Jeremy Mayfield - NASCAR driver suspended for failing a drug test.
It is never a pretty sight when one of our sports heroes falls, unless you are one of those people who happens to take delight in those sort of things. If you are one of those people then this blog post is not for you. No no no, this post is specifically for the powers that be at the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.
I’m talking to you Brian France and Mike Helton.
What I have to say to you is really quite simple, I intend to be straightforward and to the point…
Tell us what Jeremy Mayfield had in his body that made him fail a drug test and got him suspended.
Tell us what he took!!!
We need to know, and more importantly, his fellow drivers on the track need to know as well!!!
Now I know some of you out there may be saying that it is none of my business to know exactly what Mayfield was on or what he took that got him booted from his Sprint Cup ride. For that matter, some of you may be saying that it is none of your business either. But I disagree with both assertions and say that it is the responsibility of NASCAR to end all of the speculation that is going around right now by telling all of us what it was that Mayfield was on.
NASCAR won’t budge right now and say what he took, NASCAR is saying that it’s not relevant.
NASCAR couldn’t be more wrong.
Jenna Fryer said it best in her syndicated piece for the Associated Press:
It is relevant to know if Mayfield was driving a car high on a recreational drug.
It is relevant to know what dangers the 42 other drivers were exposed to with Mayfield on the track.
It is relevant to Mayfield, who blames the positive test from Richmond International Speedway on the combination of a prescribed medicine and an over the counter medicine.
As long as NASCAR won’t say what he did, no explanation can ever be fully believed, especially as Dr. David Black, the CEO of Aegis Sciences Corp., which runs NASCAR’s testing program, dismissed Mayfield’s explanation.
So what exactly did Mayfield do?
Did he take something to improve his strength, stave off fatigue or otherwise improve his performance? Or did he endanger the lives of his fellow competitors by operating a vehicle under the influence of an illegal street drug?
That is what makes this so different and so much more dangerous then anything we might think that Alex Rodriguez or Manny Ramirez has done. If A-Rod dives into the stands after foul ball there isn’t a chance that a fan is going to be killed by flaming debris. Think back to the end of the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega a few weeks back – remember Carl Edwards getting airborne and getting into the retaining wall in the Tri-oval? That’s the kind of danger that I am talking about! When you think about that kind of result, taking a Female Reproductive Hormone pales by comparison!
These guys travel in speeds in excess of 200 mph at some tracks, I would think that the other drivers in the field and the fans in the grandstands would need to know if one of the drivers is high! It is difficult enough having to control these vehicles when one is sober (I imagine), trying to handle a car when your judgement and decision-making abilities are impaired at that speeds could mean another driver – or even worse – some the spectators being killed.
This is why we all need to know what the hell Jeremy Mayfield was on and why it is relevant. This has nothing to do with privacy issues – forget privacy – privacy has nothing to do
J.J. Yeley will be in the #41 car for the rest of the season.
with it. This is a business decision plain and simple. Right now the country is in the midst of a bad recession, and we are doing everything we can to pull out of it. We have GM, Ford and Chrysler in trouble with consumer spending at a standstill. One of the luxuries that some families are allowing themselves right now is attending NASCAR events on the weekends. Now if people were to become less than confident in their own personal safety at any one of the tracks because of what one of your drivers may or may not be on, they may decide not to buy a ticket to the All-Star Race, the Coca-Cola 600, the Coke Zero 400 in Daytona on July 4th…
Brian, Mike, do I have your attention now?
You need to come out and tell us what Jeremy Mayfield took and whether or not he was impaired on the track. This will calm everyone’s fears and say to your customers that you have the situation in hand, and that we should not worry about our safety at the track. You also need to come out a re-assure us that no other driver has popped a positive on whatever it is you are testing for. We need to know that not only are we safe, but that our favorite driver is safe as well.
Now having said all of that, there is a silver lining to this story…
Because Mayfield has been suspended by NASCAR his wife has had to find someone to take over his ride. That someone has turned out to be J.J. Yeley. J.J’s last gig was at Hall of Fame Racing until he was dumped part way through last season. The good news is that J.J. could be in the #41 car for the rest of the season. The bad news is that he will be subjected to the same drug tests that Mayfield and all the other drivers are, and this bring up a question of why doesn’t NASCAR provide a list of substances that are banned under their drug policy to their drivers? That’s not exactly fair or right, is it? NASCAR gives a list to crew members, but not to the drivers. Yeley said it at ESPN.com:
“I know in the NFL and some of the other professional sports they make a list of everything that is legal and not legal,” he said. “I don’t think that’s the way NASCAR does it. I don’t know what I can take. If I have a migraine I’m scared to death to take something that may or may not trigger something.”
NASCAR needs to get on the stick and get the information out to the drivers that way if they have allergies or whatnot, they can get the proper medicine they need without running afoul of the drug cops.
It’s only right that NASCAR should not force a driver like Yeley to perform with a migraine (potentially) or even cost someone like Carl Edwards his sponsorship with Claritan-D in an economy where sponsorships are hard to come by.
NASCAR needs to get with it – and fast, because more than just safety is at stake!
