June 27, 2010
By Kim Roberson
Kim Roberson
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Maybe I am a little naïve, but it amazes me with all the discussion about the NASCAR drug policy and the penalties it can bring that anyone in their right mind connected with the sport would do anything to tempt fate at being caught with an illegal drug in their system.
In the last five years, we have seen countless people suspended or fired from teams for testing positive just once for who knows what: they don’t tell us what drug was involved in the failed test, just that the test was failed. In some instances, the drug in question is leaked out in one way or form: meth, black tar heroin. In many cases, the person is a faceless crewmember that was called upon to pee in the cup and is suspended after it is discovered he made a grave error in judgment.
But this week, it wasn’t a faceless crew member, or even a current driver, who found his name on NASCAR’s suspended list. It was a man who has spent much of the last decade working to ensure the drivers on track -- any track -- are safe in their car. Randy LaJoie. LaJoie was tested on June 11 while under NASCAR license to work for the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Nationwide Series team.
LaJoie is a two-time Busch (now Nationwide) series Champion. He retired eight years ago to focus on several things, but most importantly was his work with “The Joie of Seating” -- the race seat company he has built from the ground up. His seats are found not only in the cars of Sprint cup, Nationwide, Camping World Truck series vehicles, but in regional and local track race cars as well.
When Michael McDowell had his spectacular crash in Texas a few years back, he was cushioned within the confines of a Joie of Seating” seat. When David Reutimann was took an 88G hit in Daytona back in 2007, he called LaJoie and thanked him for building such a safe seat. LaJoie recounts the call on his website: "He (Reutimann) called me Monday and thanked me. That is the best feeling in the world when you see a driver in your seat walk away from a hit like that.”
The company has its own Facebook page, and often charges just over the cost of making the seat so that less funded drivers can have one.
So how is it that this man, who has been so focused on safety for so long, can make such a bad decision?
"I screwed up," LaJoie told Sirius Speedway host Dave Moody during an interview on Tuesday, the day the penalty was announced. "NASCAR tested me the day when I wanted to go spot for (Joe Gibbs Racing) at Nashville. I already have two NASCAR licenses, but they said I needed a spotter's license, and that included taking a drug test. I took the test, and got a call a few days later, saying I had tested positive for marijuana."
LaJoie says he was working at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte last month as a shuttle driver, taking fans back and forth from the track to their campsites. He said he ended up hanging out with one of the groups he took out after the race, and one thing led to another and he smoked some marijuana with the fans.
“At the end of the day, you can't fix stupid. God that's got to be the dumbest thing I've ever done in my life. But I've got to turn this negative into a positive. If I can help people out there I'm going to help people," explained clearly repentant LaJoie, who nearly broke down in tears during his candid discussion with Moody.
"I have already spoken to my own drug abuse counselor, and I am waiting for a call back from NASCAR's doctor," he said. "I'll go wherever they tell me to go, and I'll do what they tell me to do.”
Not only has LaJoie had his NASCAR licenses taken away, he has been suspended from his duties with ESPN, where he is a race analyst for their NASCAR Nationwide Series coverage.
In his official statement sent to the media after the penalty was announced, LaJoie stated "I take full responsibility for my actions and respect NASCAR's decision. I wish to apologize to my wife and family first, to NASCAR, to my fans and to the various media companies which I work including ESPN, Sirius Radio, Speed Channel and Performance Racing Network. I have this day sought to enroll in a substance abuse program. My use of marijuana was an isolated incident following the Coca-Cola 600. I plan to follow the recommendations of the substance abuse counselor and suggestions of NASCAR and hope that someday I can prove to NASCAR and all the people with whom I associate that I have taken such steps to see that instances such as this do not reoccur."
While it is clear that LaJoie made a very bad choice, he has done something that too few people in the same position do: he has manned up and taken full responsibility for his actions. He didn’t try to skirt the issue by claiming that what he did wouldn’t hurt anyone because he is only a spotter, and wasn’t actually driving on the track. He didn’t try and talk his way out of it by claiming that the test was rigged, or he didn’t actually smoke the pot.
He admitted he did the deed, and is working to do whatever it takes, whatever is needed, to ensure that he gets the needed help and support to get over this hurdle, and hopefully will not make the same mistake twice.
There is no place in NASCAR for drug or alcohol abuse, regardless of the role you play in the sport. If NASCAR gives you a license to be a part of their party, then they have the right to make sure you play by their rules, and that includes not doing any kind of drug that is illegal or on their “do not take” list. Denny Hamlin refused to take pain killers after his knee surgery just because he didn’t want to have anything in his system that might affect him on the track, even if it meant dealing with a whole lot of pain for a few days after the procedure.
Randy LaJoie has done way too much in the sport to promote safety to make this kind of mistake a second time. He is old enough to have known better the first time, and has no other excuse except for that lapse in judgment.
Here is hoping he does take this negative and find a way to turn it into a positive -- and that he can go back to being the man best known for his efforts to improve the safety of NASCAR, and not the guy who was suspended from the sport for making a bad choice.
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