Allmendinger suspended from NASCAR for failed drug test

[Endless Yodel]

Sheesh. One would think that the Jeremy Mayfield debacle would have been fresh in everyone's memory.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nascar/stor ... hornish-jr

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Penske Racing driver AJ Allmendinger was temporarily suspended for failing a NASCAR drug test and will be replaced in the Coke Zero 400 by Sam Hornish Jr.

Allmendinger is the second Sprint Cup driver to be suspended since NASCAR implemented random drug testing in 2009.

AJ Allmendinger was not allowed to race in the Coke Zero 400 because of his failed drug test. (SN Photo)
NASCAR announced the suspension Saturday afternoon, only saying he was temporarily suspended for his “A” sample including a banned substance. The test was administered last week at Kentucky.

NASCAR’s rulebook has a long list of banned drugs, which range from unapproved medication to illegal substances. NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations Steve O’Donnell announced the suspension but did not take questions and did not elaborate on what drug was found in Allmendinger’s system.

The 30-year-old driver is 23rd in the Cup standings and can ask for his “B” sample to be tested within 72 hours.

If his “B” sample comes back positive, he will be indefinitely suspended and will not be allowed to drive until he completes a recovery program prescribed by NASCAR. The rehabilitation program would be tailored specifically for Allmendinger after he gets evaluated by a substance-abuse professional.

Allmendinger joined Penske Racing in December to replace Kurt Busch, who was released after a series of emotional outbursts and difference of opinion with Penske officials over the direction of the team.

A former open-wheel racer, Allmendinger began full time in Cup in 2007 with Red Bull Racing. He spent nearly two years there and then three at Richard Petty Motorsports.

He has 169 career starts with five top-five finishes, including a second at Martinsville earlier this year.

The team found out about the suspension at about 5 p.m. ET, giving it only a few hours before the 7:53 p.m. green flag to find a replacement.

The team scrambled to put Hornish's seat and adjusting the pedals and steering column while hoping Hornish could get to the track in time to start the race.

About 50 minutes before the green flag, Kenny Wallace was being led to the Penske car. Wallace, standing by for Kevin Harvick in case Harvick's wife goes into labor, said he was the Penske backup plan if Hornish doesn't arrive to start the race.

Hornish did get to the track, barely in time at 7:29 p.m. ET, about eight minutes before the engines were fired. Hornish, riding in a NASCAR security black SUV, was given a police escort through the garage—a virtually unheard occurrence.

Wallace, in a Harvick firesuit and with Allmendinger’s helmet, then went to Harvick’s pit stall, where he was on standby. DeLana Harvick, Kevin's wife, had just told Kevin that she was doing fine and he should expect to run the full race.

“I got in the (Allmendinger) car and everything was very tolerable and I was getting ready to drive it,” Wallace said. “The plan right now is I’m on standby for Kevin. … It was a feather in my cap for these car owners to think of my superspeedway driving.”

It was quite ironic that Wallace could have gotten into a Penske car with a Budweiser uniform, considering Penske has long been associated with Miller. Wallace had a helmet with the logos of Pennzoil, which left Harvick for Penske Racing after the 2010 season.

“It was a little uncomfortable for everybody,” Wallace said. “But what happened is all the sponsors and all the automakers, this was all people helping people at this point.”

Hornish currently drives for Penske full time in the Nationwide Series as well as select Cup events. Hornish is a former Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series champion and also has 110 career Cup starts.

Penske Racing President Tim Cindric says NASCAR notified the organization Saturday afternoon, and the immediate focus became getting Hornish back from North Carolina, where he was about to do a live television show on the Speed Channel.

"It's really been a whirlwind since we were notified, and we really just needed to get Sam back to Daytona," Cindric told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "We spoke briefly with AJ before he left, and we agreed we'd talk when we get back."

Cindric did not reveal details of the conversation with Allmendinger, and said the organization is still trying to digest the information.

"Certainly there's no closure, and it's just not that simple of a situation," Cindric said. "We need to let the process take care of itself. It's a situation we've never been in before, and when we were notified he failed the test, the next step really became getting Sam to Daytona and agreeing to table everything else until we're all back."

Cindric is in Toronto for Sunday's IndyCar Series race, and team owner Roger Penske has been on a European vacation. Bud Denker, senior vice president of Penske Corp., also wasn't in Daytona.

Jeremy Mayfield failed a test in May 2009 and has not raced since. He briefly had his suspension lifted as part of a legal challenge.

Allmendinger had never failed a NASCAR drug test but he does have a DWI on his record.

In October 2009, Allmendinger was stopped at 1:12 a.m. for failing to stay in his lane on N.C. Hwy. 150 in Mooresville, N.C., according to police records. The police report said he had a blood alcohol content level of 0.08 percent, which is the legal level for impairment in North Carolina.

In December 2009, he pleaded no contest in North Carolina District Court to a misdemeanor charge of driving while impaired. He was given a 60-day suspended sentence, 18 months unsupervised probation and 24 hours of community service, according to the Iredell County clerk’s office, at the time. He had to pay a $100 fine plus court costs. Richard Petty Motorsports put Allmendinger on probation through 2010 and fined him $10,000 to be donated to charity.

A day after the arrest, Allmendinger took responsibility, saying that he had a few drinks.

“Obviously it was my fault,” Allmendinger said. “It was a bad decision. I wish I could take it back. I’d do anything to be able to take it back, but that’s life. You can’t.

"So all I can do is go out there and learn from it and be a lot better person from it, which I will be.”

[jakequake]

Maybe he tested positive like for Meth like that Mayfield fella

[Endless Yodel]

He released a statement saying he tested positive for a stimulant, which could be any number of things.

I'm baffled because I don't know what could possibly be performance-enhancing for a driver. It's not like a baseball player injecting steroids.

I hope Sam Hornish, Jr. doesn't embarrass himself that much in the Dodge 22.

[ParaDime77]

The officials are giving him another "B" test July 24th. Stay tuned....

[Turner Coates]

He released a statement saying he tested positive for a stimulant, which could be any number of things.

I'm baffled because I don't know what could possibly be performance-enhancing for a driver. It's not like a baseball player injecting steroids.

Translation:
"I fuckin' snorted it."

[Endless Yodel]

The officials are giving him another "B" test July 24th. Stay tuned....

The second test is of the second half of the first test sample, not a new test. So I'm not sure what it will accomplish for Allmendinger. Whatever it was, NASCAR deemed it serious enough to take him off the racetrack.

[Endless Yodel]

He released a statement saying he tested positive for a stimulant, which could be any number of things.

I'm baffled because I don't know what could possibly be performance-enhancing for a driver. It's not like a baseball player injecting steroids.

Translation:
"I fuckin' snorted it."

Snorting is for amateurs! This guy went the whole nine.

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/tr ... id=3336865

Suspended NASCAR driver Aaron Fike now admits that he not only secretly struggled with drug addiction for years but also shot up heroin on some race days.

In his first in-depth interview since being arrested for heroin possession last summer, the 25-year-old said he had been using heroin for eight months and suffered from a dependency on painkillers for six years before that. In the weeks prior to his arrest, his once-a-week experiment with heroin had become a daily routine, including the days he was competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

NASCAR officials, when informed of Fike's admission, said the league has kept an eye on the more proactive random drug testing policies recently ramped up by the "Big Four" major league sports but point to the list of recent suspensions as proof that the current policy is working.

"No system is perfect," said Jim Hunter, NASCAR vice president of corporate communications. "Our current policy has served us extremely well. We do have discussions from time to time regarding possible alternatives, so I wouldn't rule those out. But I think what our policy has allowed us to do up to this certain point in time, it has served us well."

Fike said he hopes that his admissions will force NASCAR officials to rethink their current drug testing policy.

[jakequake]

Wasn't that dude busted shooting up at a 6 flags or something like that

[Endless Yodel]

Wasn't that dude busted shooting up at a 6 flags or something like that

Yes. It doesn't get much more white trash than that.