Aaron Fike seemingly had it all. He was leading the rookie of the year standings half way through the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. He seemed destined to move up through NASCAR's feeder series. Maybe all the way up to the bigs, Sprint Cup. He had a beautiful fiancee, Cassandra Davidson.

Yet, with this bright future laid out in front of him Fike, along with Davidson, was arrested July 7, 2007, and charged with heroin possesion. They were shooting up heroin in Fike's truck for six hours at Kings Island theme park. Fike later pled guilty to two misdemeanors, and recieved two years probation. He has also been to drug rehab.

                               Aaron Fike, and Cassandra Davidson after drug bust

                           Fike is back in the news this week. He tells 'ESPN the Magazine' that he shot up heroin on race days,including his last truck race before his arrest. He finished fifth that day in Memphis. Fifth on heroin! He goes on to say that he was addicted to painkillers for six years and to heroin for ten months.

                           Cassandra Davidson, and Aaron Fike before the drug bust.

Since Fike went public with his story of using drugs on race day several fans are saying that he should be permantly banned from auto racing. I don't have all the answers to this problem, but if we go around taking everyone's livelihood away that had completed rehab, we would have a lot of unemployed addicts on the streets with plenty of free time on their hands. Probably not the ideal situation for them.

Twenty years ago I worked with a heroin addict. He did his job, didn't bother anyone, and wasn't tardy or absent any more than the rest of us. While not rocket science, his job required skill and intelligence. He functioned fine as long as he was on heroin. He would be sick if he didn't  have his fix. I've read that this is the addiction, not the 'high' from the heroin, but keeping the withdrawl sickness at bay.

Fike was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR less than a week after his arrest. Fellow Truck Series driver Tyler Walker was suspended last May after failing a drug test requested by NASCAR at Lowes Motor Speedway. He also is suspended indefinitely. Shane Hmiel is also under indefinite suspension after failing multiple tests. All three of these drivers are currently racing in various smaller series.

                                                                                                Shane Hmiel

Which brings us to NASCAR's drug testing policy. Walker and Hmiel were tested under NASCAR's reasonable suspicion clause. Which is the only way to get tested in NASCAR. There are no random tests. No required tests by NASCAR. Several star drivers are on record as saying they have never taken a drug test while in NASCAR. Among those drivers, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, and Kevin Harvick.        

NASCAR is the only major sport that has no mandatory drug testing of any kind for it's stars. NASCAR is also the only major sport without collective bargaining or a player's union. There is certainly nothing wrong with that, but this also allows NASCAR to legally consider it's stars and teams as independent contractors. This gives NASCAR some wiggle room on the testing issue, as NASCAR can argue that, as independent contractors, the teams---not NASCAR--- are responsible for health and wellness issues.

I'm sure that NASCAR has a full field of lawyers telling them that this is the way to go. As Speed Beagle 20 has said, the head in the sand approach appears to be NASCAR's drug policy. NASCAR won't accept the legal responsibility that comes with conducting drug tests. The drivers are begging NASCAR to test them. They want to know that they're not trading paint with someone under the influence.

As NASCAR proved with the Dale Earnhardt episode, they are not proactive. They will wait until something bites them on the ass, or untill the drivers and fans will not tollerate something any longer. Believe me NASCAR will not institute a real drug policy until something drastic happens. Either legally, or, on the track.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=397641

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/columns/story?columnist=newton_david&id=3338661

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Fike