By Sherri Breaton
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Penske Driver A.J. Allmendinger was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR
Photo courtesy of NASCAR.com |
Despite it being an off week in the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series, there was still lots of news happening around the tracks.
A. J. Allmendinger has been suspended indefinitely
from NASCAR following his failure to pass the “B” test sample provided
following a positive “A” test a few weeks ago for a banned “stimulant”. Allmendinger
maintains that he did not knowingly ingest any banned substance and has even
suggested that he may have come from a stimulant. He recently signed on with
sponsor “Fuel in a Bottle”. It is unclear if this could have been the cause.
His business manager, Tara Ragan, said that
the driver is still waiting for information to determine what caused the
positive test. NASCAR has since revealed that the substance was amphetamine:
“He
has no idea why the test was positive, and he has never knowingly taken any
prohibited substance. A.J. is collecting his medicines and supplements for
testing to determine whether an over-the-counter product caused his positive
test” Ragan stated following the test outcome.
Allmendinger has chosen to enter the “Road to
Recovery” path to reinstatement. David Black, NASCAR’s substance abuse program
administrator said that the timetable for Allmendinger's potential return is
unclear. It can take Allmendinger anywhere from a few months to more than a
year to be reinstated.
Black also went on to state that he would be
surprised to learn that the positive result came from a supplement. As Black
explained to ESPN:
“On every positive test we have, we look to
rule out the possibility of a supplement being involved. Of course, we have not
identified the drug (this has since changed) but I'm not aware of any commercial products that would
have influenced the test outcome."
NASCAR's substance abuse policy bans
stimulants including amphetamine, methamphetamine, Ecstasy (MDMA), Eve (MDEA),
MDA, PMA, Phentermine and other amphetamine derivatives and related compounds.
Just hours after the revelation became
public, Allmendinger took to Twitter to say a few words (all words sic’d):
"I just want to say thank you first and foremost
for all if u sticking by me. Please dont think me being means i havent been
reading all ur / Support. And man, it means more than u eill ever know. Im
sorry we even have to have this going on. But i promise..i will do whatever it
/ Takes to get to the bottom of this and get back our there no matter what.
Thanks guys."
Typically, the grammar police of Twitterland kicked
the poor guy when he was down and in no time he was being ridiculed for his
poor English skills. He later tweeted:
"Hey..sorry
to u guys jumping on my spelling..it wasnt a "pr" statement..it was
me typing from my heart...sorry it wasnt perfect".
Sam Hornish Jr.,
who subbed for Allmendinger at Daytona and New Hampshire, will again drive the
No. 22 car this weekend at Indianapolis and in the following race at Pocono.
Kasey Kahne is
riding on a post win high after stealing a win away from Denny Hamlin in New
Hampshire July 15th, 2012. A major communication screw up between
Hamlin and crew chief Darian Grubb in the pits cost Hamelin the win after he
had been leading 150 of the 300 one-mile laps.
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Kasey Kahne celebrates in victory lane at Louden holding the
traditional "lobsta"
Photo courtesy of NASCAR.com |
"Darian asked me how much of the tires I felt
I'd used up. I felt like I had used up a substantial amount," Hamlin said.
"(I said) give me tires and no adjustments. He thought I meant four tires.
Nothing's a given. Even though it looked like we had one in the bag if we took
two tires, you never know." Apparently
Hamlin only wanted two tires.
Kahne took
advantage of the foul up and on the restart jumped in to first on lap 240 while
Hamlin restarted 13th. The
victory for Kahne made him start looking like an actual Cup contender and
helped his chances of qualifying for the Chase (the last 10 races of the season
in which the top 10 drivers in the point standings win automatic berths). Two
additional spots go to the drivers with the most wins who are ranked 11th to
20th in points.
Kahne went
from 16th to 12th, and his two wins are more than anyone in the second group of
10. The win was the fifth of
the year for Hendrick Motorsports in 19 races. Seven remain before the Chase
begins at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., on Sept. 16.
Just when
NASCAR fans can not possibly take any more ridicule directed at them, 72 year
old Linda Chase of Michigan gives them more ammo. Last month police discovered
that Ms. Chase had been keeping her 67 year old friend Charles Zigler’s
mummified dead body in his apartment since approximately 2010. Once a week she
would dress him, clean him and sit with him so that they could enjoy the NASCAR
race on TV. Oh she was also cashing his social security checks probably to pay
for the beer and Doritos. Who say’s we NASCAR fans aren’t “die hard”??
On a more “lively” note, NASCAR
Chairman, Brian France made a statement about his commitment to making changes
in the sport:
"There aren't a whole lot of people who don't want
to see more lead changes, or a photo finish, or slamming and banging coming out
of the fourth turn."
"It's a contact sport and if you have a chance to
win and are in second place on the last lap, would I expect there to be some
contact if you have a faster car? Absolutely...we want to see what everybody
else wants to see - excitement."
Bring it!
Sunday we resume racing as we go green at the Brickyard
in Indy for the Curtiss Shaver 400. Let’s see who is fast enough to kiss the
bricks when the checkered flag flies!
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The Lowe's 48 Team of Jimmie Johnson kissing the bricks
at the Brickyard
Photo courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports |
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