Hard Turn
by Jeff Owens
NASCAR needs to act on drug policy
April 11, 2008
More blog postings from Jeff Owens
When controversy erupts, it’s easy to jump on the bandwagon, easy to pile on and join in the criticism of the person or entity under fire.
Sometimes it’s fair, sometimes it’s not.
Unfortunately, the criticism NASCAR was bombarded with on Friday was, for once, completely warranted.
When it was revealed that former NASCAR driver Aaron Fike had admitted in a national magazine that he raced in the Craftsman Truck Series while under the influence of heroin, NASCAR drivers and the media went into attack mode, letting NASCAR have it for its lax substance-abuse policy.
The criticism was harsh, and it should have been. Substance-abuse is not something to be taken lightly, especially when someone has been driving under the influence, particularly in a race car, at dangerous speeds and around 30-some other drivers.
NASCAR should be outraged that it happened and it should be more than willing to take a hard look at its substance-abuse policy and figure out how it could have happened. More importantly, it should take whatever steps are necessary to make sure that it never happens again.
If that means random drug testing and a much more strict policy, then so be it. Drugs in sports cannot and will not be tolerated. It should have already learned that lesson from baseball and other professional sports. It should have been so proactive that the issue should have never even come up.
NASCAR typically does not take criticism well, not from the media and not from its drivers. When you have become as popular and as widely successful as the sport is, that is sometimes understandable.
But in this case, NASCAR should consider the outrage that drivers expressed Friday as warranted, constructive criticism and do something about it. It should take its medicine, listen to what the drivers and the media and saying and react swiftly to clean up this mess before it gets any worse.
To sit idle, to let it fall on deaf ears and do nothing about it would be the absolute worst thing it could do.
Sometimes it’s fair, sometimes it’s not.
Unfortunately, the criticism NASCAR was bombarded with on Friday was, for once, completely warranted.
When it was revealed that former NASCAR driver Aaron Fike had admitted in a national magazine that he raced in the Craftsman Truck Series while under the influence of heroin, NASCAR drivers and the media went into attack mode, letting NASCAR have it for its lax substance-abuse policy.
The criticism was harsh, and it should have been. Substance-abuse is not something to be taken lightly, especially when someone has been driving under the influence, particularly in a race car, at dangerous speeds and around 30-some other drivers.
NASCAR should be outraged that it happened and it should be more than willing to take a hard look at its substance-abuse policy and figure out how it could have happened. More importantly, it should take whatever steps are necessary to make sure that it never happens again.
If that means random drug testing and a much more strict policy, then so be it. Drugs in sports cannot and will not be tolerated. It should have already learned that lesson from baseball and other professional sports. It should have been so proactive that the issue should have never even come up.
NASCAR typically does not take criticism well, not from the media and not from its drivers. When you have become as popular and as widely successful as the sport is, that is sometimes understandable.
But in this case, NASCAR should consider the outrage that drivers expressed Friday as warranted, constructive criticism and do something about it. It should take its medicine, listen to what the drivers and the media and saying and react swiftly to clean up this mess before it gets any worse.
To sit idle, to let it fall on deaf ears and do nothing about it would be the absolute worst thing it could do.
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