"I've Got Drugs In My Pocket, Don't Know What To Do With Them" - The Monks or a NASCAR Driver?

by 4ever3 on Apr 10, 2008 11:25 PM EDT Comment 6 comments

In this era of the Car of Tomorrow (pardon me, Car of Today), safer barriers, and Hans devices, NASCAR is trying to protect their drivers by minimizing the element of risk during severe impacts sustained during crashes with each other and the wall.

The improvements that have been made by NASCAR are substantial, as evident last week at Texas during the harsh crash taken by rookie driver Michael McDowell. McDowell hit the turn 1 and turn 2 wall nearly head on at about 180 mph then rolled down the track no less than 8 times before the car came to a complete stop in the upright position.

After a brief moment McDowell climbed out of the car and waved to the crowd, something that might not have happened as recently as last year and certainly not seven years ago when the death of legendary driver Dale Earnhardt sparked NASCAR's keen interest in driver safety.

Now that NASCAR has major gains in the improvement of the driver's physical climate it needs to turn its attention to the drivers themselves. Case in point, Aaron Fike.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Aaron Fike and his fiancee were arrested and later charged with possession of heroin and drug abuse instruments in the parking lot of Kings Island theme park outside of Cincinnati on July 7th 2007.

Fike was later suspended indefinitely by NASCAR.

What is most chilling about this is that Fike has now admitted to using drugs on race days. "Fike has admitted to ESPN the Magazine that he did drugs on race days, specifically before a Truck event at Memphis Motorsports Park on June 30 of last year. That admission was enough for some Sprint Cup drivers to start banging the drum for a drug policy with more teeth." - David Caraviello, nascar.com.

That just scares me. To do drugs on race day? Man.

NASCAR's current drug testing policy is that a driver will be tested only if series officials have a reasonable doubt as to whether a competitor is using. That is it, nothing else.

"The responsibility here rests across the board -- with the drivers and competitors, owners and teams and NASCAR," NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said. "We test an individual when we have reasonable suspicion, and a positive test results in severe consequences and is a career-changing moment for that person. NASCAR's policy is also supported by the various policies that the teams have in place that are required under the driver/owner agreements. No system is flawless; but we believe our zero tolerant policy that is in place has served the sport well."

Zero tolerance is good, and I'm all for that, but I firmly believe that this policy surely scares the non-drug user. To an addict it is nothing but a calculated risk because the habitual drug becomes more important than their own personal safety. If a person is willing to risk their own personal safety, they certainly wouldn't think twice about risking someone else's.

And most importantly NASCAR didn't catch Fike, the cops did.

"We haven't made any headway whatsoever on the drug testing policy. In the 10 years that I've raced, I've never been drug tested. So to me, that is not a proper professional sports drug policy ..." Kevin Harvick told the media today.

What is interesting here is that Harvick fielded a Busch car for Fike near the end of the 2006 season for 3 races, and added that he had no reason to doubt that his driver was clean. So did Fike fool Harvick, or was he indeed clean?

Only Fike knows for sure, but if he fooled Harvick and his crew that says something.

"The bad part about it is 95 percent of this garage I can guarantee you is clean, but there's a 5 percent chance -- it's just like the safety thing back in 2001, the reason that we reacted to it. We weren't proactive until that situation happened," Harvick continued, making reference to the death of Dale Earnhardt at Daytona in 2001.

I agree.

Most major sports have mandatory and/or random drug testing policies in place, yet NASCAR does not. Why not?

NASCAR has an obligation to put on a safe show for both fans and their drivers - including those on drugs.

Could you imagine what would have happened if Fike had crashed last June 30th and killed himself, or another driver, or a crew member on pit road, or worse yet, somehow killed or injured a spectator - these race cars and trucks have been known to leave the racing surface and get air-born into the catch fence.

It is time for NASCAR to step up to the plate on this one. If I were a driver I would have no problem submitting to a drug test as I would have nothing to hide and I imagine that would be the same for every other 'clean' driver in the garage area. The ones who would object would be the ones that are scared of getting caught for something.

Many drivers are in support of some sort of mandatory/random drug testing, including Tony Stewart, "I'm all for it. I would love it. I've never been asked to take one yet. I think it should be mandatory that we have random drug testing all the time, I think non-stop through the year. Obviously with this happening (with Fike), we as an organization aren't doing a good job of seeing it before it happens. Aaron coming out and saying that (he used drugs on race days) is an indication that we need to do a better job than we're currently doing. But I'm all for random drug testing, from the time we go to Daytona to the time we finish the season at Homestead. I think it's a great idea."

If NASCAR wants to be seen as the proactive governing body that it claims it is, then now is the time to be proactive and institute more stringent drug testing policies while continuing to enforce the zero tolerance rule.

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Here are my thoughts...you wanna race and get paid like they do pee. Take a test, big f-n deal if you have nothing to hide than no problem right??? It is not about an "invasion" of privacy, it is about keeping someone that is doing somthing stupid from causing something stupid or worse. Doesn't OSHA and Workers Comp make you submit to a pee test if yoku are injured on the job??? So what is the difference??? I dunno, sorry 'bout takin so much space, but you wrote it and I am AGREEING with you. Peace, Dawg

by Tiredawg on Apr 11, 2008 5:37 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I am a freakin accountant and I have been subjected to mandatory and random drug testing by my company for almost 15 years now.

Its really not that difficult or even a bother for me. It shouldn't be a problem for Nascar teams as well (and that should include all race day participants).

by okla21fan on Apr 11, 2008 8:27 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Good article. Like so many other things these days, NASCAR has gone squeaky-clean in the name of safety. I'm sure the drivers' wives and girlfriends are happy about that, but when a sport whose identity roots in Appalachian whiskey-runners in fast cars, eventually the corprorate face replaces the rebel yellers we love. Our sport is safer but a lot less interesting. I'm all for drug-testing the drivers, but at the same time the imagination fades when things get too safe, too known, too tested. I miss the frontier days, but then I don't have to drive those 900hp monsters.

by David on Apr 11, 2008 9:15 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Nice post. I agree, this should be a no brainer.

by Mike on Apr 11, 2008 1:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It is really a no brainer, isn't it?

Thanks for your compliments everyone.

by 4ever3 on Apr 11, 2008 11:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Great post. The only thing I'm worried about is the cost of the tickets for the cheap seats after NASCAR starts allocating money for the testing. Ready for a minimum price of $500 a ticket to see a race? They are going to figure out some way to cover the cost of testing.
As far as what David said, Curtis Turner or Joe Weatherly would have never been allowed to race in today's NASCAR. For that matter, neither would Dick Trickle.
But other than that, maybe the teams can pick up the cost of testing. I understand that some sponsors require drug testing, and also some of the insurence carriers the teams have. I don't know what teams or sponsors already have it, I thought that Home Depot was one, but apparently not.

by RevJim on Apr 12, 2008 1:03 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs