Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Drug testing in Sprint Car racing Part 1: Testing needs to start with the sport's major players

Guessing this could help with rising cost of track insurance. 

It wouldn't hurt.

Had a question in regards to Right to Privacy: That will be addressed in a Friday story.

Once again, excellent work. Sprint car racing could use a few more people like you providing exposure for our sport. Thanks for all you do.

I think you and I have a whole different perspective on what kind of exposure our sport needs. A multi part series on nothing but solving a problem that doesn't exist is niave at best in my firm opinion. Elliott means well I think but leave this lying dog alone and don't go stirring shit up. If our niche market sport opens up this Pandoras box of drug testing everyone, we better be ready for the ramifications of such a short sighted decision. Leave this fine sport alone to police itself without fan or pseudo journalist meddling into the internal policies. Until there is a definitive test that can show that a person is actually under the current influence of cannabis but not just show that they have it in their system as leftover compounds this will be a failed move. There are states where it's perfectly legal to use cannabis for either medical purposes or even for recreation. Thats not unlike alcohol. Nobody wants a driver who has been drinking racing and thats sensible. If they drink on their time after the races why should it be anyones business. The same is true for cannabis whether people want to accept that or not. 

Cheers!

This is a simple informative piece. No intent to harm. I will offer my thoughts on the subject in a column to tie things up on Saturday. 

Jeremy isn't digging this up. Its already a hot topic and he didn't have a thing to do with it. The Tyler Walker and Kevin Ward Jr./Tony Stewart incidents are to blame. Every time sprint car racing has made national headlines over the past few years, its been for negative reasons and I think we all witnessed the downright stupid things that were being said about sprint cars by people in the media who know nothing about them except that a few NASCAR drivers used to and occasionally still race them. Jeremy is passionate about our sport and aside from making money covering it, he's also a fan and he cares about it just like all of us fans do. Public perception of our sport is not good right now and its because of media outlets such as ESPN spewing false assumptions and passing it off to the masses as fact. If a NASCAR driver is hurt in a sprint car accident involving someone on drugs this season, do you think ESPN is going to go ask Lance Dewease or Danny Lasoski what they think? HELL NO! Instead they'll have Rusty Wallace and some guy who used to play basketball flapping their gums about something they know absolutely nothing about. Jeremy brings insight from the people within our sport out in the open and even though he doesn't work for a huge network like ESPN, his articles are still viewed by a lot of people who aren't necessarily fans of sprint car racing. I'd much rather have someone who knows and loves sprint car racing reporting on tough subjects like this than some idiot at the New York times and that is why I am appreciative for what he does for our sport and I hope he continues for years to come.

That question always came up when it was 'random' day at every one of my jobs.  It is your right to refuse to take the test, but you would not have a job if you did.  It is a requirement of the job.  If this happens in Sprint Cars and someone refuses, it is like a positive test and they should be launched. JMO

Yea this will realy help the publics perception, I can see the headlines now, " World of Outlaws Driver John Doe failed a random drug test and has been thrown out of the WoO and can never race again"  That should draw in the new fans in,, great idea.

Or how bout the publics perception that the "World of Outlaws" are hiding drug testing results or refusing to take part. I think the publics perception would be a lot better if the driver, pit crews and anyone involved step up to the plate and do it.

Just don't do drugs.  

Racing and burning buildings are all I need.  Find what you need...

"If you're gonna run the bottom, you might as well get 
a real job."

You think these guys would have passed...lol?

 
 
 
They don't even know how to spell sprint car 
much less chromoly...http://www.ycmco.com

"A multi part series on nothing but solving a problem that doesn't exist is niave at best in my firm opinion".  This problem does exist - no need to rehash the Stewart/Ward situation or the Tyler Walker's arrest, yes these are two people but would you want to get in a sprint car and race against someone hopped up on coke or meth or something else?  If you want sprint car racing to get out of this national media public peception of death traps and back woods racing, you have to have professionalism.  What does every good sports profession have - drug testing.  It would step up the perception of the sport and also make everyones job just a little bit safer, which at the end of the day is all that matters.

I wasn't saying I am for testing or anything like that, I was just stating how it was for me where I 'had' a choice.  I chose 'test' because I wanted my paycheck.

Thank you.....

It is a pretty monumental stretch to claim that someone who doesn't even go to races in the first place would be influenced by a driver failing a drug test. Using that logic, the NFL, NBA, MLB, etc. should be going out of business any day now.

Your argument is really that people who already don't go to races still won't go? It is amusing/pitiful to see the excuses for ducking a drug test.

Take a bow. Someone who actually gets it. 

Gets what, the only 2 drivers you guys can throw out are Kevin ward jr, if he hadnt tried to jump on a moving sprint car you would have never known he was under the influence, if infact he was and not in his system from days before, and Tyler Walker who was no where near a Sprint car, Yes your right that grounds for mandatory testing right there. If this problem exists why are they not arresting drivers week in week out at the track? Thes guys must be real good at hiding it from everyone in the pits since there are literally no other incedents in the recent past. This has nothing to do with getting out of being tested, It is creating an issue when no issue exists, its drug testing companys making big bucks off the backs of racers, tracks and fans. Keep asking for it and we are all gonna get it, we will pay for this one way or another. I cant believe how many closed minded TV worshipers there are in sprint car world.

yeah...stoners unite and tamp this down before it takes root...nobody will notice that fans that post on this website are more offended by this than the drivers interviewed in the article.

Lincoln 1845 ft/.35 mile T1=118MPH 
Eldora 2287 ft/.43mile T3=135MPH
Port 2716 ft/.51 mile T3=TBD
Grove 2792 ft/.53 mile T3=135MPH
Selinsgrove 2847 ft/.54 mile T1=136MPH
"I didn't move to PA from El Paso in search of better 
weather." Van May