*Turn 2 Blog is a regular feature on InsideDirtRacing.com. Here, site operators Michael Moats and Richard Allen take turns offering their thoughts on the dirt racing topics of the day from east Tennessee and beyond.
Richard: The World of Outlaws announced last week that it would begin a new drug enforcement policy in 2017 that will test for drugs that may impair ability and judgement on the race track. That organization serves as a sanctioning body for national touring series in both Late Model and Sprint Car dirt racing divisions. The new procedures will be for drivers only and will not check for performance enhancers, as is often done in other sports.
According to the World of Outlaws, the testing will be conducted on a random basis and will be unannounced prior to the events selected by the sanctioning body and Drug Free Sport, the company that will administer the tests. WoO also pointed out in their press release announcing the new policy that they have always had the ability to test whenever it was suspected there might be a problem. This now allows the series to test even without suspicion.
After the incident in which a Sprint Car being driven by NASCAR star Tony Stewart struck and killed Kevin Ward, Jr. and it was later found that Ward had marijuana in his system, something like this was bound to come about at some point. It is something that has been needed and now is here.
This sport has had what essentially amounted to drug testing for its cars in terms of tires, fuels and other additives that might provide an unfair advantage for a while. Now it will have testing among drivers for substances that might cause more dangerous issues.
What are your thoughts?
Michael: I think the policy is a good thing. It’s not as bad as it used to be, but I think a certain amount of people would be surprised how many drivers actually race on drugs or even the slightest bit drunk. I know some do it to take the edge off, others do it because they’re an addict. While this policy doesn’t seem to include alcohol, drug testing is something that’s been needed for a number of years.
While some may say there shouldn’t be a problem with a driver who wants to smoke a joint every once in awhile, I feel the drug testing policy is aimed more toward the harder drugs. As has been well documented in recent months, drug use in this country continues to get worse. A person has to assume some of that gets into the racing community. The percentages would say that.
One negative I see would be if anyone decided to challenge the legality of it through the courts. And if a driver gets flagged for a positive test, will that go through the courts like we have seen with the tire tests. Also, if a driver is taking medication for a sinus infection or back pain and forgets to disclose that at the time of testing and is flagged for a positive test, what will that driver do and how will the series handle it? I hope these are things the World of Outlaws have taken into consideration and will be able to address if these situations come up.
Richard: I agree that some would probably be surprised at the number of drivers who have raced on the “high side”. That said, I don’t think it is a widespread problem. Nonetheless, not even one driver needs to be on the track with some sort of drug in his/her system that could cause would might be a disastrous error in judgement.
You make a good point regarding medications. By now, everyone has almost certainly heard the story of NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield who was suspended after a positive drug test that he still maintains was the result of a prescription medication combined with an over-the-counter allergy reliever. That situation wound up in court an led to numerous accusations being exchanged between those directly and indirectly involved in the case.
Obviously, WoO would want to avoid something like that happening. That said, the obligation to disclose such use of medications is on the person being tested before the test is administered.
It will be interesting to see what happens if/when the first positive test is revealed.
Michael: It will be interesting. Of course, that will lead to all sorts of speculation on social media and message boards as to what the person tested positive for.
Another thing that will be interesting to watch is whether the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series follows suit, at some point, as well as some of the other series. I guess that will depend on how many drivers WoO catches and if the other series feel there is a bigger problem than anticipated. Like you, I don’t think that it is widespread among the drivers that race for a living. I would see any issues come up with regional or local racers that enter these events.
And speaking of social media and message boards, those will go crazy if particular drivers start skipping WoO events that have not skipped those events in the past.
Richard: I was thinking the same thing in regard to the non WoO drivers who miss races that they may have gone to in the past. And you’re right also in that the social media and message boards will go nuts when said events take place.
One thing to keep in mind is that drug testing can be fairly expensive depending on what drugs are being looked for. That could be a deterrent for regional series that might consider following suit.
And speaking of regional series, most of them have released their schedules for 2017. The two national series have also put their schedules for next year out. As is always the case, fans in the east Tennessee area will have plenty of racing to look forward to next season. Anything on the upcoming schedule that particularly caught your eye?
Michael: Two items have caught my eye.
One is the Lucas date at Tazewell being moved to early May along with their companion date at Florence. I was told the series wanted to give teams a break for the weekend following the Show Me 100. That allowed Tazewell to move their WoO date, which is now where the Lucas date used to occupy.
The other thing is no Ultimate Super Late Model Series date at Smoky Mountain. Car counts were good for those races, but the crowds were rather inconsistent. Not sure for the reason for that, but my guess is that played into the decision. It’s possible a date or two could still be added.
Richard: When it comes to scheduling, this sport has in the past shown a tendency to shoot itself in the foot from time to time. However, there doesn’t seem to be an overwhelming number of conflicts, at least among the series that have released schedules to this point.
As far as the lowered number of Ultimate races in the area for next year, my guess is that it comes back to familiarity with the drivers. That series tends to draw its competitors from the Carolinas, which may cause fans of this area to miss those races simply due to the fact that they don’t know who some of those guys despite the fact that many are very talented racers.
One thing anyone who pays close attention can’t help but notice about the special events planned for this area is that many of these select races are run on dates that will not conflict with the Lucas Oil schedule. That, in turn, allows drivers such as Scott Bloomquist and Jimmy Owens to race at tracks in this area and be seen by many of their east Tennessee fans. Being able to get the word out that either or both of those championship winning drivers will be on the track has to benefit ticket sales, no matter what series is sanctioning a particular race.
But that said, is there too much reliance on those two well known racers when it comes to the scheduling of big races in the area? While neither is showing any immediate signs of slowing down, they won’t be around forever. Is it merely a situation in which tracks are doing the smart thing and taking advantage of their popularity or is there the possibility that racing could suffer in the long run after they each make the same decision Billy Moyer, Sr. has just made in terms of cutting back his schedule?
Michael: I suppose there is something to that. But when the time comes for either of those to scale back, there may be other drivers ready to take their place.
I don’t blame promoters for trying to schedule their events when either of those two have “off” weekends. Those two bring a lot of fans any time they race. The negative to that is sometimes it tends to keep other drivers at home when they hear some of the heavy hitters are coming in. A promoter has to decide if either of those two are bringing in more fans over the loss of crew and fans when several drivers that decide to stay home.
Richard: The main thing I can say about scheduling and promoting races is that I’m glad I don’t do it for a living. It’s much easier just to go and enjoy the racing rather than be the one responsible for putting it on.
