CupScene.com

(By Greg Engle)

Posted: Friday,May 22nd, 2009

(By Robyn Snell, Senior Staff Writer, NASCAR Daily News)

There are still several issues surrounding NASCAR’s drug testing program, from possible impropriety of the person who runs the program to NASCAR’s refusal to publish the list of banned substances.

Tennessee state Senator Diane Black’s associate, Tenn. State Representative Susan Lynn, is campaigning hard to mandate into law that every individual receiving food stamps and other subsidized programs, be drug tested.

That would seem like a great money making plan for Senator Diane Black’s husband, Dr. David Black, owner of Aegis Sciences Corporation, the same company that administers NASCAR’s drug testing program.

The Tennessee state Government, already debt ridden, will, if the measure passes, be pushed farther into debt than it already is while possibly lining the pockets of Aegis Sciences Corporation with yet more tax dollars.

According to a report on Nashville Tennessee’s News Channel 5, Aegis Sciences Corporation already holds $1.4 million in state contracts and the Sumner County Democratic party has questioned the propriety of the relationship.

In the report Sen. Black said that she has done nothing wrong, that she’s “never had an opportunity in any committees [she’s] in to actually see his contracts,” and she “does not even know which departments do business with her husband’s firm.” The SCDP says that Black has a responsibility under Senate rules to know exactly which departments have contracts with Aegis and to disclose her interests in those contracts publicly.

(http://www.newschannel5.com/global/story.asp?s=10113147)

The Vice-Chair of the Sumner County Democrats, Leonard Assante, wrote an opinion piece for the Gallatin Newspaper this past week, in which he criticized the media for not paying attention to State Sen. Diane Black, and the ties to Aegis Corporation, through her husband David Black.

Assante cites previous charges that Sen. Black should have declared something called Rule 13 (which is the same rule invoked by Sen. Wilder in regards to his hiring of Mexicans) when a budget containing contracts for her husbands company were brought forward.

In addition, Assante goes one step further and brings up the fact that Aegis, and David Black in particular, were responsible for the testing of WWE wrestlers, including Chris Benoit who, in a fit of “road rage” killed himself and his family.

Is it irrelevant? If this company is being accused of doing bogus tests for the WWE, did anyone investigate them? Has anyone checked to see what sort of job the company is doing for the State of Tennessee?

Aside from that angle, are we comfortable with the family members of state senators and state representatives holding millions of dollars in state contracts? Did she have anything to do with the awarding of these contracts?

( http://www.tennviews.com/node/305)

Then there is NASCAR’s refusal to publish the list of banned substances, something nearly every other legitmate sport does.

Dr. Travis Tygart (U.S. Doping Agency) and Dr. Gary Wadler (World Anti-Doping Agency) as well as Dr. Black whose firm also oversees the WWE Wellness Program on CNN in 2007. Though not on screen together, Wadler and Black debated the legitimacy of the WWE testing program. Tygart noted at one point that not only are the elevated scales of punishment ridiculous, but that the loophole regarding prescriptions turning a positive to a negative guts the integrity of the entire program.

Click here for the entire transcript.

Then there is the issue of the ‘list’. Major sports organizations such as Major League Baseball publish their list, in fact the details of their entire drug program, for the entire world to see.

As recently as last year NASCAR officials were saying there was no list. Only last Friday did Brian France even acknowledge that a list of banned substances even exists.

Actually, we do have a list. It’s a broad list. The drivers, it depends on which one, are happy to look at that list. We show it to them.,” France said. “We certainly will consider discussing that list with the media, as well. What we’re talking about now is the many different substances that are tested. There are many.”

“What is important to note about our list which we have, or any other list, we don’t want to make it selective either,” he added. “ It’s not exclusive to that list. There are things in the scientific world that are changing all the time. Our laboratory would have a list and would have an expanding list, and it wouldn’t be subject to just that list. “

The sad part of this all is that no matter what the outcome, the damage has already been done to Mayfield. Guilty or Innocent…He will have to out live the cloud of black that will hover over him…Mayfield has already been tried by a jury of all his peers…

Mayfield this time…which driver will fail next?