Absolute control is absolutely the NASCAR way

DOVER, Del. – There are two guiding principles one must always keep in mind when dealing with NASCAR on any significant issue.

Rule No. 1 is that whenever possible NASCAR finds a way for somebody else to pick up the tab.

Any program or initiative where a team, a manufacturer or a sponsor can be cornered into paying the bills has an infinitely better chance of being implemented than one where NASCAR has to write a check.

Rule No. 2 is that NASCAR loves and maniacally defends its control over the sport. It is only slightly less likely to spend its own money than it is to let anything – even a black-and-white rule in its own rulebook – dictate how it handles a given situation.

NASCAR always likes to leave itself wiggle room.

The latter rule is clearly in play in regard to changes to NASCAR’s substance abuse policy announced here Saturday morning.

The new policy goes into effect for the 2009 season. All drivers in the Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series as well as all NASCAR officials will be drug tested before the start of next season. Additionally, team owners must verify that they’ve had all licensed crew members tested by a certified lab before the new season begins.

Drivers, over-the-wall crew members and officials will thereafter be subjected to random testing. At least two drivers, two over-the-wall crew members and two officials will be tested per series per race weekend. So if all three series are running on a given weekend, a minimum of 18 tests will be administered.

The NASCAR policy is that the misuse or abuse of any drug is prohibited. NASCAR’s press release Saturday said, “This means that a violation of the policy can be triggered with the use of any drug or medication if NASCAR believes it has been abused or misused.”

Of course, that also means that NASCAR has the discretion to decide that a positive test for any drug doesn’t necessarily constitute that abuse or misuse.

That’s where the control principle kicks in.

Take the case involving Ron Hornaday that surfaced last week. If Hornaday had tested positive for use of the testosterone cream he obtained, he would have had to tell NASCAR why he was using it. If the medication were on a black-and-white banned list, the circumstances wouldn’t have mattered. But with the discretion allowed, NASCAR would have been able to weigh the situation before ruling.

But shouldn’t there be at least some kind of list of substances that are absolutely banned, no matter the circumstances? There’s no circumstance under which a positive for cocaine or heroin, for instance, should leave any room for discretion. Why not just simply ban them as part of an official policy?

The answer is that NASCAR would rather not face any absolutes, even ones that would appear to be mindlessly obvious. It’s just not how NASCAR likes to operate.

The same thing can be said for the penalty phase. A first offense calls for immediate suspension with “detailed criteria” for consideration of reinstatement. Those criteria, however, are not delineated publicly.

NASCAR can handle each penalty phase on an individual basis. Is that just being smart, or does it give NASCAR the room to play favorites? That’s the kind of skepticism NASCAR is perfectly willing to deal with rather than cede any more control.

The one absolute is that a third offense results in an automatic lifetime ban, and it’s hard for anybody to argue that in a sport as dangerous as this one a “three-strikes” rule is a bad idea.

There is s a lot of good in the new plan. NASCAR will pay for all of the testing except for the preseason crew tests and the testing will be done through an outside agency. Random testing is a lot better than the old “with cause” standard, as long as the randomness of who gets picked for testing is fairly administered.