Aaron Fike to start an anti-drug program

[RaikkonenRules]

Aaron Fike, arrested last summer after he and his girlfriend were caught with heroin at Kings Island amusement park in Mason, says he's serious about reviving his career. He's using his status to start a program [Racing Against Drugs] to combat drug abuse among young people. Under the deal that Judge Neal Bronson accepted this month, Fike pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors - possession of a drug abuse instrument and a reduced charge of attempted possession of heroin. Fike is still undergoing drug treatment, Rittgers said. NASCAR suspended him indefinitely from racing after his arrest. As part of a plea deal that his lawyer, Charlie Rittgers of Lebanon, worked out, Fike avoided a jail sentence and felony conviction by pledging to start the non-profit group. Bronson sentenced Fike to two years of probation and ordered him to follow through with his plan for establishing Racing Against Drugs

[call_me_andrew]

Donations can be made to Aaron Fike's dealer.

Yeah, I had to say it.

[RaceFanStan]

It will be interesting to see how NASCAR's zero tolerance on drugs is applied to that ...
does NASCAR need a plea bargained neo-felon involved in their series ???

oh, that's right, they already have one for a team owner ...
(of course it wasn't drugs, the team owner only plead guilty to fraud & bribery)

[tstran17_88]

Is Shane Hmeil going to be their first client?

[tstran17_88]

(of course it wasn't drugs, the team owner only plead guilty to fraud & bribery)

Gene Haas was busted for conspiracy, filing false tax returns and witness intimidation, wasn't he? Oh, wait...your talking about his mentor, aren't you? The guy that's going to win another Nextel Cup this year.

[jeffconn]

NASCAR driver: 'If it were not for my arrest, I would be dead'
http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;...v=ap&type=lgns

[Sparky1329]

NASCAR's reactive drug policy, whatever that is, doesn't seem to be working very well.

http://www.scenedaily.com/stories/20...e_daily26.html

"It was a relief to be honest with you," Walker said in a Nov. 15 phone interview. "I don't have to hide anymore. It was really embarrassing, of course, because no one wants to go through that and be in the media and be looked at as ... , you know, but it's a mistake that I made and all I can do was learn from it. It knocked me flat into the ground.

"I was like, 'I have to go get help. This is taking over my life.'"

Out of a 30-day rehabilitation center stay, Walker said he has been clean for five months. He has started racing again, in a Kasey Kahne-owned Midget car.

While he won't say what drug he tested positive for, Walker said he had a problem - not one where he was using drugs every day, but one where he couldn't hold off the urge to stop completely.

"I wasn't the type that was partying every day," Walker said. "It would be like a once-a-month thing where I would go and have a good time - or thought that I was having a good time - and then I wouldn't go do it for a month or so.

"Even that, it was hard for me to stop doing that. I struggled."

Walker said he is not sure why he started using drugs. He had moved from California to North Carolina while still a teenager to chase the NASCAR dream. When his rise to Nextel Cup didn't go as planned, he fell into a hole.

With regard to Aaron Fike, I think everyone deserves a second chance but heroin isn't exactly like pot or alcohol. Four months into a successful recovery program is an admirable achievement but it's meaningless for any long-term plans. I can't wrap my brain around the level of irresponsibility one needs to have to put fellow competitors and pit crew members at such serious risk with no regard to the implications of that fact.

Until and unless NASCAR and team owners take a proactive stance with drug testing this will be an issue. If one of my loved-ones was a competitor I'd have a major bug up my butt about it.