Yahoo Sports Longtime NASCAR Cup Series crew chief Matt Borland suspended
Germain Racing crew chief Matt Borland has been suspended by NASCAR after failing a drug test.
According to Borland, the crew chief for Ty Dillon’s No. 13 car, he tested positive for the banned substance DMAA via a coffee drink. He’ll be replaced by Justin Alexander as Dillon’s crew chief for the length of his suspension.
Borland on suspension: "Even after doing my due diligence, I felt comfortable in drinking the coffee. I plan to work with NASCAR to figure out what exactly has happened and resolve this issue as quickly as we can. I will cooperate with them and do whatever is requested of me."
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 26, 2019
Bob Germain on Borland suspension: "Based upon the ingredients label we do not believe that Matt had reason to know that the coffee contained a banned substance...We stand behind Matt. He has been and remains an integral part of our race team and we look forward to his return."
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 26, 2019
NASCAR does not confirm the results of drug tests.
Borland crew chiefed his first race in the Cup Series in 2000 for Ryan Newman. Over the course of 15 years as a Cup crew chief, drivers with Borland atop the box have won 13 races. Newman won eight races in 2003 with Borland as his crew chief when the two were at Team Penske.
Dillon is currently 24th in the points standings with two races to go before the playoffs. He’s going to miss out on qualifying for the playoffs barring a miracle win at either Darlington or Indianapolis.
Third suspension in two weeks
Borland is the third NASCAR member to get suspended in the past two weeks. Part-time Cup Series driver Bayley Currey was suspended indefinitely ahead of the Bristol night race after he tested positive for a similar substance.
And then late Friday night, Truck Series driver Tyler Dippel was suspended indefinitely. Per NASCAR protocol, no reason was given for Dippel’s suspension. He was replaced by D.J. Kennington for Sunday’s Truck Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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