So here I am, kicking back watching the Pole Day coverage on Versus for the 2009 Indy 500 and really liking the bumping on Day 1 – didn't think I would ever say that, but I do like the newly created excitement. Check that, I REALLY like the excitement now as only 6 minutes are left, Penske's Ryan Briscoe is out on the track, trying to knock Helio Castroneves off the pole and Helio is sitting in his car just in case… freakin' 6 minutes left! Justin Wilson – still not in; Alex Lloyd – still not in; Paul Tracy – been bumped out; Will Power – not happy with his time; etc, etc, etc. Yep, this is the bumping of the days of old that I do absolutely love, only now it is on Pole Day, too! Nice!

Now thanks to Twitter and the AP, there is another aspect of bumping going on in the motorsports world this weekend. It's in NASCAR. And it involves a driver being bumped out of the field for tonight's Darlington race.

Involved, apparently, is a banned substance as well.

All I have to say is who, in this day and age, would use a banned substance in NASCAR? Already some crew members have been busted in 2009, the year of NASCAR's new substance abuse policy regulations, but a driver? Are you kidding me?

After the admission by driver Aaron Fike that he had used heroin on days he raced, putting not only his life but other driver's lives on the line, drivers such as Tony Stewart & Kevin Harvick immediately pushed for NASCAR to do something. NASCAR did. And one driver must not have been paying attention.

Oh, I take that back. Yes, this driver did pay attention as, back in February of this year, when one of his crew members was suspended for failing a random drug test, he made this very statement:
“Mayfield Motorsports respects the decision by NASCAR to indefinitely
suspend Paul Chodora,” Jeremy Mayfield said in a statement issued Thursday.
“We as an organization appreciate NASCAR's drug testing policies and
policing efforts as it makes the sport stronger overall. If Paul doesn't
comply with NASCAR's reinstatement process, then he will no longer be an
employee of Mayfield Motorsports.”

You may want to re-read that quote.

NASCAR's first driver to fail the random 2009 drug tests is Jeremy Mayfield, the man quoted above.

Jeremy Mayfield will not race in tonight's Darlington race, however he was not fast enough to race there in qualifying. Jeremy is suspended from NASCAR indefinitely. He has indeed been bumped from the NASCAR field. WOW!

I knew today would be exciting with Pole Day for the Indy 500, but I never ever thought bumping would take on a meaning such as this.

CrashG@SpeedFreaks.TV

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** By the way – congrats to Helio Castroneves, the former driver who everyone thought was the bad guy, on winning the 2009 Pole for the Indianapolis 500! And to Alex Lloyd who did bump himself IN to the Top 11 of the race as well… good on ya, boys!

*** UPDATE on racing's new alleged bad boy:

Statement from Jeremy Mayfield on Saturday's suspension:
“As both a team owner and a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, I have
immense respect for the enforcement policies NASCAR has in place. In my
case, I believe that the combination of a prescribed medicine and an over
the counter medicine reacted together and resulted in a positive drug test.
My Doctor and I are working with both Dr. Black and NASCAR to resolve this
matter.

“Mayfield Motorsports remains committed to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and
the organization will announce an interim owner and a temporary replacement
driver early next week. Those roles will commence immediately beginning
with next week's Sprint Open and continuing through Charlotte and beyond.”