AJ Allmendinger: A Cautionary Tale

AJ Allmendinger, the Champ Car driver turned Nascar driver failed a random drug test last week. As AJ put it, "I wasn't worried, I'd never done a drug in my life. Taking these tests was just another normal thing. I didn't give it a second thought".

An interview with ESPN last night explained how the amphetamine got into his system though, and boy does it sound fishy. According to AJ, two days before the Kentucky race, while relaxing with friends, he took a pill which was given by a friend after AJ complained of being 'tired'.

Whatever the reason, Nascar has a choke hold on it's drivers, and unlike other major sports, the drivers have no recourse when they're accused of ingesting banned substances. Nascar currently does not have any type of appeal or arbitration to settle disputes. Right now, it's Nascars way or the highway.

(From USA Today Sports)

"Dietary supplements should probably not be taken unless under medical supervision because they can be contaminated with stimulants," Wadler told USA TODAY Sports. "They offer little to no advantage and might end up ruining a career by an athlete testing positive. (The manufacturers) don't have to provide information on the products' purity. You don't know what you're taking."

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's website cautions about the risk of supplements because they aren't evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration for effectiveness or safety from tainted products. "The fact is that strict regulation of dietary supplements is not done prior to sale. Under current laws, individual dietary supplement manufacturers, and not an independent agency, are responsible for making sure their own products are safe before they can be sold," the website says.

AJ Allmendinger has said that he never knowingly took a banned substance. Be that as it may, both tests, the initial positive and the follow-up test B showed some type of amphetamine, commonly in dietary supplements.


Several years ago, after being accused of being a chronic methamphetamine abuser, Jeremy Mayfield decided to sue Nascar instead of going into their "Road to Recovery" substance abuse program. Once you admit to taking the banned substance and enter the program, Nascar has you by the short and curlys.

Jeremy Mayfield has gone to bat for Allmendinger, saying he’s got a long road back. Jeremy should know, instead of submitting to Nascar’s substance abuse recovery program, he sued for defamation, and other reasons. Only problem is, he twice signed away his right to sue. Once as a driver, and again recently as an owner. AJ’s got the same problem, and it’s no surprise to Mayfield that AJ has decided to enter Nascar’s Road to Recovery program. It’s his only move forward.

About Jeremy Mayfield, one commenter stated:

"He drove in NASCAR for 17 years. He never had a reputation for poor driving. Maybe a bad attitude at times, but he never showed any type of behavior that ever led to him being suspected. The fact that he passed so many tests for all those years, only to fail one right after he started his own team, which took a lot of his money, is a tad strange to me. There is another side of this that we haven't seen or heard yet."

Mayfield may not be the one you want arguing for you against Nascar. Although he was reported to have tested at extremely high levels of methamphetamine, Mayfield was busted and charged with possession of the drug some time after he refused the rehab and tried to sue. So far two judges have thrown out the suit, and Mayfield has decided not to make his final allowed appeal. He is on Allmendingers side, though, and makes a good point that once AJ agrees to the program, he becomes the poster boy for Nascar’s Substance Abuse Program. As Mayfield states, for him it was impossible to live that lie if you didn’t do the drug they’re claiming you did. Mayfield also points out that Nascar suspended AJ prior to the results of the second test which is also unfair.        

Troubles have continued for Mayfield as new charges of theft and possession of stolen property are filed against him (from USA Today Feb20, 2012). All charges seem to stem from inability to pay his bills. Too bad, Jeremy seems like a good guy, a typical racer from the heartland. Hopefully it'll get a little bit better for him as time goes by.

                        AJ Allmendinger from Champ Car Days

-katykarter