[jks812]

TALLADEGA, Ala. - Following Aaron Fike's recent admission of drug abuse behind the wheel of a race car, his former employer, Kevin Harvick, took a proactive stance and implemented a random drug testing program for all KHI employees — starting with himself, his drivers and his crew chiefs.
Harvick announced his plans last Tuesday at the company's competition meeting and was pleased that his principals agreed voluntarily.
"After the whole drug testing thing in Phoenix, we went home and changed the whole policy that we have at our company," Harvick said. "All the drivers and crew chiefs volunteered to take a random drug test. We did that, then we put an outside company to put a random drug test and policy in place. The whole company will be tested within a week. We have got most of them done and haven't had any failures yet, so that is a good thing."
Harvick believes that a sport-wide testing policy would alleviate any doubt that competitors have about fellow drivers racing under the influence. A system could be put in place as part of the mandatory preseason driver's physical. Crews could follow suit during testing at Daytona before hard cards — NASCAR's annual garage pass — are distributed. Harvick suggests taking the program one step further by performing random drug testing at infield care centers following on track wrecks and incidents.
"That is something that we can probably fix here by just putting a policy in place that if you want to get a hard card, you have to get tested by teams — they have an outsource come in and randomly drug test all the teams as they submit their approvals for a hard card you have to send your drug test with it," Harvick said. "That would make it a lot easier on NASCAR. If you go to the infield care center, it should be just like the drug policy at a lot of the shops. If you wreck or something and have to go through the infield care center, it should be standard procedure to take a drug test as you go through there. If you have been through there 10 times in 10 weeks, that should be a standard procedure. I think that would fix a lot of the questions that we have and be a pretty simple solution.
"I am proud that we went home and made ours right. We are considered a drug-free environment at KHI and we have a facility that handles that testing for us, it is a pretty simple procedure. I have learned a lot about drugs over the last week and a half and how you can and can't handle things legally. Luckily our drivers were nice enough to volunteer their time to go to the drug testing facility so Hornaday, Sprague, Cale Gale and myself and all our crew chiefs went over there and got that all handled. So hopefully everyone will follow suit. It will be good for our garage. I really think the hard card thing would fix a lot of our problems."













Way to go Kevin. Sure wish more owners would do this.

[jks812]

Could a mod please go in here and take that 2nd paragraph of scribble stuff out? I've tried like 4 times. It'll say saving and then my computer locks up. Soooooooo very sorry for the trouble.

[Team Yates]

Originally Posted by jks812

Could a mod please go in here and take that 2nd paragraph of scribble stuff out? I've tried like 4 times. It'll say saving and then my computer locks up. Soooooooo very sorry for the trouble.

Done!!....

[jks812]

Originally Posted by Team Yates

Done!!....

Thanks so much. My puter has been going crazy today.

[wingkey1]

Didn't realize Fike was an employee of Harvick. No wonder 'ole KH seemed so to shift responsibility to others (NASCAR) in his public comments ("I've never been tested since coming in").

OTOH, KH is moving forward with what NASCAR (Helton or whomever) indicated they rather see - self policing/monitoring/testing. Good for him.

I would near always be inclined to let the "people" have the preponderence of their own self-control, and keep the "big talking head" out of it.

Unfortunately (to our eye/mind/heart), more and more want "them" to step in a do something. And quite predictably near right after "them" do move to call of the masses (lemmings), the lemmings call for "them" to be less involved in their personal decisions. Ugh!

Watch very closely what some ask for, then ask for not, then excuse the seeming contradiction by making the - "well we want "them" to set our course but not to the point where we have lost our individual and/or collective right to self-govern and decide". Confused? Just watch, it's quite amusing.

[jks812]

I think it should be the owners who have the testing done. After all the drivers work for them, not Nascar.

[Lefturn]

The same could be said in other sports. This person works for the New York Yankee's so therefore the team should be responsible, not the league.

In NASCAR you need a 'licence' to drive in the series, which in my mind would place the sanctioning body at the head of the line to test drivers. I don't see why NASCAR is not simply starting some sort of random testing, it would put and end to this and quite frankly it's a good idea.

[Racer Duck]

guess I'm a bit more "militant" than you guys about drug testing. I think each owner should have a drug policy which includes testing for their entire organization. And NASCAR should have a drug policy which includes testing for it's entire organization. And NASCAR should have a drug policy which includes random testing for everyone "on the track,in the pits, in the garage and in the infield care center" during race day. That means owners, sponsors, pit crews, media, officials, fire & rescue workers, track maintenance and drivers.

but then I'm a bit militant about drugs anyway! my baby brother's life was destroyed by drugs and even though he lived into his 40's before an overdose claimed him, I believe he and our family would have been better off had he never seen his next (18th) birthday after he "got hooked".

[Bob Tanner]

From jayski.com this morning:
NASCAR appoints panel to look into changing drug-testing policy: NASCAR president Brian France has appointed a group of company officials to an interim committee that will study the sport's drug policy, vice president of communications Jim Hunter said Friday. The group, whose members Hunter said have "been around a long time and know the sport," will report back to France with any recommendations "within six weeks or so." Among the topics they will survey, Hunter said, is whether or not to add a staff substance abuse expert and whether or not random testing should be implemented. Currently, drivers are drug tested only under "reasonable suspicion." Any change to the policy, Hunter said, wouldn't likely take place until the 2009 season.(ESPN.com)(5-3-2008

Thank you, Aaron Fike, for bringing this out and Thank you, Kevin, Smoke and Jeff Burton for not holding your collective tongues and remaining silent about the matter.

My questions to Jim Hunter are:
(1) Why is there even discussion as to whether there will be random drug testing for all drivers, crew members AND NASCAR Officials, and...
(2) Why does it have to wait until 2009? It's a damn problem N-O-W! ((As exhibited by Fike, Walker, Grubb and Hmiel)

[SteelHorse]

what's the drugs that the drivers are being accused of using?

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by SteelHorse

what's the drugs that the drivers are being accused of using?

I don't remember NASCAR ever publicly releasing that info. As far as I know, all they do is yank the driver's license. Whether there's any legal ramifications depends on the local and federal authorities - I'm sure NASCAR cooperates with the enforcement folks...

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by SteelHorse

what's the drugs that the drivers are being accused of using?

They've never made Hmiel or Grubb's drugs of choice public (my personal bet is simply weed) but Tyler Walker was on prescription pain pills (probably Oxycontin or some benzodiazepine) and Fike was caught shooting heroin and having enough in his possession to warrant a charge of trafficking, which was dropped.

My personal suspicion is that uppers, steroids and HGH's are common in the ranks of the pit crews and shop workers.

[DOF_power]

I agree Bob but at least NASCAR is doing something about it .

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by DOF_power

I agree Bob but at least NASCAR is doing something about it .

Not yet. As of today they are still testing "only when there is suspicion. As far as random drug testing (which is not totally effecting but eons better than doing nothing), NA__AR is "considering it," and "possibly implementing it next season."

NA__AR will be dragged kicking and screaming into this needed program BUT I think we must remain watchful and keep its feet to the fire. NA__AR absolutely MUST use an outside testing organization which has no link to NA__AR, other than the signed contract to do testing. Of NA__AR itself conducts the testing it'll be nothing but a sham. NA__AR's next to worse nightmare is to have one of its marquee drivers or crew chiefs caught using drugs.

That is why, last season when Carl Edwards exhibited probably one of the most classic examples of "Roid Rage," (when he accosted Kenseth after a race, during an interview) no testing was done and it was quickly brushed under the table. When it comes to suspicions, as in the current NA__AR drug policy, NA__AR can be very selective.

[jks812]

Nascar reminds me of the government. If they think there's a problem, they'll make a committee to investigate it for 6 months and then file a report. Then they'll go over the report for another 6 months. By then, they think everybody has forgotten it and so there's no need to do anything about it then.