After saying hes going to party like its 1999, NASCAR winner suspended for drug violatio

August 16, 2024

On Saturday, after he had scored his first career win in 49 tries on NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series circuit at Talladega, Spencer Gallagher had a special announcement to make during an on-camera interview with Fox Sports.

“I’d like to take a second to personally address everyone at GMS,” Gallagher said, in reference to his racing team. “I know y’all are watching. That was every bit as crazy as it sounds. And when I get home, we are going to party like it’s 1999.”

We have no idea if Gallagher’s victory party truly approached 1999 levels and — in another Fox Sports interview Monday — Gallagher said he merely signed a bunch of autographs and then went home “to play Mario till 3 in the morning.” But we do know this: On Wednesday, NASCAR announced that it had suspended Gallagher indefinitely for violating Section 19 of the circuit’s substance-abuse policy, based on a drug test administered Tuesday.

“I recently have had a positive result in a NASCAR drug screen, which has violated NASCAR’s substance abuse policy,” Gallagher said via NASCAR’s website. “I want to assure everyone in the NASCAR community this one-time error in judgment will never happen again. I am taking the steps to enroll in the Road to Recovery program supported by NASCAR. I would like to say that I am sorry to all of the GMS organization for my actions, especially my team and team owner, who have worked so hard this year and have put faith in me. I also want to apologize to NASCAR, Chevrolet and my fans for letting them down. I have not upheld the behavior that is expected of me. I promise you all here and now, I will do whatever it takes to make this right.”

Said GMS Racing President Mike Beam: “GMS fully supports NASCAR’s policy on substance abuse and we do not condone this type of behavior. First and foremost, our entire organization wants to apologize to NASCAR, our sponsors, teammates and fans due to this policy violation. … A substitute driver will be announced at a later date.”

Gallagher’s insistence that he signed autographs until late in the evening seems true. Early Sunday morning, a photo went up on his Twitter feed:

Some say he has three ears, some say he won Talladega and went into the infield to sign autographs. All we know is he’s called Spencer, and he’s probably still out there 👀 pic.twitter.com/zRfTXz6aJf

— Spencer Gallagher (@23SpeedRacer) April 29, 2018

According to an ESPN story from last year, NASCAR tests select drivers, crew members and officials each week at the racetrack. The samples are then taken to a laboratory for examination. This year, according to ESPN, a number of crew members have been suspended for violating the drug policy, but Gallagher is the first driver.

Opinions about the drug testing vary among NASCAR drivers, though most agree that it’s a good thing for obvious reasons.

“I always kind of felt like this sport is somewhat self-policing. If you’re using recreational drugs, you’re probably not going to be very good at this,” Brad Keselowski said last year, via ESPN.

Read more from The Post:

Which Kentucky Derby post position has produced the most winners

Tom Brady finally let everyone know what he thinks — up to a point

Drake and Kendrick Perkins skirmish in Toronto

The banged-up Celtics aren’t as talented as the Sixers. They didn’t need to be in Game 1.

Why is there a snake on the Philadelphia 76ers’ court?

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLumw9JonJqqnK56rbHAnWawqF9nfXKEjmlsaGhiZK6nwMSrZKyZqZ67qHnHnqpmn5%2Beu6h506hkqZmiqcZuuMiknGahpKh6coWYcmSnmaOYrrN51qKlp52iYsC2v8%2BepZ2dlGKzsL6Mnamun12rtrC4wK2gqKZf