NASCAR deadline for team drug testing nears
NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck teams have one more week to file an initial list of crew members who have passed a drug test and are eligible for a NASCAR license.
NASCAR issued a memo to teams last month, setting a Jan. 16 deadline for crew members, which includes all over-the-wall pit crew members, the crew chief, car chief, pit crew support, including team members that are responsible for tires, fuel, and pit crew operation, as well as spotters and race day support, including engineers, engine tuners, shock specialists, chassis specialists and tire specialists, to have the test results.
All tests must be conducted by a laboratory certified by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Teams do not need to submit the names of crewmen who don’t pass.
NASCAR plans to oversee the testing of drivers itself, beginning the week of Jan. 20, NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Thursday. According to NASCAR policy, any driver who fails a test will be indefinitely suspended.
This is the first year of a revised testing policy where all drivers and crewmen must pass a test prior to the season. NASCAR also plans random tests every race weekend.
Although NASCAR does not have a list of banned substances, it did include a list of 38 drugs and testing thresholds for those drugs that must be tested for in the crewmen tests. Those drugs include amphetamines, ephedrine, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cocaine/crack, marijuana and narcotics (including codeine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone). Even zolpidem, the ingredient in sleeping aid Ambien, is on the list.
“[The list] is there as a benchmark because teams are going to outside approved laboratories,” Poston said. “We feel that is an extensive list with a very low threshold, but it’s not exclusive. The same policy applies to all crew members as the drivers – any drug that is misused or abused is a violation of our policy.
“It doesn’t matter what it is. We just felt like we had to have some parameters in terms of screening to give them something to work off of.”
