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Sprint Cup
CUP: Allmendinger To Join NASCAR Rehab Program
AJ Allmendinger to undergo rehab after apparently testing positive for amphetamines…
On a day in which suspended NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger agreed to begin a sport-sponsored drug rehabilitation program, there remained a slice of mystery about the drug that led to his suspension.
Tara Ragan, Allmendinger’s business manager, told several media sources Wednesday that the driver had tested positive for amphetamines. In other interviews, however (including on SPEED’s NASCAR Race Hub), she said Allmendinger had not been told about the specific substance.
Ragan said, “There are things we know that it’s not. We haven’t been informed yet of what it is.”
But, on the same program on SPEED, NASCAR official David Higdon said individuals found to have violated NASCAR’s banned-substance list are informed of “the exact substance that he or she has tested positive for.” Allmendinger was told about the substance July 7, the day he was temporarily suspended, officials said.
Ragan said the NASCAR tests had ruled out cocaine, Ecstasy, marijuana, alcohol and methamphetamines.
Allmendinger agreed Wednesday to begin NASCAR’s Road to Recovery, a drug rehabilitation program designed to facilitate competitors’ returns to the sport after drug-test failures. Ragan said Allmendinger agreed to start the program to speed his possible return to racing.
“We made the decision this morning to do that, and exhaust every resource that we can, including those that have been given to us by NASCAR, so that we can make that process as quick as possible,” she said. “We didn’t want to wait. We’ve already lost a lot of very valuable time. We didn’t want to sit here and wait.
“Like I said, we’re still waiting today for some information. We hired an independent lab to stand by so that we can start running some of those things, so that we know what happened. I’ll have a better idea. We don’t know how long that will take because those tests, as we’ve shown yesterday, take a long time to do. If we can use that resource for NASCAR, and that helps speed the process, why would we not do that?”
Allmendinger’s recovery will be supervised by a NASCAR program manager.
“We’re very pleased that AJ Allmendinger has chosen to participate in the NASCAR Road to Recovery program,” NASCAR said in a Wednesday statement. “It’s designed, as proven, to provide a roadmap leading to a return to competition, and we wish him the best of luck. As we have with other competitors, we look forward to the day when the Program Administrator recommends him for reinstatement.”
Penske Racing expressed disappointment with the second test results and said team driver Sam Hornish Jr. will continue to drive the Penske No. 22 Sprint Cup car, at least in the next two races – at Indianapolis and Pocono, in place of Allmendinger.
Penske “will evaluate its course of action as it pertains to AJ over the coming week,” the statement said.
Shell/Pennzoil, major sponsor of the No. 22 team, issued a statement late Tuesday.
“Shell and Pennzoil believe that the process and procedures that NASCAR has in place as part of their substance abuse policy are appropriate and serve to ensure that the sport and its participants are held to the highest standards,” the statement read. “We share Penske Racing’s disappointment with the result of AJ’s B sample test and will work closely with them to determine plans moving forward. We hope for the best for AJ during this difficult time.”
Allmendinger, 30, was temporarily suspended by NASCAR July 7 after he failed a drug test that had been administered the previous week.
Although Allmendinger can return to driving by participating in NASCAR’s rehabilitation process, Tuesday’s result puts his career in significant jeopardy. Jeremy Mayfield, the first Sprint Cup driver to fail a drug test, did not return to racing after a long legal battle with NASCAR.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
Tara Ragan, Allmendinger’s business manager, told several media sources Wednesday that the driver had tested positive for amphetamines. In other interviews, however (including on SPEED’s NASCAR Race Hub), she said Allmendinger had not been told about the specific substance.
Ragan said, “There are things we know that it’s not. We haven’t been informed yet of what it is.”
But, on the same program on SPEED, NASCAR official David Higdon said individuals found to have violated NASCAR’s banned-substance list are informed of “the exact substance that he or she has tested positive for.” Allmendinger was told about the substance July 7, the day he was temporarily suspended, officials said.
Ragan said the NASCAR tests had ruled out cocaine, Ecstasy, marijuana, alcohol and methamphetamines.
Allmendinger agreed Wednesday to begin NASCAR’s Road to Recovery, a drug rehabilitation program designed to facilitate competitors’ returns to the sport after drug-test failures. Ragan said Allmendinger agreed to start the program to speed his possible return to racing.
“We made the decision this morning to do that, and exhaust every resource that we can, including those that have been given to us by NASCAR, so that we can make that process as quick as possible,” she said. “We didn’t want to wait. We’ve already lost a lot of very valuable time. We didn’t want to sit here and wait.
“Like I said, we’re still waiting today for some information. We hired an independent lab to stand by so that we can start running some of those things, so that we know what happened. I’ll have a better idea. We don’t know how long that will take because those tests, as we’ve shown yesterday, take a long time to do. If we can use that resource for NASCAR, and that helps speed the process, why would we not do that?”
Allmendinger’s recovery will be supervised by a NASCAR program manager.
“We’re very pleased that AJ Allmendinger has chosen to participate in the NASCAR Road to Recovery program,” NASCAR said in a Wednesday statement. “It’s designed, as proven, to provide a roadmap leading to a return to competition, and we wish him the best of luck. As we have with other competitors, we look forward to the day when the Program Administrator recommends him for reinstatement.”
Penske Racing expressed disappointment with the second test results and said team driver Sam Hornish Jr. will continue to drive the Penske No. 22 Sprint Cup car, at least in the next two races – at Indianapolis and Pocono, in place of Allmendinger.
Penske “will evaluate its course of action as it pertains to AJ over the coming week,” the statement said.
Shell/Pennzoil, major sponsor of the No. 22 team, issued a statement late Tuesday.
“Shell and Pennzoil believe that the process and procedures that NASCAR has in place as part of their substance abuse policy are appropriate and serve to ensure that the sport and its participants are held to the highest standards,” the statement read. “We share Penske Racing’s disappointment with the result of AJ’s B sample test and will work closely with them to determine plans moving forward. We hope for the best for AJ during this difficult time.”
Allmendinger, 30, was temporarily suspended by NASCAR July 7 after he failed a drug test that had been administered the previous week.
Although Allmendinger can return to driving by participating in NASCAR’s rehabilitation process, Tuesday’s result puts his career in significant jeopardy. Jeremy Mayfield, the first Sprint Cup driver to fail a drug test, did not return to racing after a long legal battle with NASCAR.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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