Bayley Currey, who competes part-time as a driver in all three of NASCAR's national series was suspended indefinitely from NASCAR competition Thursday for violating the sanctioning body's substance abuse policy. Currey classified his violation as accidental, attributing his failed drug test to an ingredient in a pre-workout supplement.
"Today at Bristol NASCAR informed me that I failed a random drug test administered last week,” Currey said. "I spoke with NASCAR’s doctor, where he explained that I had DMHA [2-Amino-5-Methylhexane] in my system. I take a pre-workout supplement, and this ingredient is, indeed, in the supplement.
"I was, obviously, not aware that I was violating NASCAR’s substance abuse policy. I have, immediately, asked NASCAR to enter me into the Road to Recovery program, where I will gain more knowledge about such banned supplements, and I will fully cooperate with NASCAR’s direction and advice.
"I have worked very hard for a lifetime to reach this level, and I am eternally grateful to be afforded the privilege to compete in the sport that I love. I want to publicly apologize to my owners Rick and Lisa Ware, all the employees of Rick Ware Racing, my sponsors, NASCAR, and most importantly, the fans. My lack of knowledge is no excuse for this to happen. I will expediently complete the process, and I will strive to have my suspension lifted as soon as possible."
Successful completion of the Road to Recovery program is required for NASCAR reinstatement.
Currey drives for Rick Ware Racing in both the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Xfinity series and for Vision Motorsports in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
“Bayley Currey was notified that he violated the NASCAR substance abuse policy,” car owner Rick Ware said. "He was taking a pre-workout that contained a substance that is on the banned substance list. At Rick Ware Racing, we stand by NASCAR’s decisions to uphold the drug policy for each and every owner, driver and crew member in the garage.
"We believe that Bayley Currey has made an honest mistake by not checking his pre-workout supplements for ingredients that are not allowed through the NASCAR systems. As an organization, we stand behind Bayley’s Road to Recovery journey, and will always have a place for him within our organization.”
Currey was scheduled to drive for RWR in the Xfinity and Cup series races at Bristol Motor Speedway Friday and Saturday nights. NASCAR veteran driver Joe Nemechek will fill-in for Currey in Friday night's Xfinity Series race, while Kyle Weatherman, who also drives part-time for RWR, will substitute for Currey in Saturday night's Cup race.
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