NASCAR drug policy facing questions
After years of having some of the most lax testing standards in major professional sports, the last thing NASCAR needs is a very public questioning of whether or not its new mandatory and random testing procedures for all drivers are even working. And yet the saga that has become the story of Jeremy Mayfield is seemingly doing just that. NASCAR announced May 9 that Mayfield, a team owner and driver in the Sprint Cup Series, was being suspended indefinitely from competition for failing a random drug test. At the time of the announcement NASCAR would not reveal what it was that caused Mayfield’s positive result. Immediately following the announcement Mayfield issued a statement claiming that the positive result was caused by the combination of an over the counter allergy medicine with a prescription medication. And suddenly a twisted game of 20 questions, with vague answers, began. It wasn’t alcohol that caused the failed test, NASCAR made that clear from the start. So what was it? NASCAR’s CIA-like secretive nature about its policies and practices has made that the million dollar question. — Hartford Courant
