Philadelphia, PA (Best E Casino) - "We test an individual when we have reasonable suspicion," said NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp in response to this week's revelation that former Craftsman Truck Series and Nationwide Series driver Aaron Fike drove in a race the same day as taking heroin.
Unfortunately, if you are wearing blinders, it's hard to see when there is a problem unless it is right in front of you.
NASCAR only found out about Fike's drug problem after he and his girlfriend were arrested last July outside an Ohio amusement park. Had he not been found out by park officials and local police, he might have continued to endanger other drivers with his behavior on the track.
Other drivers had suspicions about Fike, but it shouldn't be up to a driver to call out a competitor. And it certainly shouldn't be a money issue...NASCAR has plenty of that.
Drivers are speaking up quickly on this issue as well they should. When you are driving 200 m.p.h. into a corner just a few feet away from another race car, you had better be sure that the other guy has a "level" head and all his faculties.
"Every driver in this garage should take one (drug test), in any garage," Kevin Harvick said to NASCAR.com's David Caraviello on Thursday at Phoenix International Raceway.
"I guarantee you, he's not the first guy and he's not going to be the last guy," said 2008 Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman.
"I've never been asked to take one yet," said two-time series champion Tony Stewart, who has raced in the Sprint Cup Series since 1999. "I think it should be mandatory that we have random drug testing all the time, I think non-stop through the year."
NASCAR's drug policy is strong once they find a problem, it's just that they don't seem to want to go out of their way to check the drivers or for that matter the pit crew. To date, only six people have been suspended for a positive test for drugs or alcohol.
Most sports have some sort of random testing and they are not putting their life on the line like a race car driver. The NFL and MLB have testing. The NBA allows testing not only of players, but trainers and coaches too. The PGA will begin testing this year.
"There's no reason not to be proactive in the state of the world of sports," said Harvick. "If I have to pee in a cup 15 times a year, I'm happy to do that."
NASCAR has made its cars safer and we should all praise them for their efforts with the Car of Tomorrow. Based on Michael McDowell's crash last weekend, all their efforts are paying off. The next step in driver safety is to make sure drivers can trust each other as much as they trust their cars.
