Brad Keselowski: In my opinion

   Brad Keselowski was very clear: He thought his opinion on NASCAR's drug policy probably wasn't share by many, or perhaps anyone other than himself.

   And he didn't think much of Carl Edwards' idea of drivers' collectively organizing an independent group to do testing in tandem with NASCAR.

   His comment, as is typical for Keselowski, were straight-forward and well thought out. This is what he said:

   “I’ve read all the same things, listened to what everybody has had to say and there’s a lot of different takes on what it means. You know, I think I have different views than most everybody else does on it. I’m certainly not supportive of Carl’s idea. I don’t think that there’s a place for things like that. I don’t think we need more politics involved in the sport and that’s what groups like that bring in. I think it’s a greater question to me of when I look at the issue at hand with A.J., there have been some people who said it doesn’t matter what it was. I disagree with that. I think it does matter what it was. It does to me. It might not to everybody else but it matters to me what it was because there’s always going to be that level of uncertainty that I have over any athlete or driver that performs at these levels and what they’re taking or not taking. 

   "It’s so difficult to give a great explanation of how I feel about it but I think that I want to believe that any performer or athlete out there would not be dumb enough to take a drug that is against the law, illegal. It just stands to reason that if you’ve made it this far in the sport that you’ve had the knowledge to not do anything that dumb. But I don’t know. I don’t know if that’s what it was. I hope it wasn’t. I hope it was something simple, you know, a stimulant or whatever release he put out. If that’s the case, it does make a difference. It makes a huge difference because it’s my personal belief and I’ve gone through the injuries and so forth. I think you guys saw that last year. It’s my personal belief that nothing should be allowed, nothing. I don’t feel like you should be able to take Flintstone (vitamin) pills. It’s my personal belief. I think you’re race car drivers; you should have to overcome it. I think it’s a bunch of bullshit that people are allowed to take supplements or any of those things. I don’t think that’s right. I don’t think any athlete should be allowed to take that but that’s my own personal beliefs. But where the gray area comes in is what is allowed per the law is not necessarily allowed per whatever drug codes through all these sports. That creates another set of issues. That’s why I think nothing should be allowed.

   “So at the end of the day there are things that are still allowed and who gets to pick and choose what they are I don’t know. I don’t understand that process. I know my own personal code of avoiding it is to take nothing at all. I can still tell you when you go in that room to have a drug test taken, I’ve never taken drugs in my life. I’m scared shitless of it. It’s honestly a phobia of mine. But I go in that room and I’m still scared because you know that if something goes wrong, it’s a death sentence for your career. It’s over. And you know it’s in human hands and by the very nature of being in human hands, there is potential for error. I’d like to sit here and believe that it’s gone through all the processes to make sure that it was done right and that no one would go out on a limb and risk someone’s career if it wasn’t checked, checked and back checked. But I also know that the course of history shows that humans make mistakes even when they check, check and recheck. That’s why airplanes crash. That’s how things go. There are plenty of redundancies in the airlines and they still find a way to crash. So there’s mixed emotions for sure on my end. 

   "I wish that the pool of athletes that compete and make money like we do, whether it’s here today in NASCAR or the NFL or even the Olympics, it would be my preference that you were allowed to take nothing and that it was you’re job to just do it, to just go out there and perform throughout the pain or whatever it is that ails you. But obviously that’s not the situation. Until we get together as a group or as a society and make that a position, there’s always going to be this gray area to where we’re asking ourselves what supplement is right and what’s not, you know, what’s okay and what’s not. I laugh out loud when I read this list of people who say ‘Well I have my supplements checked’ like there’s some special list of supplements that are okay but these aren’t. What kind of world is that? That’s terrible. Nothing should be allowed. Because then it just comes down to who you’ve got for a doctor or a lawyer that says that this is okay and this is not. And I think that we all know that you can get a doctor or a lawyer these days to say you’re okay with anything you do. It reminds me of an old Jeff Foxworthy joke about the difference between, you know, kids and senior citizens. You worry about drugs with both of them. The only difference is that one is legal and one is not. I can remember having grandmas and so forth that took drugs that would knock you out and then couldn’t even stand up. They were all legal you know. They might not be legal in this sport but you still have to wonder about those things. 

   "So I’m sure that I have different views than everyone else. I don’t think there needs to be any committee that approves drugs or supplements or whatever it is. I just think you shouldn’t be allowed to take anything. You should just man-up and drive the damn race car."    

Statement from A.J. Allmendinger's business manager

   Statement from Tara Ragan, Vice President, Walldinger Racing Inc.
   Charlotte, NC (July 11, 2012)

   “In an effort to help our colleagues in the media report on this in a timely and accurate manner, we wanted to provide some additional details regarding AJ’s sample “A” test results. AJ tested positive for a stimulant. He has no idea why the first test was positive, and he has never knowingly taken any prohibited substance. AJ is collecting his medicines and supplements for testing to determine whether an over the counter product caused his positive test. AJ and all of us at Walldinger Racing respect NASCAR's testing program, and he has requested that his "B" sample be tested as part of the process of getting to the bottom of this. We will have the opportunity to review all of the scientific data surrounding the test following the "B" sample test, but our understanding is that AJ's test was slightly above the threshold. As of this morning, we have not been given notice of when the testing of the “B” sample will take place. Thanks again for all of the support of our fans, team, and sponsors as we continue working through the process.”

   -Tara Ragan, Vice President, Walldinger Racing Inc.

NASCAR is going old school

   

    NASCAR recently partnered with Junk Food Clothing to create a new line of apparel that it hopes will attract a younger, more stylish demographic.

    This new brand, NASCAR Classics Collection, will embody the roots and heritage of NASCAR and was inspired by the iconic font styles and imagery of the 1940’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.

    NASCAR will bring the NASCAR Classics Collection to market at mass this fall, but will offer it exclusively in the NASCAR Superstore on NASCAR.com beginning this week.

Army ending NASCAR sponsorship in 2013

    The U.S. Army has decided not to renew its sponsorship with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in 2013 as a primary sponsor of the No. 39 Chevrolet driven by Ryan Newman due to a reallocation of its marketing budget that will not include a presence in NASCAR.

   SHR is actively pursuing a strong brand to partner with the team and its roster of sponsors that also includes Office Depot, Mobil 1, Quicken Loans, GoDaddy.com, Haas Automation, Chevrolet, WIX Filters, Outback Steakhouse, Aspen Dental, Tornados, Coca-Cola, Oreo, Ritz, Bass Pro Shops and Code 3 Associates.

   “The U.S. Army has been a great partner of Stewart-Haas Racing since the team’s inception. It has been a mutually beneficial relationship, with the U.S. Army introducing training regimens that improved our pit crews while instilling the mental, physical and emotional strength of the U.S. Army Soldier in all of us. We remain very proud of our representation of the U.S. Army and its brave Soldiers who are 100 percent committed to our country. We will continue to activate on behalf of the U.S. Army for the rest of 2012, while also growing our other dynamic partnerships at Stewart-Haas Racing for the future.”
   – Brett Frood, Executive Vice President, Stewart-Haas Racing

    “The U.S. Army has worked with Stewart-Haas Racing in a mutually beneficial and highly successful relationship for the past four seasons, and they’ve performed superbly as our partner on and off the track. The same can be said of other members of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series family we have sponsored during the past 10 seasons. The sport, our drivers and the passionate NASCAR fans embraced the Army’s participation and created a tremendous opportunity for Americans to learn more about the profession of the Army Strong Soldier.”

   – John Myers, Director, Marketing Support Element, Army Marketing and Research Group

Statement from A.J. Allmendinger

   Statement from AJ Allmendinger   Charlotte, NC (July 10, 2012) 

   “I have informed NASCAR that I have requested that the "B" sample be tested, following the steps according to NASCAR’s 2012 rule book regarding this situation. I fully respect NASCAR's drug usage policy and the reasons they have it. I am hoping this can get resolved as quickly as possible so that I can get back to driving the No. 22 Penske Racing Dodge. I am sorry that this has caused such a distraction for my Penske Racing team, our sponsors and fans. Obviously I would never do anything to jeopardize my opportunity here at Penske Racing or to my fellow drivers. I am very conscious about my training and health and would never knowingly take a prohibited drug.”

Roger Penske comments on Allmendinger situation

   Following the news NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver A.J. Allmendinger had been temporarily suspended from the sport after failing a random drug test, SPEED reporter Robin Miller talked with team owner Roger Penske in Toronto at the IndyCar race. Penske’s comments on the situation aired on Sunday’s edition of Speed Center:

   Miller: RP, you flew in from Europe last night and got some unfortunate news …

   Penske: “Well, yes it’s unfortunate, obviously, when you come back … and we’re having such a good season … to have a disappointment like that with AJ. You know, there’s still some time. He’s got another test they have to look at this next week and then we’ll make a decision. Obviously, we support the NASCAR program of drug-free drivers, mechanics and crew members and we need to abide by that. To me, it’s a big speed bump for us, but at the end of the day, we’ve had situations before that we’ve had to deal with and we’re going to be professional, we are going to support the sport and we don’t want to let our sponsors down. At this point, we’ll just wait and see.”

Harvicks welcome baby boy

   Kevin and DeLana Harvick welcomed son Keelan Paul Harvick (pronounced Key-lan) Sunday, July 8^th, 2012.

    Keelan weighed in at 6.8 lbs. and 19.5 inches. Throughout the pregnancy, the Harvicks had jokingly referred to their son as "Baby Otis" on Twitter and in public because they did not want to give out the name they had chosen.

    "Waiting on Keelan was the longest nine months of my entire life," Kevin Harvick said. "But time literally stood still when I held our baby for the first time. I've accomplished a lot in my life that I'm proud of, but those moments don't hold a candle to becoming a father and seeing that little face looking up at you. DeLana and I are just amazed by how special and rewarding this is."

    Mother and baby are doing well.