Photo Credit: Noel Lanier/OnPitRoad.com
Fresh off his first career NASCAR XFINITY Series win at Talladega Superspeedway and the best start of a season in his career, driver Spencer Gallagher has been suspended by NASCAR for violating the sanctioning body’s substance abuse policy.
NASCAR announced Gallagher’s indefinite suspension Wednesday. Gallagher was found in violation of Section 19 of the NASCAR rulebook on Tuesday.
NASCAR said Gallagher has agreed to its road to recovery program.
“I recently have had a positive result in a NASCAR drug screen which has violated NASCAR’s substance abuse policy,” Gallagher said in a written statement. “I want to ensure everyone in the NASCAR community this one time error in judgement will never happen again. I am taking the steps to enroll in the Road to Recovery program supported by NASCAR.”
GMS Racing, who was eligible to compete in the Dash4Cash this week because of Gallagher’s win, said in a statement that a replacement driver would be announced at a later date.
Prior to his suspension, Gallagher had started the season off with five top-10 finishes and two top-fives, including the win at Talladega. He currently sits seventh in the point standings.
Update:
“GMS Racing was notified that driver Spencer Gallagher gave a positive result from a NASCAR drug screen. GMS fully supports NASCAR’s policy on substance abuse and we do not condone this type of behavior. First and foremost, our entire organization wants to apologize to NASCAR, our sponsors, teammates and fans due to this policy violation. Spencer has agreed to participate in NASCAR’s Road to Recovery program. A substitute driver will be announced at a later date.” – Mike Beam, President of GMS Racing
