NASCAR Thrives on Controversy

The Ephedra factor, the Brian Vickers controversy, and the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 from Texas Motor Speedway.

The Ephedra Factor..............

Sounds like a spy thriller doesn't it? It's not quite that way, although NASCAR's media statements about it may have an effect on a major race team. As usual, NASCAR is the dog's hind leg when it comes to wondering about the effects of Ephedra on their personnel. The use of the drug has already been banned in the Olympics, the NFL, minor league baseball, and most college athletics.

It appears that the death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler last month caught the attention of NASCAR's hierarchy and goaded them into doing an investigation concerning the use of Ephedra within the sport. The media has placed part of the blame in Bechler's death on the Ephedra drug as used within certain types of supplements.

The Ephedra drug comes into play within NASCAR by its use in Stacker II, the sponsor of the yellow and orange colored No. 23 Dodge fielded by Bill Davis Racing and driven by Kenny Wallace. I'm sure you have all seen the TV commercials featuring Kenny Wallace and a few racing luminaries along with some wrestlers from the WWF hawking Stacker II. NVE Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Stacker II, sponsored Wallace's Bill Davis Racing No. 23 entry last season in the Busch Series before moving with the team into the Winston Cup Series in 2003. After that move, the pharmaceutical company decided to return to the Busch Series and sponsor the No. 23 Chevy fielded by Bill Davis Racing and driven by Scott Wimmer.

The big flap concerning Ephedra in the last few months goaded NVE Pharmaceuticals into producing a version of the Stacker II weight loss dietary supplement without Ephedra. When the drug company first became a sponsor in NASCAR, its representatives passed out samples of Stacker II to all of the personnel in the NASCAR garage area, and when they moved up to Winston Cup, they repeated the gesture. One source, which I will not name, stated in a national publication that at least 80% of those who received the free samples tried them out. This has NASCAR worried.

Go To Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6