What happened: Spencer Gallagher, who just won his first career Xfinity Series race on Saturday at Talladega and is the son of GMS Racing owner Maurice Gallagher, tested positive for a banned substance and was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR. The test result was received by NASCAR on Tuesday, although NASCAR did not say whether the test was taken before or after the Talladega race. Gallagher will go through NASCAR’s “Road to Recovery” program in order to race again. In a statement, Gallagher called his failed test a “one-time error in judgment” and said he had “not upheld the behavior that is expected of me.”
What it means: A deeply disappointing situation for all involved. Gallagher is one of NASCAR’s most entertaining personalities and just experienced the highlight of his career — putting himself into the Xfinity playoffs as a result. It was a great storyline, and Gallagher would have been fun to watch in the playoffs. But that’s all gone now. NASCAR officials indicated they will not give Gallagher a waiver for the races he will miss, meaning he will not be playoff-eligible even if he wins again. That’s a major setback to both his young career and the race team owned by his father, who is also CEO of Allegiant Airlines (which happens to be an official NASCAR sponsor). It’s unclear how long Gallagher’s time in the NASCAR rehabilitation program will take, but AJ Allmendinger was suspended for eight races after he went through a similar process in 2012.
News value (scale of 1-10): Eight. Pretty notable, especially since Gallagher just won and there’s the possibility he could have taken the banned substance before racing (NASCAR isn’t saying either way). This news might be a 10 if Gallagher was a Cup driver in a similar situation, because it would make headlines well beyond NASCAR.
Three questions: What was the substance, and did taking it put any of Gallagher’s competitors in harm’s way? Though almost all NASCAR drug tests are conducted at the track, is there a chance this one was done after the victory celebration (when Gallagher said he would “party like it’s 1999”)? Finally, what was Gallagher thinking?