NASCAR has announced the reinstatement of veteran Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series crew chief Matt Borland. Borland was suspended indefinitely last month for a violation of the NASCAR substance abuse policy.
According to Borland, his failed drug test was the result of an ingredient in a diet coffee drink.
“This past weekend, I was informed by a NASCAR doctor that I had DMAA [2-amino-5-methylhexanamine] in my system,” Borland said upon the announcement of his suspension. “After the surprise of this and not even knowing what that was, I asked if it could have come from a diet coffee I have been drinking for the past six months. I gave the doctor all of the details of the coffee and ingredients, and after he researched it, he said he thought that this was the cause. 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 to make this situation right. I have worked in the NASCAR garage for 20 years now and have never been a part of anything like this in my life. I take full responsibility for this incident and want to get it taken care of completely. I would like to sincerely apologize to my team, sponsors, associates, NASCAR and my family and I look forward to resolving this situation in an efficient manner.”
Borland is the crew chief of the #13 Germain Racing Chevrolet of driver Ty Dillon. Justin Alexander served as interim crew chief for the five races of Borland's absence.
NASCAR also announced the reinstatement of Clifford Turner. Like Borland, Turner also was serving an indefinite suspension for a violation of the NASCAR substance abuse policy. According to the announcement, both Borland and Turner completed NASCAR’s Road to Recovery program.
