAR.