After much discussion over the last year, and possibly revved up by Ron Hornaday's latest admission of his experience, NASCAR has announced plans to institute a drug testing policy starting in 2009.
For some reason, despite some outspoken drivers asking for drug testing (Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick), it took until 2009 for NASCAR to recognize that it's just not that safe for drivers to be hyped up or doped out while navigating lefts and rights ... (OK, mostly lefts) at 200 mph.
NASCAR has had a 20-year relationship with AEGIS Sciences Corporation, and AEGIS will be conducting the preseason and random in-season drug tests.
All drivers will be tested prior to the 2009 season with team owners required to verify that all their licensed crew members have been tested by an accredited lab. The momentum of drug testing will start at the Daytona Speedweeks where all drivers will be tested who attend. From there, it's a randomness of needle love drug tests that will start.
The random test will be administered to 12 to 14 people a weekend, most weekends, and on average, 2 drivers per series will be tagged for testing, then the rest of the test subjects will come from over-the-wall crewmen and officials.
It will be a learning experience though. Right now, NASCAR does not have a list of banned substances, but will be evolving it with time, as people start to fail their tests from cough and cold medicines and mouth washes, and what not. OK, I'm being silly with the mouth wash thing.
It will be interesting to see when the false positives hit, who's affected, who's not.
In the meeting that was held last weekend with all the drivers and team owners it was brought up that the IRL does a full physical on it's drivers and I think that would be a great idea to further elevate the safety factor of the competition field. To be honest, though it hasn't happened in recent, or ever memory, it would suck for a pack of cars to be taken out because of a heart condition or an after affect of a concussion. Licensed pilots are required to take annual physicals, why not NASCAR drivers? (Of course, since half the drivers are pilots, I guess this takes care of some of them.)
At least this way, no one can pull another Aaron Fike and be high on heroin during a race weekend.
source
For some reason, despite some outspoken drivers asking for drug testing (Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick), it took until 2009 for NASCAR to recognize that it's just not that safe for drivers to be hyped up or doped out while navigating lefts and rights ... (OK, mostly lefts) at 200 mph.
NASCAR has had a 20-year relationship with AEGIS Sciences Corporation, and AEGIS will be conducting the preseason and random in-season drug tests.
All drivers will be tested prior to the 2009 season with team owners required to verify that all their licensed crew members have been tested by an accredited lab. The momentum of drug testing will start at the Daytona Speedweeks where all drivers will be tested who attend. From there, it's a randomness of needle love drug tests that will start.
The random test will be administered to 12 to 14 people a weekend, most weekends, and on average, 2 drivers per series will be tagged for testing, then the rest of the test subjects will come from over-the-wall crewmen and officials.
It will be a learning experience though. Right now, NASCAR does not have a list of banned substances, but will be evolving it with time, as people start to fail their tests from cough and cold medicines and mouth washes, and what not. OK, I'm being silly with the mouth wash thing.
It will be interesting to see when the false positives hit, who's affected, who's not.
In the meeting that was held last weekend with all the drivers and team owners it was brought up that the IRL does a full physical on it's drivers and I think that would be a great idea to further elevate the safety factor of the competition field. To be honest, though it hasn't happened in recent, or ever memory, it would suck for a pack of cars to be taken out because of a heart condition or an after affect of a concussion. Licensed pilots are required to take annual physicals, why not NASCAR drivers? (Of course, since half the drivers are pilots, I guess this takes care of some of them.)
At least this way, no one can pull another Aaron Fike and be high on heroin during a race weekend.
source
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