Mayfield case puts spotlight on NASCAR drug policy

July 10, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Although NASCAR contends it has the best anti-doping procedures in sports, some experts see flaws in the policy and question whether drivers are getting a fair shake in the lab or a safe ride on the track.

The debate between outfits that run Olympic-style testing programs and leagues that enforce their own — NASCAR, baseball and the NFL among them — has been going on for a while, but it’s taking on new relevance in the wake of Jeremy Mayfield’s case against NASCAR.

NASCAR suspended the 40-year-old driver May 9, eight days after he failed a random drug test. NASCAR has said Mayfield tested positive for methamphetamine, but he has denied ever using the illegal drug.

Last week, a federal judge issued an injunction and overturned the drug suspension to let Mayfield compete. NASCAR is appealing the judge’s ruling, saying that allowing “a proven methamphetamine user” back on the track could lead to fatal consequences for other competitors and fans.

The Mayfield case “will be used as Exhibit 1 of what can go horribly wrong when you don’t have an effective policy in place,” said Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Association, which oversees America’s Olympic athletes.

NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston conceded the policy wasn’t perfect and that NASCAR is always looking for places to make improvements.

But nobody, he said, should question the intent. A big difference between NASCAR and other sports is NASCAR must be on the lookout for drugs that enhance performance and those that impair it.

“Our sport is different, and that’s why, again, maybe the whole issue is so simple it confuses people,” Poston said.

Despite being cleared to race, Mayfield couldn’t find a ride for last weekend’s race at Daytona, and on Thursday, his attorney said he would not be in Chicago for this weekend’s race.

Experts from the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Anti-Doping Research lab in Los Angeles joined Tygart in flagging a number of elements in the NASCAR policy that don’t conform to standards used by Olympic sports.

Among the flaws, they said, was NASCAR’s lack of a published list of banned substances for drivers.

NASCAR disputes that, saying there is, in fact, a list that was distributed to teams at the beginning of the season when they were required to have their crews drug-ested. That list was nowhere as detailed as the list WADA puts out, but NASCAR has a reason for that, as well.

“I wish someone would look up that WADA list and attempt to tell me if it educates them on what they can or cannot take,” said David Black, CEO of the Aegis Sciences Corp., which runs NASCAR’s program.

“Every participant has my cell phone number. Any participant is allowed to call me about any issue related to a supplement, a prescription. I do speak with them. They’re all given that opportunity.”

NASCAR’s 51‚Ñ2-page policy lays out a path to reinstatement for banned drivers but calls only for “indefinite” suspensions, with no specific time frames.

Cases run by WADA and USADA call for a two-year ban on a first offense and a lifetime ban on a second, with a clearly defined appeals and arbitration process, along with opportunities for reductions due to unusual circumstances.