Drugs and NASCAR seem to go hand in hand these days.
Aaron Fike, NASCAR Craftsmen Truck Series driver raced on May 7, 2007, after shooting up with heroine. He was later caught by police and arrested, along with his girlfriend, for possession of black tar heroine. That day he placed in the top five, racing along at speeds of up to 120 mph, all while completely high.
Makes you cringe, and worry for the men racing alongside such drivers at breakneck speeds.
Sprint Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield was suspended indefinitely on Saturday May 9, 2009. In addition Tony Martin and Ben Williams (both crew members for other teams) were suspended at Darlington International Speedway for the same reason: substance abuse.
According to the 2009 NASCAR rule book, violators of section 12-1, which involves “actions detrimental to stock car racing”, and section 7-5, which involves “violation of the NASCAR substance abuse policy”, are subject to immediate suspension. Both of these aforementioned reasons pertained to the suspension of the three men listed above.
In a very similar but unrelated note, Kevin Grubb was suspended in 2006 for substance abuse as well. Unfortunately, Grubb was found dead Wednesday May 6, 2009, in a hotel room in Richmond, Virginia. Grubb was only 31 years old and was discovered with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Early investigations state that Grubb committed suicide, and no further evidence of drugs was found at the crime scene. Toxicology tests are being done to locate any substances within Grubb’s body at the time of death, but the test results may take up to six weeks.
Grubb was suspended twice. The original suspension was for substance abuse, and the following suspension was given after he refused a drug test upon return. NASCAR then suspended Grubb indefinitely without further notice.
It is extremely unfortunate that such a good man was led down the wrong path by something so mundane as substance abuse. My condolences and heart go out to Grubb’s wife and family for their loss, and I hope that somehow Grubb has found peace with himself.
I can’t help but feel like something must be done about the outbreak of substance abuse within NASCAR. Sorry, baseball fans, but I believe personally that this matter is much more important than ‘roid rage. There are no 120 mph, 3,400 pound vehicles screaming around a track in baseball, just juiced up ball players smacking balls and running around in diamonds.
