NASCAR on Tuesday lifted the suspension of crew chief Matt Borland, who has successfully completed NASCAR’s Road to Recovery Program after a violation of the sanctioning body’s substance abuse policy.
NASCAR announced Aug. 26 that Borland had been suspended indefinitely. The Germain Racing crew chief was required to complete the Road to Recovery Program before reinstatement and receiving clearance to resume competition.
Borland has been atop the pit box for 340 Monster Energy Series races. He has 13 career wins, including eight in a single season with Ryan Newman back in 2003. He’s called the shots for Ty Dillon and the No. 13 team since 2018.
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Upon announcement of his suspension last month, Borland said in a statement released by the team that he was notified of a positive test for the banned substance DMAA (2-amino-5-methylhexanamine). He and team owner Bob Germain Jr. said a derivative of the substance was an ingredient in a diet coffee that he had been using regularly for the last 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,” Borland said at the time. “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.”
Also announced Tuesday: Xfinity Series crew member Clifford Turner has successfully completed NASCAR’s Road to Recovery Program and also has been reinstated.