Hey, A.J. Allmendinger, Fool Me Once...

By - Brian Harrington

NASCAR driver A.J. Allmendinger demanded to have his "B" sample tested after failing a pre-race drug test before the Coke Zero 400 back in early July. Well, unsurprisingly, that test has now popped positive as well.

Allmendinger has now been suspended indefinitely and could potentially lose his high profile ride with Penske Racing.

Photo by: Tyler Barrick

Allmendinger, who is winless since taking over the #22 Penske Racing Dodge when Kurt Busch split after last season, said his initial test taken at Kentucky three weekends ago was positive for a stimulant that could have come from a supplement or over-the-counter drug.

A stimulant is defined in NASCAR's drug policy as "amphetamine, methamphetamine, Ecstasy (MDMA), Eve (MDEA), MDA, PMA, Phentermine, and other amphetamine derivatives and related compounds." So really, any kind of cold medicine could have caused it.

Then again, so could meth.

Allmendinger is the second Sprint Cup Series driver suspended since NASCAR implemented its drug policy in 2009.

Jeremy Mayfield chose not to participate in NASCAR's rehabilitation program and instead contested his 2009 suspension in court. He eventually lost his fight after a lengthy battle and has not raced since.

Spanning NASCAR's three national series, Allmendinger is the fourth driver to be suspended for a failed drug test; none of the previous three has been reinstated.

In 2009, Allmendinger pleaded no contest in North Carolina to a misdemeanor charge of driving while impaired. He was given a 60-day suspended sentence, 18 months probation and 24 hours of community service.

Allmendinger took responsibility a day after the arrest.

"Obviously it was my fault," Allmendinger said. "It was a bad decision. I wish I could take it back. I'd do anything to be able to take it back, but that's life. You can't. So all I can do is go out there and learn from it and be a lot better person from it, which I will be, and, hopefully, educate other people that you don't have to have a ton of drinks to (be) drunk."

Allmendinger drove for Richard Petty Motorsports at the time, and the team put him on probation through 2010 and fined him $10,000.