For A.J. Allmendinger, Drug Scenario Is Unfortunate No Matter The Outcome

July 9, 2012 By 4 Comments

When it was announced that A.J. Allmendinger was suspended from NASCAR following a positive drug test, Penske Racing immediately flew in Sam Hornish Jr. as his replacement for the Daytona race.

Ninety minutes before Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Daytona the announcement came that A.J. Allmendinger had failed a random substance abuse test and had been suspended.

It’s fair to say that among fans and media members there was a strong feeling of disbelief. The announcement, made by Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s vice president of competition, was brief and shocking. No questions were addressed.

Among the media cell phones and laptops were put into high gear in hope of reaching assignment editors at newspapers and websites.

The subject of drug testing is all too familiar given the sad demise of Jeremy Mayfield, a former NASCAR star who failed a drug test in 2009 – and went straight downhill to bigger legal problems.

Allmendinger was asked to take part in a random drug test after the race at Kentucky on June 30. His A sample tested positive. The type of drugs and amounts in question were not disclosed.

Under established NASCAR rules, Allmendinger has the right to request that his B sample be tested within 72 hours. Should he refuse to have that sample tested, or if that test is positive, he will be suspended indefinitely.

In a last minute, dramatic substitution, Sam Hornish replaced Allmendinger in the No. 22 Dodge at Daytona and is scheduled to drive the car again at New Hampshire this weekend.

In an article in USA Today on July 8, team owner Roger Penske said, “You know it’s a disappointment at this particular time, but we’re going to wait and see what the second test results are before we make any comment or decisions.

“I don’t think it’s fair to him. I think as you look at sports, things happen like this. It’s unfortunate, but I don’t really want to make a statement pro or con right now. I’m counting on another test being proper for him within 72 hours, and at that point we’ll make a decision.”

To be fair to Allmendinger, it is possible that the test was a false positive. Until conclusive evidence proves he is guilty, none of us should rush to judgment.

After Mayfield’s very public fall from grace and the years of court battles that followed, NASCAR has been very cautious and thorough about drug testing – and about every aspect of Allmendinger’s suspension.

I do believe NASCAR officials would rather not have to travel this road with any of their competitors.

The only other high-profile NASCAR driver implicated in a drug abuse scenario has been Jeremy Mayfield, whose suspension from NASCAR has led to several legal situations that have virtually ended his career.

Still, once again, a top driver is in the news for substance abuse and is the subject of negative press.

The saddest part of this story is that Allmendinger is truly one of the nicest guys in this sport who had worked hard to get to NASCAR’s top level.

For years, his parents made huge financial sacrifices to help him race, to the tune of several home mortgages to keep his dream alive.

He is a commoner that came up the hard way and a driver with whom fans can relate.

Allmendinger reached the pinnacle of his career when the call to drive the No. 22 Penske Dodge came prior to the start of the 2012 season. He was tapped to replace Kurt Busch, a driver who had displayed his hot temper one time too many and lost one of the premier rides of his career.

Allmendinger has been a breath of fresh air for Penske since January. He’s helped put bad publicity aside, been great with fans and was considered a driver for whom success was merely a matter of time.

It may well come. Let’s get one thing straight. Allmendinger is involved in a very difficult, and career threatening, situation.

But as of now, he has not been proven guilty of anything. That may never happen.

However, right now he is still a high-profile driver implicated – implicated, mind you – in a drug abuse scenario.

Nine drivers who have competed in the Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series have been suspended for failed drug tests since February of 2002. Crew members from those divisions have also been suspended over the past decade.

Allmendinger is only the second driver in Sprint Cup competition to be suspended, following Mayfield.

Even if Allmendinger emerges as “clean” following a second test, it may be that, however unfairly, he is tainted.

Today in NASCAR, many winners of the biggest and most prestigious events can’t find full-season sponsorship.

Given that, it seems virtually impossible for a team to sell a driver with any hint of substance abuse, real or otherwise, to, say, a Fortune 500 company.

One question remains: Why do NASCAR competitors partake in such behavior?

During the vast majority of NASCAR’s six decades of existence drug testing was never a consideration.

Make no mistake there has always been substance abuse. For example, I think it’s accurate to say that over the years many hungover drivers came to a track on race day.

But as the times changed and all of professional sports were plagued by cases of drug abuse – ranging from alcohol to steroids and everything in between – NASCAR felt a policy needed to be put in place.

Demands are huge for any individual who competes in any of NASCAR’s top divisions. Everyone is watching, listening and scrutinizing every move a driver, and team, make.

There is pressure in any professional sport and sometimes the need to do well can overtake common sense.

That may be true, but it is not an excuse. If drugs are used to relieve that pressure, that does not make it right.

If they are used recreationally, let’s just say for the hell of it, well … there are no excuses whatsoever.

I would like to think that perhaps NASCAR could offer some counseling or intervention before positive drug results make the headlines and ruin careers.

I doubt that will ever come to pass.

But I would also like to think that A.J. Allmendinger will emerge unscathed – with a lesson learned.

 

 

 

 

 

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Quest To Learn More About Tim Richmond, NASCAR’s Fallen Hero

June 29, 2012 By 11 Comments

In just a short time Tim Richmond became one of NASCAR's most exciting, winning drivers. But during a good portion of his short career, he battled a very deadly disease.

Recently I’ve been reading about one of NASCAR’s fallen heroes, a driver from the 1980s whose star shown very brightly for an all too brief period of time. His name was Tim Richmond.

If you missed his era you may not know a lot, or anything, about him. I became a fan of NASCAR in 1990 and missed everything about Richmond. While I was filling my coffers with all things NASCAR past, present and right now, Richmond’s name was rarely, if ever, mentioned.

Once I became active on Facebook, with its NASCAR and fan sites, his name came up more regularly.

I knew Richmond had a reputation for being a man with whom women wanted to associate and men wanted to emulate. His racing prowess was enviable – and, to be honest, so was his reputation as a lothario.

At a time when jeans, cowboy hats, and big belt buckles were the dress uniform for many drivers and crewmen in and around the garage, Richmond showed up in Italian suits, feathered and coiffed long hair and a devil-may-care attitude.

There was no mistaking his intensity. He was, forgive the pun, totally driven in a race car. Whether it was in IndyCar or NASCAR, Richmond drove a car to the outer limits. He won many poles in his short Winston Cup career, running hard and fast – some say even recklessly – but initially he found it difficult to win races.

In Richmond’s first two years in Cup, 1980 and 1981, he had no poles, wins, or top fives, but he did earn six top 10s.

Paired with a legendary crew chief Harry Hyde in 1986 on Rick Hendrick’s fledgling team, Richmond learned to rein in his aggressiveness just enough to produce wins and challenge for a championship.

He challenged, but his good friend Dale Earnhardt denied him the title. Regardless, in that season Richmond’s statistics were very impressive. He won eight poles, seven races, earned 13 top fives and 17 top 10s. Richmond finished third that year, only six points behind second-place Darrell Waltrip.

Richmond cut a dashing figure and was considered something new and different in NASCAR circles as far as drivers were concerned. But what he might have achieved was cut short by AIDS.

That was the pinnacle of Richmond’s career. Unbeknownst to many, a disease was riddling Richmond’s body, weakening him and stealing his thunder in the sport he so desperately loved.

Richmond, it’s now known, had contracted HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS. This happened at a time when hysteria was high about the disease and knowledge was pathetically little.

Masking his illness with lies and bravado, Richmond was able to return to a partial schedule. In eight races in 1987, he earned one pole, two wins, three top fives and four top 10s. But those were the last glimpses of Richmond’s greatness.

By the summer of 1987 Richmond’s erratic behavior, reminiscent of drunkenness and/or drug abuse, caused uproar among many of NASCAR’s drivers, crew members, and officials.

Not knowing or understanding the true cause of Richmond’s behaviors – manic moods one moment and sleeping for hours afterward regardless of what appearances were on his itinerary – gave concern to those with whom he was in close competition.

Drug tests were implemented, results were mishandled, and judgments – mostly wrong – were made. All the while, Richmond continued to hide the fact he was stricken with AIDS.

He desperately took the only medicinal cocktail available at the time, AZT. He went so far as to take himself off the medicine to make certain he passed NASCAR’s drug test.

But it was too late. The prejudice against Richmond was palpable. His career was over in NASCAR. Unfortunately, his health was deteriorating at a rapid pace as well.

Richmond shook things up dramatically in NASCAR. The mostly Southeastern sport full of “good ol’ boys” was not sure how to handle the slick Midwesterner who was a natty dresser, had “pretty hair” and drove his race car full bore on every track.

Richmond not only provided a Hollywood feel to NASCAR during the time he was present, he also posthumously brought a discussion to the table about AIDS affecting the NASCAR community, not just the homosexual or Hollywood ones.

As for the man himself, all of that has only gone so far. Even after noted journalist David Poole wrote a book about Richmond, who died on August 13, 1989, entitled “Tim Richmond: The Fast Life And Remarkable Times Of NASCAR’s Top Gun” (2005), I still heard remarkably little about him and his place in the sport I had grown to love.

If nothing else, I’d love to read the thoughts, remembered and reminisced about Richmond from those who actually saw him race.

Teach me about the Tim Richmond I cannot access through books and YouTube clips. I’d love to learn more about the man some said was NASCAR’s most dynamic driver.

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