NASCAR's Mayfield reportedly suspended for substance abuse, says prescription meds to blame
Jeremy Mayfield, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver with five career victories, has become the first driver suspended for substance abuse since the sanctioning body's no-nonsense policy took effect this season. Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president of corporate communications, would not say what the specific substance was, but he did clarify that it was not alcohol-related. As of last September, NASCAR tests all drivers and crew members at the start of the season, and randomly throughout the year. Mayfield, 39, drives for Mayfield Motorsports, his own team. The suspension prevents him from leading or driving, but nothing prevents the team from being run by someone else with a replacement driver behind the wheel. Mayfield released the following statement to Sports Illustrated on Saturday: "As both a team owner and a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, I have immense respect for the enforcement policies NASCAR has in place. In my case, I believe that the combination of a prescribed medicine and an over the counter medicine reacted together and resulted in a positive drug test. My Doctor and I are working with both Dr. Black and NASCAR to resolve this matter." Thanks to Patrick for the tip.
[Source: Miami Herald, quote from Sports Illustrated]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris 3:08PM (5/10/2009)
I believe him, I know he wouldn't be stupid enough to do cocaine or marijuana. It's kinda stupid though, taking a Claritin pill for your allergies can make you fail this test, as will taking Tylenol.
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phoenix 10:29AM (5/11/2009)
Mayfield's never been considered one of the more "thinking man's" drivers, and as we've seen with Shane Hmiel, Aaron Fike, and the (recently deceased) Kevin Grubb to name just a few, NASCAR is catching more than its share of drivers who can't help but smoke, snort, shoot, pop, or rub into their belly some kind of illegal substance.
NASCAR's testing policy has improved somewhat - random testing is certainly a step in the right direction - and they're a far cry from the days when they banned Tim Richmond for taking AZT to slow down the symptoms of AIDS...
lowteckh 3:13PM (5/10/2009)
OTC = pot, Prescription = blow?
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LowTeckh 3:13PM (5/10/2009)
OTC = pot, Prescription = blow?
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Farmboy 3:19PM (5/10/2009)
Same thing happens with poppy seed bagels and mouthwash (for a DUI).
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Aloysius Vampa 3:21PM (5/10/2009)
That's weird.
Dave Ellis 3:26PM (5/10/2009)
I was working at Long Beach in 2006. We met Marino Franchitti who had a bad cold, and said he couldn't even take any drugs for it because of the drug testing.
Similarly, Mythbusters tested the Poppy Seed bagel myth and managed to test positive for heroin (!!) after just 2 bagels.
So it isn't as black and white as it seems.
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Tim 5:39PM (5/10/2009)
When will people realize that drug testing is not only an invasion of privacy, but is also inaccurate? There are just as many false negatives as positives, and both of them are serious problems. Let's measure people on their job performance, reaction time or any other objective metric rather than what may be in their blood.
http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/10842res20021021.html
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Mason 5:46PM (5/10/2009)
NASCAR's policy is ridiculous. There is no appeal process or timeframe for getting back. Just serve up the banhammer whenever anyone has something in their system. Listening to the interviewed drivers on espn today showed how much of tools they all are, pawns for NASCAR in this stupid situation. Its all about money, if the same thing happened to junior and we wouldn't hear a whisper about it.
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Marc 6:37AM (5/11/2009)
Mason, first of all you're incorrect. There is an appeals process.
Secondly if it's "all about the money" then the "money" would rule and no one would ever pop positive and in the strange coincidence they did you'd never hear about it.
ephatch02 3:12PM (5/11/2009)
Actually, he cannot appeal the drug test. The only way to get reinstated is to go through the reinstatement program. There is an A & B test that they administer in Nascar, he failed both. The tests are done by a separate facility with no connection to Nascar. I have several contacts in the Nascar garage, and noone is buying the prescription drug story. From what I have gathered from talking to various people is that it was a "drug of concern" and NOT prescription or over the counter meds.
RLQ 7:26PM (5/10/2009)
This will never happen in MLB.
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dwaltr 10:30PM (5/10/2009)
It's possible that Mayfield is telling the truth but it's also possible Mayfield is a big liar. Pro athletes have got to stop the "I took a prescription from my doctor and that's what caused the positive test." Drug use is rampant in the US and to think that pro athletes are somehow above such things is pretty naive. Other than Canseco and a couple of pot heads in the NFL has there been any athlete that's tested positive that has admitted to using drugs instead of the tired excuse of "my doctor made me do it".
Perhaps Mayfield is honest and his story is true but there has been far to many athletes who have lied about past drug use that it's tainted all athletes credibility, and they have no one to blame but themselves.
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macdoc 8:46AM (5/13/2009)
Stop the damn Drug Testing....it's WRONG!!
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