| | | | | | DRUGS DON'T BELONG | Harvick still hoping for stricter drug testing policy | |
| | Lee Montgomery / SceneDaily.com Kevin Harvick wanted to install a drug-testing program at Kevin Harvick Inc., but he said Thursday he’s found it more difficult to do than he figured.
A month ago, the NASCAR world was stunned by the revelation that Aaron Fike had driven under the influence of drugs during a NASCAR race. Harvick said he intended to institute a testing policy at KHI, which fields teams in the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series.
“There’s a lot that goes into that, there’s a lot of privacy policies that you have to follow and a lot of privacy things that come into play legally that you have to be really careful of,” Harvick said. “It’s not as easy as I thought it would be when we talked about it in meetings.”
But that’s not going to stop him. Harvick wants fans to know that NASCAR is a drug-free sport, and team owners have a responsibility in the process.
“There’s a responsibility that has to come with the teams to help NASCAR get the drug-testing policy where it needs to be,” Harvick said. “The feedback from the team owners in the garages has been very positive. They’re just waiting on NASCAR to see what exactly they want the drug-testing policy [to be], how they want it to work.”
Harvick said that while he believes NASCAR to be a “very clean sport,” instances like the Fike controversy need to be eliminated.
“For me, the most important thing is probably perception of how testing is done, who is tested and how often they’re tested,” Harvick said. “I’m 99 percent sure that everybody in the Cup garage is clean. … When we got into this whole drug testing thing, we obviously are known as a drug-free environment at my company, and Richard is stepping up with his drug-testing policy to do the same thing.”
NASCAR has the toughest penalty for violating its substance-abuse policy of any sport, Harvick said, and for good reason.
“It’s a very black-and-white issue,” Harvick said. “If you don’t follow the rules, the consequences of swinging a bat in Yankee Stadium and running into a wall at 200 mph and putting 42 other drivers at risk – that’s a much bigger consequence.”
Harvick wants to see drug testing stepped up, however. For instance, he wants to see any driver who has to go to the infield care center after an accident during a race get tested.
“If you want a hard card [for an annual credential], you take a drug test,” Harvick said. “It’s pretty simple. If you want to come in the garage, your team has to have an outside agency come in and in order to get your hard card, you have to submit to a drug test.”
| | Posted May 16, 2008 , 9:48 pm EST
Last Updated May 18, 2008 , 7:19 pm EST | | | | | | | | | | |
