Hotmail
Here comes the judge
Around the track
 |
Follow the action:
Watch:
Picture perfect:
Read all about it:
Analysis:
That's how I felt about the drug testing policy going into this season — it was in the best interest of the sport.
Jeff Gordon said he doesn't want to be out on the racetrack with someone impaired. I can certainly understand that. But this is where old school meets new school: Back in my day, I can promise you that I raced with guys who had some pretty serious hangovers. I also raced with guys with physical issues — for example, Ernie Irvan raced with only one good eye.
The thing about the drug policy is that it was to be the same for everybody. Everybody was to get tested on a pretty regular basis. That certainly seemed fair to me. I just hadn't given it much thought that the kind of drug issue we are concerned with these days would make it to the Sprint Cup level. Sure, the lower-tiered NASCAR series have had a couple of issues, but never Cup.
So, yes, it did come as a surprise that someone at this level has possibly taken something illegal. And to have Jeremy Mayfield accused was also a surprise, because I have known him his whole life and it never crossed my mind that he would do something like that. We run into each other periodically and he certainly never looked like someone that was being affected by drug use.
But I guess as the old saying goes: "Looks can be deceiving." I mean, take a look at Aaron Fike from the Truck Series. He admitted racing while using heroin, but no one picked up on it beforehand because they didn't see any signs of it.
I remember Bill France Jr. telling me one day, "You know, DW, some day NASCAR will probably have more attorneys than inspectors." I guess that's the difference in the new versus the old NASCAR. Back in my day, when NASCAR laid the law down ... well, that was the law, and nobody challenged it.
Now, it's different. Look at Jeremy's situation, for instance. He took his case to court and got a judge to issue an injunction to let him to continue to race.
Heck, I would bet you could take Carl Long's situation to court and a judge would rule the penalty doesn't fit the crime. That's one of the biggest gripes I have had my entire career — so many times the penalty never fit the crime.
Now, I am not saying that's the case in the Mayfield situation. It's just unfortunate that it has come to this. However, that's where we are today. Everybody challenges almost every rule. What we do in this sport is completely different than any other sport. As you will watch Saturday night, there are 43 guys going upward of 200 mph mere inches apart. You have to be at your very best to do that.
So I can totally understand drivers saying they don't want to be on the track with someone who is impaired. I am 100 percent in agreement with that. The risk/reward simply isn't there to bend on that.
However, I am concerned that our drug testing policy isn't black and white. I had a guy email me that he failed his drug test because he ate a poppy-seed bagel. We absolutely have to have a system in place that ignores false positives of that nature and gets specific. There can't be just general rules. They can't be vague. There can not be any wiggle room allowed.
For our drug policy in the future, it has to be spelled out specifically for the drivers and everyone involved. Every "t" has to be crossed and every "i" has to be dotted. That way, when a decision is made, you'll know it's final. That's the kind of rules you have to have in place for this situation. They have to be black and white. There can't be any gray area.
In other words, with more specific measures in place, you would know for certain that when somebody failed a NASCAR drug test, he was guilty as charged.
Add a comment
advertisement
