His story sounds very fishy to me.
He's either an addict lying to cover his ass, or a complete idiot.
Either way, I think a lot less of him than I did before.
His story sounds very fishy to me.
He's either an addict lying to cover his ass, or a complete idiot.
Either way, I think a lot less of him than I did before.
Unfortunately aggravated ignorance isn't on the books as a crime in the states. If it was think of the overcrowding.
It can however get you suspended from NASCAR and fired by the Captain. This has to be true, no publicist would let him come up with such a BS excuse.
What a nimrod.
"For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's future, and we are all mortal".
John Kennedy at American University 1963
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power"
A. Lincoln
In 2012? Sure. When AJ was 18? Hmm, not so much I reckon.
I think we overestimate how worldly or even intelligent these guys are.
Or a 30+ yr old that had been through the nascar drug testing orientation program as part of his employment at Penske Racing.Originally Posted by nascarnation
If he went to any kind of public or religious grade school in California, it's pretty much guaranteed that he would have been through the DARE training, right?
DARE was started in California in 1983.
Both my kids (who bracket Allmendinger in age) went to it here in Indiana.
"Turn right to go left" Doc Hudson
U.S. fighter pilots take amphetamines, such as Adderall, to enhance alertness and cognition on critical missions, and they have done so since WWII. I guess one can argue that such drugs can be beneficial, if not abused.
I guess A.J., to quote Eddie Cheever, isn't the sharpest tool in the shed (Eddie talking about himself, not AJ). If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't have risked my job by taking an unkown substance, and I certainly wouldn't have taken Adderall, knowing that I could be tested and lose my job. Notice the difference between JJ and AJ?
Especially with all the press the Mayfield mess got...
Ed Carpenter...2013 Indianapolis 500 Pole Winner!
The Army also gave Elvis uppers to keep him awake at night while on patrol in Germany...
How'd that work out for The King...
"...if not abused" being the key words here.
Surfing the net, it would seem that anytime you take Adderall without the benefit of a script, it is abusive and not mention highly addictive..
"My favorite time of the day at the Speedway during the month of May was just after dusk, after the track had closed down for day, I used to go out and sit on the pit wall and just listen and think"~ Dick Ralstin
This concocted 'gee-whiz' statement is so transparently false it's amazing he actually said it.
It is even worse if he actually believes it.
And if what he said is true, then he's probably too stinkin' dumb to drive in any bigtime series. How do you work in any job you know is heavily drug tested and not have enough brains to know what's in everything you put in your body? Yeah, I suppose somebody can spike your food or drink, but take a pill without asking what's in it? Dumb, dumb, DUMB!!!
GO DANICA!!!
I guess I'm fine with the dark, smoke-filled interrogation room aesthetic of the interview. It's oddly appropriate. But why is Marty Smith the one sweating profusely?
Not to mention that being in possession of Adderall without a prescription is considered a felony.
To make his version even more bizzare, one article quoted him as saying he took the pill from a friend of a friend! Really AJ? You took an unkown substance from a person you did not even know? Like maybe a supplier?
Incredibly stupid and even more incredible to feign innocence
Marty Smith, the Edward R. Murrow of NASCAR.
50 - Jason Leffler - Treadway Racing - G-Force/Oldsmobile
I knew lots of people who took speed when I was in my 20s but I never understood why... I always enjoyed a good sleep. If I got too tired to Party then it was time to go home and hit the sack.
"Ride The Barrel & Get Pitted... So Pitted."
Yup...when you ask your buddy and he says he's got a "friend" that has something that will do the trick...more than likely the product is not on the up and up and the friend is more likely a "business associate"...
Marty Smith, the Edward R. Murrow of NASCAR.
Young and stupid, unfortunately. Surprised it doesn't happen more, honestly.
History of Indy Car racing:
AAA, USAC, CART, IRL, Champ Car, IndyCar
FC Bayern Munich: 2012-13 Treble Winners - Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, DFB-Pokal
Are you talking in NASCAR or in general? I doubt it happens a lot in NASCAR because of the random drug testing, the big salaries and the potential to never get a ride again because of the nature of sponsorship.
NASCAR is not like stick and ball sports where despite a checkered past, if you can provide W's you get a second and third chance.
In racing you are only as good as your ability to garner sponsors.. and AJ will always be tainted goods from this say forward. Heck, while a good shoe, he is not half the talent of a Kurt Busch, and look where he is today because of boorish behavior... not even a failed drug test!
Wow, I am not sure if I am more alarmed if his story is the truth or a fabrication.....
I would hope my 6, 7 & 8 year olds have enough sense to not put something in their mouth without knowing exactly what it is.... I expect taht from my chocolate lab puppy - not a sensible human being......
Seriously, if he isn't a drug addict, his colossal lack of judgement might be just as potentially harmful to the sport....
On the other hand, I wonder if the "friend" who gave him the pill got it from JC France in the Grassy Knoll????
He's a doper.................LOL !!!
Marty Smith promoted the interview on Twitter by saying that Dinger was "very candid". I like Marty, but c'mon dude. Your desire to be friends with these guys is getting in the way of doing the real journalism thing. There's nothing particularly wrong with not being a hard-hitting reporter, until you start posing as one. Allmendinger's laughable explanation is the opposite of candor, and this interview is not truly challenging.
Real, essential follow-up questions:
1. Who's the friend, and who's the friend-of-a-friend?
2. If this is true, why did you release statements that you were gathering all of your supplements and "everything in your trailer" to be tested?
3. Aegis and Dr. Black state that the test does not reveal the specific drug, and nothing more specific than the category of "amphetamines". Why did you state that you were told it was "prescription Adderall"? Who told you this?
There are others, this is like shooting fish in a barrel. But #3 is the killer. The plain absurdity of his entire story aside, nobody involved with the test told him it was Adderall. According to you, you took a pill some guy handed you. You couldn't possibly know the contents, only he could. So if he has informed you since that it was in fact Adderall, let's talk more about him.
Of course, it wasn't Adderall. Allmendinger is claiming that it's Adderall for the same reason that Mayfield did, because they think it makes it better than speed / meth. He's being smarter than Mayfield was to the extent that he's submitting to the Road to Recovery program and admitting "mistakes". But if you don't want to tell the truth, just don't tell blatant lies. His right to privacy would have been respected.
There is a photo in Waylon Jennings' autobiography that shows him after spending two weeks ... 14 entire days ... without sleep, wired on coke. It's not pretty.
I'm with you. I need my sack time to function.
Why is a name 'essential'?1. Who's the friend, and who's the friend-of-a-friend?
I believe your are quite incorrect here. However it appears that NASCAR's spokesman can't get his story quite straight either.3. Aegis and Dr. Black state that the test does not reveal the specific drug, and nothing more specific than the category of "amphetamines". Why did you state that you were told it was "prescription Adderall"? Who told you this?“The MRO would have given the exact substance as part of the process,” NASCAR spokesman David Higdon said. “They know exactly what the single substance is that AJ tested positive for.”I suspect that the A sample test showed a 'generic' result and more detailed testing of the B sample gave more specific results.NASCAR Spokesman David Higdon said the organization is unaware of the specific substance Allmendinger took, other than that it was an amphetamine. Higdon said testing won’t reveal the brand of a substance.
That certainly hasn't been the case on this forum.But if you don't want to tell the truth, just don't tell blatant lies. His right to privacy would have been respected.
new sig pending
I disagree. No amount of punishment will persuade someone from making such a mistake. It's a fact of life. People know the risks, but they'll do it anyway.
Because as a journalist, it's Marty Smith's job to check and verify or dispute claims that are made to him using additional sources. The only way to substantiate Allmendinger's story is to establish who gave him the pill, and attempt to reach that person for comment. It's not that any of that is likely to happen. But it's the most obvious, immediate question that needs to be asked if you're going to seriously report on this. Either give Allmendinger the opportunity to identify the person who ruined his career, or get him to refuse to do so, and establish that there is no evidence whatsoever to support his story.
It's not that Smith isn't good at much of his job. He quickly reported a reaction from Aegis that the test does not reveal the specific brand of drug, and from NASCAR that they don't know the specific substance.
I'm more than prepared to be critical of NASCAR and / or Aegis if they've been inconsistent. I just haven't seen anything on the record from them directly that has been. There was widespread media speculation that the B test would reveal a more specific substance. If you're aware of conflicting statements coming from them, I'm very interested.
I won't argue with that. But because the NASCAR (and sports in general) media is more reverential, I do believe that if Allmendinger had asserted something to the effect of this, both media and fans in general would have been more likely to respect it and move on:
"I made a very poor decision to take something I shouldn't have. It was an isolated incident, and I will never let it happen again. I respect the confidentiality of NASCAR's process, and I can't talk about specifics. I intend to use the resources provided by Dr. Black and the Road to Recovery program to strengthen myself as a person and blah blah blah."
Last edited by killspeed52; 08-09-2012 at 04:40 PM.
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