BRISTOL, Tenn. — NASCAR officials suspended driver Bayley Currey for violating NASCAR’s Substance Abuse Policy.
Officials announced the indefinite suspension — effective immediately — Thursday at Bristol Motor Speedway, where Currey was entered in the Monster Energy Series and Xfinity Series races for Rick Ware Racing. The news was first reported by Frontstretch.com.
Currey said in a statement that he had used a pre-workout supplement called Juggernaut Irate, which contained a banned substance called DMAA (2-Amino-5-methylhexane). The 22-year-old driver said the ingredient was in his system when medical personnel administered a drug test last week.
“I was obviously not aware that I was violating NASCAR’s Substance Abuse Policy,” Currey said in a statement provided by his team. “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 Owner’s 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.”
Currey is eligible to return to competition once he completes the Road to Recovery program.
Team owner Rick Ware said the team supported both NASCAR’s ruling and Currey’s path. The organization did not immediately announce its plans for the No. 52 Cup Series entry or the No. 17 Xfinity entry for this weekend’s events.
“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,” Ware said. “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 has competed on a part-time basis in all three NASCAR national series this season, making nine Monster Energy Series starts, eight Xfinity Series appearances and three starts in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series. His best finish this season was a sixth-place effort last weekend in the Gander Trucks event at Michigan International Speedway.